michaelsphotographyinlondon

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Learning Report

For my first class, I was hoping that I would learn a lot because I knew very little about professional photography. I really enjoy taking photographs and I felt like this class would help me get a better understanding and appreciation of photography. I was able to grasp a lot of the knowledge we discussed in class. I found it interesting how using different angles and cropping can completely change the meaning of the photo. I also found it interesting and a good learning experience to have to review and critique professional photographs as well as try and remake them. I gained a strong appreciation for the work these photographers will put in in order to capture the best image. My favorite part of the course was being able to see other people’s creative projects because it helped me think outside of the box when I decided what my final series was going to be about. 

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Progress Report 2

I have decided to change my idea from Graffiti in London to Bubbles because I wanted to create a different point of view of the city of London and thought this would be very interesting. My goal is to take photographs of the city through reflections of a bubble floating in the air. So far it has turned out well, and only need to get one or two more images. I plan on having each image to be formatted the same way to help the series flow better. I am really looking forward to see how this project turns out.

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Urban Parks Reflection

The series “Urban Parks” by Simon Roberts, is a representation of many different parks around the world in different cities. This series is unique and interesting because it clashes the urban lifestyle and setting with natural parks that are very green, peaceful, quiet, and not busy. Simon’s message with this series is to effectively communicate an important societal issue. His series explains the impact humans have made on our parks and how these parks have evolved around urban cities. Each of his photographs are titled with the name of the park and the year it was created. The sequencing of the images are important because it starts with the oldest urban park and ends with the newest one. He explains how parks were first made for the rich, who would be the only ones permitted in the park. It has evolved overtime to where parks are open to the public because people enjoy them for exercise, relaxing, and a way to get away from your problems you might have in the real world. These images make it a series because they depict urban parks in the context of their surrounding architecture. Natural light is used to capture these images but the photographs are captured in different points of view to provide different meanings of how an urban park is portrayed and different from one another. 

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Week 10 / Photography in London

Today we are visiting the exhibition Don McCullin at Tate Britain: 

This exhibition includes many of McCullin’s iconic war photographs – including images from Vietnam, Northern Ireland and Syria, often captured at great personal risk. But it also focuses on the work he did at home in the UK, recording scenes of poverty and working class life in London’s East End and the industrial north, as well as meditative landscapes.

Don McCullin has focused on the human beings involved in the war. His photographs captures moments of human emotion before, during, or after an event from battle. 

Before learning the text, the images show people that are sad, angered, and depressed but we do not know exactly why. The text helps the viewer specifically understand why these people are showing these emotions and why it is so dark.

It might be problematic that these images are graphic but his photographs convey a message that the stories people have heard from war are true and heartbreaking. Providing a visual image of the horrible acts of war makes the series more real and serious.

He took these photographs to enhance the seriousness and hard-toll war takes on individuals and families. Manhy people have read about the hardships from war but McCullin’s work is historic because it gives us a visual understanding of what many people had to go through.

All the subjects in his photographs authentically provide visual evidence of the message he is trying to convey. His photographs provide a raw and real message about war and that is its depressing and rips apart families.

Choose 3 photos – one where camera angle is significant, one where focus is significant and one where lighting is significant. In each case, how does this influence the way you understand the message of the photo?

Protester, Cuban Missile Crisis, Whitehall, London, 1962 – focus is important because it highlights a group of policemen standing over one protester in the center of the photograph. It’s important because it shows the fear citizens had during this hostile time and how they disapproved of some of the actions the government has made during this time.

American troops looking across the Wall, Berlin 1961 – The angle this photograph is captured is very signifigant because the viewer is looking up at the soldier which makes us feel that the solider is powerful and leads for others.

Dying Cambodian Paratrooper hit by the same mortar shell that hit McCullin, 1970 – The lighting is significant because the light hits on the dying man’s face as others surrounding him are trying to help. It enhances the painful emotions the Cambodian man is experiencing which makes the viewer feel remorse for him.

