A2 EXAM 2018: FREEDOM AND/OR LIMITATIONS
"Freedom is the right to choose." - Archibald MacLeish
Initial Research:
Practical Task: 'Framing'
The first task for this unit involves focusing on using the limits of framing your environment using the edges of viewfinders and any shapes within the frame. This task forced me to pay more attention to the composition of my photo and make sure that the structure correlates with the rule of thirds. For example, it made me more aware of any opportunities to photograph through reflections, windows and mirrors. I really enjoyed this task because it forced me to look around the environment around me in a completely different perspective; I found that I was looking out for shapes in buildings as well as paying more attention to reflections in the windows of cafes and shops. This series of photos link to the theme of freedom and limitations because it involves using the limits of frames within the environment and the viewfinder to capture and crop the subject.
Development
For a development I wanted to experiment with using self-made view finders ( on the right) when photographing the environment in order to producer 'cleaner' and more organised photos. I liked how my previous turned out but found that they a lot going on in them and looked very messy. So I've created simple view finders of different sizes from cardboard and used them to isolate people/places/objects in chaotic environments.
CONTACT SHEET:
SELECTED PHOTOS:
Here are some of my favourite edited photos from this development. I enjoyed taking this approach to create these photos because it was new and fun. I also experimented with different ways of editing than I usually do, that involved changing the hue and selecting colour. I think that this development successfully captured and isolated the subject in an interesting and abstract way.
Here are some of my favourite edited photos from this development. I enjoyed taking this approach to create these photos because it was new and fun. I also experimented with different ways of editing than I usually do, that involved changing the hue and selecting colour. I think that this development successfully captured and isolated the subject in an interesting and abstract way.
Research Task: Exhibition Visit
I visited a photography exhibition that celebrated Elliot Erwitt's 90th birthday and was curated with the purpose to showcase his best work he produced over the years for Magnum Photos.
Research Task: Exhibition Visit II
Practical Task: Movement
Another way to challenge the limitations of photography is through experimenting with the shutter and aperture controls. Through using different settings, a camera is about to capture movement in different ways. I will manually set up all the settings to create a series of photos that will capture an impression of freedom and limitation through the movement of the subject.
CONTACT SHEET:
EDITING:
I am pleased with how these photos turned out, especially after all the editing. The original, unedited, photos were still interesting, but I decided to edit them by layering them over each other to add more movement into one photo. I think this was effective because it manages to add a stronger link between the photos and the theme of freedom and limitations. The photos give an impression of imprisonment and the feeling of being trapped. Another reason why I enjoyed taking these photos was because I got to experiment not only with the camera settings, but also with colour and light. I photographed in a dark room using only coloured digital screens as a form of light. I would've also liked to take some full body shots like Francesca Woodman (on the right), because I really liked her abstract approach to them, and I feel like they would also be effective and linking to the theme.
Class Task 2: Pushing the Limits of Photography
This task involves more experimentation with the ‘basics’ of photography (focus, composition and light). The aim is to create a series of photographs that will push the limitations of photography and challenge all its “rules”. This will give me the freedom to take a completely different approach to photography than I usually take.
Expectation 1: Focus
The first expectation of photography is to always focus your photos and make sure to capture all the detail. However, through challenging this rule, I have realised that blurry photos can also be really powerful and manage to give the photos more of a “dreamy” look. I particularly like the photos of Trever Hoehne.
Blurry Things by Trever Hoehne:
His photos inspired me to take out of focus photos of simple objects in my environment. I focused on patterns in nature and in man made objects.
Blurry Things by Trever Hoehne:
His photos inspired me to take out of focus photos of simple objects in my environment. I focused on patterns in nature and in man made objects.
CONTACT SHEET:
SELECTED PHOTOS:
I enjoyed this task because it allowed me to take photos in a completely different style to what I'm used to. The final photos are not my favourite, but I'm still pleased with how they turned out considering it was the first time I photographed out of focus. I would prefer to take portraits using this technique because I think they would be more interesting. I would love to do that as a development.
Expectation 2: Composition
Another expectation of photography is the composition. Most photographers follow the 3 by 3 rule in order to keep their photographs comprehensible. But this task requires us to capture the focal point out of shot, - which is much more difficult than it sounds, because we're so used to photographing in the polar opposite.
An example of a photographer who is very successful at this is Ute Barth. Her photographs only capture a small glimpse of the main subject which is interesting and frustrating at the same time. As spectators, we are also confused as to how to view the image.
