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Beauty in the banal Research

one of the last briefs we were given from folio 1 was called Beauty in the banal for this brief we needed to look around and look at the natural surroundings and notice something that stands out for example in the photo below.

Banal basically means ordinary and the idea behind the brief is to find beauty in the everyday items we always see when walking around outside or even in your kitchen the scenes can be peaceful or crowded but can still have an impact.

A Photographer which stood out to me was hiromix who was shown to us during the brief presentation and it showed how shed take photos of her late mothers possessions which can sound a bit plain but the images are very vibrant and powerful below are some examples.

its such a basic image but it has a story behind it just like most image which are shot through a sense of banal for myself I know an area in which has the same feeling as the picture and I plan to go there to shoot the brief.

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Reflective log - Brand Slogan

the final brand brief was brand slogan this involved us to advertise our image in different ways and how we would present therm throughout different aspects i.e  merchandise, advertisements and more.

I found the brief pretty straight forward at first until I tried to think of my idea it took a while and I chose to go with the given theme of “Not all rubbish is rubbish” for this I needed to create something from a box or a plastic package

for my idea I planned to use a plastic milk bottle and cut open the middle and cut off the handle to use it as a perch to create a bird feeder which I would then use a ear piece of a mask to tie it onto a branch of a tree.

below are the images of my creation for the brief.

I believe the images are enough for the advertisement part of the brief i.e magazines, merchandise, clothes and the rest so now I just need to make the hypothetical exposures.

A3 Poster

Magazine

Instagram Ad

Facebook Banner

Billboard

Below are the final images in a canvas 

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Something Told - Research

coming to the end of folio one we have been given a brief named something told this involves us to look at some still lives and see what story/stories are trying to be conveyed through the image its self or the items in the image and then once enough images have been looked at and understood we will go on to create our own still life image.

Each item in this image can potentially represent a story within the main story of the image for example the oyster Often symbols of erotic intent, oysters have been a sort of gourmet food. Ancient Greeks and Romans saw oyster as a delicacy and a medical remedy. Venus-, the Goddess of Love, was conceived in an oyster and sailed to the island of Cyprus, where she was born from the oyster shell. 

The bread is a bit simpler it could mean everyday life, humility, Catholic host or the body of Christ.

The items that indicate trade are wine and the pepper or salt sprinkler in the background. The shrimps like all shellfish are symbols of wealth and also gluttony, while peeled lemon, as an expensive fruit for that time, also stands for wealth. Expensive delicacies such as shellfish and lemons were associated with a privileged and gentle lifestyle, which the owner already enjoyed or wanted to be identified with.

Going over this image and few others has given me the ideas that I'm wanting to use and put in place to create my own story within a still life image.

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Reflective Log - Landscape Interrupted

The last landscape brief we were given in folio 2 was landscape interrupted and this involved us to look around and notice natural landscapes that have been altered in some way by human intervention like bridges, houses, walls etc.

Examples are shown below of what this means

For this I plan to go to an abandoned abattoir which I shot other projects at this year the reason to go visit it again for this brief is because It has a massive pile of rubble blocking a nice tree line which would be nice if it could be seen. 

For the second image I am going to dean castle as it once again has lovely landscapes throughout the park and the forestry and there's a really nice spot where the river flows through but there's a bridge in place to let people cross over but if it wasn't there it would make such a colourful image especially during the autumn and more complete in general.

The first image turned out really well with a nice sunset on the rubble and really puts into perspective how much it is blocking the tree line and shows how much more nicer the landscape could be if the rubble was removed from the land.

The second image came out exactly as I planned and with the sun piercing through in the background it makes the image look a lot more dynamic, looking at the image from this perspective the bridge kind of adds to the image and makes the setting look a bit more questioning almost as if the bridge is hidden by the bushes and trees but if it wasn't there I feel the image would look much more complete and more pleasant with simple tonal range.

Overall I really enjoyed this brief it was really interesting to look at landscapes from a point of view of how humans have intervened and added their mark to these once called natural landscapes. if I was to do this again id m most likely go further than my home town and look for other places up north where there tends to be less natural landscapes with more man made structures added.

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Reflective Log - Sense of Time

Sense of time was the first landscape brief that was given in folio 2 and I already had an Idea of what I wanted to shoot but I still looked at some examples of photographs which involved a sense of time and in this case it means two or more photographs which have significant differences in time between each other for example one phot being shot in the morning and the second being shot at night below are a few examples I found online.

I looked at some of my past work and the locations I have shot at and a place that stood out to me was Ballast Bank, Troon as I thought about getting a shot of the shore at mid day then one at night but to add a twist to the night shot id use a neutral density filter to smooth out the water and clouds and make it look significantly different to the first shot while it still being in the same place.

the first shot time I shot them both I didn't have time to get the second image so I had to leave and when I came back the next evening and tried to get as close as I could to where I was standing the first time but It ended up being off by a few steps so I planned another day and went out and shot them both within a few hours of each other and this is what became of the final image.