What is the relationship between the photographer and his subject(s) in these photos?

The photographer gained personal and true relationships with his subjects. His photographs portray that he is just a bystander taking photographs of things he sees in his point of view.

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Week 10 Personal Blog

The “Londoners”

This photograph is of a busy day in London on the streets. The iconic red busses that London has is pictured in the photo and the large pack of people walking on the street, rushing to get to their own personal objectives really enhance the message of the photograph. The photograph is captured at eye-level because I wanted the viewer to feel like they were visualizing the same thing I was at the time. I cropped the photograph to make it more narrow so that it would capture the taxi and bus well as well as capture the people walking on the sidewalk on the right side of the photograph.

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Week 10 In Class Assignment 

Activity 1

Working in groups of 2 or 3, read the following short article, published on The Telegraph (11 July 2011):

“Horn of Africa famine: Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya suffer worst drought in 60 years”

The worst drought in over half a century has hit parts of East Africa affecting more than 10 million people. Thousands of families have travelled for days across scorched scrubland from Somalia to Kenya, including barefoot children with no food or water after their crops and livestock were destroyed by drought. More than 10 million people have been affected across the Horn of Africa. Acute malnutrition has reached 37% in some parts of north east Kenya and child refugees from Somalia are dying of causes related to malnutrition either during the journey or very shortly after arrival at aid camps.”

Look at the 4 images on the screen, and consider in what ways each one of them answers the following questions (that is, ask these three questions for each of the four images):

1. What aspect of the article does the image illustrate? That is to say, does the image help you visualise one particular part of the text? Which one?

A. This image represents how people had to caravan from Somalia to Kenya because it shows both an old man and a young boy attempting this journey

B. This photograph relates to the article where it talks about Aid camps. It shows how a little boy is receiving treatment.

C. This photograph provides visual evidence from the article that malnutrition is a very big issue in this community.  

D. From this image, it relates to the migration many people had to make in order to find food, water, and medicine.

2. In what light does the image present that aspect of the article that it illustrate? That is to say, what comment does the image make about that aspect of the written text?

a. The photograph explains that this is issue is very serious and that it affects both the young and the old. It’s really negative because they are still on the journey to find food and safety.

b. This photograph is more positive than the other ones because it shows someone attempting to help those in need. It creates one of the solutions needed to solve this serious issue.

c. This photograph brings a negative light to the article because it illustrates a young boy, who is malnourished and in need, but he is alone with nothing but a bucket. It is very sad and makes me wish there was something I could do to help. 

d. It provides the viewer an image of how these people had to abandon their homes in order to survive. 

3. How does the image help you engage with the written text? That is to say, in what ways does your chosen image influence how you understand the text?

A. The image makes the article really powerful because it provides me with visual expressions and personal hardships that many of these people have had to deal with.

B. This image provides visual evidence that people are trying to help and eradicate this serious issue. It helps me engage with the essay because I am able to visualize how this community is being helped

C. This image is a cry out for help because it shows a young child very malnourished and in pain. This is one of the thousands of people who have been affected by this disease.

D. It shows the perseverance this group of people have because they are focused on reaching the end of this harsh journey. It helps the article because it shows these people are strong and courageous but they also are suffering and in need of help. 

Now choose 1 leader image for the story out of the 4, and justify your decision.

I would choose image D because it shows several people and animals traveling on the long journey to find their solution this serious problem. The image exemplifies the amount of people are being affected which would help viewers be more empathetic and understand how serious the situation is. 

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Week 9 / Photography in London

In the exhibition: choose one photo by each of the artists and:

Laia Abril – Hippocratic Betrayal, 2015

1. Describe how focus; contrast; colour (if there is any) and composition are used in the photo, and what effect each of these attributes has.

For this photograph, it is portrayed in black and white which makes the viewer focus more on the sharpness of the objects in the image. The focus is on the headboard because it is centered in the image and that and the handcuffs are the first thing the viewer sees when observing the photograph.

