Self Portrait

At the beginning of the month my work colleagues and myself decided to participate in Movember.
Basically grow a moustach in aid of mens health charities.

As this would most definitely be the first and last time I was going to do this I thought I would take the opportunity  to try and create a self portrait.

It was actually no so easy, I didn't want to use flash as I wanted a kind of gritty image also used a black backdrop. The camera was on a remote cord with a 70mm 2.8 lens attached.

I have applied a few subtle effects to the 4 poses to try and create slightly differing effects.

I found it incredibly difficult trying to get the correct focus on the eyes as I am in front of the camera and trying to judge the correct place for the shot. Quite an interesting exercise never the less.

Pose 1 - effect 1

Pose 1 -effect 2

Pose 1 -effect 3

Pose 2 - effect 1

Pose 2 - effect 2

Pose 3 - effect 1

Pose 3 - effect 2

Pose 3 - effect 3

Pose 4 - effect 1

Pose 4 - effect 2

Assignment 5

Notational client brief

Notational Client: Leeds Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with Leeds city council.

Produce a series of images that represent the shopping experience in the city of Leeds, The shots that are used will be used in promotional material to entice shoppers in for the Christmas 2013 season.
Photos need to be seasonal and relevant to Leeds/Yorkshire. 

Planning and Preparation

I set about this task by first writing down some ideas of what reminds me of Christmas and think about what would catch my eye. I then planned a few trips around various town/city centers to see the differences between the various places and how well or not it captured peoples imagination at this time of year.
After deciding where and what I wanted to capture I scheduled a couple of dummy run thorough's during the day. The purpose of this was to try and plan what I wanted to shoot and how I wanted to shoot some of the shots. Some of the shots may be opportunistic as the main focus was going to be at night. But I still wanted a general plan and outline of what and where I was going to shoot.

The shoot itself was over two evenings mainly because if the results of the first night weren't right then another night was scheduled to recapture the shots.



Once the shoot was complete for this Assignment I thought it would be a good  idea to produce a Mockup of what the Leeds 2013 Christmas brochure may look like I thought that this was important to show so that the pictures that I had taken could be seen in the context they were designed for. I am not suggesting in any way that the brochure or marketing material would or should look like this but felt it was relevant to show how and why I choose the selection of shots that I did.

Mock up trifold brochure outside

Mock up trifold brochure inside

In Conclusion

I am pleased with the overall results of this assignment but probably overestimated the selection of  shots that I may have got. Sometimes when you have an idea it seems simple enough but then transferring that thought process through to the finished article can sometimes be a bit tricky.

I don't think this would have worked had I have tried to use daytime shots, I think the whole theme of Christmas my not have been conveyed. As its is I think the series of shots especially shown in the context that they may be used compliments the theme and fulfills the initial brief.

Contact Sheet for Assignment 4

Contact Sheet for Assignment 4-1

Contact Sheet for Assignment 4-2

Contact Sheet for Assignment 4-3

Assignment 4

A sense of place


I had given an awful lot of consideration to this assignment. I wanted a place I knew well but also wanted something that gave meaning to the place. Remembrance Sunday was such a day.

The historic city of York was my choice for the location quite fitting really with it being an ancient Roman garrison and here we are hundreds of years later celebrating the lives of our soldiers that have gone before us.
The city York itself is stepped in history, it was founded around 71AD when it was seized by the 9th legion. The Romans then set about constructing a wooden fortress around the city, This was to be replaced by what we see today. York today is a busy and bustling northern city, tourists flock here from all over the world to admire and explore its historic heritage.

With so many historic buildings and sites in York I thought that I would start my journey at the Historic Clifford's tower.

The tower itself overlooks castle museum and and sits nestled between the rivers ouse and foss. The tower is all that remains of the old castle, it was originally built by William the Conqueror around 1068-69.

The first picture I have chosen was taken from the park situated next to the river ouse, it was a bright crisp autumn morning, I liked the way the tower was framed by the trees and bushes

Cliffords Tower

This shot was composed from the steps of the tower overlooking castle museum, I have applied a tilt shift effect in order to make the people look anonymous and provide a different perspective. 

Castle Museum from Cliffords tower

My third picture is that of the 2 minutes silence, I think it captured the moment perfectly where people all over the city stopped what they were doing to pay there respects to all our fallen soldiers.
The picture was taken within the grounds of museum gardens with the people looking out across the river to the remembrance memorial on the other-side of the bank. What I also liked about this shot is it I managed to incorporate making figures anonymous (unrecognizable) as all the subjects were facing away from the shot.

