Update

With it being nearly three months since my last post, i'm going to start (hopefully) regularly updating my blog with current work and occurrences! Since receiving new kit for Christmas, I am hoping to be producing work and a higher standard in which I plan on sharing on this page...


Merry Christmas!

Haunting Movement..

Making a start to my Unit 3 work in my second year of photography, I have decided to look at the idea of movement in which I will capture through a slow shutter. Today (22/09/2014) I shot my friend Charlotte Baines and I am happy with the results: 

Obviously this has been edited and changed into negative, the thing I like most about this image is the way its changed into what looks like an X-ray, this contributes to quite a haunting impact I wish to have on the viewer. 

With this image, the thought of movement being captured was actually unsuccessful however the hair draped over the body is captured nicely against the white backdrop - also, I have evidently added a cellophane filter which adds depth to the image and works well with black and white. 

As my final of the three selected - I love how the silhouette has been captured in this image but also with slight movement from left to right and the positioning of the lights within the studio has complimented by adding a bleached centre backing of the image itself.


This is a brief post but just an update of a successful shoot - definitely more to follow. 

Beginning Night Photography

Night time photography is my favourite kind, in my opinion it takes more to master a good picture, patience and probably a tripod. When planning shoots, I see a lot more potential in the night - from bokeh to motion blur images you can't go wrong.
Last night I visited Liverpool with a couple friends and tried shooting in a few different places, one thing I discovered with going out at dark is that a lot of success comes from luck - I often just place my camera on the floor when doing a slow shutter, without looking through the viewfinder and shoot. It can mean a long process of trial and error but it's definitely rewarding in the end.

Starting off last night I decided to shoot close ups of trainers, almost like images you see on Crepe City Sneakers Instagram,

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Using a film lens for this image, it took a few attempts to get the trainer correctly in focus however I feel with my normal kit lens, the bokeh wouldn't have been as effective in the distance. 

With it being night time, I went onto attempt a motion blur image however I struggled to achieve any levels within the image as most cars were all the same height - until a bus arrived... 

Ideally, I would have liked these two images to have been one and the blur to be entirely through however getting the balance between shutter speed and aperture is something i'm not that great at, yet. Something I could consider is layering the images in order to achieve that. 

I then also experimented with different kinds of lights and movement, on escalators. 

in order to achieve these images, all I did was place my camera on the hand bar of the escalator and had a slow shutter speed of 1.6, with my camera still but the bar moving as well as the slow shutter it has captured the light nicely, blurry however the centre of the image seems in focus. 

Yet again, experimenting with slow shutter however this time in Central Station, therefore very bright. I did not intend for this to be so successful and just held my camera on the floor pointing around and shooting whenever. With the first image (below) It was completely natural, the thing I like most about this is the movement almost looks like a layered image and I intend to revisit areas like this to reshoot and develop further into topics like this. The second image below was purely luck, just as I heard the train arriving I placed my camera on the floor however with my friend's shoe in the way I thought it was going to be a failure, however, it turned out to be one of my favourites from my entire shoot that night. 

London June 20th

 Going back to the beginning of my Summer, exactly two weeks after my final exam I headed down to London to visit a potential University - London College of Communication, located in the Elephant & Castle area of C London. Visiting the college was inspiring and is definitely going to be somewhere to consider - I then visited Shoreditch, known for it's street art and coffee, very good coffee. 

Full of vintage shops and coffee stores, if you're into art then you'll appreciate this place. I was visiting an exhibition that featured my cousins work, Shoreditch is never short of an exhibition. One thing I noticed was the contrast in the people who were visiting, business men and art enthusiasts couldn't look more different however I feel that this portrays London well, different people with many different demographics.

On my second day there, I visited another University and managed to squeeze in a visit to Westminster before getting the train home. There's always something happening in London that's worth documenting, especially in Westminster - here i've captured the protests that were taking place on the 21st of June, protesting for a number of things, below on this image suggests a few things; 'Say no to austerity', 'no more wars', 'say no to racism', 'say no to ukip' - here, just a few things that people needed to get across. It was at this point where I discovered the feel of photojournalism. Comparing these images to the ones I have previously taken for photography work, I see more of an interest and a story also being told - within these pictures are people whose behaviour and opinions have been captured, honestly and naturally. To pursue a career in photojournalism is an aim for me, in todays world it's difficult to discover the truth with many stories being manipulated in the media, to fool others. Through photojournalism I believe, is an truthful way to present the events that are happening around the world.

Portraiture

In response to my first post, i'd like to post an update of the portraits I have shot recently.

Carole, my mum. 

I feel with portraits you can portray much more than just a person, if successfully shot and the subject is not posed it can present an honest and truthful image of whom that person is.

This for example, is forced. The smile does not reach the eyes suggesting that the pose is mandatory. Sometimes in honest portraits a story will be told, however in this case where the subjects have been told how to present themselves no story is available. I believe that the predominantly dark left side of each image adds character to the image itself, rather than just basic lighting and with the addition of a black and white filter and the increased contrast it makes the image, so I believe, to be aesthetically pleasing.

Sam, my step-brother. 

                                                                               

Amsterdam - In 5

Flight MH17 memorial outside Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam

Graffiti

One of many canals, Amsterdam

Trying to sum up Amsterdam in 5 pictures is difficult. The first picture (RIP MH17) was taken when I was leaving, at Schiphol Airport - I was going up the escalators on the way to my gate and turned to my left and all I saw was flowers, endless amounts. Gathered around outside was an outstanding amount of people all showing their respects, and on the balloon in the image, the message read "RIP my dear Irene, Budy, Darryl and Sherryl, you'll all remain in our hearts,

love, Sonia, Edwin, Erwin" 

My thoughts are with the families and friends of those lost in the shooting of flight MH17 on July 17th.

On a lighter note, Amsterdam is interesting to say the least, despite the airport being incredibly backwards to arrive in and the trains/tube confusing - it has inspired me to travel more around Europe next summer (2015), hopefully. Hotel Not Hotel was interesting - sleeping in a bookshelf was a new and enjoyable experience, the staff were helpful and pleasant and i'd recommend the hotel to anyone who appreciates aesthetically pleasing architecture and doesn't mind shared bathrooms.

The street art in Amsterdam reminds me a little of Shoreditch in East London, with vast amounts of graffiti on street corners longing to be noticed and inspiring quotes just like the one in the last image "Don't be another brick in the wall". 

Bikes - something Amsterdam is not short of, if I'd spent longer than a packed two days there I definitely would have hired a bike. A day pass for trams/buses/tube is about €7,50 - I made the mistake of not knowing this and paid each time I got on one (€2,80 per trip), however you can hire bikes from about €2 per day, some hotels also have bikes available to rent which is very convenient. Also, bikes being the best way to get around, theres bike lanes everywhere so if you're walking about make sure not to get hit by bikes, I nearly did.. about 12 times. 

Another thing Amsterdam is known for is it's canals - I'd recommend going out at dark to see the bridges lit up as it's so atmospheric and a definite pleasant experience. 

I'd definitely recommend Amsterdam but if I was to go again, i'd stay for 3-4 days - just to allow myself to see more and maybe visit things like Anne Frank's house and some art galleries. 

Some recent portraits of my brother, one of the first few shoots to do this summer to develop into ideas for A2.