2. Analyse the relationship between what you see in the photo and its message. Do you need to read the exhibition text to understand the message? Does the title help? Does the style of the photo remind you of anything you have seen before?

Based solely off the photograph, the mood is still depressing and lonely but the text gives more background that helps with the purpose of the image. The text also provides historical meaning as to why this photograph is important and gives the viewer a better perspective with the image. The title is a little bit helpful but still not as clear as the text.  

Mark Ruwedel – Hell’s Canyon

1. Describe how focus; contrast; colour (if there is any) and composition are used in the photo, and what effect each of these attributes has.

The black and white photograph makes the viewer focus more on the details of what is in the photo and create a mood that way rather than adding colour which would change how viewers feel about the image. The mountains in the background of the photograph create a centered triangle for the viewer’s point of view because both mountains are separated by the river down the center, while a mountain range in the center of the photograph creates a division between the sky and the ground in front of the viewer. 

2. Analyse the relationship between what you see in the photo and its message. Do you need to read the exhibition text to understand the message? Does the title help? Does the style of the photo remind you of anything you have seen before?

The photograph by itself provides a beautiful photo of nature but the text tells a different story to the meaning behind the photo. The title “Hell’s Canyon” changes the mood of the photograph because it emphasizes that this place isn’t a happy and peaceful place for people in the past. The text explains to the reader the importance of this canyon and how many people died and suffered in this area. This photograph reminds me of a photo that was taken for National Geographic because it’s a well-balanced photograph of nature.

Arwed Messmer – Berlin Police Historical Collection

1. Describe how focus; contrast; colour (if there is any) and composition are used in the photo, and what effect each of these attributes has.

In this photograph, Messmer uses black and white to imply that the subjects in the image are very important and that the viewer should focus on them and not be concerned about what it looks like with colour. The focus of the photograph is of the dead body that a group of people are surrounding and are upset. 

2. Analyse the relationship between what you see in the photo and its message. Do you need to read the exhibition text to understand the message? Does the title help? Does the style of the photo remind you of anything you have seen before?

From the photograph, it’s clear that this image explains how someone was tragically killed but more information is needed for why he was murdered. The title doesn’t really help because it is very simple and brief. The text helps because it gives us a better understanding of the issues that were going on during that time period in Berlin.

Susan Meiselas – Widow at mass grave found in Koreme northern Iraq, 1992

1. Describe how focus; contrast; colour (if there is any) and composition are used in the photo, and what effect each of these attributes has.

This photo uses color in order for the viewer to be drawn to the women standing over the burial site where a pile of human bones lay. The stones that are surrounding her are vertical with the trees in the background. The photograph is captured above the subject because it causes the viewer to make them feel they are viewing the event from above.

2. Analyse the relationship between what you see in the photo and its message. Do you need to read the exhibition text to understand the message? Does the title help? Does the style of the photo remind you of anything you have seen before?

From just observing the photograph, it shows that this situation is very depressing and sad but we do not know exactly why she is upset. The title helps a little bit because it implies that a lot of people have been killed. The text gives even more information that enhances the message the photographer is trying to portray. From the information given, the photographer was photographing the effects of the Anfal Genocide. This photograph is very unique and I have not seen anything like it.

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Week 9 Personal Blog Post

This belongs to everyone. So enjoy the view.

If you want to change yourself, you have to change your point of view.

When the night meets the light 

I used the caption “This belongs to everyone. So enjoy the view.” because when I went to this rooftop in London the view I was observing was beautiful and electric. It made me want to share this view with the rest of the world. The next caption I used is “If you want to change yourself, you have to change your point of view.” I think this caption changes the mood of the photograph because it provides another perspective of London from above. It provides the viewer with open-ended advice that makes them think about their own personal life struggles. The caption “When the night meets the light” is short but simple because it makes the viewer think about the nightlife in London and how it relates to them. This caption is different from the others because it exemplifies a message of how the electric nightlife in London begins when it gets dark outside. 

