Research- Steven Gerrard

Research- Steven Gerrard

Stephen Gerrard is a live photographer for Kerrang! Magazine, He has shot many artists i would love to have the chance to and his images are of amazing standard. He really inspired me whilst doing mine, you can tell the though that goes into his images, and his passion for this area of photography. He recently shot one of my favorite bands 'Letlive' Who i will be seeing in the new year, i hope that from looking more into his work i can try take some of his way of capturing images and put it into my own work, to look back and see how much/ or little i have improved or took on this role. Stephen Gerard also mainly focuses on capturing the tail of each individual person, as i have done in my work. 

I think he used the light to his advantage in all photos, but like Andres Serrano in these later images, he has such a beautiful way of capturing a colorful background some seeming warm and welcoming others seeming quite cold and piercing.

Interior Location Photography- Final 10 Images & Evaluation

Interior Location Photography

For my interior location photography assignment, i choose to focus on live photography. This is an area i already enjoy, so i was excited to be able to do this for my project, i had a few live gig's coming up so i took the opportunity to get some shots, i used my canon 500d on various settings, Including portrait, Tv, and manual. I focuses mainly on capturing each individual person, as i feel they tell a lot more then trying to fit everyone into the image. I am please with some of the outcomes and i am quiet content with the 10 images i have chosen for my final ones to be printed. I think next time i could maybe try different angles, i have learnt this is not so easy when you have 100 other people wanting to get up close as well! I also used a tripod for some of these images, on quite nights i found this a lot more steady and could focus on the image i wanted to get before taking it, where as with the Jonny Craig gig i have photographed i found myself taking more photo's just because people were waving there hands in font of the camera, it was a lot harder to get a good shot. 

This is defiantly an area i would like to study further, i do live photography a lot in my spare time as well and it would be good to learn different camera setting to get higher quality images. I'm Defiantly sure this is not the end for live photography for me, and could defiantly see this as my main focus through out the course and in the future.

So, Here are my final 10 images for the interior locating Photography project:

De'Nova
Manchester Academy
Kevin Daos, Sam Hardman, Ryan Powell

Jonny Craig
NQ Live Manchester

Jonny Craig
NQ Live Manchester

Jonny Craig
NQ Live Manchester

Jonny Craig
NQ Live Manchester

Jonny Craig & David
NQ Live Manchester

De'nova
Kevin Daos

De'nova
Luca Nardella

De'nova
Ryan Powell

De'nova
Luca Nardella

Two i might change my mind and use because i'm extremely indecisive:

The Devil Wears Prada- Mike Hranica
Manchester Academy

De'nova
Kevin Daos

UPDATE: 14TH December 1012.

I have now decided the to change a few of my images, i am going to swap two of the images of kevin daos ( the one on chosen 10, to the undecided one) After seeking different opinions and looking over them, i now think the image i wasn't going to use if a lot stronger then the one i was, i think the lighting is much better for the image and think it will make a nice print. I think it also goes well within my other images.
The second change i have made it that i changed this image:

To black and white, i found that the texture of the skin was made a bit uneven due to the lighting of the stage, i think its much more of a strong image this way even though it is the only black and white image the colouring made it stand out and not be quite as good quality where as this way i think it makes much more of an attractive picture.

Studio Photography- Glass

Studio Photography- Glass Photography

Today we experimented with glass photography using white and black backgrounds, when i was first given this task i didn't think it would be something i'd enjoy doing however i found it quite interesting and not boring in the slightest. I prefer the images when they cast a shadow you can see this in my images i have more of that type, i tried to create different shadows by moving the glass objects and rolling them, to capture them during movement. You can see this has worked well on the mushroom shaped Glass object. I found it more difficult on the black background, to set everything up so as the background was completely black and not a dark grayish colour, i'd like to go back and try this again, it's something i am going to have to work on through out the course.

Andres Serrano Research

Andres Serrano Research

During today's class we studied a photography by the name of Andres Serrano, I admit at first i didn't think i was going to have much interest in his work, but i couldn't have been more wrong! In fact he has to be one of my favorites yet! He has defiantly inspired me in many ways, he doesn't mind what people think of him, he just creates beautiful pieces of work weather they are a bit risque in some cases. 

One of his pieces which called quite a bit of conflict on his behalf was 'piss crist' Many people found this offensive on his behalf, however in my opinion i was not offended in the slightest. Although this wouldn't something i would experiment, looking at this photograph he took if you didn't know what was behind the making you would simply see a well taken and thought out photograph. People can not get past it to see the beauty in the image. I agree it's a bit mabey over the top using blood and urine, but the image overall is actually quite stunning.

We also looked at some of his morgue photography, in actual fact whilst looking through some of these images, i didn't actually realize that the photos were particularly of people who had passed away, these two specially i though were quite beautiful of the women i would have never known unless i read on.

however i found a few more of the images quite effective, and quite gruesome. I considered thinking about crime scene photography, as i thought i'd have quite a good stomach for that kind of thing, mabey not for everyone but it came across my mind. Although from looking at some of these photos taken by Serrano I think i may need a definite reconsider, i think that i may think to much into the photo's i guess this is what he was hoping for. 