The final image came out really well with the sun setting on the rocks in the first image with a good sense of what time of the evening it was then the dark blue night image below they both contrast really well together and create the sense of time which is needed and I really like how well the long exposure came out in the second image with the water completely smoothed out, I kind of wish the sky was a bit more smoothed out but the exposure was only on for 2 minutes due to the ND filter I using but that's something I can reflect on for when I plan to do this again in the future. but Id say this image has achieved what the brief criteria asked for and is good enough to be submitted.

I really enjoyed this brief due it being in my prime genre of photography which is landscapes and I was happy enough to put the time into it and wait it out as this final image can benefit me not just towards my grade but my general folio for my website, social media accounts and more.

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Reflective log - Zine Project

The next Brief we were given from folio 2 was Zine project this involved us to research and watch a presentation on what a zine was how you could make your own.

Zines can be difficult to define. The word “zine” is a shortened form of the term fanzine, Zines also have roots in the informal, underground publications that focused on social and political activism in the ’60s.

A zine is mostly used as a small circulation publication of original texts and images. A popular definition includes that circulation must be 5,000 or less, although in practice the significant majority are produced in editions of less than 1,000.  Profit is not the primary intent of publication. There are so many types of zines: art and photography zines, literary zines, social and political zines, music zines, perzines (personal zines), travel zines, health zines, food zines.

below are some links to websites I found useful when looking to learn more about zines and how they can be used to convey ideas, personalities and visions and in general just a chance to show off your work, which is personally my main thrive for this.

The Broken Pencil

http://www.brokenpencil.com/

Zine Libraries 

http://zinelibraries.info/

Zinebook

http://www.zinebook.com/

POC Zine Project

https://issuu.com/poczineproject

Each of these websites helped me learn about the general idea of zines and useful information how to execute a zine, how to grow an audience, how to profit from them and so much more. Aswell as many communities of genres of zines where people can ask questions and share their thoughts on each others work.

For my zine I have decided to be simple and feature my nightscapes which I submitted last year for my HND Year 1 Portfolio and I went with a dark blue background to create the connotations of sadness and being alone as that's what the aim of portfolio was when I created it.

https://www.flipsnack.com/ShawnDuthie/nightscapes-by-shawn-duthie.html

Before this brief I didn't know what a zine was and to be honest it was a really calming and self reflecting thing to do and I'm glad it was a part of the folio as it gives me the chance to create more of other projects I have done and potentially a sequel to my portfolio series but with the second one being my HND Year 2 Folio.

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Reflective log - Portfolio

https://spark.adobe.com/sp/design/page/urn:aaid:sc:EU:aabc7f36-a433-46eb-a694-4d0f61776bd7

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Reflective log - Re-imagine

The third brief were given in folio 2 was Re-imagine this involved us to find a photograph which could be online in the paper a family photo and so on just as long as it wasn't shot by myself.

for this I went and researched images that had been shot at my local park Dean Castle I looked at multiple images and there weren't any that really wowed me until I found one that made me think I can do the same at a different location in the park and with my experience of the skill.

I really liked this image when I saw it as its a long exposure which is a technique I enjoy doing when Im out shooting and the photo itself being a landscape just completed it for me and then I decided I want to recreate an aspect of this image which is going to be the long exposure in the park.

I went to multiple locations throughout the park and got good images but none stood out until I found a really nice spot.

above are some of my best images that I captured while I was out shooting and I do like them but I felt I could've got better as the aspect of the park was there but there was not enough to show the long exposure aspect so I decided to keep shooting and I managed to capture a shot I liked and it fits my criteria and meets the brief.

This was my final image for the brief and I think it turned out really well shows both aspects of the bark and the long exposure through the water trail and the leaves moving in the top and bottom of the image and I personally think its a really dynamic image. 

The exposure is around two minutes long due to the light during there day and my filter could only block so much light but still If I made it last longer I wouldn't have gotten this image.

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Reflective Log - Brand Portrait

The second brief we were given in folio 2 was Brand Portrait and this involved us to look at the brands we've bought and that we remain loyal to and also brands that we buy because they are targeted to our age, lifestyles, jobs and more. 

We designed mood boards with brands that we have been loyal to and from there make a single image that shows the type of buyer we are and for me that was perfumes & aftershaves. The reason for this was of my job I work in Boots the chemist and I work in the aftershave department at times of the day and over the time I've learned about the best perfumes/ aftershaves and what the best brands are and seeing the promotional shots of the bottles has always had me keen on trying product photography or in this case brand photography.

The image above was a commercial shot from boots during Christmas time to advertise the new Ted Baker line of body washes and sprays and it really Intrigued me to do a shot of a perfume bottle for the brief so I looked at some of the new tester bottles in my work that hadn't been used much and I found a daisy dream bottle which was really nice then I ordered my props and went from there. The image its self didn't come out nice at first as the cap of the bottle was reflective and I could be seen in the shot so I tired it again without the cap and moved the props around and this was the final shot after editing.

Personally I think this image is very well presented for it being the first time I had tried shooting a product if I had a few more props and better lighting equipment ideally in the studio then I feel I could've made a more dynamic image but for what I had and the ideas I got from my research I feel I've done well and created a complete image.

