Photographer Research - Franck Bohbot

Why I've chosen him

Franck Bohbot is a French photographer living in New York City. He is a documentarian with an eye for the theatrical who found his way to photography by way of cinema, and although he turned his focus fully to photography in 2008, the formal and aesthetic influences of the cinematographic form continue to underlie his present work. His work inhabits a space between reality and fantasy, documenting and storytelling. Bohbot frequently takes a formal, typological approach to crafting visual narratives, highlighting the surreal symmetries of our constructed worlds and capturing the poetry of everyday places with a unique attentiveness to the interplay of light and colour.  Rendering public spaces, street scenes, and architectural sites of interest in his distinctive muted palette, he documents inanimate structures with all the sensitivity of a human portrait. The lighting featured in his work is often soft, yet many shadows are apparent in the rest of the composition. This contrast works effectively in his landscapes, allowing specific details to stand out. I am interested in his levitation pieces, which he creates by having someone in their natural habitat be lifted up into the sky e.g. a picture of someone walking on a road will be transformed into a picture of someone walking in the air. I also like his location photography portraying many formal elements such as depth, pattern, colour, line, form and shape through landscapes of different galleries, cinemas, libraries and swimming pools etc.

Franck Bohot isn't a surreal photographer, however he has experimented with this movement in his levitation project that he shot in 2007. I admire in these images how he has managed to shoot someone performing an ordinary activity in an ordinary location, but edited their outline to levitate from the ground. This concept is fascinating, as I am used to creating surreal pieces that are extremely surreal, but in this project Bohbot has created simple surreal photographs - which work just as well. The majority of the images are in black and white, which avoids colours clashing together in the frame, as the focal point is the person 'levitating'. In this image, the pattern isn't as strong as the photographs below, however this technique has a lot of potential to create patterns. For example, I could repeat the persons body creating an arch from the bottom left hand side of the frame to the bottom right if I was to take influence from this photographer. 

This photograph comes under Bohbot's Last Stop - Coney Island personal project that he shot in 2013. The majority of his photos from this shoot feature an attraction that appears deserted and quite haunting amongst lonely roads and beaches during the day, as there is no life evident in the frame. This picture however is the complete opposite to most in this project, as the setting is appropriate - night time. Attractions like the ones in Bohbot's project are meant to run best at night, where the lights contrast with the night sky and stand out to the public. There is a sense of movement featured in the Wonder Wheel as it's details are blurred and suggest that it's spinning, conveying how there are people on the ride which makes for a more successful piece of photography in comparison to the other lonely looking pictures. The pattern is strong in the fences that separate the underpass, along with the moving wheel. Colour is also a strong formal element of this piece as it is the attractions lights that allow it to stand out, whereas if there was no light, there would be a lack of colour. Therefore, the lighting plays an important role in this image, as natural lighting often works as well as false lighting.

This is a photograph that acts as part of Bohbot's House of Books long-form project that he began in 2011 and has been exploring ever since. This is the Fleet Library at the Rhode Island School of Design, which he shot in 2015. What drew me towards this image was the symmetrical architecture of the roof and the reoccurring podiums that grow smaller the further they travel back into the frame. These two features act as the pattern in the composition, complimented further by the lines, shapes and tones. Bohbot has manipulated the lighting in this image as it casts a soft beige tinge over it to emphasise the warm and homely feel of being in a library. This lighting matched with the neutral colours of the interior has the connotation of a home, as it appears welcoming and positive, instead of cold and drowsy. In my opinion, this is how a library should feel, because some people travel to them in order to find a book that they can use as escapism from their current situation. I also admire the depth that Bohbot has captured in this piece, as this is a more successful piece of framing than if he were to have shot the picture closer in the room; there wouldn't be as much pattern, and this is the most interesting feature. 

