adamguthrie

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Dora Maar

What I love about this surrealism image created by Dora Maar is how fascinating it is, not to mention she photographed this in the 1930’s when technology and cameras weren’t as advance as they are now. I love the creepy eerie effect it gives, as if someone is dead on the beach and their decapitated hand is coming out of a shell. Not to mention the sky is looking almost like ocean water at the top. I love the contrast and how well the image all cleverly fits into one another. She’s got the sand, the shell, the sky as if it’s a beach at night with what looks like a mix of the ocean in the sky. This is probably my favourite surrealism image I have seen.

This photograph taken by Man Ray a notorious surrealism photographer caught my eye, I love how the hand on the women’s face looks almost alien like. And the pearls as teeth with the crystals as her lips, it gives off a sophisticated yet very high fashion vibe. I like Man Rays work also and this was probably one of the least explicit images he has. The tiny clock as her eye is quite clever and could be used as an idea for illusion.

This image by Andre Breton was very eye catching and quite clever I hadn’t seen this idea using the mouth like a portal to another realm. It appears to be the Taj Mahal in India right at the back of the mouth, but with a dark alley way giving the illusion that you can arrive right at it if you just walk down this small lane. He’s used more than 2 objects to create this, so he has the mouth, the alley/lane, and then the Taj Mahal image. I think it’s very outside the box but also so simple at the same time. There’s a tiny bit of light at the end of the alley before the Taj Mahal and it really helps to highlight the Taj Mahal image or else without it, it probably would’ve all sunk in together especially in black and white. I do enjoy the image tho and like the mouth idea a lot.

This self portrait of Philippe Halsman is just incredible, there is so much going out but he’s changed the game of portraiture with this. You can kind of see in the corner a man holding the chair (not sure if that is intentional or not) so he has in a way ruined some of the illusion, however the cats flying out the painting with water is insane, and capturing it all along with him jumping mid air must’ve taken many tries. As for the painting stand it’s still very interesting how he’s managed to have it floating in the air, I do think some strings were used as editing software was practically non existent then.

This is another one by Dora Maar, I do enjoy her work and the exquisite dress with a women’s body but her star as a head was very eye catching, not to mention she’s coming out of curtains, possibly a performer. I believe that’s the reason for the star on her head, reflecting that this women is a star and she’s a performer or entertainer. But it doesn’t expose too much as you can see it’s all dark past the curtain, which further adds to my theory.

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Edited rough idea of my illusion image

I edited a rough idea of what I would like my illusion to look like, my two objects being headphones and donuts. I thought this was quite fun and quirky. I decided to do a rough edit as it would help me on what my idea was going to look like as a finished piece.

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The uncanny

The term was first used by German psychiatrist Ernst Jentsch in his essay on the “psychology of the Uncanny”. In German ‘unheimlich’ translates to unhomely in English. It’s seen as something new and unknown which can be usually seen as something negative in the beginning. This is when artists, drew on this description and made artworks that combines familiar things in different and unexpected ways to create uncanny feelings.

When did it begin

The term was first used in 1906 by the German psychiatrist Ernst Jentsch. In his essay on the psychology of the uncanny, this played a huge influence on the surrealism art movement. He referred it to when something can be familiar yet alien at the same time. Artists, including some associated with the surrealist movement drew on this description and made artworks that combined familiar things in unexpected ways to create uncanny feelings. Here is an example below:

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René Magritte

René Magritte (full name: René François Ghislain Magritte) was a Belgian surrealist artist. He is well known for depicting ordinary objects in an unusual context. They are almost like another perception of reality and that’s why I liked his work. His imagery played a huge role in influencing pop art, minimalist art and conceptual art. You can find many of his paintings in the museum of modern art, the art institute of Chicago and many more. Here are examples of his work:

There is a common theme of pieces of cloth covering the faces of people he paints, the conspiracy is because René’s mother died from suicide by drowning herself in a river, when her body was found her dress was covering her head. There is also a conspiracy that René was at the river when her body was retrieved.

I really like this one since I have visited the leaning tower of Pisa and he changed the whole background and floor to make it look sand like on top of having a feather balance on it, I just found that quite eye catching and made the image appeal to me.

Lastly this one was one I liked just because I like the idea of covering the face with an object in surrealism, it adds mystery, making the viewer curious as to what the face looks like, what are they’re expressions etc. It starts making the image interesting and I also enjoyed the bright green colour of the apple, it’s quite powerful compared to the other dark dingy colours on the painting, it draws your eye to it.

