UNIT 2Theme: Relationships

Jamara Royle

Relationships

People

Pets

Emotion/mood

Life

Connection

Contrasts

Food Obsession

Juxtaposition

Colour

VS e.g. good vs evil

Black and

white

Odd relationships e.g. a snake

and a little girlLove

Love

Fun

Walking

Treats

Family Friends

Interaction

Holding

Paw and hand

Linking

Chains

Padlock and keys

Daily life Home life

Queuing in shops

Walking the dog

Driving

Career/ education

Family dinners

House work

Sleep

Fish and

chips

Curry and rice

Tea and scones/

crumpets/ biscuits

Hobbies

TV/Film

Books

OTP’S

Sports

Fears/ Phobias

Happy

Sad

Day and

night

Family

Dark times

Happy vs Sad

Patting

Illusions

Research and brainstorming • I found an article (

http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2015/01/09/reinier_gerritsen_photographs_readers_on_the_subway_in_his_series_the_last.html) about a man in America who photographs people on the subway reading books. Reinier Gerritsen thinks books won be around much longer so takes photos of people on the subway reading, his work is up in New York City’s Julie Saul Gallery under the name of ‘the last book’ explaining his idea of the extinction of books. I like the idea of doing this as a starting point as it can go in many directions. I can focus on the relationship of this photographer and his work; I could also focus on the non existent relationship between the photographer and the people he photographs.

• Another idea l like is optical illusions taking a photo inside of a photo inside a photo inside a photo. I got this idea from a magazine called ‘Photography for beginners’. I will use the photo inside a photo to come up with many different ways to express the theme relationships. I could have different photos in each frame showing different relationships or I could keep the same photo inside each frame.

Illusions

Frame

Ghosts

Big v Small

Multiple people

Brigit Riley’s work

Escher Illusions

Surrealism

Picture inside a picture

Idea 1: Illusions

http://jackyoungphotography.weebly.com/uploads/1/7/0/8/17086388/1732410_orig.jpg

http://www.homwurk.com/_Media/frame-illusion-final2_med.jpeg

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/331/e/6/no_photoshop_by_vlue-d33plab.jpg

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17m3vko6yx631jpg/original.jpg

http://img.wonderhowto.com/img/89/49/63545877279638/0/create-frame-within-frame-photo-effects-android.1280x600.jpg

http://www.pegboardmedia.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/generations.jpg

http://betterphotography.in/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/frame-1-copy.jpg

http://www.thephotoargus.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/op13.jpg

Illusions part 2

http://photographyheat.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Photography-from-Interesting-Angles-23.jpg

http://smashinghub.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/6-sneaker-shadow-shoes-silhouette.jpg

http://api.ning.com/files/DtcI2O2Ry7Dzl1UDna7zyTJkOn5k3S5cOVd*nrbNfmvqCv72lficIrgVBP2MAhPVr8HwMOgcwzJnck5bdxv*8xwqIg-i7Ehr/1082131348.jpeg

http://pix.avaxnews.com/avaxnews/52/77/00007752_medium.jpeg

http://www.fropki.com/xlmpdt/Saurabh/2013/jan/16/Stunning%20Optical%20illusion%20Photographs/Stunning-Optical-illusion-Photographs-005.jpg

http://enpundit.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/surreal-photo-manipulations-7.jpg

http://iscreamsundae.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/FunnyOpticalillusions11.jpg

Jack Young• I found this image on the internet looking for

inspiration for my work. I find the image really good, it is something I want to do but maybe differently each time so I won’t be repeating myself. The composition of it all is quite effective as it is just in the middle with negative space around it allowing viewers to focus on the image rather than any distracting back grounds. The person who did this most likely just edited the same photo inside the frame each time. The main colour of this pieces is a beige colour which gives the piece a nice and relaxing feel. The colours are quite soft as well and the fact the woman is wearing a similar colour cardigan it makes the viewers work harder as their eyes have to adjust to see the image which make the image an illusion in two ways. The image is high key lighting which adds to he soft colours because there is no shadow on the background making the image that much more of a challenge to see.