This is a photograph that's part of Bohbot's Cinema Series that he shot in 2014. It's called The New People, Cinema in San Francisco, California. Immediately it's the pattern that draws me to this type of image; the pattern in the ceiling and on the walls that are reoccurring and symmetrical. The colours in this piece are the most effective in my opinion, as white contrasts with black the best out of all the colours. This colour pairing is then complimented by the black wall in the center of the frame and the bright white screen. The only accent colour in the composition is the tinge of red that comes from the group of chairs in the middle. The fact that these hold no people makes for a more effective photograph as there is no interruption to the pattern and framing of the subject. I don't often shoot many photographs that lack in colour, because this is my favourite formal element, however I am inspired by this photographer to perhaps explore some black and white imagery as it works extremely well when there is an additional accent colour featured in the frame. 

How he has influenced me

I wanted to capture some natural pattern photographs featuring the formal element depth like Bohbot because it is these images of his that drew me towards his work. I visited the National Portrait Gallery and The British Library in London which allowed me to take these two photographs influenced by Bohbot.

For shoot 9, I went to a fair in London, and captured some photographs linked to Bohbot's work, and specifically looked for a wheel to shoot against the sky to convey its pattern.

Summary

Ultimately, Franck Bohbot is a photographer who has explored a large variety of themes in his work that feature many formal elements, mainly pattern. His photographs of the cinema, library and theme park all featured depth, and are images that have been caught in their natural habitat. No certain structure has had to go into shooting the photos because they are natural locations, which is what inspired me to capture a few photographs similarly in my London shoot that I have presented above. I am also looking to explore the surreal movement in a style like Bohbot's because this fascinates me as it is something I don't often see by photographers.  

Photographer Research - Nick Fancher

Why I've chosen him

Nick Fancher is a Columbus, Ohio-based portrait and commerce photographer as well as an author and educator. He specialises in lighting, specifically in unconventional locations. Many of his portraits are captured with minimal lighting and often rarely in a studio. Fancher makes the most of his own surroundings with one light, and captures stunning portraits with what he has. What I admire the most about his work is his commercial and food photography, because it's very neat, sleek and filled with fun patterns. I have chosen to study Nick Fancher as part of my photographer research because he photographs food in an artistic fashion; instead of capturing meals and structured dishes, he simply uses confectionery sweets and bold block coloured backgrounds to make his work appear slightly pop art and very vibrant. He also uses a white background often and light boxes in his work to give products a strong reflection, which is a formal element I would like to experiment with by using a light box myself. The colours that Fancher uses are also uplifting as all of the bright colours have the connotation of happiness, positivity and energy - which is represented in his work, as he doesn't have one bland or boring piece.

In this photograph, Fancher has captured an interesting irregular pattern of plates, spoons and ice cream cones. There are different flavours of ice cream on each plate, all displaying a different colour, supporting the irregular pattern. The plates are situated in an untidy triangle, whilst the rest of the props in the shot are scattered around in a random assortment. The frame is landscape, and has been captured from a birds eye view point, resulting in thin shadows cast next to the subjects formed by a light coming in from the top left hand corner. This lighting is effective because it allows the positive colours of the ice cream and white plates to shine against the dark background, forming a contrast that works well in this piece of photography. I think the framing of this piece is also successful because it allows for plenty of space to create a pattern, as this is a formal element that Fancher portrays in the majority of his work. The composition is what inspires me with Fancher's work, as I want to reinterpret his style through capturing my own table shot from a birds eye angle, with food items dispersed around the frame in an irregular pattern.

This is a more simplistic photograph captured by Fancher, still conveying as much pattern as the image before. A crushed eye shadow has dispersed itself around the frame, creating the sense of an explosion taking place in the frame. The subject has remained in a crowd in the center of the frame, whilst the dust and smaller parts of the palette has blown across the rest of the frame, mainly in the top half. The bright blue against the white background is an effective contrast, as it makes every particle of the make up product visible. If a black background was used, parts of the subject could perhaps become lost in the frame, whereas with the combination of white and blue the pattern is clearly evident. This type of photo would work well in a multiple imagery piece, with the subject changing colours, so that each square in the multiple imagery would consist of the same photo but display a variety of colours. The formal elements pattern and colour would work productively together if this type of piece was created.

