HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON/ FORM & MOOD

Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of the 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street photography, and viewed photography as capturing a decisive moment.  Life is once, forever

Place de L'Europe - Gare Saint Lazare 1932

 

This photo from Henri Cartier-Bresson, I would describe the photo to look very haunting because of the fogginess with the gravestones behind the sinister shaped fence in front. Looking at the whole photograph it seems very dramatic with the reflection of the restless man running but frozen in the image.

FORM

The medium of the work is decisive moment. The decisive moment means, when you go out to take photographs, you sit and wait for the moment in time you want to take a picture of then shoot hundreds of photos in that one moment. Not when you go out and shoot a hundred photos in completely different places. 

MOOD
The work makes me feel distressed and unsettled. I feel this vibe from the photograph because of the gloomy fog within the gravestones behind the scary looking fence. In addition, the photo being black and white makes the man look creepy and scary, like he is running away from something bad in the foreground. 

THE FUTURE THROUGH THE LENS

CAMERAS

As the years go by there have been an improvement in phone camera quality, more compact cameras, and cheaper prices. These are a few of the new and improved cameras:

LILY DRONE

This drone is the worlds first drone fully equipped with GPS and can fly up to 50 feet. It can act as your own personal robot videographer programmed to get the best shot. It is able to record 1080p video footage and produce 12MP stills. You can quickly upload your images using the included 4GB micro SD card and USB micro SD card reader. The 2.4GHz, 4.5 channel transmitter is equipped with an LCD interface so you can view valuable flight information, as well as giving you a complete 3D fight control forward, backward, up, down, rotate or lateral movement. This drone is also waterproof and very compact so can travel anywhere in your backpack. 

ZEISS IPHONE LENSES

The Zeiss makers have introduced a line of high-quality attachment lenses for your iPhone. The selection of lenses includes a telephoto, wide-angle and macro lens. They also have an aluminium bracket that attaches to your iPhone. It secures the lens like a standard tripod mount and a cold shoe for attaching other accessories.

OLLOCLIP IPHONE ACCESSORIES

The Olloclip iPhone accessories includes nearly everything a photographer or someone interested in photography to want to take the best quality images just from your iPhone. It collection includes a protective studio case and a rail mount. This can attach two cold-shoe adapters, two clips to attach a tripod, grip or handle, a finger grip and a kickstand. For one of the most recent iPhone releases the 6/6s devices this piece of equipment could take your photos and videos to a hole other level. The Olloclip's Studio components seamlessly work together so you can focus on capturing everything through a phone without having to buy a DSLR camera for over £500.

NIKON D500

If you want to upgrade you Nikon D series (D7000, D200, D300), have a look at the new compact D500. The quality is almost as close as the other models and match in zoom and compatibility. Other feature of the D500 are the smart connectivity to premiere the SnapBridge Image sharing technology. This allows your camera to push photos to your smartphone wirelessly on the go with ease. Lets not forget about cameras video quality which boasts an amazing 4K video image for clear crisp footage. 

POLAROID SNAP+

This is a click and print camera. It has an integrated printer, that allows you to print full colour 2x3" prints/stickers in under a minute when an image is captured along with filter options in black and white, colour and vintage sepia and you can even print the photos with the classic Polaroid boarder to add a bit of retro flare to your photos. They said that its like bringing Polaroid into the 21st century'. It is equipped with Bluetooth connectivity so you can share an edited image from your smartphone or tablet and print it off on the camera, all via a 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD. With up to 128MB of expandable memory, you can take hours of filtered 1080p HD video with no hesitation. 

SKETCHBOOK PAGE PHOTOS

THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE PAGES FROM MY SKETCHBOOK

These two pages above show my photogram work. Later on in the book I present more of my recent photograms.

 This page shows an explanation of pinhole photography and some examples of my own work.

This page shows my SLR darkroom prints. It mainly consists of the test strips and the prints that didn't go so well.

These pages show my SLR prints and have a small explanation about each of the prints.

These pages show my darkroom explanation, and the method of processing 35mm film. It also shows the aperture and shutter speed explanation that can also be seen on the blog. 

I also have pages on week 4 of the carousel with my typography and my alphabet photography and also the darkroom health and safety.

CAROUSEL/ WEEK 4/ GRAPHICS (TYPOGRAPHY)

TYPOGRAPHY

We then opened the scan up in Adobe Illustrator so that we could draw over our own drawings. This was half of my scanned in drawing from the typography session we have.

Firstly we renamed the background layer to 'bg layer'. Then we created a second layer so that we don't damage the first background layer and so that when we tried other effects, we could hide the other layers.