Unknown artist• I also found this image on the internet and found

it really interesting because it is in my chosen topic for this theme. I want to have ago at doing this but I would have to either wait till it rains or put water on the floor, it will probably look best when it rains. I like how the image is black and white as it evokes emotion in the viewers as the image could be representing a lost memory or the death of some children or the death of loved ones. Although the image is black and white there is high key lighting in the back ground which helps highlights the shadows of the people and could maybe suggest how when things get dark there will always be a patch of light. The image could also represent the ghosts of a loved one, I think the negative space with shadows adds to that theme of loss in the photo as you usually associative this style of photo with loss despite the fact it is a illusion piece. The fact all four are lined up in a row adds a bit of symmetry to the piece making the image look quite balanced and equal on each side.

Illusion Contact sheet

I like this photo shoot because it was fun to take and the photos where great to edit as shown on the next few slides. Their faces make the shoot all the more entertaining for my chosen theme. I used a frame so it was easier to cut their heads out of it. My intentions here were to create a contact sheet that allowed me to edit my photos into the impossible. I chose my dad, step mother and step brother to do the photoshoot with as they are they are very expressional people and have the right faces for camera, which helps with the relationship part because they are my family. The location is my dads house in the kitchen but I will have to change location to create a wide variety of places. The next slide shows the image manipulation I did with the frame photo. I like the photo and think it works well but the background is too busy I should have cropped the image down so the background isn't such a distraction to the main focus of the image.

Here I have edited my photos of the frames. They looks quite funny and entertaining as that’s what I was going for; I didn’t want to do illusions and be serious as illusions is not just about the impossible but also about having fun as it is the expressions that make the work look as good as it is. It also helps express the theme of relationships.

Contact sheet

This second contact sheet was as strong as the first as I use my family at my dads house to take the photos however I live with my mother and photos are harder to take here especially since no one is available . This shoot didn’t go as planned especially with the box because I was trying to make it look my friends were escaping the frame but it didn’t work out well however I do want to continue with the frame idea as I could do a lot with that idea. This shoot was so unorganised as well as the photos weren't taken on the same day or location, some were at my mothers house and the others were the next day in college using the photography studio with soft box lighting. I will use this contact sheet to motivate me to refine my work for the next shoot.

Experimentation: cyanotype

1. First we made the image chose Black and white on Photoshop and then we invert it

2. Next print the picture onto acetate

3. And then use the blue chemical solution made of ammonium iron (III) citrate, water, potassium, hexacyanoferrate to paint the back of some paper could be A4 or A3. Then you dry it with a hair dryer.

4. Once dry you place the acetate over the blue paper and put it in the UV bed for 2 minutes.

5. You then rinse the paper in water and once the ink had all cleared away, it is done.

6. However you can also use the purple/brown dye or bleach/yellow dye to give the image a different look like I have done left.

I participated in a cyanotype workshop with a visiting artist Freya, this would be a good way to present my work

Christopher McKenney• Christopher McKenney is a conceptual

photographer who specializes in horror and surrealist photography.

• Christopher's work I find amazing his surrealism is something I want to achieve when I come to edit my illusion photos as I want them to look as good as his. The four photos I have chosen to use on here as examples are my favourite of his work they just look real despite that being their purpose It creates such a ghostly atmosphere. He seems to use old objects in his work like the frame piece where he uses an old looking frame with an old chair and the sheets used for the ghostly images were probably stained to make them look old or unused which gives the work that eerie feel as it creates images of an old abandoned house with aged furniture.

• Christopher's work will defiantly inform my work. http://www.christophermckenney.com/

Jason McGroarty• Jason is a surrealist photographer.

• Jason’s work looks incredible. It seems he uses glasses and mugs the most. I like his idea of associating the drink with the place by putting the city on top of the mug. The fact he does this make him a ‘stereotyper’ which I find is the best kind of photography there is as it generates different ideas and thoughts from his audience. The four images I chose I found were my favourite out of his work so far. I especially like the top right hand one because it looks like the swan is in a miniature lake which is what he was going for but it looks remarkable and it seems like something I could have a go at.