I cropped the photograph this way because the reflection of the fire makes it look like the light is coming from the ground in the square. It will make viewers wonder what that object is whereas in the original photograph the viewer understands quickly that the light is the reflection from the fire.

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Week 9 In Class Cropping Exercise

Look carefully at the whole photo - notice everything that is depicted in it and how these different elements work together to create a narrative. What is the photograph of?

This photograph represents a candid moment at a parking lot with members of society waiting to get to their next destination. The people in the photo range from 2-4 years old to 65-80 year olds. The trash in the photo is overflowing and scattered on the ground which infers to the viewer that it is a relatively low-class or unkept area. 

What is the photograph about? 

The photo is about the relationship between people and their environment. It depicts people eating food in the wrappers that eventually make there way to the ground and garbage can be depicted. Therefore it implies that the story of eating, waiting, depositing trash for the next people to exist in is a repeating one. 

After Cropping 

What is the photograph of? 

Different sets of people in close proximity who appear to be going about their daily lives. One couple is just waiting on a bench and relaxing, while the other person in the background is trying to find where she parked her car.

What is the photograph about?

Its different from the original photograph because the lack of trash removes the messy and irritated mood the photo previously gave. This photograph implies how people who get older are more relaxed and not in a rush for where they are trying to go whereas the middle-aged women is focused and is eager to move on to the next activity.

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Week 8 Blog Post Photo Recreation

Based of Daido Moriyama’s Farewell Photography Series

The lighting of the photo is coming from above the photographer because it enhances the detail of the subject. The black and white filter represents the gloominess of waking up early in the morning and having to prepare for your busy day. I also appreciate how the bed’s colour offsets the colour of the curtains because it creates a division of the photograph between those two objects.The mood of the photographs are dull but sharp due to the black and white filter that helps enhance the details of the subject.The photograph is of a properly-made bed with the dark curtains wrapping around the bed hung on the windows.The photograph represents how its the either the first or last thing a person will see that day. The photo makes me think about when I have had a hard day and am eager to get into bed and get some rest.  

I enjoyed recreating the photographs of Daido’s series because it forced me to get creative. I decided to do one photograph that matched her photograph. I used my roommates nicely made bed and made it black and white. For my other photograph, I did the exact opposite and used my unmade and messy bed to convey a different message towards the group of people who are unorganized, lazy, and rushing out the door because they are late to their own personal activities.

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Progress of Final Photographic Series

For my series, I decided I wanted to photograph graffiti in London. I feel that the graffiti in London creates a representation of one of the many different cultures in this city. Many graffiti artists are unknown which is what makes the graffiti in London so special because its unique and something I wouldn’t find anywhere else in the world. My goal is to continue to find graffiti photographs that convey a message of strong wisdom and happy vibes. I am unsure if I should make all of the photos colour, black and white, or mix it up with some photographs being in black and white and others not.  

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Week 5 Blog Post

In Class-Assignment  

Choose 1 photograph and answer the following questions:

1.    Would you say this is a portrait or not? (Give reasons)

Yes, I think it is a portrait because the camera is shooting at eye level with the subject and she is looking directly back into the camera.

2. Describe the composition of the image

She is almost centered in the photograph, but the cropping of the photograph positions her a little to the left on the image. The background is a neutral grey.

3. How have light and colour been used and what effect does this have?

The background of the photo is grey which makes the girl in the photograph really pop out to the viewer because she is wearing vibrant colours.

4. How has focus been used and what effect does this have?

The woman is the primary focus of the photo because of the neutral background behind her. The effect of the photograph is that all the attention is brought on her.

5. What does the pose/posture of the person depicted convey about him/her?

The woman looks like shes standing tall but looking at something in the distance. Her eyes are raised and looking away but not in a worried way; more if a youthful curiosity.

