Introduction
I chose the theme 'Openings' because it seemed interesting to me. This theme will allow me to take a lot of unusual photographs that link to the theme. I think the theme 'Openings' can mean a space, a frame or a hole. I also don't have much photography experience so this project will be a little challenging but exciting too.
Initial research
Please click on the image below to visit my Pinterest board where I have collected some examples of photographs and photographers who are interested in different kinds of openings in their work.
Robert Frank research
Robert Frank is a Swiss photographer born 1924. Here are 3 photos from his collection 'The Americans'. Robert Frank photographed people doing normal things. Some of his photographs were shot instinctively, in low light capturing only parts people's bodies. The genre of the book is photojournalism where Robert Frank is reporting what is happening in America at that time (the 1950s). He comments on racism in his photography.
In the first picture you can see 5 windows with people looking towards and away from the lens of the camera. I think it links to openings because the windows and reflections create interesting spaces for the photographer to capture how the people feel. We can see that white people are sitting in the front of the bus and black people at the back. Two children are in the central window. Are they the future of race relation in America? Also in the second picture there are two windows: one of the faces is hidden by an American flag, the other one is almost hidden by shadows. This image links to openings because the photographer has created a frame within a frame using the windows. In the third photo the photographer has created a frame from a taxi window which is transporting a woman. This image is interesting to me because Robert Frank has created a frame using a moving object 'taxi' which is very difficult to take. |
Peter Fraser research
First photo shoot
In this shoot I just tried to took a lot of different pictures through a circular aperture. I used a cutter to make circles then I held it in my hand. I took photos with camera in the other hand. Sometimes I focused on the paper. Then I focused on the view beyond.
Evaluation
WWW:
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EBI:
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Second photo shoot
These were mostly taken from a boat on the river. I found myself in a tunnel and I was interested in the view at the end, the darkness and the light and the shape of the tunnel opening.
Evaluation
WWW:This was a completely new experience of photography for me because I never discovered this place and taking photo shots through an tunnel and reflection of the canal and also the exit of the tunnel was making a really reflection on the water, it was like a oval. If you rotate the photo it looks more interesting and you might not get which direction of photo is the correct rotate.
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EBI:It can be better if I try to use the surrounding to take more interesting photos, the position I can stay while I'm taking photos or try to learn more about taking photos during when I'm on a moving object.
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Another photo shot at the school
These pictures explore the theme of Openings in school. I've continued to use the idea of looking through objects and framing views. I've also experimented with selective focus, using a wide aperture to achieve a shallow depth of field in some pictures.
Evaluation
The favourite:
This is my favourite from today's experience so I chose it to put it here to write about it in a bit of detail.
Firstly I started to take photos from out of the classroom and then I start to going and discover the other places in the school and after taking four photos I took this photo. I found some benches in front of the canteen. I knelt on the floor to take this photo from the legs of the benches which shows a bright gap between the legs. The gap behind the legs gives a nice view and the detail between each gap makes the photo even better.
Firstly I started to take photos from out of the classroom and then I start to going and discover the other places in the school and after taking four photos I took this photo. I found some benches in front of the canteen. I knelt on the floor to take this photo from the legs of the benches which shows a bright gap between the legs. The gap behind the legs gives a nice view and the detail between each gap makes the photo even better.
Another photo shoot at school
More experiments with Openings of various kinds.
Another photo shot at school
I took lots of photos today, experimenting again with apertures, holes and frames.
This photo has taken from a telephone booth. Through the glass of window you can see a text which disrupts the view. Also out of the telephone booth a man and woman are walking and the cars are moving behind of them.
Louis Faurer researchLouis Faurer is a photographer from Russian and polish parents which born in Philadelphia (1916-2001).
I choose this photograph from Louis Faurer to link it to my theme ''Openings'' as we can see this is a photo from back of an bus which shows the view of city form two frame which is the bus's windows and out of is is crowded but there is looks like a quiet space in the bus. The photo shows bus which can be a cover from the crowd of outside which shows the New York in 1950, it named Bus7, from the photographer position which took this photo the windows are looks like eyes with the New York's buildings, people and shops. Unless through the windows and the holders of seats there is no bright light and the rest of spaces is in the dark or black colour and because this the two windows shows the bright colour and lights is attracting my attention to focus on the crowd out side there and details. |
This is the second photo which I chose, it is very beautiful and innovative from Louis Faurer which is named Elevated subway on Third Avenue, c.1947.