• I find his work very creative and I would like to have a go at it in the next shoot I do, so his will work will inform mine.

http://www.exposureguide.com/interviews/an-interview-with-surreal-photographer-jason-mcgroarty/

New shoot

I think this shoot didn’t work as well as the first one because it wasn’t as comical as my other one because my father and step mother and step brother are quite expressional making the photos more comedic and less serious where as this shoot seems more serious because I have changed the person because of the unavailability of my father.

• I’ve always wanted to have a go at putting someone feature on their hand. On this first attempt it doesn’t look to bad but it looks quite scary in one sense because it has low key lighting and the image I practically the impossible. The fact it looks scary is good as it will link to the photographer who informs my works as he specializes in horror a lot of my work will be horror focused or have themes of death, violence and grief with a humour edge.

1. Choose your images and line them up over each other.

2. You then use the quick selection tool to get rid of the background apart from the face on image 1.

1 2

3. Then rub out the body and the face apart from the features and any access back ground on image 1.

4. Line up the features on the hand

5. To finish use HDR toning to make the image have more of an eerie feel.

• In the top right hand corner is the two images I did before realizing I needed a shadow on the person to make the image look more realistic.

• I made this illusion to show the juxtaposing between small and large and also to have a go at my informed photographer James McGroarty style of work with a bit of horror or deep surrealism informed from the other photographer Christopher McKenney.

1. First rub out the background round the person

2. Drag the crouched person onto the back ground photo and add a drop shadow for a realistic effect

3. Place wherever you want the person and to finish off use HDR toning to make the picture look better.

• I did this again to experiment with the juxtaposition between size showing a contrast between big and small again influenced by my informed photographer Jason McGroarty.

1. Get your two images

2. Then rub out the background of the cowering image using the quick selection tool or eraser tool

3. Then get rid of any access bit of back ground.

4. Drag across and resize the image

Contact sheet

This shoot was more successful, I continued with the frame idea and did a lot of things with it and also started doing other illusions like levitation, however when doing the shoot I didn’t take a photo of the background for the edit to make I look like they're levitating so I need to refine by taking a background shot first on my next shoot. However there are a lot of good photos on this contact sheet and the next few slides will show the ones good for editing.

1. First I chose the two pictures that I would use. And then cropped them to get rid of the people in the background.

2. Next I got the quick selection tool and got rid of the background in the photo of my dad

3. Use the rubber tool to rub out any access background then rub out anything else that’s not in the frame

4. You them drack the picture across and set the image up in the frame and adjust the size an then your done.

I did this because I like the idea of paintings trying to escape their frame giving this piece of work a sense of restriction and a desire or freedom. My father is quite expressional which make it easy for him to photograph well so he is great for the subject I chose which is illusions. I think the composition of it all works well as it is proportionally equal because of the fire place as it is a good position for the picture.

1. First you get your two images and then put one over the other so it can be in place.

2. Then you rub out the background of the top photo leaving the person on the chair.

3. Then you rub out the body of the person.

4. And then you are done

My aim with this was to create a ghostly effect making it look like a ghost is floating above he chair, creating an eerie supernatural feel. I got the idea from an illusionist photographer named Christopher McKenney because his work seems almost impossible so I wanted to achieve the impossible.

1. First get your picture and then start rubbing out the back ground with either the rubber or using the quick selection tool.

2. Then you place the picture on the new background chosen.

3. Then you rub out the background in the frame so you can see the other picture behind.

4. You then puppet warp the photo so it looks like its distorted and then you add a drop shadow to make it look like the person is falling thought a back hole on the celling.

I wanted to create something that looked abstract at the same time realistic so I chose to edit my father on the celling to make it look like he's falling down from a black hole. I did this to create a sense of the supernatural or the impossible, things we know are really but would want to happen, maybe even to try and create a sense of magic.

This is the same process of the other ghostly one so I don’t need to explain myself twice.

I did this for a ghostly feel, again trying to simulate the supernatural but this time I had the ghost in a frame so my work would be informed by Christopher McKenney’s picture shown at the bottom. I could improve it by taking a photo of some greenery and put the frame ghost on that to make it look much better.

1. You get your two pictures and place the subject over the background.

2. You then rub out the background behind the subject

3. You are practically done now but to make some small tweaks you move the body into place and rotate it any way you want it.

