Formative assessment sheet.

After finishing my first project 'Enhancement project' I received feedback from one of my teachers.

I was happy with my overall grade yet I knew I could have improved ins one areas. I now know what specific areas I need to improve on.

Below is my assessment sheet.

This feedback will let me gain a better grade within my next project. This is really helpful because in my new Personal Project I should hopefully with this feedback gain a better grade.

Seven day photo challenge.

To help me gain further inspiration and more ideas to help me develop a final outcome I took one photo everyday of seven different things.

Day 1 - A House

Day 2 - Shoes

Day 3 - From a high angle

Day 4 - From a Low angle

Day 5 - Something blue

Day 6 - Time

Day 7 - People

The list above showed what I took photos of.

The only catch when taking these photographs was that each image must also relate to my theme of Landscapes.

I really enjoyed this small project as it allowed me to experiment with taking photos on a smart phone app called 'Instagram'.

In-depth analysis of Greg Sand.

Another artists I looked at for inspirations is Greg Sand. Greg Sand is an Artist and Photographer who looks into the issues of time and death and produces his work from that. The majority of Greg's work is digital based and this helps him to manipulate the photos.

Greg recently received a BFA in Photography and is currently producing work for exhibitions across the state.

As you can see from his work he uses manipulation skills to change the features of people in the image. In this specific pieces the faces of each person posed in the image has been cut out. By doing this I believe that it takes away then personality and the unique look of the image. However it does leave me wanting to know who may be in the image, it could be someone famous or just an average family.
 Each of the images that make up this series have been presented in original frames like the one above. This gives the image a tired and appreciated effect.
This image has been posed for by what seems to be a family. This photograph was once probably very cherished by the people in the photo and by cutting out the faces it means these people may not be recognisable.
The photo has been planned and posed for but I think that this gives makes the photo more unique. 
The way the image is slightly off centre in the frame adds to the originality.

In-depth analysis of Markus Kison.

I researched another photographer called Markus Kison he is a digital based photographer based in Berlin. Markus has exhibited in various museums, received many awards and gives opinionated talks. 

Markus produced a project called 'Untitled but dissected' this consisted of a series of Polaroid photographs each with a main feature cut around so that it pops out of the image by cutting out certain areas of the photographs he turns a digital layers into a physical layers. 

By using the pop-up photos it makes us as the audience feel as though he could possibly be trying to drag us into the photograph. 

From looking at his work I gained a better understanding of picking main features/subjects in a photograph. Sometimes the little things are the things that grab the audiences attention. I think that the chosen theme within each image is different to the next most of them are similar in the way that they consist of people socialising and landscapes.

The use of colour is natural and the less vibrant colours give a sense of realism.

Markus has taken images of something you would see everyday and enhanced it into something unique.

The pieces are presented in a glass box for protection but this allows you to view it from all angles and see what areas are popped up.

By looking at the photographs the people do not seem to be posed. I think that each photo has been taken spontaneously.

Features like people in the foreground or buildings in the background are normal things that grab your attention. However if I was to go on to produce my own work inspired by Markus I would probably chose to use less obvious things, such as lamp posts, cars or maybe trees.

Mood board.

I created a mood board of ideas

Above is my mood board I created for inspiration for ideas I might use.

I was inspired by artist Greg Sand who produces the weaved photograph pieces and also goes on to enhance many of his images by destroying the people in the image.

I also liked the work of Markus Kison. He enhances his images by cutting sections out so that they pop up out of the image.

I finally found images using Flickr of reflections as I couldn't find a specific artist whom I liked the work off.

Personal project brief.

This is our given brief for this project. The project is called 'UNIT3 Personal Project'.

This brief asks us to produce a final outcome and a mounted sheet of photographs that relates to my chosen theme of landscapes but it will have a very personal outcome that I wish to pursue. 

The deadline for this project is the 7th of January.

Evaluation of Final outcome.

