The Photographers' Gallery
The Photographers' Gallery in central London showcases many photographers from all different backgrounds, countries and photographic styles. I visited their recent exhibitions 'Shot in Soho' and 'Feast for the Eyes' to gain inspiration for my future shoots and to do some research into how to improve my photography techniques.
Shot in Soho
'Shot in Soho' compiles photos from over 20 well renowned photographers, and celebrates the culture, diversity and resilience of the small London area of Soho. The collection of photos spans a timescale of more than 40 years, showing the development Soho has been through since the 1970s, whilst contrasting this with the aspects which have remained the same.
Corinne Day
Corinne Day was a British photographer born in 1965, who specialised in fashion photography and modelling. She was well renowned for her naturalistic method of shooting and her influence in the fashion photography scene in the 1990s. These photos shot in a Soho apartment between 1990 and 2003 make up her collection 'The Brewer Street Work', a series of diverse photos showcasing the different models in a generally plain, urban setting. |
John Goldblatt
John Goldblatt, born in 1930, is a British photographer originally from Manchester. In 1968 he spent three consecutive nights shooting in the dressing room of a Soho strip club, calling the photo set 'The Undressing Room'. When asked what provoked him to take these photos he stated: 'I took them because I thought it was a surefire feature to sell (wrong): and because I thought it would be fun taking them (right).'
Kelvin Brodie
These photos by Kelvin Brodie are from his 1968 collection 'Soho Observed', and are some of my favourite scenes from the 'Shot in Soho' exhibition. In the first photo, the man's posture evokes a melancholy feel. The contrast fading across the image leads the eye from dark to light, whereas the emotional contrast between the street sweeper and the man in the van gives a powerful difference between the rich and implied poor.
Excellent exposé on the work you saw at the Photographers' Gallery here and below! Well done, Cal! Are there any artists whose work you saw that you can use for any of your projects?
Feast for the Eyes
'Feast for the Eyes' is a display of a wide array of photos which depict how food is represented in digital media. The collection integrates themes of wealth, deprivation, greed, culture, community and pleasure through the prints which show food to have a deeper societal meaning to what first meets the eye.
Harold Edgerton
Harold Edgerton was an American professor of electrical engineering, who used his knowledge of physics to capture stop-motion photographs of millisecond long scenes, which had never been done previously.
His photo titled 'Milk Drop Coronet' has been chosen as one of the 100 most influential photographs of all time by Time Magazine, due to the innovative technology Edgerton developed himself which led to further understanding of how a flash could be used to advance modern photography. Edgerton's series of fruits being shattered by a high speed bullet being shot through them create dramatic scenes of a usually plain simple object being violently disturbed. |
Edward Weston
Edward Weston was a twentieth-century photographer who has been cited as "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers". As well as focusing on society and the architecture of the Western United States, he also created a number of still life photos of distorted vegetables, which evoke a twisted eerie feel as though they are alive like a human.
In these photos, a gradient of black to white is used effectively to enhance the contrast between light and shadow, and highlight the distorted aspects of the generally arbitrary objects. The photos evoke movement, which is unexpected from vegetables, personifying their figure and making them seem alive.
Weston created this effect by shooting the photos in a confined space and distorting the natural shape of the vegetables. Great analysis! How do you think Weston achieved this effect? |
Liesl Pfeffer
Liesl Pfeffer is originally an Australian artist, who now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Her work comprises of photographs which she collages together to create various colourful subjects or abstract pieces of art. She has also experimented with weaving and physical art instalments in galleries. Her main focus being photo collages, she explores nature, architecture and space, and makes a comment of the progressively more common digital format which photos are now taken on. She says, "Today, photographs are increasingly screen-based, disposable and everywhere. My work responds to this direction by considering ideas related to time, materiality and reality in photography." Her creations appear to be extremely carefully selected and precise, however she is adamant that this stems from her simply shooting many photographs of various subjects, without an end goal completely planned out. Once she has collated all of her photos, she sets about selecting which photos to use for which project by choosing images that feel right to her. I think this a very authentic and naturalistic way to carry out her collages, and makes them even more impressive.