6. What is in the background, middle-distance and foreground?

The woman is in the foreground. The woman is most of the middle ground because she is not fully centered in the photograph. The background of the photograph is a dark grey canvas.

7. What is the mood of the photograph? What creates this mood?

The mood is seriousness because the woman’s expression in the photograph makes the viewer think that this is a professional headshot made for business.

Week 5 Photography in London

PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION ANALYSIS SHEET

Complete this analysis sheet in the Diane Arbus exhibition.

She is documenting the daily life of people that live in New York City. She focuses on showing the culture of this certain group of people.

The viewer is able to see different areas of New York City which makes the viewer gain a better understanding of how crazy, weird and fast-paced the city culture is. 

Her style is unusual because her photographs individually do not really make sense because the subjects are taken in different ways. What makes her series more interesting is that she would take photographs of these subjects who were from completely different social classes and cultures as Arbus. She wanted viewers to gain a better understanding of how people live in that culture. 

The text and captions provided for the photos are very concrete and almost identical to what the photograph is capturing.

Look carefully at the photos and choose 2. Explain why you chose these particular phots – what is interesting about the people in the pictures, and how does the way they are photographed affect the way we relate to them? (is it the lighting/point of view/background/eye contact?)

Picture 1: Boy Stepping off the Curb, NYC 1957-1958

I really enjoy this picture and how she captured it. The photograph is of a boy walking across the street but is looking at the camera as he attempts to cross the street. The photo is shot in black and white which creates a contrast with the boy’s blonde hair with his black clothes and the black pavement.  

Picture 2: Lady on a bus, NYC 1957

This picture was interesting to me because the photograph is captured in the viewers point of view focusing on a woman staring directly at the camera on the bus looking unhappy or irritated. The man behind her is looking out the window on the bus also looking gloomy and depressed which makes the mood of the photograph very morbid and depressing.

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Photographic Portrait Mayotte Magnus Assignment Week 5

This portrait is of my flatmate Ben. I took this photograph this way because it was inspired by Mayotte Magnus’s Portraits of Women. Her 10th photograph really represents this photograph because in her photograph it is of a woman working at her desk looking unhappy and annoyed. My subject also portrays that same kind of mood because he is looking at me in an irritated way as he tries to complete his schoolwork. The use of black and white in both photographs creates a more serious mood than if the photographs were in colour. I really enjoyed taking this picture because his black jeans and black hair match well with the colour of the couch. His jacket also complements the background of the wall which helps make the photograph come together.

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Week 4 Blog Post

Titled “Life in My Shoes in London”, this photographic series represents the toll my shoes have taken while I have explored London. I captured these images this certain way because I want the viewer to observe the beautiful setting of London while also noticing how dirty and worn down my shoes are. I placed my hat in the first photograph because my hat has been on many journeys and has experienced many memories with me while in London. Each photograph is captured from different points of view in order to display the different type of emotions I have felt in London. The first photograph is captured in that angle because it expresses when I am focused on one specific person or activity. This photograph also is the only one in the series that is specifically focused on the shoes while the background that surrounds the shoes is not focussed. The second photograph is captured above the shoes on the ledge because it represents when I am excited and happy. The view of the shoes and the elevation from the ground personifies when I am overjoyed and on cloud nine. The third photograph is captured below the shoes on the ledge because it represents how I feel when I am stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed. The shadow the bottom of the shoes portray captures the mood of how I feel when everything is not going my way. The last photograph captures the shoes straight onto the subject but also illuminates the beautiful background of London’s city. The mood this photo represents is when I am level-headed meaning my mind is clear and I am able to think and process things easily.

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Week 4 Blog Post

Nick Brandt’s exhibition, This Empty World portrays a strong message of how humans are being destructive to the environment. His work focuses on how humans have treated animals poorly and how they have damaged the environment from pollution. 

