Completed Blogg - at last

Finally completed the blogg.

Steve - thanks for your comment on the last post but it was "work in progress". I have now completed the input (as far as I know) for all bits of 208 theme 1 & 2 and  211 and would welcome your further comments

Clearly if you think there is anything I have missed or needs elaborating please let me know and I will attend.

In the meantime, thanks again.

Assignment 211 Presenting Photo Images

Now back at college in my last but one week and trying to consolidate my thoughts in regard to the final assignment in the course.
"How do we present the images"

Before embarking on talking about this particular topic we must set out the base criteria. In order to achieve this we must answer three basic questions

Why - are the images to be displayed
How - in terms of how to display the images
Where - in terms of where the images are to be displayed


WHY - This is the most fundamental of all questions and is the basis of the main point of the question on presentation. Why is the image to be displayed ? who is the audience ? What are their aspirations ?
For instance are the images for display, purchase, personal use or contract purposes

In the case of my images, the question is simple to answer. The "why" is to attend the course and obtain an initial qualification in Photography. The audience is the marking authority and I need to convey the images as professionally and impressively as I can. In addition I need to consider the ease of viewing from my fellow students and lecturers and be ever mindful of the cost aspect of this issue.

But in the broader context the "why" is far deeper. Are the images to be displayed by family, sold in isoation, used as advertising material, wedding albums or other reason ?? The answer must be clearly defined in order to answer the following questions of "how" and "where"

Indeed the answer may well determine the form and context of the picture inorder that the maximum value( not just financial) is achieved. Ina ll walks of life it is important to always understand the drivers of the market and exactly waht thier aspiration are. Only with that understanding will we ever be able to answer the "why" question and its relativity to photography.


HOW - This question refers to the medium of display and will vary greatly depending upon the answer to the question above.
Online, blogg, album, canvas, prints or whatever to capture the required mood, performance as well as the audience aspiration.
Being specific to my case, the choices are varied. Do I present single images, a bound portfolio or other means. Cost and accessibility are major things to consider as the opinions of my fellow students.  If I present as a series of pictures there is the inevitable problems associated with changes, choices of materials, taking on board comments etc.
It does seem that the blogg will be the most appropriate as it specifically does answer the main questions in terms of cost, ease of access etc and give ample opportunity for the other students to comment on the images.
However again looking at the broader picture, lets just explore the other mediums of presentation which will display my images assuming I had not chosen the blogg route.
There are various web sites available for photo books, canvases, prints, mugs, mouse mats or a variety of other products. Some are shown below.

For each of these products I will need to download the relevant software and go through the various options in order to arrive at my optimum output.
The most popular is the photo book which outputs a photo album of printed images. As part of this process I will need to chose which pictures I wish to feature, which layout, which colour, back ground and a host of other variables to suit the subject matter I am trying to convey.
Also important is the size of the image and the layout on the page. Both can easily be viewed and changed in the respective software.

With single pictures there are a number of ways to present the image. Borders are a very important aspect and can add considerably to the mood of the picture. A photographer once said that pictures should be viewed as music is listened to "with great mood". Dramatic pictures with a high mood content could look better with a vivid background or even a strong frame whereas a more sombre picture would ideally be suited with a sober background, subtle frame or even sepia. Again it is important to understand "our market" and exactly what the drivers are and what message are we trying to convey ???

For instance, one of my chosen pictures I have explored the principles behind changing the border to achieve a better end result.

The mood of the picture demanded a blue tone but the darker colour served to enhance the lightness of the sky and contrast the river. I tried various other colours but none seem to have the desired imapct as the blue.

Canvases also provide great expression, especially with textured finish.

Assuming the pictures are to be presented on their own, the decision needs to be made in terms of the materials to be used, the colour, the frames and the size. Are we to print on acrylic, textured or smooth paper ?? Which suits the presentation better ?? Softer pictures are better expressed with greater relief on the canvas as the indents tend to enhance the natural shadows.

There are again a number of suppliers who can supply the relevant materials either for manual presentation or online images.

Manufactured borders and frames are another way of expressing the end result. Numerous are available in all shapes, sizes, textures and colours. The final choice will again depend upon the image itself and the message to be conveyed and of course the audience who will eventually view the image.