This photo have lots of details. And I really like the reflections and the frames which he took photo from. Also the colours in the photo are two antithetical colours black and white and the shape of his his body which reflected on the first glass is effective to make the photo interesting because it make the second reflection inside the body it makes a brightness in the middle of dark body. The photographer took this photo at Third Avenue which is near Fifth Avenue where the Empire State is located and also is reflected on the glass near his face. This photo have a lot gaps and frames, the white gap around his head and the empire state is linked to Opening but the greatest thing which is obvious in the photo is the frames. The whole photo is a frame itself and also there is a lot of frames in the photo if we look at two sides of the photo we can see the windows of buildings are shown as dark frames on the photo, in middle of the window of the flat which is on the others side of avenue and also the first glass which is reflected on the flat's window and it might make the viewer confuse to recognise is that the window is second flat's window or is a reflection of the first glass which I think is the reflection of first glass of the flat's window. I linked the frames and gaps which I explained in text above. |
I took these photos around Christmas time
Oxford Street and China Town
Here are some photos of the entrance to China Town and other parts of central London. I was looking for different kinds of openings in the street.
Camden Town.
More street openings.
Final works of unit one 'Openings'
I selected some of the street pictures containing openings and shot of me reflected in a window. I cut different sized holes in the reflection picture to reveal some of the other pictures underneath. These are the versions I made. I like the idea of real openings in the pictures of openings and the confusion created by the reflection. My teacher helped me frame two of the best versions.
I also decided to choose my favourite opening images to put in two sequences. The first set are like windows through which you can see a view beyond:
This set of pictures is all about repeated circle shapes:
Evaluation
This evaluation is about the first and second final pieces of work which are in the picture frames.
For the first final out come there are two layers of photographs.
How did I take photos for first and second final outcomes?
For the first final out come there are two layers of photographs.
How did I take photos for first and second final outcomes?
- The photo on the top I took in a pathway near Oxford Street. This photo has taken from from a path way with lots of mirrors and reflections of myself in the mirrors.
- The photo which is underneath I took in Covent Garden. It was of people on the street and there is a big mirror or reflection which started from left hand side and goes through the middle of the picture.
- Firstly I printed the photos.
- I decided which pictures to use for making the circles on and I chose a picture with myself reflected because there were free spaces and fewer details.
- The next step was to print the photos that had more detail. I decided to put them underneath the photo with circles. I placed all the photos which I selected with different details which linked to 'Openings' underneath the first photo.
- I chose the photo which I took from Covent Garden to make the first final outcome.
- For the second final outcome I did exactly the same thing, but the only thing I changed was the photo underneath.
- The difference between the first and second outcomes is, for the second out come, I took both photos in the same place which was the pathway near Oxford Street.
- I used the same process to make both final outcomes, I just used different photos for the second final out come and I rotated the photo 45 degrees anti clockwise.
- The reflection which you can see in the right-hand-side is the roof of the path way and the white lines which are on the left hand side is the floor of the pathway.
- The top and bottom of the photo which is underneath, is two sides of pathway which also has some reflections on it.
- The third final out come includes three photos which I took in school.
- The first photo of the third final outcome is from the legs of a bench in front of our school canteen and I took this photograph to show the gap between the bench legs.
- I took this photo from a tree stump which had a piece of a original remaining bark, which we can see some really interesting gaps on the bark, and the bark itself looks very nice.
- Finally the third photo of third final out come is again a gap, I took this photograph from a gap between two entrance doors of the first block on the second floor, through the gap we can see the railings and in the distance the windows at the back of the block.
- I choose a rectangular shape for the whiteboard to stick photos on it because the gaps lines up with each other and also the whiteboard shape is itself shape like the gaps.
- The fourth piece of final out come is includes eight photos and the first one which i took from a seesaw in the Beckenham Park, I set the first circle of seesaw in the middle of the shot and also the second circle is set in middle of the first circle.
- The second photo is from a traffic cone which was left behind the plants and some dirt.
- The third one is from some sugar cane which was in the Camden Town and there was only one with a hole at the top and the others was covered.