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Surrealism research:

Surrealism began officially in 1924, poet Andre Breton published the first manifesto of Surrealism photography. Starting what became a art movement, contributing to the creation of surrealism photography. Here is Andre Breton manifesto below:

Meaning of Surrealism: a 20th century avant-garde movement in art and literature which purpose was to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind.

Surrealist artists:

Salvador Dalí:

was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship and the striking and bizarre images in his work, here are some examples of his work and my personal favourites.

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Stranger things

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Qualities of light

Diffusion: device that evenly scatters the light from a light source, it is mostly used to help soften light or to reduce shadows. The process of scattered light is diffusion. An example being Diffusion makes the light fall on your subjects evenly and without contrast.

Direct light: any kind of light that has a direct source and is pointed towards model/subject. If flash tube in a light is facing your subject it means it is direct light.

Transmission: when light is transmitted through an object an example of transmitted light is coloured glass.

Reflection: is when you use reflective surfaces to create an artistic echo of a scene. It is most commonly used on oceans, lakes, puddles and anything water orientated considering water gives off a good reflection and can make a great image depending on what’s being reflected.

Diffuse reflection: there are 3 different types of reflection. Diffuse reflection, direct reflection, and glare. All 3 are always observed regardless the orientation of the surface. In a diffusion reflection you would see light reflected from a strike point in a hemisphere of illumination.

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Evaluation: Triptych

I personally feel I successfully managed to complete this brief. I was pleased with the 3 images. I used Lightroom and Adobe photoshop to edit them. I feel that helped my photoshop skills adapt further. At the beginning I didn’t know what I wanted to shoot or even have an idea of what I wanted to have my triptych come out like. What I enjoyed about this brief is that it was something completely different, I wouldn’t be able to tell you what a triptych was a few weeks ago. However this is a very popular style with some of the most influential photographers who have used it. I enjoyed researching and finding out about new photographers and seeing their triptych technique. I used a rose in one of my triptych which I felt was a reflection of my flamboyant personality. As for the self portrait I used photoshop and overlapped the image with another self portrait but subtly faded that one, then added a purplish hue with some other colours as I wanted them to kind of collide, since I also added a purple hue to the flowers and the other image. The overlap portrait is a reflection of the old me and the new me, I am definitely not the same person I was even a year ago. I think with the whole pandemic this year a lot of us have come out this differently, different viewpoint on life, different attitude just in general being far more appreciative for this life on earth.

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Who are you location & object

I am planning to shoot at this place in Ayr that’s roughly a 30/40 minute walk from my house. Due to the location having a castle. I already have a visual image of where I want to shoot my self portrait so I can get the castle in the back and the greenery. There is also a lot of wildlife near this area as it is right next to a beach. I want to also capture nature preferably a flower for my other shot, as I feel flowers are a good representation of being flamboyant. The next shoot I want is a landscape shot due to taking a liking to the landscape triptych. I have some areas in mind that are close to where I am shooting, there is a large area of tall plants and grass that I can go into and they are half my height in length. I would say I’m confident as I have a good idea on what I want to shoot and planning it beforehand has really helped.

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Who are you final: Triptych

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Shutter speed:

Shutter speed allows light to reach the cameras image sensor. What shutter speed you use depends on what type of photograph you want to take. A slow shutter speed would slow the motion, whereas a fast shutter speed takes the image instantly.

Slow shutter speed is great for trying to capture photographs of moving cars and light. Here is an example.

fast shutter speed is good for capturing pictures of lakes and animals. Especially if you want to capture every detail like water droplets. Here is an example of a fast shutter speed image.

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Light meter research

A camera light meter provides an exact exposure measurement informing the photographer of what shutter speed and aperture they should use for any given scene. Studio, portrait, product and fashion photographers need this essential piece of hand held equipment. They are crucial for some yet are often forgotten.

A light meter is pretty easy to use the simplest technique is to hold the light meter out in front of the camera (typically your model/subject holding it against them to get an accurate reading). Then press the meter button on the side. Read the results that show on the meter and set your camera's shutter and aperture to match. And that’s all you neee to do.

Here is a link below that I will attach with a tutorial video on how to use it:

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Exposure triangle

Aperture:

The aperture is all about controlling the amount of light that gets to the digital sensor of your camera. The aperture is the opening found in your camera lens. A wider aperture (or lower f-number) means more light will be let in by the lens, due to the opening being larger. And a narrow aperture (higher f-number) allows less light to reach the sensor. A narrower aperture is used if someone wants a larger depth of field. Whereas a wider aperture creates a narrower depth of field.