Then we used the pen tool to outline our letters and because I had holes in my letters I needed to use an effect to cut out the hole in the centre of the letter.

We used a blog brush tool and traced inside the block letters. We could increase the width of the line however, as the thickness of the line grew bigger the less it looked like block letters which I didn't like. 

CAROUSEL / WEEK 4/ GRAPHIC DESIGN

Document what you did in this session on Tuesday and Wednesday, list below under the headings:

- SKILLS: being able to edit photos on Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator

- PROCESSES (instruction) that you used: 

- MATERIALS: computers, camera, hard drives,

THE DESIGN CYCLE

client problem - planning research - test development - production

SCANNING (STEP BY STEP TO SCANNING)

Make sure that the power is on for the scanner

On the computer go to launchpad in the dock

Go to the search bar at the top an type in IMAGE CAPTURE and select the icon

On the application select : devices - select the scanner

The scanner will then scan the image and you can save it to the desktop.

RESOLUTIONS

72dpi -screen (phones, tv, computer screen)

150dpi - newsprints

300dpi - photographic print

PHOTOSHOP SHORTCUTS/GENERAL SHORTCUTS

cmd shift 3 - screenshot full screen

cmd shift 4 - screenshot selected area

(Photoshop) cmd,D -opens images

(Photoshop) cmd,J - creates a layer

(Photoshop) shift cmd,E - compresses all layers

1ST TASK - USING MAGAZINE/POSTER FRONT COVERS IN PHOTOSHOP

First open the crop tool in Photoshop

Then in the top bar we had to decide what the crop layout that was used in the five magazine/poster front covers that we had chosen. I decided to chose the rule of thirds layout for this magazine cover. 

For this magazine I decided to choose the golden spiral layout because the end of the spiral finishes at a important point of the front cover.

For this magazine I decided to choose the grid layout.

For this magazine cover I decided to choose the rule of thirds layout because it seems to be split into 3 sections.

For the last magazine cove, I decided to chose the rule of thirds layout.

CREATING MY OWN WORK

Start by importing your image into Photoshop and add a layer. Once the new layer has been selected go down to the bottom of the sidebar and select curves so that you can edit the contrast brightness etc. 

Adjust the contrast and brightness etc, using the lines on the graph and adjust it to your liking. Then create a new layer ready to adjust the colour balance.

I adjusted the colour balance only slightly because I was happy with the colour of the photo.

The using the shortcut of 'shift' 'command' 'e' it will compress all the layers together and lock it all together

After all layers are compressed, use the rule of thirds crop tool to crop the image. And save it to your desktop.

Then open the InDesign application and open your photoshopped image and drag it to the size of the paper.

I created a new layer in layers on the side tab then added some text over the top of the page. I rotated it and resized it to the way I wanted it to look.

Because we had to base the font style on the font that we drew out the day before, I decided to use the IMPACT font. And because my drawing was 3D, I duplicated the white font and made it yellow and moved it more to the right to create the shadow.

This was my final design from using Photoshop and InDesign.

PINHOLE PHOTOGRAPHER/ BARBARA ESS

Barbara Ess was born in Brooklyn, NY and she studied English and Philosophy at the University of Michigan, before attending Film school in London, where she began making experimental films. When she returned to NY she became involved with music performance, and making artists' books and photographs.

Barbara Ess is known primarily for her large-scale ambient and shadowy photographs that are most oftenly made with a pinhole camera and were shown internationally in solo or group exhibitions and reviewed extensively. Her prints are intentionally left unclear and unresolved. As such, they initiate a range of emotions from dream anxiety and helplessness, to being captivated by a fantasy. Her prints can go back to the nineteenth-century approach to fine-art photography known as Pictorialism and to the well-known amateur photographer Julia Margaret Cameron. The Pictorialists and creating tableau vivant imagery that evoked moody, open-ended narratives. She says that her intention as a photographer is to 'Photograph what cannot be photographed'. 

Over the last twenty years there have been numerous exhibitions of her work throughout the United States and Europe, as well as Japan and Australia including solo shows at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, etc. Her work has been in collections of Modern Art, and she currently teaches photography at Bard College. 

The main subject of the image is the hands and they are placed in more or less in the centre of the frame. There seems to be a bright light creating some shadows and you as you can ee the image doesn't seem to be in great focus however, I really like the effect of the red light. The feeling seems quite dark and mysterious and I think its very interesting. 

CAROUSEL/ WEEK 3/ ART & DESIGN

Document what you did in this session on Tuesday and Wednesday, list below under the headings:

- PROCESSES (instruction) that you used: using different types of materials to layer on different coloured paper

- MATERIALS: Chalk, charcoal, graphite pencil, 2B HB pencil, A6 cartridge paper, A6 black cartridge paper, scissors, biro pen, black acrylic paint, white acrylic paint, black ink.