4. You then straighten the background with the warp tool and crop with the crop tool

5. You can then finish by using HDR toning to add effects.

I did this because I wanted to try levitation ever since I saw a previous students work and I thought it looked good. Trying it myself was harder than it looks but I did it. I was trying to create a surreal image that explores both the supernatural and the impossible.

Outdoor Shoot Contact sheet

Here I refined my previous shoot and took the location outside. I tried to do different things than what I did in the previous shoot. I think this shoot is much better than the other one not only because of the location but this one is more comical with the illusions and more expressional. This shoot also has potential pictures for a final piece.

1. First get your two images together.

2. The rub out the background around the subjects in the photo and rub out the legs of the ghost.

3. Then to finish you can do HDR toning but I didn’t use it on this image.

First of all I did this to create a ghostly feel and second of all I did this to create meaning, a meaning of life and death maybe even a juxtaposition between the two. The image is meant to show the loss of a child showing the heartbroken couple and the ghost of their dead child. It is a depressing subject but it was something I came up with and express for the my mother experienced as a young adult. Despite the grief meaning behind it the faces of my family are humorous making the photos light hearted so they wont be taken to seriously.

Here I have put Five pictures together and rearranged their opacity to make a series of ghosts on this photo. I was trying to create a disappearing feel with multiple meanings like a memory that is fading away or somebody who feel like they are inviable and are starting to disappear hypothetically. It could also symbolize a ghost going away now that it has done its job on earth.

(See slide 18 for details about how it is done)

I did this to create an eerie ghost in the field effect. I added HDR toning to help add more of a horror ghostly effect to make the photo look more surreal. I wanted my work to look like the photographers work that informs my work Christopher McKenney like below but with my own personal touch which I have achieved. I also left lots of negative space to show the surrounding and make the image stand out more.

I did this to add to my small v big illusions so I would have something else to add to it. I made this hoping this would look like the other photos that used the juxtaposition between small and large.

1. Use the quick selection tool to select the background around subject and delete background.

2. You then rub out any excess space until you have the subject alone.

3. You then drag it over to the other image and place it where you want.

4. You can add a drop shadow to make it look more realistic and you can also add HDR toning o give it that extra effect.

• I did this to evoke emotion in anyone who would see this. I tried to make a convincing scene of the ghost of a loved one who has passed away and their memory still lives inside the mind of the one alive. I wanted to do something like the artist Christopher McKenney who has a meaning behind all his photos especially since some of the themes he has like death and magic and horror are so graphic with in his photos, I wanted to create something that had meaning like his work does. The low key lighting was used to generate quite a gritty effect to it emphasis the sadness and seriousness of the picture. However there is still a light hearted feel about it as we know its not serious because my fathers face is still quite comical as you can tell its an act.

1. First get your images up and then crop the images down to where you want them.

2. Next get your ghost image and using the quick selection tool get rid of the background around the ghost.

3. Deselect the image and then rub out any unnecessary bits of background around the ghost.

4. Then drag the ghost image on to the background and place where you want it.

5 . You can then change the size of the ghost by using free transformation or Ctrl + T. Or you can warp the ghost by going onto edit and clicking puppet warp.

6 . Warp the ghost to how you like it and then to finish off add HDR toning to add that gritty effect

• This image was done in a similar way to the previous slide. See previous slide on how to make this. (No warp on this image thought)

• Here I wanted to also create a sense of meaning be hind the picture the photographer Christopher McKenney. The meaning behind this image is ‘don’t mess with the dead’. Taking a trick out of McKenney’s horror photos I wanted to create a sinister feel to this image as it shows viewers not to deceive the dead as they see all. Originally I waned this to be the devil but I couldn’t find any red sheets so I went with a ghostly effect. Like the previous slide I added HDR toning to make the image look more gritty with the meaning behind it. Despite the serious meaning behind it the faces of my family are quite humours making the photos light hearted and not taken to seriously.

1.First drag the ghost onto the background.

2. Then rub out the bottom part of the ghost

3. Then place and press ctrl + t or go on to free transform to resize the ghost and add a drop shadow for a realistic effect.