For instance a heavily detailed picture with many focal points and "sub" images will not need a "busy" border or frame, which would inevitably distract the eye from the main subject. On the other hand a fairly simple shot with subtle detail would work better with an elabolate border or frame and well defined colour. 

Samples of frames are below



WHERE - Again depends upon the answer to the questions above but could include, on wall, in books, on computers, in albums.
As I note earlier the "where" in my particular case referred to the "blogg" which we created some months ago. Its ease of access, lack of cost and adaptability made it the obvious choice. But it has its draw backs. Images are viewed as small jpeg images where detail is lost and images are very much "flattened". Also tbe colour contrast is not great so although it is agood medium "in the short term" for longer and better presentation and appreciation other areas of display should be considered.

The gallery is an obvoius choice and the choice of many good photographers. The reason for this is the great availibility of size of the end result to greate a greater appreciation of the image. But here agin lies great variation and options to explore.
Is the image better presented as a large image or small ?? is it better in a higher plane or lower ?? is it better with low or high light ? Also the way the images "sit" with others can be greatly explored in a gallery situation.
There are no fixed rules but what ever works is good.

Of course we cannot ignore the use of online galleries of which there are numerous but they suffer the same fate as the blog noted above.
Albums are another choice of display but there size and ease of reading lend them rather more to the commercial and advertising medium than anything else. But once again the layout, colour, arrangement and final choice of material will inevitably depend upon the image to be conveyed and the message to put out.

Winter Leaves - Example 2 - 208, Theme 2, Nature, Winter leaves

During my Nature research I have been studying the work of Chris Herring and in particular his photographs of Autumn leaves. Liked the pic he took of the acorns amongst the leaves as it conveyed great depth and he very much uses the abstract nature of the shot to create an array of shapes, colours and textures.

Liked the composition and the "full" scene with plenty of focal points

The original picture

Was looking for an opportunity to produce a picture of my own to replicate this work and came across this opportunity in the garden. Sadly Autumn had passed and winter was very much upon us but that merely served to give the picture a different feel.

If anything think this picture is better as it has a greater depth due to the various shades of the leaves. the points of interest are provided by the varying tones and the delicate areas of snow.

Original picture taken with my 18/55mm lens and with a f stop of 5.6 and a shutter speed of 1/200
The ISO was set at 100
Very little post production needed other than the usual resizing and a slight colour adjustment.

Final Image



Warwick Castle - Example 1 - 208, Theme 2, Nature, Winter

On a very frosty day I happened to be in Warwick and had my camera with me. It was just before Xmas and the average daily temperature had not exceeded -8 deg C for many days.
Travelling out of the town I passed over the bridge and saw this spectaculer scene. Duly parked up and got my camera out and started shooting.
One of the photographers I have been studying as part of this theme is David Noton who lives in the West Country. His array of winter and in particular snow photographs is stunning. Tried to emulate his pictures with this shot by creating plenty of foreground interest and texture, good framing to the shot, a strong focal point and a large tonal range.

Shot taken with my 10-24 wide angle lens with f/8 and a shutter speed of 1/125.

Very little post production needed except the usual resizing and some cloning to remove the people

from the river bank whose presence is detracting the eye from the main focus

 

Very   

The final image is stunning.
Ironically after taking these images I did spot some similar images in the Daily Mail by the photographer David Burges who lives in Coventry. Apparently he was in Warwick/Kenilworth on the same day and took a series of picture which were published in the paper. I did e-mail him and asked him to comment on my set of pictures which he duly did and his notes are contained in my comments section.

Bull Ring, Steel Joint - Example 2 - 208, Theme 1 The Built Environment, Contemporary

On another fine day, travelled into Birmingham looking for photo opportunities for the second part of my 208 theme "the built environment". Was particularly looking for examples of contemporary Architecture which could align with the work of Paul White and Anthony Weller. Both of whom I have been reviewing as part of my reaserch.
Both photographers explore the shot as a detail element rather then as a whole and use the detail therein to create an abstract array of shapes, colours and textures
Tried with this shot of the node point of the glass cladding on the Bull Ring to replicate those principles.

