Sunday, February 19, 2012

Exercise 16: Exploring function

I chose a tiny church in a rural community in Iceland for this exercise.  It is used by local people who live on their farms and freeholds spread across miles of countryside.  It serves as a small centre for folks to come together to worship, share stories and to sing.  The building needs to be very weather-hardy but welcoming.  Attractive but not flamboyant to suit the Lutheran doctrines of the area, although this denomination is rooted in traditional Catholicism.  The series of pictures I took serves to demonstrate the location of the church and how it can hold a good crowd of hearty singers.  Seems to be functioning wonderfully!







Assignment 2: People and activity - Notes

The object of the assignment was to plan and execute a set of images of people in a meaningful activity.

I chose the Chinese New Year celebrations on February 6th 2011 in central London.  The images depict different people (all strangers) at the event and I aimed to capture ‘telling moments’ as well as explaining and documenting the activity.

After being there for about an hour I closed my eyes and tried to narrow down some of the key elements which represented Chinese New Year celebrations to me and then actively sought to capture those images and moments.  It was very difficult to get clear shots as there were so many people in some very small spaces plus it was a very overcast day so it ended up being quite a frustrating shoot.  I wish I had experimented with different lenses more and perhaps used a fill flash.  It would have been useful to have two cameras available at all times to switch more easily between wide angle and long zoom.  I should also have found the nerve to get up onto the fountain walls in Trafalgar Square to get a better viewpoint. 


1. Couple

Exposed: February 6th 2011
Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF70-200mm, f2.8L IS USM
Aperture: f2.8
Shutter speed: 1/60
ISO: 100
Focal length: 200mm
White balance: Auto
Location: Trafalgar Square, London
Lightning:  overcast

Processing in Lightroom:
Exposure +1.15
Crop

This shot was irresistible as the couple looked so happy and relaxed with a great energy between them.  I was anxious to grab it quickly and was not entirely happy with the composition – I had to crop it tighter than I would have liked as there was a distracting leg and carrier bag in the top left corner.  Even so, it clearly suggests a large-scale urban event, with the metal barriers in the background and the way the subjects are both sitting on the curb with their thermos flask.  If this was a standalone image, I would have been tempted to make it black and white but I wanted this whole series to be in colour so they sit together as a set.

2. Woman Eating

Exposed: February 6th 2011
Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF70-200mm, f2.8L IS USM
Aperture: f2.8
Shutter speed: 1/160
ISO: 400
Focal length: 200mm
White balance: Auto
Location: Chinatown, London
Lightning:  overcast

Processing in Lightroom:
Exposure +1.43
Crop

It was striking how many people were eating on the street but it proved tricky to photograph without being seen and being too intrusive.  I made about ten previous attempts before getting this shot which had been ruined by people walking between me and the subject.  As a consequence, I was very happy to capture this moment of this person enjoying her delicious food but still looking dignified.  I would have preferred her to be more to the right of centre as I really like the texture and colour of the brick behind her.

3. Rabbit Mask

Exposed: February 6th 2011
Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF70-200mm, f2.8L IS USM
Aperture: f2.8
Shutter speed: 1/60
ISO: 400
Focal length: 200mm
White balance: Auto
Location: Chinatown, London
Lightning:  overcast

Processing in Lightroom:
Exposure +0.60

Another striking thing about this event was the huge number of children (and mostly happy kids, which is fairly unusual at large events like this in my experience).  Many of them were wearing these Lycamobile sponsored Year of the Rabbit masks.  This child was being given toy ‘snap caps’ (tiny percussion fireworks that characterised the sound and one of the prominent smells of the event this year) and caught my eye in the crowd.  Again, it took several frustrating shots to end up with this but I like the feel of the image – the cute smile, the way the bunny eyes are slightly creepy ‘looking’ at the camera and the sense that the event was heaving with people.  I would have been happier if the subject was not so centered but it was very hard to make spaces to capture the telling moments so I am grateful that this one came out as being acceptable.