In her set of collages titled 'Vessels', Pfeffer created the intricate shapes of vases and flowers by combining photos of different colours and textures. Her piece 'I Wanna Be Like You' depicts pink flowers in a blue-green vase. The shapes have been carefully carved to give a sense of gradient, making the vase look more three-dimensional and believable. Pfeffer aims to separate the viewer's eyes from the reality within each of the photos from the overall picture, so that both perspectives can be seen. In my future work I will aim to consider how Pfeffer effectively merges colours together to evoke clear sections and tone, as well and the careful way her images are cut out and constructed |
Matt Wisniewski
Matt Wisniewski was born in 1990 in Pennsylvania, America and now works in New York. He specialises in collaging and photography, with many of his creations using the double exposure technique. His art is very expressive, and makes use of the surrealist movement to enforce ideas of the unexpected and irrational. He often takes a simple portrait photo and transforms it into a completely different and distorted image by merging the portrait with a landscape or interesting patterns which he has encountered. He frequently makes use of Photoshop in his projects.
In his 2012 series 'Futur Couture', Wisniewski layers a range of fashion photographs with elements of architecture and artwork he has collated. The fashion showcased uses a range of textures and styles to vary the appearance of the subjects. Wisniewski describes his work as "hauntingly beautiful."
In his 2012 series 'Futur Couture', Wisniewski layers a range of fashion photographs with elements of architecture and artwork he has collated. The fashion showcased uses a range of textures and styles to vary the appearance of the subjects. Wisniewski describes his work as "hauntingly beautiful."
In this photo, a generic looking portrait has been elevated by incorporating an abstract collage disguising the woman's hair and leaking down slightly into her eye, giving an unearthly, inhuman feel. A clear focus point in the foreground has been established by the dark background and use of a shallow depth of field has given the photo, so the eyes are not distracted by any surroundings or background patterns. The dark vignette effect has also seemed to shrink the space in which the photo was taken to give an intimate, one-on-one feel with the viewer. |
My Interpretation
After looking at Wisniewski's work, I was inspired to focus on the seamless editing effect he uses in his creations. I took portrait photos, as well as photos of objects I found interesting which I could merge together to make something entirely new. I also made a collage which I could combine to give a similar effect to Wisniewski's edited crown of different mixed media elements which fades into the woman's hair.
In this photo I intended to show an alternative reality to what is originally shown by the relatively plain article of clothing. I like the luminosity it has and the uplifting feel it creates. To improve this photo I should have eliminated the imperfections on the wall which spoil the seamless effect and take away from the subject a bit. I could also have used a more contrasting background colour, for example a dark grey or blue which would have made the smooth effect of the jumper really stand out. Fantastic project with good set of intentions, shoot, documentation of your editing process, final image and evaluation. Well done! Will you be taking this work further? |
Mike Parisella
Mike Parisella is an American digital artist who only started to specialise in digital art in 2013 after hearing a Skrillex track, and says he was"fascinated by Skrillex's implementation of computer software". His interest in manipulation of photography and editing techniques leads to inspiring, thought-provoking pieces of modern art which he primarily shares on his Instagram @slimesunday, where he has amassed over 480,000 followers. I particularly enjoy his creations because of the originality and bright imagery, which depict various subjects ranging from the human mind and experience, to the exploitation of female sexuality.
I personally believe this is one of Parisella's most provocative and cleverly executed pieces, as it represents the current issue of belief in the media, which is often biased or unreliable. By using a child as the subject who appears to be being sucked into and consumed by the light from the television, he connotes the possible damaging effects of the increasingly normalised usage of and technology and social media by young children and teenagers. |
My Interpretation
Since I didn't have the technical skill to create such intricate designs as Parisella's, I chose to make basic everyday objects more interesting by altering one part of them. At first glance, these photos could almost appear unedited, which adds a nice subtlety to them.
This photo shows a subtle distortion to an ordinary object, which is not instantly noticeable and requires a bit of a closer look. I like the darkened edges which were achieved by overlaying a transparent vignette over the top of the photo and changing its opacity. This creates an almost spotlight effect on the vase and flowers, and due to the white surface and background the photo was shot on it appears the vase is almost suspended in the plain white background. A shallow depth of field ensures the main flower is the only thing completely in focus, so effectively directs the eyes to the main focal point of the image.
This relatively ordinary photo of a dictionary was enhanced by the distortion process, but furthermore I like how it is framed and how the book evokes a sense of movement as though the pages might be moving in the wind. I should have used a more plain base underneath the book such as a plain white sheet of paper, which may have blended into the background better, as you don't get the sense on suspension like you do in my other two enlargements. Overall, my editing did come out quite effectively, however it may have been better if there wasn't the outline of the 'A' remaining on the page, which may have made it look more seamless.
Show the original image next to your edited one so we can see the difference.
Show the original image next to your edited one so we can see the difference.