The pattern featured in this piece is evident in the woman's nail art. There are geometric shapes on her nails, all of different colours, complimenting one another and shining under the beam of light. The added ring on her finger is also a touch of femininity, making this piece extra elegant. The pinks and blues on the nails contrast with the woman's white jumper, which is blurred due to minimum depth of field. The nails are the focal point of this photograph, which is why they are the most in focus in the frame. I like the composition of this piece, as the woman is only holding the mug in order to show off her manicure - it acts as an effective platform to display the design. It's a relevant prop, and has inspired me to perhaps create similar pieces, as I was thinking of taking photographs of certain nail art myself, which I could now capture by having the woman's hands holding something that contrasts with the colourful pattern.

This is a commercial piece of photography that Fancher captured in a studio. He had a selection of fancy glasses that he laid on top of a light box in order for their reflection to appear beneath them. This use of formal element works well in the frame as there isn't much else going on. There is a large quantity of wasted space in the top half of the frame, which could be seen as effective as it directs more of the attention onto the products being advertised. The glasses are the pattern, along with their reflection, however I don't think the pattern is as strong as some of Fancher's other work. Despite this, the mixture of colours all compliment one another and result in it being a successful piece of photography. I may experiment with using a light box for some shoots in my project as I find the reflection and bright background work together well to create a captivating, effective and stylish image. 

How he has influenced me

Fancher has inspired me immensely when it comes to shoot 3 of my coursework and shoot 6 of my exam. In these shoots, I looked mainly at different layouts of confectionery, capturing them from a birds-eye view and altering the pattern, sometimes irregular and sometimes symmetrical. This style of work is something that the first picture of Fancher's in this post inspired me to carry out. To develop these types of images, I will next need to explore different coloured backdrops to compliment some of the colours found in the subjects.

Summary

Overall, Nick Fancher's work is fun and vibrant, with a variety of lighting used for each photograph. He is a very exploratory photographer who shoots different themes for a range of projects. My favourite pieces of work comes under his food theme, as he often uses two block colours as backgrounds which I rarely see by photographers. I admire the irregular patterns that he creates, and the more simplistic ones that are refreshing amongst the chaotic patterns. He introduces many formal elements into his work which explains why they are effective and successful as stand alone pieces - very inspiring for my work. 

Photographer Research - Carl Kleiner

Why I've chosen him

Carl Kleiner is a superbly creative still life photographer from Sweden, even if it's fashion, food or advertising. He has an impressive imagination that beams through every piece of work. He has worked for Ikea, making the images for a cookbook called Hembakat ar Bast. His photography is colourful, graphic and experimental, where he uses materials raging from paper to eggs and clothes to dolls, not limiting himself when it comes to thinking outside the box. This is the main reason as to why I have chosen this photographer to research in depth and influence my work. He is effortlessly original, and uses backgrounds of one colour that aren't the typical white or black. Kleiner experiments with pastel shades even if it doesn't blend too well with the subject, the contrast and combination of colours makes an eye popping piece of photography. Effort goes into every piece of this mans work, allowing him to create abstract and sometimes surreal pieces - two themes that I enjoy employing into my own work. Furthermore, Kleiner's versatile approach to his work is another inspirational trait of his that I'd like to employ into my project, as he doesn't focus around just one theme which gives him that edge as a photographer.

This is one photograph of many featured under the Herman Miller project that Carl Kleiner worked on. This is my favourite image out of the group because it features the formal elements that I most enjoy experimenting with, such as colour, pattern and shape - especially colour. In my project patterns I am able to creatively explore colour, just like Kleiner has here. Mixing a variety of colours together usually results in an effective piece of photography because it stands out and catches peoples attention. Kleiner is advertising a mixture of chairs from this company, all composed together in a group, creating an inconsistent pattern due to the different styles of chairs. By using a white background in this piece has allowed the colour of the chairs to pop even more, also creating a large contrast. In my opinion, Kleiner has wasted the top half of this frame, where he could have perhaps trimmed it or added some text to fill it. Other than that, the pattern is strong and the combination of colours is also extremely effective.