For my final outcome that related to our given brief of 'Enhancements' I started by picking a theme I would use continuously throughout my work. I chose Landscapes as everywhere you go or turn is another possible landscape. I then went on to look at different landscape photographers. I started with look at Michael Rauner as well as Brend and Hilla Becher. They both take a series of Landscapes photographs that make up one piece. I shot a both a film of photographs as well as digital images, relating to me theme of the similar images within the same area. I then developed some of the images in the dark room whilst experimenting with such things as, Press printing and Solarisation.
I then used my digital prints and enhanced them using different computer software. I started by doing some of the same experiments that i had done by hand such as toning prints and solarisation. I really enjoyed using the digital enhancements more then the hand made ones. By experimenting with different techniques it allowed me to see what my best outcome was and which of them I wanted to continue using within my final outcome.

When it came to creating my final piece I decided on using digital photographs rather then my dark room prints as the effects i was experimenting with were not as effective as i would have liked them to be. I then went onto looking at more photographers and came across a women called Vasilisa Forbes. She digitally enhances her images. She does so my selecting the main figure or object in the picture and covering it with coloured shapes and lines so that it is hidden. I loved the mystery behind her work and straight away knew this was something I wanted to pursue with further into my work.

I started this by taking a range of photographs of more landscapes but this time in different locations. I travelled to the Isle of wight and into Central London as well as local images around my house. With these images I started to create my own attempts of Vasilisa's and love the outcomes as they were my own although I was inspired they were still different. I did attempt to create the same piece but using a digital printed image and coloured paper to cover the area of interest rather then on the computer but I felt this just didn't have the same effect...

Also by doing it digitally it meant I was able to produce a series of images quicker. So with my selected images I started to create more of these experiments. I would cover areas of the image such as people or road signs and maybe ever animals. I then experimented further. To gain a higher grade I would need to do further manipulation and enhancements. I started by again selecting the original images but this time changing the way I edited them. instead of covering over the main objects in the image I did the opposite and covered the rest of the image but left the previously covered bits open so that you could see what was covered.


I really enjoyed creating these enhanced pieces. I think my use of photoshop and understanding of how and why Vailisa hides these features are good. I also believe that all my computer enhancements from the beginning have been the best outcomes. I am really happy with my final outcome however I feel I could improve on my darkroom skills and develop them further.

Overall I really enjoyed this project and I think my outcome is of a good standard. With all the new techniques I have used in this project I could possibly use them in other projects. 

HDR effect using photoshop.

 This enhancement is created by using Adobe Photoshop. 

You start by opening up you original image into Photoshop. Below is the image i started with.

Images with buildings or lots of sky work well.

I started by duplicating the layer. I then followed the steps of Image > Adjustment > shadows & highlight. Roughly you can changed the shadow to 30% and highlight - 50% but this is vary depending on your photo so its all a matter of your own judgment.

Under the shadow and highlight sliders is an 'Option box', click on it and more sliders will appear.

You can changed the 'Mid tone contrast' to around +50 this gives the colours a stronger effect within the image. Also change the 'colour correction' to roughly +20 this makes the colours look realistic.

You can continue to play around with the others but again it is all a matter of opinion. Then click OK.

Again duplicate your original image and drag the layer to the top so its above the rest. Select Filter > Other > High pass. Change the radius to about 10 pixels. After select Image > Adjustments > Desaturated and change the blending mode to overlay. By doing this it allows the contrast in colours so be more prompt.

Finally select Layer > New adjustment layer > Colour balance. Then change the 'Highlights'. You can adjust this to your preference but i started by adding more yellow and red.

I then changed the 'Shadows' by adding more blue, green and Cyan.

But again play around with the sliders till you find a colour your happy with.

This is my final outcome. I enjoyed creating this digital effect as it allows me to use my own opinion to get the best possible effect. Although it can give an artificial effect I still think it looks great.

Instagram effect using photoshop.

I created this enhancement by using Adobe Photoshop and following a tutorial on Youtube.

It was easy to follow but there are loads of individual steps that can mean it gets a little confusing.

I started by uploading the image into Photoshop. I then duplicated the layer so that there was two of them. I changed the colour to 247-217-173. This left me with a beige colour. On a new layer, using the paint bucket I filled the page in with that colour. I then 'multiplied' that layer using the drop down menu above the layers.