An example of a photographer who is very successful at this is Ute Barth. Her photographs only capture a small glimpse of the main subject which is interesting and frustrating at the same time. As spectators, we are also confused as to how to view the image.
CONTACT SHEET:
SELECTED PHOTOS:
This task was definitely more challenging than the focus one, but it required me to think about every shot before I actually took it. It was hard to suddenly start to take different approach to composition, because it was unnatural to me, but I still like how the photos turned out because they've captured so many interesting shapes which made them abstract.
Expectation 3: ISO
Another important, if not the most important, rule of photography is good lighting. We are able to change the light settings on your cameras using the ISO, aperture and shutter speed on manual mode. For this task, I took photos of a subject but changed the ISO in each picture, which resulted in a series of photos of the same thing but in different lighting. The smaller the ISO number, the darker the image will be.
I really liked how the overexposed photos turned out because they erased a lot of the details, and thinned out the lines and shapes making the photos look very delicate. I think it could be even better if I got some more interesting shots with a smaller ISO, because all of the selected photos were taken with a high ISO of at least 1600.
TASK: Post-production
All of the expectations can be challenged in post production- contrast, brightness, cropping etc. A photographer that managed to successfully challenge photography in post production is Keld Helmer. He was a Danish photographer published over exposed black and white photographs that resemble photograms. This task links to the theme of freedom and limitations because it captures the freedom we have to change the image in many different ways through editing.
TASK: Post-production
All of the expectations can be challenged in post production- contrast, brightness, cropping etc. A photographer that managed to successfully challenge photography in post production is Keld Helmer. He was a Danish photographer published over exposed black and white photographs that resemble photograms. This task links to the theme of freedom and limitations because it captures the freedom we have to change the image in many different ways through editing.
CONTACT SHEET:
SELECTED PHOTOS:
EDITING:
Expectation 3: Damage
Another expectation in photography is to take care and produce "perfect" photographs. This is even harder when handling film and negatives because there are many things that can go wrong when developing film photos. This task gives me, as the photographer, more freedom to damage the photos through different ways like painting, burning and scratching. Everything that is considered to 'ruin' the photos can actually make it more interesting.
PAINTING
Gerhard Richter: Richter is a German artist who creates abstract pieces by mixing photography and paint. He wants the paint to give an effect "similar to that of wallpaper or tapestry".
PAINTING
Gerhard Richter: Richter is a German artist who creates abstract pieces by mixing photography and paint. He wants the paint to give an effect "similar to that of wallpaper or tapestry".
MY RESPONSE:
Inspired by the Barbican Exhibition "Another Kind of Life - Photography on the Margins", I replicated his work by painting on printed photos from the exhibition. I think the paint added more of a messy and gritty look to the already strong photos. It would be even better if I could also do this with my own photos.
Inspired by the Barbican Exhibition "Another Kind of Life - Photography on the Margins", I replicated his work by painting on printed photos from the exhibition. I think the paint added more of a messy and gritty look to the already strong photos. It would be even better if I could also do this with my own photos.
BURNING
Lucas Simoes: Simoes is a Brazilian artist who distorts his portraits through many different ways like, layering, cutting and burning. His work is highly influenced by his architectural and design background.
Lucas Simoes: Simoes is a Brazilian artist who distorts his portraits through many different ways like, layering, cutting and burning. His work is highly influenced by his architectural and design background.
MY RESPONSE:
SCRATCHING:
CHEMICAL
Seung-Hwan Oh is a photography and a microbiologist who adds chemicals to his films before putting it in the camera and shooting. This makes the photos much more abstract by creating new shapes and emphasising as well as erasing some colour.
Seung-Hwan Oh is a photography and a microbiologist who adds chemicals to his films before putting it in the camera and shooting. This makes the photos much more abstract by creating new shapes and emphasising as well as erasing some colour.
MY RESPONSE:
For my response I developed photos from negatives and poured bleached over them which erased some of the photograph. I really like the effect that it created but I would also want to use different chemicals that would add more colour to the photos.
For my response I developed photos from negatives and poured bleached over them which erased some of the photograph. I really like the effect that it created but I would also want to use different chemicals that would add more colour to the photos.
Gallery Exhibition: Another Kind of Life - Photography on the Margins
"Touching on themes of countercultures, subcultures and minorities of all kinds, the show features the work of 20 photographers from the 1950s to the present day."