CAROUSEL/ WEEK 2/ MEDIA

Document what you did in this session on Tuesday and Wednesday, list below under the headings:

- RESEARCH CARRIED OUT: We researched the background music that we wanted in the back of our audio.
- SKILLS: Editing on audio on Adobe Audition
- PROCESSES (instruction) that you used: Process of editing audio on Adobe Audition, adding sound effects, background music, 
- MATERIALS: Cameras, computers, lights (spotlights, overhead lights), microphones, tripods, autocue, boom microphones, props (tables, chairs and pens)

MEDIA / DAY 1

Day 1 of media was using a microphone and speaking a segment of 'The Cat in the Hat' poem and then uploading it to Adobe Audition to edit the audio. Then afterwards, if we had any background music that we wanted to add or needed to edited any sections, we needed to follow the instructions below.

We edited audio using Adobe Audition and how we did it was by following these :

-Highlight the section/s that you do not want in the clip. Then click delete, and the section of the audio that you selected will disappear. You can use this to get rid of mistakes in the centre of sentences, for example, if you're coughing, pausing, or even swearing. The file that is highlighted yellow on the left of the screen, this indicates the file that you are editing. But also remember to save your files once you have edited and made changes to them.

- After you have made your changes and saved the audio, you will want to start layering the audio (if you want things like background music). To do this you will need to go to FILE - NEW - MULTI TRACK SESSION

Then call your session name, for example, the name of your audiobook/the subject. After that select the folder location of the edited audio, then change the sample rate to 44100 and change the bit depth to 16. Click ok, then the next part should have three separate sections to it. 

- You will now need to make sure all the audio files you plan to use have been imported. To do this go to 

FILE - IMPORT - (YOUR FILE BY SELECTING THE FILE AND CLICKING OK)

They should then appear to the left of the screen. After they have all been imported you need to name the tracks you will use (these can be selected character voices, sound effects, background music etc). This is just so you know where you are putting certain audio/sound clips. Then click and drag the audio files into order on the multi-track. 

- If you want to have background audio such as music or sound effects, you may want to overlap it over the original clip. To do this just drag it the part you want it to start. Remember to listen to the audio as you place it on the line and save as you go along!

MEDIA / DAY 2

Day 2 of media we were in the film studio and we had to work as a team to create a 1 minute extended advert for the 4 in 1 BIC pen. We started with four separate ideas, then as a group decided which was the best idea, then pitched that one idea with: 4 camera angles, different coloured lighting to represent the different colours of the pen, a microphone, background music and an autocue. 

We got given a brief outline to base our advert on, it red:
'BIC is a french brand that was created in 1945. In 1970 BIC launched the BIC 4Colours, which was the first multicolour ball pen. With its unique barrel shape, its white top and the sound of its 4 pushers, this pen is quite unique and loved by teens, students and adults. 

Its convenient (4 pens in 1), it helps organising notes with colour codes, in one click you can change colours. It is also playful and releases stress: people play with the pushers with their fingers. It is very stylish and can fit any personality: there are many different designs (shiny, decorated version, limited edition, etc) one for each mood or person.

4Colours is so convenient and fun that it is the most stolen pen! It is such a cool accessory for young people that it has an irresistible attraction. Whether it be in classrooms, universities or anywhere else, they can be found, and these pens are very often stolen! Each person has his/her own tactics to protect his/her cherished pen.

The advert must also show your own background subject specialism.'

There were tasks that we had to complete and they were, in groups:
To brainstorm ideas
Create a pitch for the production
Pitch the production
Select the best idea out of all the groups and then to develop that idea further
Plan the production
Conduct rehearsal and block 

The process started by getting into groups of 5 and splitting into different rooms to discuss our ideas about the plan of the advert. Once we discussed that in our groups for around 20 minutes, the whole group then came together and told the other groups all the ideas. We then voted for the best idea and we went with the idea of reenacting a lynx advert.  So the tables were arranged in 3 rows of 3 tables; we then placed 3 people on each corner and they represented a colour of the 4Colour pen. Then when the middle person who had the better pen clicked each of the colours, that persons coloured spotlight would turn on and they would faint on their desk. After everyone had fainted the camera zoomed to the middle person and it finished with him smiling into the camera. (So one table represented blue, another table was red, the last table was green and the person in the middle represented black). We had lights set up spotlighting on every person with their designated colour. 

I was on sound and I had to control the microphone sound and the music to either fade in or fade out and also the volume of the background music.