The reason behind why I chose the topic of light and dark was because I really like the contrast between the two shades and I think it would be very interesting to do my own outlook and work on this topic.
Alexey Bednij is a photographer who studies capturing light and dark within his photography. I really like his photography as its very interesting and creative. I like how he converts his photograph into black and white as it clearly shows the contrast and topic of light and dark. He also uses shadows from objects to show light and dark and to create more depth and shapes within his photographs, by doing this it make his artwork stand out more from other photographers as its very well organised and interesting to look at.
The reason why I chose this photograph by Alexey Bednij to analyse is because I think it clearly shows light and dark and I find that it looks very creative and different. I also really like how he captured the peoples shadows just as they are walking very symmetrically in line to each other. I also really like the contrast between the light coloured floor and the shadows of the people walking by. I also really like the angle in which he chose to take this photo in as you can see the main subject matter of the people and shadows very clearly.
Willy Ronis is a French photographer who uses a film camera to create and photograph powerful black-and-white images, in which he captures the rich texture of everyday working-class life in post-World War II Paris.I really like his photography as it clearly captures the atmosphere and I like the different shapes and textures in his images. For example, in the seventh picture across, of the cat looking out of the window, you can clearly see the intense contrast between the black cat and the bright white background, this is really effective as you can see all different shapes and strong silhouettes of the objects such as the cat and the lines of the window frames.
Horst p...
- Humans - Shapes - Plants - Contrast - Black and white - Materials
Horst is best known for his photographs of women and fashion, but is also recognized for his photographs of interior architecture, still life, especially ones including plants, and environmental. Horst p uses a range of lighting when taking his photographs to create shadows behind the figures/objects. I really like his photographs as they are very unique and creative. I also really like how his photographs show very contrasting colours as it makes the shadows in the background stand out more which makes these photos clearly show the topic of light and dark.
Darek Grabus is a photographer who creates and captures shadows of objects such as spoons, forks etc. He also takes photos of architecture, such as buildings and bridges, which contains many shapes and lines within them. Darek usually takes his pictures close up to the main subject matter which allows you to view all the different lines and shadows within his pictures in detail. The reason why I chose to research him is because I find that his work is very attention grabbing and inspiring. I also really like how to shows the topic of light and dark within his images in a very unique manner compared to many other photographs.
Andreas Levers is a photographer who captures streets lights enclosed in the dark, misty evening. I really like how he does this as it makes the street lights stand out more and this allows these images to have the topic of light and dark. I also really like the colouring and contrast within these images as the background looks very lonely and dull, whereas, the street lights are colourful and the centre of attention. Andreas Levers photography is very different and unique compared to the other artist I have researched, the way his photography is different is because he captured light and dark without using a black and white filter, but instead using natural lighting to capture the contrast between the bright lights next to the dark, night time streets.
My photographs...
I took these photographs as a first step of my experimentation of the topic of light and dark. I found this task quite challenging yet interesting, the part of this task I found challenging was taking the pictures in order to keep the topic of light and dark. I took most of these images on the streets as thats what most of the photographers I researched usually take there photos. Overall, I am pleased with how these images turned out as it clearly shows the topic of light and dark, however, if I was to do this again I would take more variety of images of all different subject matters, such as, people, animals and shadows.
Out of the photographs I have taken I think these four are the most successful. The reason why I think these came out the best is because it shows contrast and shows clearly light and dark. The way I am thinking about developing these images and producing a final outcome is by making photograms and placing objects over the light sensitive paper to make it look similar to the original pictures.
Second experimentation...
I took these photographs for my second light and dark experimentation. The way I've improved on these images from my initial experimentation was by taking a more variety of images. Whilst taking these pictures I tried to take them in a similar style to the previous photographers I have researched, such as, Alexey Bednij. Overall, I think my images have turned out successfully as I took a variety on pictures, however, next time I will focus more on the composition on the photographs as it'll make the photographs look more interesting and unusual.
Out of all my photographs in my second experimentation I think that these 4 images above have turned out most successfully as they relate to the theme of light and dark the most clearly. I like the contrast between the bright lights next to the dark silhouettes and shadows as this could be seen as another outlook on light and dark. I also like the composition as the main subject matter is always in the centre which makes it stand out more.
Further experimentation...
As I researched further into different photographers who incorporate the theme of light and dark into there photography, I noticed that many of them had photographed light and dark through the use of glass to give off unusual shadows. I thought this idea was very interesting and intriguing, therefore this inspired me to experiment and take my own photographs in a similar style to the photographers I have researched. The process I took in order to take these photographs was by placing glasses on a white, plain background in the dark room and then shining a torch through the glass in different angles to create abstract looking shadows. Overall, I am pleased with how my photographs for my experimentation have turned out as they look interesting, however, if I did this task again I would ensure that when I take the photos I don't allow any of the background to be seen and I would turn the contrast on my camera up to allow the shadows to look more prominent and stand out more.
