Assignment 5: Applying the techniques of illustration and narrative

In this final assignment we were bade to imagine that we were illustrating a story for a magazine. We had to create a worth cover (much like the rain exercise), and several pages of a narrative article (or series of images with captions as a photo story). This means that the story can unfold over multiple images rather than a single one shot story as a usual stand alone image is designed to be. We were reminded that some of the photos would be seen together on the same pair of pages (double page spreads).

My pdf submission here, was designed to act as one of those little A5 pullouts you get inside the middle of a larger magazine. A whole little story, self contained. All about a trip to Dive 2013, one of the largest dive shows in the UK. I made the PDF here landscape when viewed online (so you would get the effect of the double page spreads).

Online version:
Assignment5 Dive Show PDF

When it came to printing, I needed to make sure a double sided printer would print things correctly for the little booklet to be arranged (as if to be stapled into a larger magazine). This PDF below is the rearrange so you can see what I mean.

Assignment5 Dive Show Print Arrangement PDF

In my learning log, I have gone though each page and image choice in detail so I wont repeat that all here.

Assignment 4: Applying lighting techniques

For this assignment the task was to apply different lighting techniques to one object to emphasise Shape, form, texture & colour. Click on the small images below to enter the gallery view.

I’ve put my critical review & thoughts into my learning log pdf part 4.

Here are two bonus photos which didn’t quite match the rest of the set but which I also liked…

This could be an alternative for Texture:

This could be an alternative for Form:

Assignment 3: Colour

This assignment is to demonstrate combinations of colours to show deliberate relationships of harmony & contrast. The assignment is broken down into four types of relationship which I have put as headings above each section of photographs. We were asked to vary the subject matter by ‘finding’ situations where the colour relationship already exists and also ‘setting up’ situations to manufacture the relationship. I wanted an overall look to my assignment despite having to both find and set up the colours so I choose flowers as my overall subject to give the assignment a bit of coherence, sometimes I could find the colours within the flowers and their natural surroundings and sometimes I set up the backdrop by holding a coloured card behind them. So without further ado…

Complimentary colours
These are colours which face each other across the colour wheel (of primary and secondary colours). Click into see the images bigger and read the descriptions to see if I set up the colours or found them.

Similar colours
These are warm and cool colours which are next to each other on the colour wheel.

Contrasting colours
These are colours which contrast strongly and are spaced about a third of the way around the wheel from each other.

Colour Accents
These are images where a small splash of colour sits against a much larger area of another colour as a spot or accent of colour.

Colours in my existing work

Its April and its snowing in London. I’m doing this chapter at the wrong time of the year really, its depressing and uninspiring and making me question whether I should even be doing a degree course at all. London around the areas I spend much of my time is a very grey place unless the sun & blue sky make an appearance, even then its pretty grey. I’m finding its very uninspiring for taking “found” (ie not set up) colourful photos. Since my assignment is probably doomed to failure I thought I’d cheer myself up by proving to myself (and you) that I could demonstrate good use of colour in photography of found scenes…

Complementary Colours  are colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel.
eg: Yellow & Violet, Blue & Orange and Red & Green

Similar colours are colours that are next to each other on the colour wheel.
eg: Yellow & Orange, Red & Orange, Blue & Green and Blue & Violet

Contrasting colours are colours that are in-between the complimentary colours and the similar colours on the colour wheel. These are probably the colour combinations I’m most attracted too.
eg: Blue & Red, Orange & Violet, Yellow & Red, Green & Orange, Violet & Green and Blue & Yellow

Use of colour as an accent…

And for my tutor who thinks I shouldn’t do underwater work at this stage of the course (another depressing thought considering there are three whole chapters and two more modules left at this level, yawn) here are some colourful topside photos…

Assignment 2: Elements Of Design

For this assignment we were allowed to choose a subject for example ‘Flowers & Plants’, ‘Landscapes’ or ‘Street Details’ with which to show a group of photos with elements of design in them as specified by the headings below. The subject I chose was Underwater Macro Life.