4. Hand Drum Man  

Exposed: February 6th 2011
Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF70-200mm, f2.8L IS USM
Aperture: f2.8
Shutter speed: 1/100
ISO: 400
Focal length: 140mm
White balance: Auto
Location: Chinatown, London
Lightning:  overcast

Processing in Lightroom:
Exposure +0.87
Crop

There were lots of people standing outside shops and restaurants selling hand drums and this man’s interesting face caught my eye – luckily I managed to capture some of the character in his hangdog expression, while he was shaking his drum.  I would instinctively have made this a B&W image as some of the lights are so garish and distracting here. In some ways the strong colours more accurately portray the mood of the event so I am hoping this works for the viewer.

5. Duck Chef 

Exposed: February 6th 2011
Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF70-200mm, f2.8L IS USM
Aperture: f2.8
Shutter speed: 1/100
ISO: 640
Focal length: 110mm
White balance: Auto
Location: Chinatown, London
Lightning:  overcast

Processing in Lightroom:
Exposure +0.41
Altered colour temperature
Crop

I was in two minds as to whether to submit this image as I am not happy with the composition – his head/eye-level is too low in the picture and I find the reflections on the glass to be distracting.  However, I have left it in the set as I feel it depicts well the mouth-watering temptations in so many windows of the restaurants in Chinatown - it is impossible to walk around there without feeling hungry!  And I liked the look of concentration on the chef’s face as he works calmly during the busiest day of his year. 

6. Child with Chinese Toy  

Exposed: February 6th 2011
Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF70-200mm, f2.8L IS USM
Aperture: f2.8
Shutter speed: 1/80
ISO: 400
Focal length: 200mm
White balance: Auto
Location: Chinatown, London
Lightning:  overcast

Processing in Lightroom:
Exposure +0.14

I was determined to get at least one shot of a child on their dad’s shoulders holding a Chinese toy as this was a common sight at the event.  Most of my attempts failed as everyone in the area seemed to be considerable taller than I and always in my way!  I think this works though – a good expression, some interaction with an adult and a busy blur in the foreground plus the incredibly bright lights behind.

7. Fag Break 

 Exposed: February 6th 2011
Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF70-200mm, f2.8L IS USM
Aperture: f2.8
Shutter speed: 1/50
ISO: 640
Focal length: 150mm
White balance: Auto
Location: Chinatown, London
Lightning:  overcast

Processing in Lightroom:
Exposure +0.69
Crop, straightening
Adjustment to colour temperature

I tried to escape from the hordes of people and all the delicious food temptations by ducking down a back alley to see if there were some more ‘off-duty’ images to be found.  Luckily I came across this chap having a no-doubt well-earned cigarette break.  I like the way he is looking directly at the camera and the uniform colours of the background which seems to echo the brief respite from the intensity of the event.

8. Head  

Exposed: February 6th 2011
Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF70-200mm, f2.8L IS USM
Aperture: f2.8
Shutter speed: 1/125
ISO: 400
Focal length: 120mm
White balance: Auto
Location: Chinatown, London
Lightning:  overcast

Processing in Lightroom:
Exposure +0.51

I didn’t quite understand why this man had been chosen to be interviewed by a small film crew when he clearly doesn’t look very Chinese but he was next to a float and was asked to hold the head to illustrate his involvement with the parade.  It all seemed rather disorganised but made a rather interesting image.  I was drawn by the jarring contrast of his Peugeot-sponsored jacket with the traditional Chinese headdress on the foam head. The man looks completely out of place but is rooted back into the scene by holding a giant float head.

9. Street Food  

Exposed: February 6th 2011
Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF70-200mm, f2.8L IS USM
Aperture: f2.8
Shutter speed: 1/50
ISO: 640
Focal length: 70mm
White balance: Auto
Location: Chinatown, London
Lightning:  overcast

Processing in Lightroom:
Exposure +0.78
Adjustment to colour temperature

This image captures a young lad (a ‘hoodie’ no less!) ordering or asking about an item on a menu propped up behind some trays of food.  I was very happy with the composition of this and the interaction of the two people on the right.  It indicates some of the crowding on the street and also shows that it was rather cold to be standing outside all day.