Original picture taken with 75-300mm lens with an ISO of 100.  Aperture set at f/5 to give a shorter depth of field. Shutter speed of 1/400

The picture did not need a lot of adjustment but needed resizing and altering to orientate the main post in a vertical direction.

Once altered I then used the clone tool, to remove the white cable from the centre of the shot and remove some blemishes from the shading which drew the eye away from the main point of the picture.

I think the end result works and is a good comparison the the photographers noted above,.

Birmingham Council House Entrance - Example 1 - 208, Theme 1 The built environment, Historical

Early one fine November morning, headed into Birmingham looking for photo opportunities to add to my “ancient” group within the first set of the Assignment 208 - Theme 1a, the built environment photographs.

Saw this shot and very much liked the perspective. Seemed to resemble the images taken by Ezra Stoller if it could be converted to B&W. The creation of shapes and textures and the single point perspective all seemed relevant.

Taken with 10-24 wide angle lens with an ISO of 100. Aperture set at f/13 to give a reasonable depth of field and a shutter speed of 1/25

Tried initially to resize the image, convert to black and white and adjust the viewpoint to obtain a more interesting shot.

Was not really happy with the end result, there was far to much distraction away from the main focal point of the shot. So next I put the colour back and adjusted the tones. At the same time cloned out a number of the "distractions". The lamp post, the second person nad some of the vegetation on the stonework.

The end result still did not live up to what I was trying to achieve but now happier as the shot does resemble the shots of Ed Swindon. Where he uses the perspective and view point to focus on a single individual. Much happier that the result achieves this and especially now that all the distractions away from the main focus had been removed.

All that was needed was to zoom in further and to remove more irrelevant detail. I am happy with the end result. But could have greatly adjusted the colour tone to draw a greater comparison with Ed Swindons work.









Looking for some inspiation on Presentation

Things to think about on presentation, target audience, materials, layout, design and importantly "what message do I want to get over".  Web sites to review in an effort to get to some ideas


http://www.slideshare.net/zhoeben/presenting-your-photographic-work

http://www.photography.com/articles/featured/presenting-your-photographs/

http://ishootshows.com/2008/01/10/8-tips-for-a-great-photography-portfolio/

http://aphototeacher.com/2008/05/14/presenting-your-photographs/

http://ezinearticles.com/?30-Ways-to-Display-Art-and-Photos&id=397720

Labels for the themes

For the sake of clarity I attach the numbering system I have used for the labels on both themes





Choosing Final Images Theme 2 - Nature

 Again from the hundreds of photos I have taken over the recent months I need to focus down to the final cut of 10. Again I will start with a good selection and attempt to reduce the set by natural means to achieve photos that sit comfortably together

Straight away there are several which can be removed. The Sea gull, several close ups of isolated flowers and buds. 

The images seem to already be falling into 2/3 categories. Some pics sit with snow, some landscapes and some berries.

Having now sorted roughly the groups it is clear that some of the pictures are not sitting comfortably with others. The Warwick landscape winter scenes have a good composition, perspective and colour range and sit well but there are only 3 of them. Likewise the winter leaves have a good colour range, perspective. But I particularly like the leaves on the snow. So I am ending with 3 groups as below

Choosing Final Images Theme 1 - Architecture

From the numerous photos taken over recent weeks I now need to get down to the final 10 for post production. the choice is difficult as there are many photos with varied themes and compositions.

But as a start point lets remove the pics that do not sit together in any logical way and try to leave pics which do seem to sit roughly together.

The BT tower, the hands, the bull ring sign all are good but sit alone too much.

The night scenes in Lichfield do not work. I was trying to replicate the work of Ezra Stoller in the black and white pics but the AWB was not correct so they must go. 

What we are getting left with seem to fall into two distinct categories. Old and New !! The stonework of the historical buildings and the shapes they create with very ridgid lines and fairly dull colours, contrast greatly with the shapes and fairly vivid colours of the more modern buildings. 

So lets try to put into two groups. Particularly I was trying with the modern  buildings to replicate the work of Anthony Weller where he creates pictures from details rather than the whole building. He also uses vivid colours to enhance the interest in the picture