This portrait advertising piece by Kleiner is my favourite photograph out of his varied style of work. He is advertising Ritz crisps which are a new product brought out by this company, in need of some creative manipulation to help advertise it to the audience. Kleiner has most certainly employed his imaginative and artistic skill to this piece, by making it look like the Ritz from the packet are jumping out and neatly heading towards the bowl below in a tidy and repetitive pattern. "Put on the Ritz" is the slogan for this piece, suggesting that you can put on a spread as great as the Ritz in London with the help of the brand Ritz. I like the background, of two block colours covering the whole of each half of the frame. The light red and dark pink colours compliment one another, conveying a successful use of formal elements. This background encourages the yellow tone of the crisps to stand out from the frame, displaying how Kleiner thought efficiently when it came to piecing this image together. I am very interested in creating fun patterns with food, similar to Kleiner, and feel that this photograph is the most effective form of inspiration. I could photograph the hands, packet and crisps separately, and use the quick selection tool on Photoshop to piece a photograph together like this one. 

This image is Meow-Meow by Carl Kleiner. It consists of food products, situated around in the frame in a pattern that represents some sort of process. The food products used in this piece are all of the same colour, such as egg yolks, spaghetti, triangle cheese, bread, butter, eggs, rice and crackers. The background is also of a yellow tone, meaning that all of the colours compliment one another to result in a well thought out piece of photography. This type of image inspires me to create a piece similar with food all of the same colour, such as red: jelly beans, cherries, strawberry laces, ketchup, tomatoes, lobster etc. Shape is also a strong formal element featured in this photograph, as all of the foods are circles, squares and triangles etc. The layout of the food corresponds with the title of the piece, as it looks similar to the face of a cat, linking to Meow Meow. The overall composition of this piece is successful as the framing has been used to the best of its ability, with a birds eye shot displaying the subject clearly. 

On the rare occasion, Kleiner has people featured in his work, resulting in photographs that still hold a large amount of creativity. As a lover of macaroons, it would be enjoyable to create some work based around this food item. Kleiner has shot a man in a white shirt and white apron, sitting at a table with one of his hands open, welcoming a pile of macaroons to float from his palm in a consistent pattern. Kleiner has added in each macaroon to the frame to create the illusion of floating food, keeping his artistic side current even in a portrait shot of people. He doesn't only work with still life, but also portraits, which I would like to experiment with also - mixing food and people together to form an interesting and fascinating pattern.

How he has influenced me

Kleiner has inspired me to take these styles of photographs below. After looking at his project for Ritz and spotting all the surrealistic elements,  I was influenced to do something similar but with confectionery (M&M's and Starbursts) as these are always the most colourful and eye catching to shoot. I used Photoshop to create the flow of sweets falling/flying from the packet and heading towards Danielle's mouth/a pile. This technique is an extremely effective form of advertising, as it's quirky and eccentric in comparison to just photographing a still of the confectionery. Kleiner's last photograph also inspired shoot 12 of mine, where I added in individual sweets from my exam shoot into a frame with Danielle's holding her fingers up 'balancing' the pile of sweets.

 

Summary

Ultimately, Carl Kleiner is a very versatile photographer who undergoes an endless amount of projects for a large portion of different companies. His work is often abstract, and always inventive. The colours he uses are always exploratory and never safe, similar to the patterns that he creates in practically every photograph he takes/manipulates/creates. He doesn't just focus on one theme because his work is always displaying different messages and advertising different products, allowing him to explore every artistic bone in his body, always expanding his ideas and trying out new styles. I specifically admire his manipulated and pieced together photographs, as these are always the most intriguing and inspiring. 

Work Diary - Shoot 1

Evaluation

For my first shoot, I wanted to capture natural pattern on location, as this is the first idea that came to mind when I thought of my topic. After finishing my Research Log studying particular photographs that relate to my theme, I came across Franck Bohbot who takes photographs of stunning architecture featuring pattern and depth, who inspired this shoot. As I also enjoy capturing depth photography, I wanted to make sure I employed this formal element and pattern in one piece. I visited The National Portrait Gallery and The British Library, which are places that have an endless amount of photogenic architecture and ultimately filled with lots of pattern. This shoot was extremely successful, and something that I will be developing in another upcoming shoot of architecture and also in my exam.