Out of all the images in the experiment I have done, I think these four have turned out the most successfully. The reason why I think these have turned out successfully is because I didn't get any of the background in the picture, which allows the shadows and the glass to be the main attention focus in this photograph. I also particularly like how the shadows look within these photographs as the shadows look very unusual and create interesting shapes and patterns. One other thing I like about these four images is the clear contrast they show between the light of the white background and torch and the darkness of the shadows and reflections. The reason why I like this is because it clearly shows the theme of light and dark but in a more unique way as the 'dark' is made through the use of shadows/reflections which makes the photographs look more intriguing and the 'light' is showed by the white, bright light that has been given of from the torch. However, if I was to do this again I would incorporate some colour within these pictures by using some coloured see-through film over the torch to create a colour wash over the glass and shadows, to create a more contrasting effect and to make the photographs look more interesting. One other way I would like to improve these images next time would be by including more objects as well as glasses to make the photographs look less dull and simple and more crowded which then effectively would make the images contain less negative space.
Experimentation...
Another After my first experimentation using glass to cast and create shadows, I took the feedback I gave myself on those and improved upon them when I did my second experimentation presented above. The way I improved these images from the first experimentation was by using different resources such as coloured pink and purple film over the top of a torch which then made parts of the photograph look different colour, which effectively made these images look more intriguing to the eye as they contained different tones which could be seen as another way to present the theme of light and dark, as the light part could be shown through the white and coloured parts of the photographs and the dark could be shown through the black parts of the image (made by the shadows). Another resource I used that made these images look more interesting was metal meshing. I placed a torch above the metal meshing and it created very unusual shadows which I thought looked fascinating. I also incorporated different objects to include within my photographs such as a glass prism and flower, to make the images look more crowded and less dull like my previous images, I thought by doing this it would effectively cancel out any negative space within my photographs which would make my photographs look more intriguing. Another thing I did in order to improve upon my previous photographs was to not allow any background to be seen in my photographs as it would allow the shadows and glasses to stand out more against the white table without any distraction of the crowded background. Overall, I think these photographs I have taken have been improved upon as they look more interesting and as I haven't included any of the background within them it makes the shadows stand out more as there is less distraction, however, I think by adding the coloured film and by adding multiple different objects it makes the photo look very over crowded and draws the attention away from the main subject matter of the shadows. Therefore, if I was to do this next time I wouldn't include the film or multiple objects as I figured that these photographs look better when they are simplistic.
Film Experimentation...
This is my experiment with a film SLR camera. I decided to have a go at using a film camera to take photographs of glasses and create subtle shadows through them for my theme of light and dark. The process I went through to get these images was by, first I got a white plain piece of paper and placed it down in front of a window. I then got glasses and placed them on the paper in the way I wanted them to go and in the position where the most light would go through in order to create subtle shadows. After that I took photographs on the film camera and developed them at a film shop.
I am pleased with how these photographs have turned out as I think they comply with the theme of light and dark very well and I like how simplistic they are as it makes the subtle shadows stand out more and draws the attention focus of viewers directly onto the main subject matter of the glass and shadows.
Out of all the photographs I have taken on the film camera I think these four images above have turned out the most successfully as they all have good composition and look the most interesting. I like the first photograph as I like the way the glasses have been positioned and the way this photograph contains depth of field as it makes this photograph look more intriguing and I am also am pleased about the fact that this image contains hardly any negative space yet it is still simplistic which makes the subject matter stand of more. The reason why I like the second photograph is because it looks very unusual, for this photo I placed a piece of film with holes cut into it and draped it over a glass and then took a picture of it. I think the outcome of this has turned out successfully as it looks very interesting and complies very well with the theme of light and dark, as the film could be the dark aspect of this photo and the light part could be the glass in the foreground and the white paper in the background. The thing that I like about the third photograph is the composition of the objects, I like how the glass is placed at the front and a little blurred out as it makes the unusual shape and look of the glass prism the main focus within this image, I also like how the glass at the front cancels out the negative space because if I just placed the prism on its own this photo would turn out looking very dull, therefore, by adding the glass it makes this photo look more crowded but in an interesting way. The reason why I like the fourth photo is because I think it looks very creative and I like the way the shadow in the left corner acts at the part of the dark aspect of the theme like and dark. I think this photo looks creative as the glasses are placed in an unusual way; a way that I haven't done before, however, I really like the way they are placed at in makes them look more intriguing and attention grabbing.
Film that I developed...
After I took my photographs on the film camera I went to a shop and got them developed to have a look at them in a clear way. I also did this so that it was easier to transfer onto my powerpoint and to develop and improve on them in photoshop.