10. Bunny Ears

Exposed: February 6th 2011
Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF70-200mm, f2.8L IS USM
Aperture: f2.8
Shutter speed: 1/50
ISO: 640
Focal length: 130mm
White balance: Auto
Location: Chinatown, London
Lightning:  overcast, late afternoon

Processing in Lightroom:
Exposure +0.32
Adjustment to colour temperature
Crop

I spotted this group posing for a photo being taken by their friend.  They were laughing a lot and making bunny ears with their hands to indicate Year of the Rabbit.  The image depicts the universal appeal of Chinese New Year across other cultures and just the joy of a little group of friends out in town on a Sunday.  It made me wonder how these four people know each other – what are the relationships?  How did they come to be in Chinatown that day? What did they say when they first saw their friend’s bright red hair?

11. Gerrard Street #1

Exposed: February 6th 2011
Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF16-35mm, f2.8
Aperture: f2.8
Shutter speed: 1/80
ISO: 400
Focal length: 16mm
White balance: Auto
Location: Chinatown, London
Lightning:  overcast, late afternoon

Processing in Lightroom:
Adjustment brush to decrease patches of over-exposure
Adjustment to colour temperature

Having taken a lot of photographs of individuals or small groups, I wanted to capture the impression of the relentless busyness of Gerrard Street and so used a wide-angle (but aiming to avoid distortion).  I tried a number of vantage points and took a series of quick fire shots until this one seemed to have the right number of people in the right place.  Light metering was a challenge as there were great contrasts but I think this gives a sense of the bright lights and all the human activity as dusk approaches.

12. Gerrard Street #2


Exposed: February 6th 2011
Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF16-35mm, f2.8
Aperture: f2.8
Shutter speed: 1/50
ISO: 400
Focal length: 16mm
White balance: Auto
Location: Chinatown, London
Lightning:  overcast, late afternoon

Processing in Lightroom:
Exposure +0.32
Adjustment to colour temperature
Crop

I have included this in the set as I liked the way it shows the litter on the ground and the range of different people in the crowds.  It somehow has a feeling of the daytime event coming to an end, some people going home and a different crowd arriving for the evening’s festivities.  I am not very happy with the colour temperature (I think it actually works better in black and white) and some of the ‘messy’ aspects of the capture – e.g. the feet of two front women being out of shot - but the eye engagement of the blonde woman and the contrast of her with the older black woman makes it an interesting ‘street photography’ image.  Overall not a brilliant picture but I think it adds to the documentation of the event.

Assignment 2: People and activity














Exercise 15: Public space, public activity

The aim here was to explore and portray a range of different human interactions and activities in an organised space - in this case a bar in Reykjavik.  This is a fascinating way to study a defined area. It is a real testament to individuality and the spirit of freedom that people always make their own unique environments even within the relatively limited possibilities of a public bar.







Exercise 14: An organised event

For this exercise, I tried to include telling moments which revealed the story or at least enough to be interesting to the viewer.  This was good practise although I wish, with hindsight, that I had moved around a bit more and tried to be more adventurous with angles, composition, focal length...etc














Exercise 13: A standard view

Back to my comfort zone.  I am lucky enough to have a 50mm f1.4 lens so can great depth of field and shoot in very low light.  This focal length takes the viewer right into the scene without any distortion and without being too intrusive.  It also encourages me to move around more to get the right angle and the right distance for an appealing composition.










Saturday, February 18, 2012

Word of the day: RESONANCE

I had to look it up to make sure I fully understood what it meant.

res·o·nance/ˈrezənəns/

Noun:        
  • The quality in a sound of being deep, full, and reverberating
  • The ability to evoke or suggest images, memories, and emotions

Synonyms:         echo - reverberation


From Wikipedia: “In physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to oscillate at a greater amplitude at some frequencies than at others. These are known as the system's resonant frequencies (or resonance frequencies). At these frequencies, even small periodic driving forces can produce large amplitude oscillations, because the system stores vibrational energy.”

I checked this because the Aesthetica write-up on Zarina Bhimji’s work said: “It is the tension of translation, the exchange, the resonance between an extremely beautiful still landscape and the one on fire that gives energy and defines reality.”

I didn’t know that it could be grammatically correct to have resonance ‘between’ things.  An interesting idea to explore in the future.

Having done a little research on the Bhimji show at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in advance, I was not expecting to really like her work.  The photographs looked haphazard, technically poor and rather boringly flat. Viewed in the gallery they are much more impressive though, and once seen in the context of the two films, which are at the heart of this project, they take on a whole new life.