Barbican's 'Another Kind of Life' exhibition features 20 different photographers from all over the world who captured people on the fringes of society. The collection of work spans from the late 50s to current day, documenting a variety of subcultures, from Teddy Boys to Transgender women. The photographers collaborated with the subcultures and immersed themselves completely in their lifestyles, in order to get close and produce authentic photographs. Most work exhibited was political to some degree, because it presented the outcasts of societies and gave them the platform to share their true selves through, which they never got before.
Favourite work -
Paz Errázuriz: Captured transgender women in the Adam's Apple Series - ‘They are topics that society doesn’t look at, and my intention is to encourage people to dare to look’. Through documenting her subjects in comfortable environments like their homes, she managed to capture a more raw and true perspective of them, and therefore make the viewer perceive them more personally.
Paz Errázuriz: Captured transgender women in the Adam's Apple Series - ‘They are topics that society doesn’t look at, and my intention is to encourage people to dare to look’. Through documenting her subjects in comfortable environments like their homes, she managed to capture a more raw and true perspective of them, and therefore make the viewer perceive them more personally.
Danny Lyon: The exhibition included his photographs of bike riders and their subculture. His style is defined as the "New Journalism" of photography, meaning that the photographer is an active participant of the documented subject. Lyon's work was one of my favourite because it was clearly very authentic, and it felt like the photographer was a part of the group. It was curated alongside two speakers through which different stories were told, by an insider, which I thought was really effective and gave the whole exhibition more depth.
PHOTOS FROM THE BARBICAN:
This exhibition links to the theme of freedom and limitation because it reflects on the limitations posed within society and how anomy leeds to exclusion. However, it also showed the freedom of rejecting society's norms and instead, creating your own. The presentation of the curatorship itself also links to the theme because it was different than most exhibition.
Class Task 3: Limiting Space
This task involves approaching the theme of freedom and limitations through limiting space in a studio. The photographer, Irving Penn, has inspired my response. Irving Penn has photographed many famous photo in a small corner set up in a studio. Within the corner portraits, the studio becomes an architectural limiter of the subject movements and the resulting compressed and claustrophobic environment isolates the subjects’ personalities in an abstract, artificial corner of the world. He allowed his subjects to express themselves and their true personalities through limiting their environment.
ARTIST: MY RESPONSE:
ARTIST: MY RESPONSE:
Inside:
Another way to achieve Irwing Penn’s version of “limitation” of the subject is through limiting the amount of space in a frame through blocking it off using paper and shapes. These series of photos are inspired by the Photopedagogy exhibition at the Tate Exchange.
CONTACT SHEET:
Outside:
I also decided to try this approach outside - which was much more challenging.
CONTACT SHEET:
CONTACT SHEET:
I really enjoyed taking these photos and approaching the theme using this technique, because it was very abstract. I decided to take inspiration from a previous task and manipulate the image in post production more than I usually do by changing the colour of the paper each time to make the photos more interesting as a series. It would be even better if I got more photos from the outside development, but I am pleased with the ones I did get.
THREE STRANDS:
For my final piece, I know I want to create something that will focus on portraiture and personal stories because I want to try something new and outside of my comfort zone-as before I limited myself into mostly photography street.
STRAND 1 - "REAL PORTRAITS"
Capturing people without any limitations, restricting them; how they look, if they're wearing make up or not... Portraits of their real selves. This idea was inspired by Patrick Tosani.
Portrait Braille (1984): Patrick Tosani
This project reflects the way blindness affects people's lives and tries to capture the essence of a person through blind eyes.
RESPONSE: I took my photos in a studio setting with a white background because this really made the outline of the people stand out more, and even though they're blurry, they are still vaguely visible. Making the photos so out of focus has removed their identity and only captured an essence of them.
Aura Photography:
I developed this idea, because I got inspired by some photos in the Foam magazine, that captured people's personality through colours. Aura photography consists of photographing using polaroids and special electronic sensors that apparently captured the electromagnetic waves and transformed them into colour through a computer.
All the colours have different meanings:
Red - Decisiveness, active, joy, awareness, courage, vitality, will and perseverance
Orange - Creativity, exuberance, warmth and openness, sense of guilt, self denial, unstable
Orange/Yellow - Sharp mind, self-awareness, ambition
Yellow - Spontaneity, intellect and intelligence, organizational talent, social skills
Yellow/Green - Sympathy, empathy
Green - Change, submission, commitment, loving
Pale Blue - Dedication to ideals, gentleness
Blue - Calm, depth, communication, loneliness, dedication
Indigo - Healing characteristics, seriousness, artistic, imaginative,
Lilac - Magic, mysticism, tolerance, optimism
Violet - Intuition, spirituality, wisdom, imagination
Guy Coggins (Inventor);
I developed this idea, because I got inspired by some photos in the Foam magazine, that captured people's personality through colours. Aura photography consists of photographing using polaroids and special electronic sensors that apparently captured the electromagnetic waves and transformed them into colour through a computer.