Shutter speed:

The shutter speed is a measure of how long the shutter remains open, and how long the sensor is exposed to light. Faster shutter speeds give the sensor less time to collect the light, which would result in an image with low exposure. Whereas, slower shutter speeds allow more time for the sensor to collect light which would result in an image with a higher exposure.

ISO:

The ISO controls the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor. The lower the ISO the less sensitive the sensor will be to light. And the higher the ISO the more sensitive it will be.

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Clean white evaluation:

For the clean white brief we had to photograph someone and basically show who that person is. I had the delight of working with Zainab, she’s new to the course and it helped me to get to know her better. Her personality is very bubbly and friendly and she is such a lovely person to talk to. She loved getting her picture taken and expressing herself to the camera, posing and enjoying herself. It was refreshing to see. Zainab has amazing hair, it’s long and dyed red. She also brought this huge pinky fluffy coat which I thought was great and could be interpreted into the clean white as she is a diva and the coat enhanced her alter ego and we used it as a prop. I like how they turned out and I am glad Zainab got to enjoy modelling. Due to covid restrictions it was limited to only myself and Zainab. I selected my finale two and feel happy and confident with them.

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Who am I?

My full name is Adam George Prentice Guthrie. I am a 19 year old boy with dirty blonde hair, green eyes and relatively short. I was born in Scotland and was living here (in Ayr) right up until I just turned 13. I only came back to Scotland last year. For six years I was living in Qatar, and for most of my teen years grew up there. I went to a school called park house english school which was an international school in Qatar. It was very easy to adapt into the school there as the children/teens are used to expats coming and going constantly. However people struggled to understand my Scottish accent lol.

I love talking to people and making new connections, I feel like I am a inviting person and I genuinely for most parts, are an open book. I don’t really have many hobbies other photography, editing and rotting in my room :.(. however, i do love my cats and I love fashion, eating, and watching Netflix. I have an older sister and an older brother.

About a year ago I was accepted into NQ photography at city of Glasgow college, it was an amazing experience and I loved the time I got to go into the college, I met some amazing people and going to Glasgow from Ayr was definitely something that felt quite independent and I never had done it before. My mums dad was very into photography so I might get it from him.

Fast forward to more recently I was accepted into HND, which I was excited about. It is sad that we’re not back to our full days and getting to socialise with each other but hopefully that can happen some time soon/in the near future.

As for school I did the English curriculum, I got a B in English language IGCSE and a C in English Literature and a 2 I think in Art, lol I got a D in maths but IT WAS 2 marks away from a C 😭 but we move.

Last year I got to experience my first club with friends from the NQ course, that was short lived but hopefully can happen again when the pandemic “dies down”. I think Glasgow is a great city and would like to live there, there’s a lottttt more to do and I prefer living in cities.

I am still getting to know who I am, I don’t think I have been able to express myself due to culture and living in the Middle East the way I would be able to here. I am still growing and getting to know who Adam Guthrie is :)

To interpret that into my Who are you brief is hard, I think there is some ideas that come to mind. For example the motion blur, which could resemble being trapped, then bright colours like flowers (possibly a pink/red rose which are my favourite flowers) because I have quite a vibrant personality and also flamboyant.

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Triptych ideas

I really like this style of Triptych (the photographs). I want to try and create the motion blur in my finale image as it’s something I’ve never attempted before and would like to step out of my comfort zone and do something different. They all correlate together visually very well. I also love the landscape one as they’re all 3 different images yet manage to sit together so nicely. Triptych is a style I have never heard of up until today and it is definitely appealing to the eyes. The self portrait motion blur and triptych landscapes is helping to give my mind some inspiration. I like the motion blur and also like the landscape so It would iterest me to attempt the two and mash them.

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Self portrait examples/inspiration

Above are self portraits that helped give me inspiration. I really love the creativity of them all and think they best fit my character. The idea that I can pick and choose things from each one of them to help interpret them into my finale image. One of my favourites is definitely the sheet one with the women at a window using natural light, and more specifically with the orange hue sunrise. However, in Scotland we don’t have sun but I could still try this idea with the darker sky, and interpret into something different, I also do prefer gloomy days rather than sunny ones. I also really liked the guy looking up at the sky and bending over, since I enjoy going outside and especially since Coronavirus walks have been what everyone has been doing in their daily life’s to try keep sane. I actually started to enjoy going on them and feel they really help me. As for the screaming one that is one I would like to try or attempt to try as I have never done it before. I love how it looks It just has no reflection to my personality, I was more focused on the actual effect and seeing if I could do something like that but in the style I want.