Bhimji was born in Mbarara, Uganda in 1963 to Indian parents. Many Asians came to Africa as indentured workers during the time of the British Empire – particularly to build railways and other infrastructure.  Over time, these immigrants settled and prospered but in places faced resentment from indigenous populations.  In 1972 Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of all Asians from Uganda, giving them just 90 days to leave the country.  As British citizens, many moved to the UK.  The artist’s sense of this dislocation is very prevalent in all of her work.

Our gallery guide talked about Bhimji not being a documentary photographer but taking a more intuitive approach to tell a story - that she likes to create characters and then inhabit them, to create spaces for the viewer to exist in.  The facing images as one enters the gallery are quite haunting seascapes rendered in black and white, to avoid a travel brochure appearance.  The images have no real context and set the tone that this is not going to be a chronologically rendered story.

The rich colours, tones and delicate lighting really make the photographs worth a long look.  They were shot on slow film with long exposures, exteriors at dawn or dusk and interiors in the late afternoon.  The artist claims that digital technology could not achieve the same tonal quality (nonsense, surely?)   There are no people.  Just lingering signs of human life.  The horizontals are slanted and skewed; perhaps - as another student suggested - to give a sense of everything being unsettled, although the subject matter was solidly rooted.  This aspect bothered me a bit and had certainly been one of things that alienated the images from me to begin with, before seeing the films.  It was suggested that it would make more sense if seen as a still from a tracking shot.

Our guide talked about the tragedy of being driven away from the graves of loved ones when forced to flee a country (image called “Frightened Goats”). She has tried to depict not actual facts but the echoes created by this history.

The show contains a large body of work indicating the extensive research she has carried out – beautiful panoramas stuck together imprecisely from small prints, painterly Polaroids, lots of very dark interiors.  There are three maps cut to the shape of a little girl’s dress – of India, Africa and Europe.

A second room shows a different style – sumptuous colours and decorative patterns in light boxes.  This is work commissioned for Harewood House in Leeds and from her ‘Cleaning the House’ exhibition, with images also from the Gardens of Alhambra in Grenada.  She talks about crossing the boundaries of science and art, creativity and physics, and metaphors for the cross-fertilisation of cultures.  Harewood House was built on wealth from sugar plantations and slave-trading so there is an exploration of colonialism and post-colonialism.  One striking element was the depiction of newspaper ads asking for information about slaves who had fled their owners are etched onto mirrors.  Hard to read if you are looking straight at the words.  I found myself standing to the side, my own face out of sight, to read these properly.  Are we complicit?  Are we in denial, desperate to forget this shameful past?

A third room has chilli powder (used as a weapon of defence by the new immigrants in 70s Britain?) and other spices on the floor, beautiful images of dead birds and Indian shoes, close-ups of mosquitoes on cloth.  Symbols, reminders, words on parchment that are almost indecipherable.  A human story that I will never truly understand, but the whispers of it carry me to somewhere I have never been.

Both the films – Out of the Blue (2002) and Yellow Patch (2011) - are stunning. Loud, unsettling, haunting, beautiful, bitter – a dizzying journey for the senses.  I found myself immersed and mesmerised for the duration of each film, forced to really contemplate the loss, the passing of time, the exquisite loveliness, the mundane, the enduring.  Tiny details, agonisingly, meticulously, silently filmed.  Some of it feels a bit like a descent into some kind of madness but is actually quite calming.  I found Yellow Patch particularly appealing – so many frames that could have been stills but for the gentle breeze lapping at the piles of old papers and dilapidated furniture.  Bhimji uses wind and fire to bring life to these history sites.  She combines motion film and sound and still photography to create an extraordinary work of art – so personal and yet so universal.  It would be impossible for the viewer not to find some truth, some connection here.

I came away from this study tour really inspired to take a new approach to my work.  To let myself look at things differently – not getting hung up on technical perfection but to let more of what I see and what I feel have its own resonance.  And that will hopefully chime with others, if they can take the time to stop and see.  The worth – the power and beauty – of Bhimji’s work almost passed me by and than in itself was a big lesson.