All the colours have different meanings:
Red - Decisiveness, active, joy, awareness, courage, vitality, will and perseverance
Orange - Creativity, exuberance, warmth and openness, sense of guilt, self denial, unstable
Orange/Yellow - Sharp mind, self-awareness, ambition
Yellow - Spontaneity, intellect and intelligence, organizational talent, social skills
Yellow/Green - Sympathy, empathy
Green - Change, submission, commitment, loving
Pale Blue - Dedication to ideals, gentleness
Blue - Calm, depth, communication, loneliness, dedication
Indigo - Healing characteristics, seriousness, artistic, imaginative,
Lilac - Magic, mysticism, tolerance, optimism
Violet - Intuition, spirituality, wisdom, imagination
Guy Coggins (Inventor);
MY RESPONSE:
EDITING:
STRAND 2: BURIED
Stephan Gill is an artist who uses his surrounding as the inspiration for his series of art work in which he combines 2D and 3D mediums. His series - Hackney Flowers has evolved from his series and book Hackney Wick and it contains multi layered photographs of environment and nature. Looking at his work gave me some ideas for my final piece; I want to explore the importance and influence of the environment on individuals.
Stephan Gill is an artist who uses his surrounding as the inspiration for his series of art work in which he combines 2D and 3D mediums. His series - Hackney Flowers has evolved from his series and book Hackney Wick and it contains multi layered photographs of environment and nature. Looking at his work gave me some ideas for my final piece; I want to explore the importance and influence of the environment on individuals.
MY RESPONSE: Responding Stephan Gill has given me a new type of freedom when it comes to photography and taking it outside of just the digital editing. I really enjoyed incorporating some manual work into creating a photo and combining 2D and 3D mediums. This is a technique I hope to incorporate into my final piece. I also like the way the nature contrasts with the 'harsh' city environment, I think this type of technique is really effective at contrasting the two.
However, it was a little bit difficult to photograph the final work because the light was reflecting from the glass that was pressing down the flowers/leaves. Next time, I will try scanning to avoid this.
Strand 3: Ethnicity
For my third strand I wanted to explore how the theme of freedom and limitations links to ethnicity - as this is something I want to explore more in my final piece. Since London is filled with immigrants I thought it would be interesting to photograph them and find out where they're from as a starting point to the this strand. I took photos near London Bridge and found it easy to find people who were not originally from London.
For my third strand I wanted to explore how the theme of freedom and limitations links to ethnicity - as this is something I want to explore more in my final piece. Since London is filled with immigrants I thought it would be interesting to photograph them and find out where they're from as a starting point to the this strand. I took photos near London Bridge and found it easy to find people who were not originally from London.
GALLERY VISIT: POST SOVIET VISIONS
This gallery visit inspired me to focus my strand more on my own ethnicity and the freedom and limitations of growing up in London being Polish. The exhibition captures the new identities of Eastern European youth and how they define themselves as the first generation to grow up in the post-communist society. This exhibition and topic is personal to me, because I do not know what it feels like to grow up in Poland just after the elimination of communism in 1989. However, my family still clearly remembers what it was like during and after WW2 in the country, so I want to explore this in my future developments and document it through photography and interviews.
This gallery visit inspired me to focus my strand more on my own ethnicity and the freedom and limitations of growing up in London being Polish. The exhibition captures the new identities of Eastern European youth and how they define themselves as the first generation to grow up in the post-communist society. This exhibition and topic is personal to me, because I do not know what it feels like to grow up in Poland just after the elimination of communism in 1989. However, my family still clearly remembers what it was like during and after WW2 in the country, so I want to explore this in my future developments and document it through photography and interviews.
JIM GOLDBERG
Jim Goldberg is one of the artists who's work was exhibited in the Barbican exhibition - Another Kind Of Life. His art is characterised by a messy, raw look; he layers writing and drawings with his photos to help him tell the stories of the people he is photographing. He uses a variety of mediums to document the troubled lives of the neglected, society's outcasts. I was inspired by him to create a response focusing on Polish culture and family history.
