Planning - Phase One
I chose all the questions that were of interest to me, I listed them and I did a brief search on each of them and I began cancelling out topics from the list which brought me down to three topics which were; Reflections, repetition and outline. I then put those three topics into a diagram (as shown below) and then did further research with each of the topics.
At the end of this I decided that I would choose either reflections or repetition and then finally chose that I would choose reflections.
Reflections
Artist (Photographer) Research:
Photographers who have worked on the topic of Reflections.
Daniel Kukla
Tom Hussey
Lee Friedlander
Naoya Hatakeyama
Saul Lieter
Daniel Kukla
Tom Hussey
Lee Friedlander
Naoya Hatakeyama
Saul Lieter
Tom Hussey
Biography/Photographer Research:Tom Hussey is an American photographer who's main focus in photography is advertising and lifestyle photography. He studied at Southern Methodist University which is located in Dallas, Texas where he learnt videography and photography work. He gained a major in videography and a minor in photography. Throughout his photography career he has won many awards and accolades. Along side his current commercial photography he is teaching college students in New York and Texas. He has done many projects including reflection photography.
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Examples of Tom Hussey's Work:
Analysis of his work/My opinion of his work:
I like Tom Hussey's work as it shows the elderly generations looking back and reflecting upon the previous moments and their youthful years. The photographer has shown this in a very spectacular way by making them complete various actions whilst looking in a mirror and the reflection they see is the reflection of their younger years. He has also changed the action they're doing. For example there is an old man (photo no. 6) stirring his drink but in the reflection he sees his younger self in a lab coat stirring a scientific flask in the same manner. In another photograph it shows an Asian women dressed in traditional clothing with her hands over a book however in the reflection it shows her younger self looking back at her but this time with the book open and the pen against the paper. This implies that she used to draw but she has finally completed her task and is ready to put it way. He portrays the elderly people as looking back and reflecting upon the years but at the same time believing that they're still the same as they were at a present time.
Lee Friedlander
Biography/Photographer Research:Lee Friedlander is an American photographer and artist who was doing his work during the 1960's and 1970's. During this time he was expressing the more influential and daily tasks of the everyday life. Many of his photographs include the windows of the front of stores that cast a reflections. His other main focuses included fence structures, posters as well as street signs.
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Examples of Lee Friedlander's Work:
Analysis of his work/My opinion of his work:
I like this photographers work because it is very different to modern photography and shows that even in black and white you can express so much. Being colourless also gives the photo a very artistic and unique appearance. Historic and 20th century photography isn't appreciated enough. In his reflections he shows micellaneous photos which have various meanings. The large majority of his reflection photography doesn't have a sophisticated meaning but is there instead for the viewer's appreciation and satisfaction. Some of his photos are as simple as showing the cityscape and showing the rest of it on a cars side mirror. Others are also simple, for example the round reflective circle with a mans shadow casting on it with his hands and the reflection of his hand joining and connecting together.
Daniel Kukla
Biography/Photographer Research:
Daniel Kukla is an artistic photographer and has trained in biological and anthropological sciences. He is currently focusing on capturing 'evidence'of his scientific knowledge as images. He believes that photos have the power to show with confidence the changes of our natural world. He has also done a unit of work on reflections in his photography career. He says that is impossible to capture a landscape or the nature of Earth in a single image and also that landscapes are so vast, varied and they also differentiate from one landscape to another.
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Examples of Daniel Kukla's Work:
Analysis of his work/My opinion of his work:
I like Daniel Kukla's reflective photography the most from all of the reflective photographers I have come across and I will be doing photography in the style of this photographer. As I mentioned before he said that you cannot capture a whole landscape i a single frame as earth and it's nature are all different and unique each in there own way. They all have different characteristics and appearances, therefore Daniel Kukla has gone out to some iconic locations and has tried to capture all the different landscapes in a single frame(photo.) He has done this by taking a mirror with him and putting it against the natural features of earth and thus capturing the Earth, it's nature and it's landscape all in one frame. It intrigued me the way he positioned a mirror and captured the world's natural beauty therefore I have chosen to do reflections as the subject for unit two.
Shoot One:
I have done my first shoot all based on Shadows. Shadows are an amazing forms of reflections. They aren't artificial or require components to be built by humans but rather natural. They project and reflect a clear image of an object no matter the size.
My Best and Worst Photographs from Shoot One
BestThis is my best photo as it is in focus and becomes less focused as the shadow goes on, this is done by tuning the focus ring and setting the camera up with the lowest f/stop possible. Also you can't see the shadow of myself with the camera in my hand as I had blended myself in with shadows to make it all see, a lot more natural. The aperture is also correct.
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WorstThis photo was my worst as the angle I took it from was inappropriate for this kind of picture. It would have been better if it was taken from a lower angle, preferably as low as the floor goes. Also from a different angle of the shadow.
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Shoot Two (Working in the style of Lee Friedlander):
Shoot Two-Editing Process:
Photo One:
Photo Two:
Photo Three:
Photo Four:
Photo Five:
Shoot Three (Working in the style of Daniel Kukla):
My Best Photo of Shoot Three:
I have chosen this as the best photo of my shoot because
My Worst Photo of Shoot Three:
I have chosen this as the worst photo of my shoot because it is unclear as to if it is a reflection or the image itself. Also the photo was taken at an odd angle. Also this was one of the first photos and I wasn't aware at the time of small imperfections such as my camera and clothing hanging over the edge of my photo. Also parts of the mirrors frame are visible and other parts are not.
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Shoot Three - Editing Process:
Before:
Editing Software Application (Adobe Lightroom):
After:
Shoot Four:
Shoot Five
Shoot Six:
Plan for Final Pieces:
Make at least 2 videos; Video One and Video Two
Video One will cover as many as possible of the following reflections (and possibly more):
-Glass Buildings including Hilton Hotel
-River(s)
-Shadows
-Sunglasses
-Pond(s)
-Bathroom Sink filled with water
-Kitchen Sink (Steel)
-Cutlery
-Drinking Glass (with and without liquid)
-Tin Foil
-Objects On Glass Table (in Bedroom, etc)
Note: Some may be transformed in to black and white to work in the style of the exemplar photographers I researched previously.
Video Two will consist of reflections of natural lighting (i.e. the sunlight) and artificial lighting (i.e. light bulbs and torches) on the cars panels, wheels, etc.
I will also be editing various photos which will be included in the videos, the photos will be based on the above list.
Video One will cover as many as possible of the following reflections (and possibly more):
-Glass Buildings including Hilton Hotel
-River(s)
-Shadows
-Sunglasses
-Pond(s)
-Bathroom Sink filled with water
-Kitchen Sink (Steel)
-Cutlery
-Drinking Glass (with and without liquid)
-Tin Foil
-Objects On Glass Table (in Bedroom, etc)
Note: Some may be transformed in to black and white to work in the style of the exemplar photographers I researched previously.
Video Two will consist of reflections of natural lighting (i.e. the sunlight) and artificial lighting (i.e. light bulbs and torches) on the cars panels, wheels, etc.
I will also be editing various photos which will be included in the videos, the photos will be based on the above list.
edited photos:
Below are a selection of the photos I edited during the exam
Photo Two:
For my final outcome I have decided to produce two videos using reflections I have filmed or photographed and combine them using my video editing software.
Final Pieces
"General Reflections"| Video 1/2 | GCSE Photography
"Car Reflections"| Video 2/2 | GCSE Photography
This is my second video which consists more of moving visuals and videos. I produced all the footage in a local car workshop where I spent several hours filming them working and I used a fluorescent light to reflect on the surfaces of the sports cars. I was overwhelmed how helpful the people were and have promised them I will go back with my video . I have planned out the video as shown below. I made a plan on my video timeline as shown in the screenshot below:
1- Driving In - It started off by introducing the car's in the workshop by them driving in and setting the scene for the video as going in to reflection shots would not give a story for the viewer to enjoy and would become repetitive.
2- Close Ups shots of the reflections with the light bulb - this is to give the viewer just a sneak peak and not give away to much whilst at the same time introducing in the main purpose of the video which is reflections.
3- Show the Car as they are - This will show the car in it's usual positions setting the scene for the next section of the video.
4- Light bulb Shots of Whole Car - At this point the story is set and the audience are in rhythm with the video by now which means that they will see the main part of the video in flow with the creator (me).
5- Mixed Shots - Switching between reflections of a car for one beat of the song then 2 different cars by themselves for the next 2 beats and then repeating the process until the end of it's section. The reflection shots in this section are of the same car through out but at different angles through out.
6- This ended up being the final section is it combined the driving out shots and the outro together. It started with them coming in and should end with them going out.
7- As mentioned above it was combined with section six (6).
2- Close Ups shots of the reflections with the light bulb - this is to give the viewer just a sneak peak and not give away to much whilst at the same time introducing in the main purpose of the video which is reflections.
3- Show the Car as they are - This will show the car in it's usual positions setting the scene for the next section of the video.
4- Light bulb Shots of Whole Car - At this point the story is set and the audience are in rhythm with the video by now which means that they will see the main part of the video in flow with the creator (me).
5- Mixed Shots - Switching between reflections of a car for one beat of the song then 2 different cars by themselves for the next 2 beats and then repeating the process until the end of it's section. The reflection shots in this section are of the same car through out but at different angles through out.
6- This ended up being the final section is it combined the driving out shots and the outro together. It started with them coming in and should end with them going out.
7- As mentioned above it was combined with section six (6).