4. One done to finish off that ghostly effect add HDR toning.

I did this to make a ghostly effect of a ghost rising from its grave trying to create an element of the supernatural and emphasising peoples fear of the paranormal evoking emotion within viewers.

Reflect and progress• When starting the exam unit I was worried about what to do because instantly with the theme relationships you assume its about

love but love could be expressed in different ways such as a love for a pet or family member or partner which I found difficult to do because I’m not affectionate. So after discussing ideas in a group finding out the many different relationships (see mind map) I could choose from. I chose to do books as my starting point because its there is no affection just the relationship between the book and the person and I found an article about a photographer who take photos of strangers on the subway (see slide 3) I was keen on this idea, I even took photos when I went to London on a Film trip but reading a magazine article in class about how to do an illusion (a picture inside a picture inside a picture etc.) and I decided I wanted to try that, so doing my first shoot I was happy with what I produced and then later edited (slide 8-10) however when doing this I pondered how this would link to relationships but then I realised I use my father, step mother and step brother in the photos which is family which is essentially relationships.

• The first photo shoot was one of the best photo shoots so far because it was so simple and I didn’t need to develop it to make it better because it’s the first photo shoot, I tried to refine it on the second shoot but that wasn’t so successful but the third shoot was which refined the work and developed it into something more evolved thus bringing in the photographer who informed my work.

• Finding artists for this subject of illusions was tough because not many professional photographers did this so searching for photographers many of the images that came up were amateur photographers however I did find this one photographer named Christopher McKenney (slide 15) who does surrealism and horror photos, I find his work amazing and his work has informed my work. There was also another photographer called Jason McGroarty who experiments with size and a section of his work shows him putting buildings on top of drinks in mugs matching the beverage to the place of origin or stereotype I would like to have ago at his work.

• The cyanotype workshop was something create and fun to do, it is an idea to present a final piece of work for this unit but I'm not sure if I will use it because of the type of photographs I took. My chosen subject for the theme is more editing than anything else so doing this wouldn’t really suit. However it was fun and I learned something new. The images I used were from my first photoshoot as the faces of my family are quite expressional and immature which makes the photos entertaining, that one turned out well and I did another one on textured paper which also turned out well but I prefer the first one because the original is usually the best.

• My work has changed over the photoshoots I have done. They have change in location and in quality because I have got a tripod. At the moment I am trying to edit all my photos because I have so many and will most likely need to take more after I have done editing the ones I have. Most of them are repeating and I would like to take my work further by doing something different on the next photoshoot but I just have to figure out what.

http://www.lightstalking.com/cloned-14-skillful-examples-of-photographic-multiplicity/

I want to have a go at this as it looks really good. Some of them seem to represent emotions or actions of people maybe what they're thinking about doing or have done just to show a range of activities.

Multiplicity

• I did this to have ago at the multiplicity idea. I wanted to show a range of emotions so I used some of the photos from my old shoot to experiment with and it turned out ok. I think the only problem is the lighting and the shadows because tying to get them right was hard but I managed to get them to a point where it looks realistic.

2. Then rub out the background round the person

1. First choose a background image your people will be on.

3. As you put each person into position add shadows to make it look more realistic

4. And do the same for each character.

• (See slide 43 one on how to make this)• This top piece is good but its too small because I

had to put the images all behind one main image, I basically filled the negative space. On the other one however it is more spacious because I can put more photos in because the image is spacious and doesn’t have a central image in it. I did these images to create a multiplicity image like the previous one but with my family instead.

A lot of these multiplicity images use the photos to show emotions or what people want to do but I think mine just shows; one a collection of photos from my photoshoot and two; just absurd and supernatural things that happen at the park with an added supernatural element. I wont use this as a final piece but it was and idea.

Evaluation• When I first heard that the theme would be relationships I panicked because I though of love and marriage which is a subject I am not comfortable with so when I head

relationships could be between objects and interaction between objects or people etc. I was happy because I could explore the theme into more detail and choose something I am comfortable with to photograph. On slide 2 I break down the theme and state what things I could do in this theme.