Jim Goldberg is one of the artists who's work was exhibited in the Barbican exhibition - Another Kind Of Life. His art is characterised by a messy, raw look; he layers writing and drawings with his photos to help him tell the stories of the people he is photographing. He uses a variety of mediums to document the troubled lives of the neglected, society's outcasts. I was inspired by him to create a response focusing on Polish culture and family history.
Development
SCANNED OLD PHOTOS:
I used my parents and grandparent's old photos and asked them to talk about them. I then wrote their stories down or I asked them to do it. Using Photoshop skills I also managed to use the writing that was on the back of the photographs and incorporate it into the final edits.
I used my parents and grandparent's old photos and asked them to talk about them. I then wrote their stories down or I asked them to do it. Using Photoshop skills I also managed to use the writing that was on the back of the photographs and incorporate it into the final edits.
RESPONSE:
This response links to the brief of freedom and limitations because it not only communicates the theme through the context of the photos, being in the late 80s and 90s, in Poland, which explore what it was like living as a young adult in that country, during that time, but also it represents the creative freedom that I had when editing these photos. I had much more options and skills to create something new with old photos, that my parents definitely didn't have only 30 years ago.
This response links to the brief of freedom and limitations because it not only communicates the theme through the context of the photos, being in the late 80s and 90s, in Poland, which explore what it was like living as a young adult in that country, during that time, but also it represents the creative freedom that I had when editing these photos. I had much more options and skills to create something new with old photos, that my parents definitely didn't have only 30 years ago.
I really enjoyed this process because it was new to me. It encouraged me to experiment with different mediums and make the photos more messy.
Development
Since for my previous response I've only used my parent's old photos, for this one I decided to use my own personal ones and overall just make this response much more personal to me and my experience of growing up in another country and how that affected me. I think this is important before taking my last step before starting to create my final piece. I printed my old photos from Poland and from here and reflected on the person I was and the person I am now.
CONTACT SHEET:
CONTACT SHEET:
FINAL IDEA - MAGAZINE
All of the work I've done so far, has inspired me to focus on the freedoms and limitations of our environment. For my final piece I want to create a magazine that will include many different interviews and photos of people who all came from a different country to live in London. Originally, I was planning to do centre it around only Polish people, because that would be something very personal, but after re-thinking my idea I decided to include people from all backgrounds in this project because I thought it may be more interesting, as London is such a diverse place and everyone would have a different story.
SUSANA - PORTUGAL
EDITED:
BRUNA - BRAZIL
EDITED:
ANGELICA - PHILIPPINES
EDITED:
SOROM - NIGERIA
EDITED:
MONIKA - POLAND
EDITED:
I wanted the photo shoot to be as comfortable as possible with every person, and so usually we shot in places that they knew - for example, their art studio, their favourite cafe, favourite area of London, or the area of London they live in. I wanted the photos for every person to be different and unique, to represent them. I asked all of them about their upbringing and their hometown and recorded the answers, which I later typed up, so that I can have them ready when designing the layout of the magazine.
Collier Schorr
Collier Schorr is an artist that has inspired and influenced the layout of my final magazine. She has created a book titled 'Neighbors/Nachbarn' which documents portraits of a small town in Germany. I really liked how she presented it; instead of having a clean and organised look, she included photos that varied in size and style which, I think, makes the whole look much more interesting.
Preview of my final piece; some of my favourite final pages -
Audio:
As part of my final piece I decided to use and edit the audio files of the interviews I done and play them through speakers. I removed the questions and just left the answers with gaps between them. I was inspired to this by Danny Lyon's curatorship at Barbican's exhibition - Modern Kind of Life. I really liked the idea of the subjects talking about what happened 'behind the scenes' of the photographs exhibited.
As part of my final piece I decided to use and edit the audio files of the interviews I done and play them through speakers. I removed the questions and just left the answers with gaps between them. I was inspired to this by Danny Lyon's curatorship at Barbican's exhibition - Modern Kind of Life. I really liked the idea of the subjects talking about what happened 'behind the scenes' of the photographs exhibited.
MAGAZINE DIGITAL:
Screen recording of how my final piece looks like:
Each of the people I photographed and interviewed got their own section in the final magazine. Overall I am really happy with how the magazine turned out and enjoyed the whole process of creating it. I tried to mix manual and digital techniques and pieces of work together to create more of a 'journal' feel.
Screen recording of how my final piece looks like:
Each of the people I photographed and interviewed got their own section in the final magazine. Overall I am really happy with how the magazine turned out and enjoyed the whole process of creating it. I tried to mix manual and digital techniques and pieces of work together to create more of a 'journal' feel.