Finally we looked at what he was most famous for his brilliant coloured backdrops, this is where i was mostly inspired! I thought every image was outstanding, the way he used the light to highlight the models face and then the contrast with the backdrops. I find sometimes it can be a bit dull and plain with just a white backdrop, sometimes it suits but others i think you need a bit more colour! This is exactly what he is about and i can see he has also brought a large amount of other photographers to be interested in this to. Which i don't blame them, my next project is coming up soon and this is defiantly what i'll be focusing on, i would like to get a few different backdrops one with brightly coloured chalk creating a sunset kind of affect and mabey try out some splattered paint effects also! I am extremely excited about experimenting in the style of Serrano and i just hope my work can represent his in some way and be something for me to improve on and be proud of for my overall images. I'd like to mabey incorporate more then one person into the images, try a family as well as single portraits, as well as full length and just head shots.

Henri Cartier Bresson Landscapes Research

Henri Cartier Bresson Landscapes Research

I have been researching Henri Cartier Bresson's different landscape shots as this is what i have chosen to do for my interior photography project. I think he has a unique way of producing his work, and i find it extremely captivating. 

henri cartier bresson was a french photographer, he was mainly known for being the master of candid photography, however i found a great interest in his landscapes. He also helped develop The street photography style that influenced many generations. henri cartier bresson started taking photos when he was just a young boy, however his main intention was to study paintings, this then lead him on to his experiments with photography. He traveled around photographing many different countries such as Africa, China, Mexico, Canada, the United States, India, Japan, and the Soviet Union.

In my opinion, it think he produces such meaningful, strong images that leave you wondering. He captures beautiful moments as well as moments that really make you think and question what is happening in the image. I'd like to try and incorporate this into my work.

Equipment which was needed for exterior photography project

Equipment which was needed for exterior photography project

First of all the obvious one would be my camera, which i will be using the Canon 600D with a 18-55mm Lens.

I will then also need a tripod, for steady balance and to create an accurate image.

Lens cleaners, different filters

I will also need to make sure i am well equipt for the day, with food/water, waterproof clothing, Make sure i have full battery power on my camera, and any alternative lenses i may like to use for the shots.

Portrait Photography- Southern Cemetery

Portrait Photography- Southern Cemetery

Today we were taking portrait shots, Working on using the reflectors to create different shading and lighting on the face. We chose to go into southern cemetery due to there being a busy background, i think it worked well as it makes the features of the person stand out as well as having an interesting foreground. Afterwards i used photoshop and lightroom to create different effects over the images, these are what i came up with. I still have a lot to learn using these products but i am happy with my outcome from today.

Exterior Location Photography

These are my final images for the exterior location photography: I chose Landscape photography.

Autumn woods:
 I feel this image is quite strong it gives you a warm, Magical feel to it.

Portraiture Landscape:
I thought it would be interesting to combine these two together and feel it produced a nice image.

Manchester City Centre:
I like how the colours compliment one another in this image.

Miami Sunset:
These two images were taking in beautiful Miami, The sunsets were breathtaking and i hope i captured a piece of this. 

I love the sky in this image, All the different colour's and contrasts. However i wish i'd missed out the barrier!

Palm Tree's;
I think i picked an interesting camera angle for this one

I don't think this is the strongest of my images, but it's such a lovely place and so peaceful  i think this shows through the photograph.

Autumn leaves;
I found this tree particularly interesting, It reminded me of strength as well as being delicate.

Wrestlemania:
I think this image shows quiet a lot so many people gathered in one place to share the same passion, it really was fascinating and i think you get pulled into the image.

End Of An Era

Although quite simple this is one of my favorite photograph's i have taken, I like how the light it shown on the drooping leaves, it was such an interesting place to be and is completely different to a tree iv'e seen before.

Evaluation:

Overall i have really enjoyed doing this project, i feel i have learnt a lot from it. I have tried to use different angles, lenses and even two different cameras one canon and one fuigifilm to try create different aspects to the image. I am proud of the 10 images i have chosen for my final ones, i think the more i look at them and speculate myself i feel there is always room for improvement and i will try take this on during the next project. I Found that the images which were taken on the fuigifilm were not as strong when blown up quality wise as much as the canon ones were, i think this is due to the camera quality in itself also. I will take a note of this for next time!

I would like to try even more different camera angles within landscape through out the course, as i feel some of mine can be a bit same old, so i think this is something i can take away from this and improve. 

I think i have shown different moods quite well in my images, some are bright and sunny where as others are quite cold and gloomy, i wanted to have a range of photographs which show different seasons and feeling and i think i have accomplished this. I think this has been a great learning process specially for the first project, i found out it's alot harder to pick a subject then i originally thought it would be! I must have changed my mind 10 times, before i finally chose to do landscape, however i am happy with the decision i made in the end.