Composition is how the artists arranges the elements of a photo.
The most common forms of composition are: Rule of Thirds Balance Triangles Layers
Framing the environment- John Divola
John Divola is an American photographer influential in changes in contemporary art. In his work entitled 'Zuma' he observed, augmented, and photographed an abandoned building.It is one of his earliest and most renowned projects.When photographing the house he used the windows to act as a frame for the picture to create an interesting image.
Response
For my response I used a paper frame to highlight what element off the photo I wanted to focus on, then I got closer to that element.
WWW: I was successfully able to use the frame to emphasise the focus of the picture. EBI: I was able to find a way to take the picture without my hand getting in the way.
Andy Yeung - Reflection
Andy Yeung is a young, up and coming artist who has already received many awards for his work.His focus is mainly on architecture, landscapes and travel photography.He is based in Hong Kong but he travels all around the world for his work to find inspiration .In some of his pictures he employs a method of using angles to make images look reflected creating a very interesting effect.
Response
For my response I took photos of corners of buildings and then duplicated and inverted them in photoshop to make them seem like they are reflected.
WWW: I edited the photos well to create interesting shapes. EBI: The shapes perfectly reflected without any small inconsistencies.
Natural Reflection
For this image I was able to use the lake to find an example of natural reflection. Andy Young usually tries to find his reflections in his urban environment but I instead found reflection in a natural setting.
Formal elements
Below are examples of all the formal elements of photography.These are the things to attempt to successfully accomplish when taking a picture.
Perspective
Pattern
Layers
Focus
Texture
Contrast
Tone
Negative space
Colour
WWW: I successfully able to find examples of photographic elements. EBI: My examples where completely clear.
Selected Formal Elements
For my response I selected two elements to focus on (Texture and Negative space) then found examples of these and photographed them.
Texture
Negative Space
Man Ray
Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal. He produced major works in a variety of media but considered himself a painter above all. He was best known for his photography, and he was a renowned fashion and portrait photographer. Man Ray is also noted for his work with photograms, which he called "rayographs" in reference to himself.
Man Ray-influenced photograms
WWW: I took interesting works using unusual items and was then able to use photoshop to create Man Ray-like images EBI: I showed contrast throughout the images.
Man Ray-influenced Natural Photograms
Response
For my response I took Man Ray's "Rayographs" and took various objects within the natural world and then made them into photograms.
Wild Concrete - Romain Jacquet-Lagreze
Romain Jacquet Lagreze is a French photographer based in Hong Kong. One of his bodies of work is called 'wild concrete' in this body of work he went around Hong Kong and photographed locations where plants and trees were somewhat taking over man made areas.
Response
For my response I went around fortismere finding locations where nature was coming through man made objects and used these to try and mimic the artists work. I was deeply inspired by Romain Jacquet-Lagreze's work and I found the task of trying to create some of my own work inspired by him very entertaining.
www: I was able to sufficiently capture the essence of the artist to produce interesting images. EBI: The lighting could be improved in several of my images.
Three Strands Urban,woodland and aqueous environments.
Urban
Thomas Struth
Thomas Struth is a German photographer who is best known for his Museum Photographs series, family portraits and black and white photographs of the streets of Düsseldorf and New York taken in the 1970s. Struth lives and works in Berlin and New York.In 1976, as part of a student exhibition , Struth first displayed his first photographs of the streets of Dusseldorf . The compositions are simple and the photographs are not staged or edited. Strong contrasts of light and shade are also avoided, Struth preferring the blanket grey light of early the morning. This enhances the neutral theme in his photography. It is this body of work that I will attempt to respond to.
Response
For my response I went to Kentish Town and attempted to capture Thomas Struth's style by taking pictures of the centre of the streets there.I then put the photos in black and white mimicking his style. I attempted to create slight contrast with his work in that I emphasised the natural quality of the streets.
WWW: I was able to match Struth's style and take interesting street-photos of Kentish Town. EBI: Some of the images could be broader taking in more of the environment.
Development-Thomas Struth on Mars
In this piece of work I attempted to give my photos a sci-fi like quality to make my images appear too be from another planet whilst still maintaining an urban environment.This gave my photos an alien appearance. The yellow tinge in the images mimics the red sand on mars which blows up into the air.
Original Distorted
WWW: I used photoshop effectively to change the saturation of the image giving it the impression that it is on a foreign planet. EBI: I could use more variety of colour making it seem even more alien.
Second Response
For this response I took my images in the early morning attempting to mirror the greyish light of Struth's images, this also made it easier to shoot as there were less people in the streets.