I believe this photo is effective because of the way the flower appears to be suspended in front of a blurry canvas, however this is all just due to the very large aperture used resulting in a shallow depth of field. In this photo, instead of using the twirl distortion like I did in my previous two photos, I used the zigzag distortion, to create the wave like effect on the petals of the fake flower. The bottom of the flower seems to be normal, which enhances the abnormality of the strange pattern which is emitted from the centre. I aimed to show a certain separation from the ordinary object, and make the flower seem detached and like it doesn't belong amongst the rest of the scene. I could maybe have used a slightly wider depth of field just so that it was more clear what exactly the background was, but I also like the uncertainty that lies behind the main focus of the photo.
David Hockney
David Hockney is a British multi-media artist born in Bradford in 1937. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century due to his contribution to the pop art movement of the 1960s. His 1980s 'Joiners' work, inspired by cubism artists such as Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso, incorporates many physical polaroids and film prints collaged together to represent a scene.
My Interpretation
In response to David Hockney's artwork, I decided to select different scenes and objects to break up and create photographic collages which evoke a surreal, abstract look to things which can be easily discerned. One thing I took photos of was an assortment of objects ranging from a mannequin to a guitar, which were arranged in a way which evoked a 360 degree still life set up. I also chose to photograph sketches of this still life set up which were displayed on the wall. When this was photographed close up, it appeared completely abstract and created many interesting shapes and patterns.
My editing method
My photos
The left photo is a panoramic view of the display, panning down from top to bottom. I took around 10 photos as I photographed from the top down, and they came out almost perfectly aligned. In the right photo, I moved some of the photos slightly off centre to enhance the chunky, broken up effect. I like how this turned out, as there is still a sense of continuity but it evokes discomfort, as though everything is not quite right behind the scenes of the photos. The way they look like they should match up perfectly but don't gives a feel like you are amongst a world where everything is imperfect, no matter how small these imperfections may seem.
I think this creation effectively combines all aspects of this display into one photo whilst still giving the close up sense of a cracked and imperfect world. The dark black and white background photo contrast with the much brighter images which have been laid over it. These have intentionally been placed slightly out of position, which removes the viewer from one smooth flowing photo. One of my favourite parts is where the pictures almsot match up, such as where the mannequin at the bottom appears to have its smooth curves perfectly lined up across the two photos. This is helped by the piece of rope, which almost seamlessly flows between the two photos, even though both have been taken at different perspectives and distances.
This photos is more abstract, as it involves the conceptual art of the display being broken up into different sections, so that it no longer fits together. I took many photos of the artwork and selected the sections of these which I felt contrasted well, as well as the ones which were pleasing to the eye, for example the out of focus blue bar which spans across the right hand side, which was selected from a section of a side on perspective photo. The selection of the part that was out of focus, rather than the principal focus point enhances the idea of the abnormal and abstract nature of these shards of the artwork being put together. This photo also makes clear use of the formal element of line, which can be shown by the parallel tracks running down the photo in the right hand corner, giving good top to bottom continuity. Really good process you undertook, experimenting with different kinds of Hockney-inspired collaging. Not completely sure the blurred images work in the photo on the right. Do you have other images that are sharper/in focus? |
Development of Distortion
My favourite strand I shot previously in this topic was my interpretation of David Hockney, as I thought it was the most well accomplished set of photos. I wanted to continue with the cubist aspect of the photos, whilst also adding further distortion which was inspired by surrealist artwork and installations.
Salvador Dali
Dali was a surrealist artist, who created provocative work which was often political or a critique on the current state of affairs of the world. I like his unique and irrational style, and will use it to influence my storytelling through my photos, to give the expression and character.
Dismaland - Banksy (2015)
In 2015, Banksy crafted a parody installation of a Disneyland park in Weston-Super-Mare, highlighting the darker, subversive areas of the company and society as a whole. The work was provocative and abnormal, and was closed to the public a month after opening to become a migrant camp. I want to use his work to inspire me to develop interesting scenes to shoot, which raise a question or a provocative statement.
Georges Braque
Braque is credited a being one of the first cubist artists of the 20th century, his paintings iconic and well revered.
He is the biggest inspiration for my future shoots along with David Hockney, as their ways of expressing cubism are what I want to realise with my photos. I aim to use his style of work to create interesting perspectives for my photos, and to influence the way in which I combine my pieces together.
He is the biggest inspiration for my future shoots along with David Hockney, as their ways of expressing cubism are what I want to realise with my photos. I aim to use his style of work to create interesting perspectives for my photos, and to influence the way in which I combine my pieces together.
My Response
In my response, I aimed to set up a generally ordinary scene, which had a distorted or changed element to it.
I like how this image turned out to an extent, however I think the editing did not turn out as clean as it could have.