His message is conveyed through the use of vibrant color and light that pops out to the viewers eyes and grabs their attention. The photos are all staged and for the photographs taken at night he uses artificial light from the bus. In the daytime, natural light is also used alongside the artificial lights. 

The effect of seeing Nick Brandt’s photos together makes the story clear that there is one common subject with all of the photos and that is the effects humans have had on the environment and the natural wildlife that have been effected by this. 

He also uses animals with vibrant colors and light in each of the images. His tone for the series is very serious but his photos represent images that would be rare for people to see.

I do not believe the sequencing of the images are relevant because each image has a common message they are trying to convey about the destruction of our natural world. 

From the title, This Empty World, it might be confusing to viewer for just looking at the images and comparing it to the title but after reading the press release I was able to grasp a better understanding of what Brandt was trying to convey. The press release talks about how Brandt took the photos and why the message he is trying to portray is an important issue.

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Photos by Sion Bonnell 

Series Name: Glowing

Year: 2004

FIRST IMPRESSION

I really enjoyed these photographs because the use of lighting was very interesting. At first look, I couldn’t decipher what the objects were but after close inspection I figured out that it was a close up photo of grass blades with bright objects behind them.

THEMES

This series uses bright colors and are shot still and close up with everyday objects. The images are all landscape and create a different meaning of the subjects in the photos. 

TITLE

The title “Glowing” is direct and to the point of the series. It enhances my reading of the images because it draws me even more to the glowing light in each of the photos.

SEQUENCING

The photographs are sequenced in a spatial arrangement because the photographer uses everyday objects in her photo but to the viewers eyes they are much larger and hard to decipher what they are at first. 

LAST IMPRESSIONS and SELF-ASSESSMENT

My impressions changed after further analysis from the sequencing of images because I didn’t realize they were everyday objects until after I noticed how they were sequenced. 

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Week 3/ Photography in London

PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION ANALYSIS SHEET

Complete this analysis sheet by focusing on 1 photographic series in the V&A photo galleries. (A series of photos by one artist) and one photo by another artist. Upload the answers to these questions to your blog, along with a snapshot of the photograph you have chosen to focus on.

TITLE OF YOUR CHOSEN PHOTOGRAPHIC SERIES: 29 Pictures within 5 Minutes, London

NAME OF PHOTOGRAPHER: Dieter Meier

DATE OF WORK: 14-October-1970

The series of photographs are of people sitting down and going about their daily lives. Some of the people do not notice they are being photographed but as the series continues a few pedestrians notice and show signs of discomfort.

This photograph is about visualizing members of the public in London in a third person view because they do not realize they are being photographed at the time until the very end of the series. I was attracted to this series because of the organization of the 29 photographs in the series. It makes the photographs flow with the caption of the work, 29 Pictures in 5 minutes, because it focuses on how so much happens in London in just 5 minutes.

These photos are united from the use of black and white photographs and the camera angle and background never change in the series.

The sequencing of images are relevant because the series is photographing the same location in London for 5 minutes. As the series flows to the last 29th image, people begin to notice and show discomfort towards the end of the series.

NAME OF PHOTOGRAPHER: Herbert Ponting

TITLE OF PHOTOGRAPH: Scott’s Last Expedition, Dog Team Resting

YEAR PHOTOGRAPH WAS TAKEN: 1910-11

The photograph uses black and white instead of colour which sharpens the subjects and other objects in the photo. The use of black and white also enhances the shadows created by the light reflecting off the mountains.

The photograph's use of black and white really enhances the meaning of the photograph because it shows Capital Scott’s resting on his last expedition in the South Pole where he would later die on this journey. Meant to be a memorial for his accomplishments, the photograph encompasses a background behind the Captain that is beautiful and rare to find in many parts of the world.

From analyzing the photograph, the aperture of the photograph is most likely medium because it’s not large due to the reflection of the mountain not being bright enough. It is not small because the viewer can see the reflection on the mountain. The photo also captures both natural light and light created.