WWW: I effectively used the morning light giving my images a greyish blankness, I also was able to show perspective in my images. EBI: The contrast in some of the images could be greater.
Woodland
Florian Maier-Aichen
Florian Maier-Aichen creates alien-like perspectives of the world before adding distopian effects after. He moved from Cologne, Germany (his home town) to pursue his career in Los Angeles, 9,000 km away.Florian Maier-Aichen, unlike other infrared artists, frames his artwork in an almost alien-like manner. With his obscure angles and ariel views makes the viewer think he has discovered a new planet. His manipulation of perspective gives the viewer a sense of displacement adding to the science-fiction like atmosphere of his work.
Response
For my response I went to New Forest just outside of Bournemouth's well as some other locations and took photos of the natural life.I then put these images into photoshop and changed the saturation and colour making them look of the style of the artist.
Original Distorted
How it's done
Comparing/contrasting my work with Maier-Aichen's
For my response I attempted to create works with a similar colour pallet to Florian Maier Aichen but I chose to focus on a more close up setting so as to show better the depth in the photo. I also varied the colours in the picture to creating interesting rather than one blanket colour.
WWW: I was able to successfully use photoshop making my woodland scenes in the style of Florian Maier Aichen. EBI: I could have taken larger scens more similiar to his style
Florian Maier Aichens climate activism
In the majority of his work Florian Maier Aichen spreads awareness about the climate crisis and its devastating effects.By making natural landscapes red its almost as if the earth is bleeding.
Response
In response to this sentiment I went out to the countryside (Hertfordshire) and took pictures of wind turbines at sunset, I then changed the colour of the sky to purple to give the image a futuristic quality to highlight that renewable is the future and there is no alternative.
Further development - Disrupted Natural Scenes
For this development I used photoshop to divide the forest into its natural green and an alien x-ray style image. I did this to show the way pollution harms our landscape tearing it apart.
Aqueous
Nadav Kander
Nadav Kander is London-based photographer who was born in Israel. The project of his I looked at was "Dark Line" . In this project Kander used a slow shutter speed and much photoshop work to create very powerful and extremely tranquil images of water in nature. He finds the warm company of the shoreside whilst alone and then captures it.In his work he uses the reflections that dance upon waters surface to create very mystical and more than anything deeply calming artworks. He reminds us that everything on this planet survives from it and came from it, in this way his photos almost have a religious quality. Nadav Kander-"When alone, there is nowhere I'd rather be than beside large bodies of slow moving water. I feel myself, quiet and alive as emotions come and go."
Response
Development One
Water Edits
WWW: I showed the texture and the movement of the water well and edited them to show contrast and emphasise the movement. EBI: I took a wider picture showing the full scene.
Development Two
For this development whilst visiting family in Cornwall I took a Cliff-walk attempting to take very Nadav Kander -influenced works.
WWW: I took wider shots showing the full scene more like Nadav Kander EBI: I emphasised the movement in the water.
Development Four
For this development whilst on holiday in Corfu I took these photos of a lake which I think capture the essence of Nadav Kander's work.For this shoot I attempted to focus on the ripples of the water and its movement.
WWW: I showed the movement well as well as the texture of the water. EBI: The full scene was shown combined with the detail of the water.
Combining The Types Of Water
For this development I combined my images of the river, lake and sea to show the many ways water behaves. By comparing them side by side it emphasises how differently the same thing is changed by light and its environment. However the way it behaves remains constant, its ripples evident in each image.
Final Pieces
I chose this image as I spent lots of time working on the perspective and the lighting when shooting it as well as the way the water interacts with the land going up the coast. I attempted to draw the readers eye not just to the vast sea and sky but also the way the water dips in and out of the cliff face. The way the water and sky melt into one on the horizon emphasise the vastness of the ocean.
I chose this image as I was able to achieve a real sense of the texture of the water in a similar way to Nadav Kander.I used a slightly higher shutter speed in order to really show all the minute patterns in the ripples and I was very happy with how it turned out. The fine details of the ripples gives the impression of an intentional pattern, as if the water has been shaped and crafted by someone.
I chose this image as the way the river (left) changes to the lake (centre) interests me. The level of movement in the two images is virtually the same however the stark contrast in colour makes it seem so unnatural. If the images were in black and white, many people may not even realise they are from different bodies of water.However this similarity of movement changes on the right when the power of the Atlantic ocean is shown directly contrasting the weak waves of the smaller bodies of water. This shows the many different waves water behaves.