Final Evaluation

Final Evaluation: 

My work has improved and developed, along with my style of photography as a result of my artist’s researches. One of the most influential on my work was Irving Penn.

 I loved his dark style of photography. I also like the portrait shots of buildings by Bernd and Hilla Becher(below). I've drastically improved my Photoshop skills, I’m now able to edit photographs and create new photographs, such as composite imaging.

  

I’ve changed the way I take photographs as I’m now more considerate in what I’m framing and how I want to angle the shot. I can choose appropriate camera settings for each environment and know how to experiment with them to achieve the shot I want. For instance I know that the higher ISO I use the grainer the image will be. I can also use this knowledge as well as my knowledge of hardware; for example if I’ve used a directional light source like a torch I can diffuse it against a white surface to make the light softer.

I’ve displayed my ability to use computer editing, such as Photoshop by creating composite images from my own photographs. I’ve displayed my knowledge and the development of my techniques, like camera settings in my further shoots where I’ve experimented and improved on some of my initial ideas.

My work is developing into my own style, influenced by Irving Penn’s darkness and also Henry Cartier Bresson’s decisive moment. How my taking photographs has stopped being about what I want to capture in the image and more about what I want the viewer to see or feel.

Here are some examples of my work:

  This image relates to Hilla and Becher.

 These two relate to Irving Penn. 

Landscape Development Shoot

Landscape Development Shoot:

Research:Bernd and Hilla Becher 

Hilla Becher (2 September,1934 - 10 October 2015) and Bernhard Becher (20 August, 1931 - 22 June 2007) were German concept artists working as a duo. They have influenced many photographers in the documentary field and in the sub genre of photography, typography. 
They used a 35mm film camera.

They arranged their typographics in grids of images, for example: 

These are black and white images of buildings arranged in a grid. By arranging them in grid it implies that it's a factual or formal assessment, like something that belongs in a text book. This may imply that the Becher's saw all the buildings as equal despite the location or purpose. 

These are all images of water towers, the connotations of this is all beings are equal, they've captured this by showing all water towers as the same even though they serve upper and lower class areas with sustenance. 

I looked at how they used portrait photographs of buildings and I developed this technique in my own style while I was out shooting at The Royal Gunpowder Mills, Waltham Abbey.

Contact Sheet(s):

Images that need improvement:

DSC_5824:

Along the right side of this image you can see the edge of the window, this is because it was the restricted part of the Gunpowder Mills which you can only see in a guided tour in a vehicle. 

DSC_5908.NEF:

This image is too dark as the focal point was on the sky, however this can be fixed in photoshop as I can change the shadows and blacks, due to my images being RAW files. 

DSC_5939.NEF:

I don't like the shadow going across the image as I didn't notice it when I took the photograph. To fix this shot I would need to go back and reshoot. 

My Best Images:

5890:

5942:

6024:

6040:

6070:

6138:

6369:

To improve my images I used photoshop: 

As I shot in RAW files I was able to edit them as soon as I opened them in photoshop. 

I altered the exposure to highlight most of the details in the way I wanted, raised the contrast and the vibrance of all the images. How I changed he other settings fluctuated with conditions in which I shot them. For example if the image was too bright I lowered the highlights and whites are raised the blacks and shadows to compensate. 

Edited Images:

Further editing:
I also arranged my images in the same style as Bernd and Hilla Becher.

I created a new 
Photoshop file:

Added guides to it:

And arranged my images into the grid:

Then edited them even further to make them look like they were taken in the same era as the Becher's by changing them to black and white then adding a ochre tint: