Ellie House GCSE photography
CURRENT GRADE: B
TARGET GRADE: A
ao1 - 16
ao2 - 14
I have completed all homework out of a possible 9.
Repetition - Year 11 exam
repetition - Photographers will often produce images based on their observations of repeated shapes in nature or the built environment. Careful consideration of viewpoint and composition can produce strong abstract patterns. Objects and images can be arranged to form repeated patterns. Maurizio Galimberti often uses a grid structure to arrange images of the same subject. Peter de Lory has produced more than one series of photographs using repeated shapes found in the landscape. Etienne-Jules Marey used the repetition of photographic images to record movement. Careful consideration of viewpoint and composition can produce strong abstract patterns.
For the first part of my project I will be focusing on the theme "movement of sport and exercise". I intend to investigate this project by looking at a range of sports and focusing on what has the best and worst amounts of movement. For this project I need the movement to be at a high level so that it is easy to create a repetition photograph out of it. The context of my work is based on firstly the photographer Etienne - Jules Marley, I was influenced by the context and form of his work as I like the theme of movement. My ideas were in inspired by sport and exercise as I feel that has the best amount of movement and it is what I am really interested in. The main formal elements I am interested in exploring further are shape and texture. I am interested in following the use of shape because it is important in the use of movement to get the right shape and angle for the photograph. I have been inspired to use these elements because he uses shape in a significant way. My photographer puts the movement in front of a plain background (black and or white) which makes the shape in front appear more prominent.
For the first part of my project I will be focusing on the theme "movement of sport and exercise". I intend to investigate this project by looking at a range of sports and focusing on what has the best and worst amounts of movement. For this project I need the movement to be at a high level so that it is easy to create a repetition photograph out of it. The context of my work is based on firstly the photographer Etienne - Jules Marley, I was influenced by the context and form of his work as I like the theme of movement. My ideas were in inspired by sport and exercise as I feel that has the best amount of movement and it is what I am really interested in. The main formal elements I am interested in exploring further are shape and texture. I am interested in following the use of shape because it is important in the use of movement to get the right shape and angle for the photograph. I have been inspired to use these elements because he uses shape in a significant way. My photographer puts the movement in front of a plain background (black and or white) which makes the shape in front appear more prominent.
New tab called Project 2
Exam question written up
Mind Map
Contextual research
Critical analysis of 1 image
Home photo-shoot based on chosen Photographer.
Project Proposal
Annotations on first photo shoot
Exam question written up
Mind Map
Contextual research
Critical analysis of 1 image
Home photo-shoot based on chosen Photographer.
Project Proposal
Annotations on first photo shoot
Critical analysis of Etienne - Jules Marley
He was born on the 5th of March and died on the 15th of May 1904, his nationality was France. His main occupations were a psychologist and inventor. Etienne-Jules Marey had an interest in medicine and mechanics which he used for inspiration in the realms of physiology and cinematography. In 1881, after seeing a photographic demonstration by Edward Muybridge, Marey devoted himself to animal photography and its mechanics, by doing this he invented the first movie camera. He used movie cameras for research on animal locomotion, movie cameras were used differently by him then to the rest of the world. Marey soon decided to use only one camera to produce a series of images in rapid succession (high speed, expeditious). In 1882 Marey managed to take 12 pictures per second using his "photographic gun". This looked like a rifle with a magazine made of a photographic glass plate. Etienne was mainly interested in the use of movement. His first concept on movement was on flying. He studied birds and used his imagination to think about mechanical devices capable of flying. He used is inspiration of Edward Muybridge back from 1881 to focus on movement in human beings. His photographic gun that was made, made this possible. His first set of photographs were of men practicing sports, animals in motion, everyday tasks precisely observed and the migration of the air. Etienne also invented the use of chonophotgraphy that would be in cinemas. During Etienne - Jules Marley and Edward Muybridges photography time "photography suddenly captured the invisible". During the next 20 years, Marey filmed a wide variety of human and animal movements using his new apparatus. As well as slowing rapid movements by the useof high-speed cinematography, he also invented the technique of time lapse,which is used to speed up of slow movements. Marey studied his films frame byframe and published his observations in numerous articles in scientific journals.The photographs above are all examples of repetition. The two on the side are examples of repetition to do with sport or exercise. Sport and exercise is the idea im using for my personal project so doing a critical analysis on his work is necessary. When I look at these photographs, the texture appears old because of the camera used to take the photograph. These photographs were taken around the 19th-20th century which means the cameras were not like the cameras are now. These photographs have a simple context and idea however they suggest a story. All of his movement photographs are in black and white, I will also do my photographs in black and white so It is easy to tell that my photographs are inspired by my photographer.
Next week
Next week in my photography lesson I will be doing a photography shoot at school. Etienne - Jules Marey doesn't usually use any non living objects in his movement pieces which also makes his work more unique and simple. When I do my shoot at school, I will also not be using non - living objects, I will be using people. I will be using people so it is as inspired to his work as possible. For my shoot I will be focusing on exercise and sport. This will be done by taking pictures of people running, or doing a sport of some kind.
This is a mood board that I created on Flikr. This mood board on movement are all based around the idea of sport, for example dance, skate boarding and baseball. My first 2-3 shoots will be inspired by Etienne - Jules Marey and then I will be doing more shoots (still inspired by him) but a different theme e.g - horror. I have decide to work on sport my first shoots because that is a topic that Etienne also worked on in his "man pole vaulting" which I critically analysed below. I like the work of the middle dancer in the blue and the sequence of dance moves below it. I really like the photograph of the women dancing in the blue dress because the dress was chosen for this because it flows and moves with the dancer. As the dancer completes the dance, the dress flows and moves with her which makes it seem quite elegant. This also makes the colour of the photographs seem warm and vibrant and also cheerful. The colour becomes more prominent by the black background. The colours are subtle but are shown very well. I am hoping to edit my photographs like these, where I layer them side to side to make it look as though its all happening at the same time.
Critical analysis of photograph
I have chosen this photograph to do my critical analysis. Firstly I do like this photograph, the simplicity and composition. This piece of work was created in 1882, he was inspired to make this piece of work by his creation of the chronophotographic gun which was capable of taking 12 consecutive frames every second. He first used this to study the gallop of horses and the movement of birds however he soon became interested in the movement of people as well. In the photograph above there is a dark light source however the bottom right corner shows that some light is seeping through, this gives the work a more mysterious atmosphere. The light looks low because it is in black and white however this photograph could have been taken near the evening where there isn't as much light. I can tell that there is light coming from the bottom right corner because it is not as dark as the rest of the black background. The background has a texture, it appears black and pixelated, this could have been due to the camera quality because the camera wouldn't have been as advanced. this photograph is focused on repetition, this was created by repeating movement of the man. In this photograph you can see the emphasis of the landing the man makes, this was done by layering the man landing over three times, this draws you instantly to the landing because it is more prominent. Form can be easily captured by using light in the photograph, the best light source to create good form in the photograph is natural light. The light in this photograph isn't prominent and doesn't change or effect the dimensional look of the man in the photograph. The angle of the photograph is very straight forward. The photograph is at eye level and faces directly forward, this means that you only really visualize the front of the man instead of all of him. If the angle was changed to diagonally then the dimensions may have changed and the man may have looked more "3D". I think it is interesting that the photograph is of a man doing sport and not a women. This is the case in almost all of his work, there is never women shown, especially in sport. I feel as though this may be the case because it was during the time that women were still not seen as equal and may not have been allowed to do what the man is being allowed to do. The title of this piece is "a man pole vaulting", even though it is relevant to the photograph, it doesn't give away a story line or give any reason to why this photograph may have been taken and what purpose.
U : No work evident
G : added the theme in the middle of mind map and extended the first photographers name with some words on the theme.
D-C : added at least a couple of words to each element title form, content, process that demonstrates some basic research.
Added a couple of ideas based on visual elements only
C - B : Listed critical elements form, content, context, process, mood that demonstrates in depth research.
Added a theme you are interested in developing further in your project. Be specific here. Used a wide variety of nodes to
explore your idea.
A-B : linked in ideas from critical research other than the obvious processes. Looked at content for example.
G : added the theme in the middle of mind map and extended the first photographers name with some words on the theme.
D-C : added at least a couple of words to each element title form, content, process that demonstrates some basic research.
Added a couple of ideas based on visual elements only
C - B : Listed critical elements form, content, context, process, mood that demonstrates in depth research.
Added a theme you are interested in developing further in your project. Be specific here. Used a wide variety of nodes to
explore your idea.
A-B : linked in ideas from critical research other than the obvious processes. Looked at content for example.
I feel as though I am working towards a B grade at the moment with my mind map and critical analysis. I added a picture in the middle of my mind map to show the theme that I have chosen, maybe I should have added the theme name as well to make it more clear. I used the word repetition, composition, movement, dimensional, angle, texture, form, visualization and purpose to describe the photograph I was analysing. To improve I need to link my ideas from critical research other than the obvious two processes, for example I could look at the content.
shoot 1
This is my first experimental shoot looking at the work of Etienne - Jules Marey. This is my brother Will doing a sequence of moves in taekwando. I decided to choose this as my first shoot because it was simple and easy to show what is going on in the photograph. I like this photograph s it is easy to see what is going on however I feel as though it could be better. First I feel as though it should be black and white. Also I feel like more photographs could have been added on him moving into his next position. This background doesn't add to the photographs and almost makes Will look a bit like he shouldn't be in the photograph. I feel like if i took this sequence again I would create a background which is relevant to what he is doing in the photograph. For example other people doing the same thing or an image behind him.
This is my second shoot for my year 11 exam. I am proud of this shoot because I think it is clear that it is inspired by Etienne - Jules marley. To do this I decided the background quite carefully. I decided to make it a simple everyday background and also wanted to make sure the side of the car was in the photograph to make it look more realistic. I took this by taking the photos on shutter speed and then deciding one by one what photograph to take by picking them out one by one. I made Will run down the road as I took the photographs. After I took the photographs, I edited it in my camera roll into a black and white colour. This was so that it was inspired by his work more clearly.
My theme - Horror
I decided to research into typical settings for a horror film to take place. I started off with horror films because this shows up a more realistic view of what people think a typical "horror" setting is. I asked people what a typical horror setting looked like to them and the highest answer was a grave yard. I think this was the highest answer because graveyards are associated with death, ghosts and supernatural activity. I have noticed that in a lot of horror photographs that it has a certain trait which are all fairly similar. A lot of them have very cloudy or foggy mist in them along the floor or in the sky. The sky usually is quite dark and mundane which makes the overall photograph seem dark and mysterious. In a lot of photographs there are buildings like an abandoned house, castle, train track which makes the photograph look more spooky and dark. The thought of something being in that castle or house makes the viewer become tense. The lighting in these photographs are mainly quite dark and cloudy (weather is cloudy or rainy). I am thinking of progressing my topic on repetition and movement of sport into a theme of horror and repetition.
This is a photograph I took for my sequence based on horror. I took a lot of planning for this photograph because I wanted it to make people instantly know that it was a horror piece. There are elements to the photograph which makes the photograph seem as though it is supposed to be horror. I asked my brother and sister to help me with this photography, I wanted to include younger children in this because I knew it would be more scary if there were young children - this is because young children are perceived as vulnerable. We waited until it was really dark outside and the streetlights had turned on
compare and contrast
I am going to be comparing and contrasting my first shoot with the work of Etienne Jules - Marley. The colour of both of these pieces of work is black and white. I used a filter when editing my work however because Etienne did his work a long time ago, his work are probably not filters and are more likely to have just not been taken in colour. This makes the photograph seem dull and darker, which fits with my gothic theme but may not be as effective for Etienne Jules - Marley's work. In his work the photograph was taken from a distance which creates a far photograph which has a lot of space. My photograph was taken quite close to the subject, this makes the photograph seem for clustered. The light in my photograph is prominent, it is coming from the right top corner and also in the distance, these lights are from the lamppost. In the work of Etienne, there are no visual parts of the photograph that show where the light is coming from, this suggests that the light is natural and not prominent. In both photographs the scale is actual size. The feeling my work gives to people is quite a mysterious and dark feeling and can lead people to have a negative emotion towards it because they are not sure what the photograph is fully. In the right photograph, it is clear to see what the photograph is and what is happening in the photograph. The mood of each photograph is very different. The left photograph has a very gothic mood and is quite negative however the right photograph has a simple mood and doesn't leave the person looking wondering. Both photographs have similar and different shapes within them. They both involve a person as their main subject however they have other objects (such as a teddy) that makes them different.
I think this piece of work is a c grade. I compared and contrasted visual critical elements form and content. However I don't feel I achieved further comparing and contrasting process, context and mood. I need to compare and contrast all of the photographers studied.
Ellie, I really like the content of the work but you need far more expeiments in phtoshop/Gimp to replicate and explore the techniques used by your first chosen artists. You must start a second photographer now and catch up by doing shoots and edits outside of school.
David J. Carol
This is my second photographer. He uses narrative to create a story in his work which is what I am hoping to do in my photography shoots. He was born in New York city, which is where he attended the school of visual arts and a school for social research. His work has been travelling the world taking photos for himself and clients for over 30 years. He has also created books of his photography including the book "No plan B".
"He currently works daily in the real world of commercial photography as the Director of Photography at Outfront Media (formerly CBS Outdoor) as well as being the Editor-in-Chief at Peanut press books, a new imprint that publishes high quality photography books. Yet he also loves giving other photographers a platform to share and discuss their work with the photographic community. He is able to do this as a contributing writer for Rangefinder Magazine and Photo District News. David also judges for the prestigious PDN Photo Annual every year as well as doing portfolio reviews at Palm Springs Photo Festival, ASMP Fine Art, APA, Filter Photo Festival and Savannah College of Art and Design. David also loves curating photo shows at such spaces as The Center for Fine Art Photography, Colorado, Darkroom Gallery, Vermont and Lightbox Gallery in Oregon. He also serves on the Board of Advisers for the Center for Alternative Photography: Penumbra Foundation."
"He currently works daily in the real world of commercial photography as the Director of Photography at Outfront Media (formerly CBS Outdoor) as well as being the Editor-in-Chief at Peanut press books, a new imprint that publishes high quality photography books. Yet he also loves giving other photographers a platform to share and discuss their work with the photographic community. He is able to do this as a contributing writer for Rangefinder Magazine and Photo District News. David also judges for the prestigious PDN Photo Annual every year as well as doing portfolio reviews at Palm Springs Photo Festival, ASMP Fine Art, APA, Filter Photo Festival and Savannah College of Art and Design. David also loves curating photo shows at such spaces as The Center for Fine Art Photography, Colorado, Darkroom Gallery, Vermont and Lightbox Gallery in Oregon. He also serves on the Board of Advisers for the Center for Alternative Photography: Penumbra Foundation."
This is a photograph created by David J. Carol. The name of this piece is "danger 240 volts" which was created in the USA in 2011. In this photograph, the main focus is the "danger 240 volts" sign on the box. The volt box looks abandoned in the middle of a wide landscape with a lake behind it. The trees look small and weak making the whole photograph look dreary as though people have not been there for a long time. This could represent that something dangerous happened there which meant people stayed away. This could also explain why the "danger 240 volts" is there, due to something bad happening. The black and white also helps to create a very isolated atmosphere. The title of the photograph explains what is happening in the photo as it is what the sign states. Influences to create this work could be the way that things can go wrong very quickly and everything can change in a second, which is why people want to prevent that from happening by making signs to help people. It could also suggest that people are irresponsible in todays society and are willing to "hurt" themselves even with a sign saying it is potentially dangerous. This photograph was taken at a certain angle so that the voltage box was central and not to either side. This could be so that it helps make you focus on it for longer. The main focus is the box which is a very symmetrical shape and not curved at all. The space in this photograph is also very empty. Due to the bottom half being very dark and the top half being light, its an extreme contrast between light and dark.
Shoot one : fly
edit 1 : Photoshop
Ellie, I really like the content of the work but you need far more experiments in Photoshop/Gimp to replicate and explore the techniques used by your first chosen artists. You must start a second photographer now and catch up by doing shoots and edits outside of school.
To improve my work I am going to edit my shoots that I have done and also try and also do more shoots outside of school to show what I have been doing inspired by my chosen photographers.
Statement proposal
The sub theme I have chosen is repetition, I intend to investigate black and white colour, and creating a story further to help pin-point my idea I will begin first looking at a second photographer and how they create a story through their photographs. The context of my work is based on firstly the photographer Etienne - Jules Marley.
I was influenced by the colour and form of his work. The colour was in black and white which I liked because it made the photographs look older, I was also influenced by the form as it was all very symmetrical and also had a lot of different shapes.
My ideas were inspired by the thought of horror and telling a story through events (for example the history of someone getting attacked and how they are now or have been influenced from that event). I also thought horror was quite unique and gave me choices on what to do. The main formal elements I am in interesting in exploring further are colour and the tone. I want to focus on colour and experiment using pops of colour with black and white in one photograph. I also want to experiment with tone and experiment with dramatic and soft photographs using different light intensities. I have been inspired to use these elements because telling a story can create different atmospheres. In the photograph above it was a mysterious mood/atmosphere that I was trying to create because the person was flying. In my next pieces, I want it to clearly show that I am telling a story, I want this to create a tense atmosphere because the story being told wont always be positive. I will make it a more evil or unhappy atmosphere by not adding a lot of light. The story will be in black and white, and the modern day part will be in colour. I want to explore colour in my own work by using black and white and colour all in one photograph to show a contrast between modern and history.
I am now going to combine colour and repetition together for my shoots. In these shoots, there will be a story of something that has happened to someone (for example got robbed). This person will be in black and white because it is in the past. In the same photograph, there will be the same person a while later in the same place (2 years later for example), they will be in colour to show they are modern day. This will create pops of colour and repetition of the same person while it creates a story. This Is focusing on colour, repetition, form and tone.
shoot 3
Final shoot edit
This is my final edited shoot which i created using photoshop. The main theme of my work is about an attack of a women by a man which is where he is trying to take away her umbrella. In the image you can see several repeats of the mans attaempt at grabbing the women in the evening on a street. The umbrella has a significant meaning in this piece as that is what the man is trying to get, the umbrella was supposed to be the main focus. There are only two people in this whole photograph however they are repeated 3+ times to show the movement and action of the attack. In this piece the main formal elements I used were colour, shape and pattern. I attempted to make the photograph look dark and scary by using black and white with no colour. I also focused on the shape that they made and the angle I took the photographs from to get the best angle to capture what is really happening. I decided to make the two in a diagonal row from right to left so that it enhances that they are moving (walking). With colour, I feel as thought the photograph would have looked better if they had gradually turned for black and white into colour to show the transition between past and present day as if it is happening over a long period of time. The work was inspired by Etienne - Jules Marley and David J Carol. The idea behind my workwas inspired by these two pieces of work..
The left photograph was created by Etienne - Jules Marley which shows the effect of repeating patterns and David. J Carol which influenced my work because it creates a sotry behind the photograph very easily which is what I wanted to do with my work. In Etienne Jules Marleys work I like the use of light
The mood in my work is quite dark and dangerous as it shows the power that people can have over each other. Which is why I tried to create a scary atmopshere by using black and white and also making the outisde very isolated and quite by only having two people in the photograph. The process in which I made to create this photgraph was to first mindmap what I wanted from the photo and planned what I wanted the photograph to look like. I tried to focus on what colour I wanted the photograph and whether I wanted colour at all. I then thought about what sort of characters I wanted, I first tried with a young boy and a man but decded that a women and a man would create moretension and an eerie atmosphere. I then chose where I was going to take my photographs as I didnt want somehwere busy or too light as it would ruin the "darker" atmosphere. I told the "characters" toact as though the women is being attacked so that they knew what they needed to do, I then took the photographs and looked through them to find the best ones that I thought would be good enough for my final piece. I finally creted my final piece on photoshop and printed it.
The mood in my work is quite dark and dangerous as it shows the power that people can have over each other. Which is why I tried to create a scary atmopshere by using black and white and also making the outisde very isolated and quite by only having two people in the photograph. The process in which I made to create this photgraph was to first mindmap what I wanted from the photo and planned what I wanted the photograph to look like. I tried to focus on what colour I wanted the photograph and whether I wanted colour at all. I then thought about what sort of characters I wanted, I first tried with a young boy and a man but decded that a women and a man would create moretension and an eerie atmosphere. I then chose where I was going to take my photographs as I didnt want somehwere busy or too light as it would ruin the "darker" atmosphere. I told the "characters" toact as though the women is being attacked so that they knew what they needed to do, I then took the photographs and looked through them to find the best ones that I thought would be good enough for my final piece. I finally creted my final piece on photoshop and printed it.