 

1. Single Point dominating the composition:

The eye of this sleeping goat fish definitely dominates this composition.

 

 

2. Two Points:

I was attracted to the little tendrils that spider out from each hole.

 

 

3. Several points in a deliberate shape:

The eyes and knees of this mantis shrimp  (do mantis shrimp even have knees?) make an implied rectangle. I liked that the whole thing was enclosed in an actual circle (his hole) and a spot of light from the snoot I was using. Shapes within shapes.

 

 

4. A combination of vertical and horizontal lines:

I was confused a little by this one because in the exercises for this the horizontals and verticals were split out into different pictures but this title implied both. So I shot all three versions. Horizontal, Vertical and Both.

 

 

5. Diagonals:

The diagonal lines of the crinoid lead you eye to the striking little crab.

 

 

6. Curves:

This was shot during daylight hours so I used a high shutter speed to control the ambient light to achieve the black background. I wanted to emphasise the curve of this whip coral to lead your eyes down to the very well camouflaged shrimp and a blue (water) background wouldn’t have worked as well.

 

 

7. Distinct, even if irregular shapes:

I used a snoot on my strobe to create a pool of heart shape light around this pair of harlequin shrimp enjoying a romantic meal for two of starfish legs.

 

 

8. At least two kinds of implied triangle:

This decorator crab has three little polyps on his head making a nice implied triangle. And the eyes and shrimp of this coral grouper being cleaned make an implied inverted triangle. The groupers body is triangular too, more shapes within shapes.

 

 

9. Rhythm:

The pattern of this coral reminded me of a musical score.

 

 

10. Pattern:

This pattern of coral polyps looks as though it could go on forever.

 

To see the Exifs etc for these images (as I know my tutor might like to do) you have to look at them in side show mode. Click any image below to begin, please bear in mind that my lighting is external and manually controlled so this would not be taken into account by the Exif.

Assignment two – Draft Images

The subject I chose  for my assignment was Underwater Macro Life.

Note to tutor… I filled in my google docs PDF learning log with images and text for each day I did my assignment images. Now I cannot download as a PDF it so I’m putting the images here in date sections to be referred too when reading the PDF. This is not all the photos that I took each day of course but those that were intended towards the assignment that didn’t make it into the PDF. Please click on each set to open in a larger slideshow version.

 

 

22nd November 2012: Assignment 2. First day of shooting.

 

 

23rd November 2012: Assignment 2. Second day of shooting.

 

 

24th November 2012: Assignment 2. Third day of shooting.

 

 

25th November 2012: Assignment 2. Fourth day of shooting.

 

 

26th November 2012: Assignment 2. Fifth day of shooting.

 

 

27th November 2012: Assignment 2. Sixth day of shooting.

 

 

28th November 2012: Assignment 2. Seventh day of shooting.

 

 

29th November 2012: Assignment 2. Eighth day of shooting.

Assignment 1: Contrasts

This gallery is supposed to show 3 columns. If it shows more than that you may need to click into the post here to see it formatted correctly.

My first infographic

So for my contrasts assignment my theme is glassware. I’ve shot most of the photos but I need edit them. However, I wanted a nice way to present some information for each pair of images. I decided on infographics. I don’t know if I’m going to manage for each pair but I’m going to give it a go. Here is my first one – the information that will go alongside my photos from curved and straight:

created using easel.ly

Assignment 1: Contrasts – archive version

This assignment is presented as a series of contrasting pairs of words. I had decided how to respond to this assignment before I had got to the chapter on contrasts in Michael Freemans book. In that chapter (p34) it discussed this assignment as an 1920s art experiment and the results were all completely disparate photographs showing the different words. I had already decided I wanted my whole project to be a series of similar subjects. So as a personal exercise I went through my back catalogue to find examples to present to you in the style of the original experiment. 8 pairs of words and one image that has two word (black & white in this case). Hover the mouse over the images to see what the photo represents. Click on the images to see the gallery of larger images.