11th hour of the 11th day of the of the 11th month

This next shot is from the same position but looking toward the old abbey in museum gardens had it not have been for the 2 minutes silence this shot would have had considerably more people in the frame. As it was it seemed to complement the previous shot quite nicely.

Museum Gardens

The start of the old soldiers marching through the city of York for the remembrance day parade.

Old Soldiers Parade 1

Old Soldiers Parade 2

Military Band

This is a view from the York city walls looking toward the famous York minster as I continue my journey around the city. I decided on this particular shot as it incorporates two of the most famous parts of the city. There are also few points around the city walls that both can be photographed together. I think it also gives you a sense of scale on just how large the city walls actually were.

York Minster

York City Walls

York City Walls 2

The Shambles is an old street in york where some of the shops date back to the 14th century, the street is characterized by a narrow street flanked by overhanging timber framed buildings.  As recently as 1872 the shambles housed some 20 butchers shops as the term shambles  meant open air slaughterhouse which in turn came from the Anglo-Saxon term fleshammels  (literally 'flesh-shelves') today sadly there are no butchers left and its mainly occupied by gift shops and bakers.

The Shambles

Conclusion

I have tried to provide a taste of York and some of its History, perhaps enough that someone who has not visited before would be interested in visiting the city to explore it for them selves.
I also chose remembrance Sunday to shoot the city as it reminds people that this historic place is not just a tourist attraction full of old buildings and interesting sites but a living breathing city where people live day in day out and once a year come together to remember those that we have lost.

Project Special processing

Exercise: Selective processing and prominence


For this exercise I have experimented with a photo I shot while covering assignment 2.

to make the person more prominent i used some colour poping techniques to first bring out the foreground and secondly bring out the background. I'm not completely convinced by the overall effect, maybe a more suitable subject may have reflected a slightly better outcome. A useful exercise anyhow.

Project A matter of balance

Exercise: Balancing figure and space

By the time I have Finished this module I am sure there will be talent scouts all over the country rushing to sign up my good friend Andy, who has been a willing Guinea pig for may of my shoots.
Anyway back to the subject at hand, Balancing figure and space.

The location for this was Leeds town hall, I chose this location for its variety of architecture in which to shoot in and around,

I tried shooting Andy in a number of locations around the town hall and in the end opted for the lions on the steps.

I particularly like the second shot with the Lions gaze trained on Andy, and in-turn Andy looking at the camera.

Balancing figure and space 1

Balancing figure and space 2

Project People-unrecognisable

Exercise: Making figures anonymous


I have seen many images of a very similar picture that reminded me of this particular scenario, the image is that of a single person stood perfectly still on a train station concourse, with blurs of people moving around them. This is what prompted me to experiment with a similar location. I believe the shot that i have seen previously was one of the old grand railway stations in London, unfortunately I was not going be able to reproduce the same shot at Leeds railway station as the architecture and layout did not lend itself to that particular shot. However I achieved a few interesting results, which ultimately fulfilled the criteria for the exercise.

I am however very keen to reproduce the shot I have seen in magazines and when time and location allows will en devour to complete it for my own personnel satisfaction.

Making figures anonymous 1

Making figures anonymous 2

Making figures anonymous 3

Making figures anonymous 4

Project, Quiet Places, Busy Places 2

Exercise: Busy traffic

Busy traffic 1

Busy traffic 2

Project, Quiet Places, Busy Places

Exercise: A single Figure small

A single Figure small 1

A single Figure small 2

A single Figure small 3

Photographer Profile

Jim Mortram - Market town

 

 

I first came across this documentary photographer  while browsing the pages of the metro whilst on my way to work. I was instantly struck by the raw power of some of his images. The aim of this three year project was to delve into the lives of people that live alongside him in Norfolk.

The pictures portray real life, nothing staged or set which is quite evident when browsing some of the images. From the article it was quite apparent that during the Market Town project Jim went on a journey that ultimately brought him closer together with his local community. One of the most fascinating insights is that of Simon, a man living with epilepsy, although some people may find the pictures quite disturbing there are genuine real life situations that happen all around us that if not for talents such as Jim Mortram would be confined to hushed wisp as and quiet conversations.


Simon

The main body of Jim's work can be found here, This is a photographer well worth a look.

Small town inertia