I selected my duplicated layer and selected 'curves'. I selected the colour green from the drop down menu and changed the output to 37. I then changed blue to 133.

Again on the duplicated layer I seleceted levels and changed the middle number to 1.36  and the right i changed it 2.36.

Also on the duplicated layer I selected 'Brightness and Contrast'. I changed the brightness to 6 and the contrast to 51.

I then created another 'curve' on the duplicate layer. I adjusted the green input to 13 and the blue input to 88.

I then created another 'Brightness and Contrast' layer as adjusted the brightness to -6 and the contrast to 33.

finally I created a curve and this time adjusted the red from the drop down menu to 4 and blue to 14.

This was my final outcome. This has a great effect and is very simple to do but can get confusing if you don't follow the steps correctly.

Solarisation in the darkroom

I did another experiment in the dark room called Solarisation. 

This is done by exposing the negative onto photographic paper as usual and then placing the paper into the developer solution until you start to see some of the image.

Quickly, you then expose the paper to light but without the negative (as it is hard to line up quickly) for a second or two and then place the paper back into the developer for a minute or two and then the stop and the fix after.

This is a hard experiment to get good result first time so you will have to try and try again but eventually with patients you will get an outcome similar if not better then mine.

This is a good enhancement to use in your work if you are very patient when done correctly the outcome is great. I however could not get the hang of it very well but this was my best atempt.

Highlighting areas of interest.

To start this enhancement I took a range of photographs that matched my theme of Landscapes.

I had to check that these image worked well when highlighting areas of interest so I started by experimenting. I did this by printing out these images and with coloured tissue paper I cut out the right shape that covered areas on the images that I wanted to stand out.
This was the outcome...

I then took the negatives into the dark room and using coins I did the same thing. However the process is very different. I started by making sure the time and Fstop were correct to get the best possible outcome. I then halved the time and started by placing the coins the right areas. I exposed the paper and then left the paper in the same place (do not move it as you will not get the same line up) but removed the coins and exposed for the same amount of time. I then developed the paper like you would originally.

This took a few attempts. As you can see from my photographs sometime you will need to add more time to make the highlighted areas darker and more visible but over all I think this has a great effect.
The top is my first attempt as you can see the image is lighter. The second image is of worse quality as i chose to place a layer of glass over the photograph paper when exposing it so that it would not move when I removed the coins.

Pinterest.

To continue research into my favourite artist that inspired me to do these experiments and enhancements to my photographs.

I have used a website called Pinterest to record this information so that i can always look back at it for further information.

The link below will lead you to my pin board and maybe these artist will give you inspiration for your work. 

http://pinterest.com/jessbland94/pins/

Printing onto different textured paper.

I started by creating my final outcomes on computer software, Photoshop. This was great to create and in my opinion has a great outcome.

I experimented with using different textured paper to print onto.

I started by using cartridge paper which is thicker then normal printer paper and also has a textured feel to it. This is what it looked like when printed.

I then used taking paper to print onto. This is thiner and also opaque so gives a great effect to print onto as not all the colour prints onto the surface as it smoother then normal printer paper as has very little surface to grip onto.  

You can't always tell what paper they are printed on as they have been scanned in, to form a digital image but the tracing paper prints are stronger in colour.

I prefer these and will go on to use this method of printing for my final piece.

Contact sheet of Digital images.

Here I have produced a contact sheet of digital images I have taken to use in my work. It consists of photographs taken in different locations. Some were taken in London and others were taken in the Isle of Wight.

The 12 images on the first sheet are the image I chose to use in my final outcome the second sheet consists of other images I took as back ups.

They all match my theme of Landscapes.

Mood board of initial ideas.

Here is a mood board I created to help me gain a little more inspiration as well as to have a few options to pick from when creating my final piece.

 

Mind map of final ideas.

I have produced a mind map of ideas of routes and methods I could use to produce my final ideas for this project.

Below is the mind map.

Indepth analysis of Vasilisa Forbes.

I have looked at a photographer and artist called Vasilisa Forbes. 

