[SUMMER TASK] Photographs

This photograph is of my little sister Bo Pixie. It was the 2nd of two photographs that i took, but i decided to use this one simply because i liked how everything in the image is blurred with the exception of my sister. The other photograph i took had everything in focus.

The fact that everything is blurred and out of focus reflects what my sister is doing, which is watching youtube videos. Its almost as if she cuts herself out from reality and is only focused on the computer screen. The fact that everything is blurred almost makes it seem like time is moving faster around her while she sits still on the computer for hours on end.

These are drawings that have been done for me by various comic book artists who have worked on 2000AD strips. The nearest one was done by Carlos Ezquerra just over 3 years ago, and the further one was done by Glen Fabry, just over one year ago.

I chose these to photograph mainly because they are by artists who i still hold a lot of respect for, and who's work i still enjoy and appreciate, even if i'm not as much into the comic books they provide their artwork for anymore. The drawing in the foreground is Judge Dredd, and i chose to photograph the drawing with half his face lit, and half in shadow because it reflects the nature of the character, who has a dark past that he covers up with constant devotion to the law.

I chose this form of lighting and a low angle shot so that i could give it a sense of dominance and power. Its also a similar sort of lighting that you may see at a concert at night, also, the fact that its higher than the camera almost gives the impression that its on a stage.

This is a photograph of some games that i really enjoy which i still own on disk. I chose to display them like this as its a much more eye catching and interesting look at the covers than if i'd just displayed them stacked up. I also used a relatively low angle to give them a sense of power - like with my photograph of the guitar.

My father rescued this stray cat about 2 weeks ago, and after undergoing a large operation she made our house her new home. While she is a relatively new addition to my life, she still means alot to me. 

I chose to conceal part of her face to reflect the fact that she would often hide from my sisters, and this image almost makes her seem like she's peering over a cushion to look around.

This is a photo of a small part of my BIONICLE collection. I chose to photograph this because my earliest memory is receiving my first BIONICLE set, and is still a big part of my life.

I chose to photograph it fairly close up in order to exaggerate the amount, by making the amount seem too overwhelming for the camera to photograph it once. While this was a very small pile of pieces, the photograph made it seem like there were a lot more.

While its not exactly a very striking or interesting picture, its still something that means a lot to me.

I chose not to photograph too many family members or friends because i was afraid a lot of other people would do this, and also it seems like an obvious choice when photographing things that mean a lot to you. Instead i chose to mainly go for things that are linked to my likes, hobbies or my childhood. The exceptions to this are the cat and my sister.

[SUMMER TASK] Artist Analysis - Bill Brandt

Bill Brandt is a British photographer who was born in Germany on May 2nd 1904 and died 10th of December 1983. He is assumed to have begun Photography in 1920. In 1931 he was a staff photographer for the home office where he documented the suffering of Londoners during the bombing raids. Night photography became one of Brandt's specialties, and used his families contacts in order to gain access to a variety of subjects. He would often distort his photos such as by adding contrasts to make the image seem darker, and would often take very surreal and abstract photographs. He would use perspective to distort what's in the foreground to create an image that's more visually unique. He is Britain's most successful and most inventive black and white photographer, and is most well known for his portraits and reportage work, but also has a passion for landscape photography. He is also known for social documentaries and distorted nudes.

Brandt considered  taking the photos to be a small part of the process, and would adjust his photos in a dark room. He could crop, dodge and burn and collage his photographs. He would also sometimes use a 'day for night' technique to change the time of day presented in the photograph. He would say that "he is not interested in rules and conventions" and that "its the result that counts."

In 1944 he used a 1931 Kodak with a wide angle lens to photograph crime scenes and was inspired by the cinematography of films such as Citizen Kane. He would sometimes spend years returning to places he knew he wanted to photograph just to get the right atmosphere.

I like how the lack of colour in this photo makes the setting seem unpleasant or gloomy which is uncommon for photos of beaches and other settings like this. The ear in the foreground gives the impression that the photographer is telling you to listen to the sounds and ambience of the beach. There are also no other people in the photograph which gives a sense of isolation and is telling you that the only sound that you would be able to hear is the ocean and the birds. 

Bill Brandt would often manipulate his photographs in ways such s adding contrast and lowering sauration. This photo seems to bean example of a photograph where the contrast have been raised. The photo makes it difficult to make out whether the line is a path or river, and so it creates a mystery, as whether its a path or river would change the entire feeling of the photo. Due to this the entire photo feels a bit strange and out of the ordinary.