• At the start of this I initially wanted to work wit people and books like said photographer Reinier Gerritsen on slide three who takes photos of random people reading on the train. I really liked the Idea and even took some photos of my friends reading on the train when we went to London because I wanted to photograph the relationship between people and books but that idea bored me after going to London but when I returned I found a page in a magazine called ‘Photography for Beginners’ and it was how to create a picture Inside a picture Illusion and that’s when I realised I wanted to have ago at that, I wanted to have a go at creating the impossible. I collected bunch of images for a mood board (slide 5&6) about illusions and found a photographer called Jack young (slide 7) who also did a similar thing with the continuous images inside a frame. I also did another mind map of what I could do with this new subject of Illusions and also found (Slide four) where I also have two artist who do illusions which are Brigit Riley and Escher who do more optical illusions whereas what I do is more surrealism.

• My first photoshoot (slide 9) was quite successful despite only having 9 images they were all I needed to edit my images into illusions (slide 10&11). After editing my continuous image inside a frame edit it was then I realised that the background was to distracting in it as I forgot to crop the background. However I left it as it is because I learned from that mistake and I have learned to look at the background and see if it needs cropping or know what to put in the background. When doing this shoot I had no idea what to photograph besides the frame illusion idea, hence only having nine photos on that first shoot. However I did come up with an idea to use the frame cleverly and use it to put different head onto different bodies making my work quite quirky and humours especially with the faces of my family.

• When doing the cyanotype workshop I learnt a lot about dying the colour of the paper with UV lighting printing the pictures onto the paper and how it all works using different chemicals. I must say I like the idea of doing this for presenting my final piece. However I think my final pieces look great on their own. The pieces I did on the cyanotype workshop actually looked good as I used photos from my first shoot with my family pulling funny faces and they worked out well when they were printed.

• After my second shoot didn’t work because it was hard to take photos of my dad when I'm only there every other weekend so taking a few photos of mother and friends at college weren’t as good. I then found two artists who specialise in surrealism and illusions so I wanted to have ago at what they do. I then refined my shoot by taking photos of my friend in the park by my mothers house and editing them but the photos I took of her weren’t as good as the ones with my family because they weren't as funny as the first shoot. So I refined my shoot again by taking some photos of my dad and family at my dads house and due to weather circumstances they were taken inside and the shoot was quite successful as well. I edited them and came out with some good edits the only problem with these edits were the fact the sheet in the background was chequered and it was hard to replicate that for the background. To refine that shoot I had to move location somewhere easier to photograph. I went to dog park near my dads house and took another photoshoot there which I think was the best shoot out of all my shoots because of the funny and goofy faces my family pulls making this whole theme very enjoyable.

• I think since unit one and this unit I have broadened my knowledge of Photoshop especially in this unit because of all the edits I had to do so I had to learn new things and try those new things to get my edit just right to make it look the impossible so my knowledge of Photoshop has defiantly evolved. I think since unit one I have changed my way of doing things especially with photoshoots. This time I took more time to think about what photos I need to take and where I want them and what positions do I put people in. I actually haven't used any of the camera setting since unit one because this particular subject of illusions doesn’t need to use shutter speed or aperture for my photoshoots because they weren’t needed in this subject. However this theme was a challenge because I didn’t need to do as much editing in the last unit where as in this unit it was more refined edits as I had to concentrate on getting the edits right.

• I just stuck with my illusions Idea but near the end of this unit I found an illusion call Multiplicity where its one person taken in different positions and are place in one photo usually used to show emotion or what could happen. Because I couldn’t get a new shoot for this newly found research when I had a go at it I had to use past photos and some worked quite well I liked the one with my friend showing a range of moods and emotions on the hand but I really like the park one showing different things going on. I was only going to use photos from the park shoot but then I incorporated an image from my previous shoot that I didn’t managed to get edited.

• I think my final pieces were quite successful. I chosen four image from my work that were the most successful which was my dad floating in front of the garage, my dad trapped in a frame, my dad as a ghost and the park bench phot of my step brother as the ghost. I think these were the most successful not just because of how I edited it but because of the humour and light heartedness of the images, despite their serious meanings or supernatural essences the faces, actions and positions my family did in these photos just made the shoot all the more fun to do; not only that, these photos clearly define what relationships is to me and that would be my family.