Vasilisa created a project called 'You were there, we were all there' and was based around the three E's. These are Erasing. Eroding. Entropy.
This is made up of a selection of photographs based around different themes but most images are of landscapes. By looking at Vasilisa work it seems as though they are enhanced using Adobe Photoshop. These are then enhanced by drawings rectangular shapes onto some areas of the images, hiding some of the most significant features such as people or buildings. 
 I am unsure as to why she has chosen these coloured shapes to cover parts of the image but by hiding the features it has a great effect on how they are read.

By covering these areas it almost take away part of the narrative to the images. Peoples faces and body language forms emotion to the image and the buildings show where these were taken.

As an audience to her work you are then left not knowing which areas are hidden as you don't get to view the original images. However sometimes she has some areas of the image left to view like the legs of people standing/posing or some of the structure of the buildings.

Photoshop enhancement inspired by Vasilisa Forbes.

I have previously looked at the work of Vasilisa Forbes and thought as an enhancement I would experiment with a similar technique to hers.

I started by taking several different photographs on a digital camera. I took photographs of landscapes and some images had people or other objects in the images.

I then placed the digital prints into Adobe Photoshop and with the shape tool I selected square and drew onto the image with shapes. I selected specific areas of the image that i wanted to cover like the people of a main object like buildings to take away some of the character of the images.

Doing this contributes to the viewers 'need' to know what is behind the coloured squares.

I chose these colours for the squares as it allows me to express things through them. By this I mean some colours are known to have meanings for example Red is for lust.

I have chosen to block some of the image with the colour pink as pink represents the feelings of Calm and relaxation. This is good as if you imagine yourself here you can almost know that these are feelings you could possibly feel.
The blue colour has a similar meaning. Blue also means Calm and relaxation but also means the flow of communication. Two of the images below are the enhanced images i edited using Photoshop.

On this one I have covered two main features being a person posing in the image and a boat that you would originally see on the Thames but by doing this it almost tricks people into imagining something else might be behind the image.

Here I have covered things that also grab your attention from your first glimpse at the image. These are the people. I left their feet in view and also the other people walking as i believe it leaves people wanting to know how might be behind the coloured patches and why I have decided to cover them up.

I also did handmade versions of this using photographs and cut coloured paper instead of using Photoshop to draw the squares on.
These are my final outcomes.

Overall I prefer the Photoshop edits as they look more professional and tidy. It's also really quick and easy to do. This is something I might consider using for my final idea as it can be very effective and may also be great if used alongside other enhanced images.

In-depth review of experimental work.

From the start of the As/A2 project I used a range of different methods on how I could enhance my photographs. My favourite ways of enhancing my own photographs were cutting layered photographs, pin wholes with light shining through, origami, and painting, toning and bleaching.

A great experiment of mine that had one of my favourite outcomes was the Origami. I did this by shooting coloured photographs on a digital camera. I then found a tutorial on the Internet that showed me the step-by-step instructions on how to create my own origami Butterfly. This enhancement was inspired by Rebecca Chew. I found this was fairly easy but you have to have a lot of patients. The final outcome for this in my opinion looked very effective however if you only have one a4 photograph and the other side is blank you can get plan areas on your final piece.

My second enhancement that I found had a great outcome was the bleaching of coloured photographs. This was inspired by a photographer called Curtis Mann. By using nail vanish I was able to leave some areas of the original colour but the areas that was not coated it took the colour away. This gives an amazing effect but works better when the images are of portraits.

Another method I used was toning the image. You can do this two different ways. You can use Adobe Photoshop to edit the hue and saturation levels which gives any coloured tone or you can use food colouring and with a paint brush smooth the colouring over all of the image of even parts of the image adding spot colour.

You can use these three experiments together to create one single enhanced image. I could use a 35mm coloured and black&white film. I would then use bleach to take away some of the colour of the photographs which would then leave spotted areas, I would then use the bleached photographs and make origami or even layer two contrasting images, the top image would have shaped flaps open so that you can see the other image through the holes. If the top image is black and white but the bottom coloured the coloured areas that show through will have a great contrast.