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Reflective Log - Object Exploration

Object exploration was the first brief given to us at the start of Folio 2 and it was pretty straight forward. The idea was to find an unusual object around the house that could've had different shapes & curves to it or different colours or even textures.

After looking around for a good hour or two I found my object that I wanted to shoot which was a body polisher I found in the cupboard and the reasons I liked this was because it had multiple different shapes like no area was the same there was always something different, so plenty of angles to shoot from. it had some different textures being the plastic netting on the body which felt kinda rubbery and due to the plastic material it made it kind of stretchy to an extent. the weight of the object was practically nothing the only weight really came from the rope but even that wasn't much and the silky rope which made a good image for its self. I kinda wished the pink was a bit more saturated as I. feel it looks almost. lifeless with the pale pink tones it has but I can simply add more colour to the object in Lightroom.

Now I had to get my setup ready which was literally putting the object on my bed and using my torch light with a diffuser over it to stop it from being harsh on the subject to do that and shoot at the same time I put my camera on a 5 second timer and then I. began to hold the torch in place and I continued to do this while moving the angle of the object each time.

for being one of the first briefs that really involved me to stay in the house and shoot I personally think it went really well and I am pleased with the final canvas of images they show different perspectives of the object and I feel lighting makes the textures pop out and gives the viewer a better look at it.

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lighting the dark Research

This brief was given to us mid way of folio 1 and for it we have to produce an image that is captured with parts of light in a dark image. we need to focus light on certain areas of the scene in which you want to capture. For this I am going to capture shot at an abandoned abattoir in my town where I used to when I was a few years younger and I just think it'll make an interesting image.

the first photographer I have chosen is Joe McNally due to previously researching his work when doing the new photographers brief at the start of the year and looking at this painting with light work I found one of the photos that stood out to me the most was one where he captures a man sitting on a basketball outside of a train cart. by the looks of it there was light placed around the man and on his face and seems that there could've been light painted in the train car as well but it could've been just natural light.

https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/ideas-and-inspiration/joe-mcnally.html

The second Photographer I looked into was Simon Plant he had some interesting ideas on apparatus and one of those was when using artificial light it can be too harsh and to reduce that is to cover the light with a plastic bag to defuse the light but only for a short time as it can potentially become a fire hazard. the photo was taken of a small barn which has light painted all around it and also along the grass and the tree behind the barn.

https://www.ephotozine.com/article/light-painting-and-photography-12297

the third Photographer I found was Eric curry was a great influence on ideas of what I could do with this project given from his 80s style of photos with old cars and diners it was quite interesting the theme he captures as its not a common idea especially and was it was good to look into his work. this was the image that stood out to me the most due to the amount of times it was painted with light in so many areas like the car the sunflowers parts of the roof even the plants at that lead to the backdoor.

https://alchetron.com/Eric-Curry-(photographer)

The fourth photographer I researched was Richard Tatti I found his work so much different to others when it was based on the same theme which is painting with light but this has the clear night sky and stars which is an aspect of Richards work and I feel like the stars make the images so much more dynamic than what they already are. I love the silhouettes in the background of the image and add to how dynamic it adds to the image as a whole. The image I chose has light painted on the car and around the car on the grass and on the bushes on the left.

https://www.photographers.com.au/NightscapeImages

The fifth and final photographer I found when researching was Harold J. Ross I found him while going through images and found a lot with his watermark in the image, most his images were still life based until I came across some still life examples that could be done at this time and the photo I came across could be easily seen where It had artificial light painted on it and in this image the light is simply painted on the steps and the grass while it has the silhouette in the background as well which is an aspect I want to try and get in my image when I begin to shoot.

https://href.li/?https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/with-light-sculpting-a-photograph/

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Grid System Final V1

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Grid System Contact sheets

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Grid System Plan

I am going to shoot in front of the St Enoch Shopping centre facing towards Frasers so I can capture the corner at its peak time. ill be heading into Glasgow earlier morning so I am at st eochs for 10am then should be done for 12/1pm 

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Grid System Research

Grid System is another brief from folio 1 which involves the aspect of street photography. This brief is more aimed towards timing and capturing interesting photos in a specific area that I choose.

locations I looked into shooting at for this brief was outside St Enoch Centre facing Frasers as there's always people going by there especially during peak hours of the day when the centre is its busiest.

a Photographer I've looked into and researched before is Alex Webb. 

© Alex Webb

Webb is best known for his difficult and colourful photography which is often in places with political tensions. Alex Webb has worked in places like The Mexican border, Haiti, Istanbul  and recently a few US cities. “My work is questioning and exploratory,” In 1974, Alex Webb became a 22 year old Magnum Photos nominee and began working as a professional photojournalist, going on to work for the New York Times Magazine, Geo, Life, National Geographic, among other magazines. Alex became a full member of Magnum Photos in 1979.

I feel this image is a good example of what id be shooting for grid system as it would be in a certain area where id shoot the passings and goings but compared to this my shots will hopefully be a bit busier but then again busier doesn't always mean better as you could possibly see more stories and understand what's happening easier in a less crowded photo like this one or in crowded image one person might stand out from the rest and you can tell their story of what is going on.

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Geometry Club Final V2

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Geometry Club Attempt 1