I framed this photo so that the architecture of the interior was symmetrical on either side of the composition. I made sure that my camera was center by using a tripod to get the proportions of each side accurate. I had to trim a segment of the photograph in order to even out both sides, but apart from that this photo needed very minimal editing. In order to make the contrast of white and black more bold I altered the curves and levels in Photoshop, as this makes the patterns stand out more. I was extremely pleased with the outcome of this photo and am looking to capture more photographs similar to this one in other galleries, as galleries feature the most attractive and appealing architecture which is filled with pattern.

I unfortunately didn't take my SLR camera with me to The British Library, so I was only able to capture this image on my phone. I looked down from a platform and saw pattern sprawled across the whole frame, in the Alice in Wonderland display, the floor tiles, the escalators and stairs etc. whilst random people were dispersed around the frame. Like Bohbot's work, he took some black and white imagery that included accent colours. This photograph of mine includes a red accent colour in the bottom left hand side of the frame, which breaks up the constant black, white and grey tones making up the rest of the photo. I was captivated by the variety of pattern in this piece rather than the symmetrical style found in depth photographs like my one above.

Progression

In order to progress from this shoot and develop the ideas I have begun, I am hoping to travel to more locations similar to this one where I can take photographs of natural pattern found in architecture and interior design, as this shoot was just a taste of the type of photographs I could capture with the right subject in the right place. I will explore more photographs with accent colours as I am intrigued by this technique, and I am certain I will visit a couple more galleries in London in order to capture more depth photography. Instead of just focusing on natural accent colours, I could add this style into the frame by using the technique selective colour which I can do on Photoshop. I will most likely do a location shoot as part of my exam after this one providing me with some effective photographs.

Straight Images - Shoot 1

Contact Sheet - Shoot 1

Image Bank - Patterns

Beauty

These 6 photographs above all displaying the topic beauty through patterns are influential for my project. Some of the subjects are decorated eyes, lips and nails. These are all elements of beauty which is what I would like to explore as one of the themes for this topic. They photographs of the eye make up inspire me the most as this is something I am certain I want to attempt on my own models. The colours are bold and the strokes are flawless, portraying no hint of the make up artist messing up. The designs are tidy and eye catching. The nail art is also something that appears flattering and filled with pattern, especially when they're paired with lips that have the same pattern on them. Having the nails and lips both compliment eachother makes for a successful image - enhancing the formal element pattern even more so than if the nails/lips were photographed on their own. The top left image features a models full face which simply has just a few strokes of metalic blue smeared across certain sections of her portrait. Her hair is slicked back and her make up is drastic, emphasised by the shadows on her face formed through the lighting. The bottom right hand photo is a piece of art which is the most inspiring for me as I love books, and feel like adding them into photographs like this could be fun. By the woman crying a tear of words from a book conveys how it's the story that's caused her emotions - a very powerful and truthful photograph. The composition of these photographs are usually focused on the pattern itself, making it the strongest formal element of each photograph. 

Fashion

Fashion is another theme I am looking to explore throughout this project of mine. All 6 of these photographs hold inspiring elements that I am looking to inject into my own work. My favourite ones are of the two models in the bottom pictures, who are both wearing outfits that blend in with the background. I am interested in exploring this myself, by capturing a picture of my friend in an outfit overflowing with pattern, then taking a picture of the outfit on it's own and using it as the background and pasting her body over it in order to have her outfit blend in with the background similarly to these two. I like the photographs of models with stylish outfits on captured on location, where their outfit matches the season e.g. the top left picture is evidently summer time and the middle right picture is evidently spring time. The middle left photograph is quite abstract, as straws have been used as trousers and the shoes the model is wearing are ones that look similar to those barbie dolls wear; which perhaps link with the appearance of most models: barbie look-a-likes. As it is approaching spring time for me I am hoping to take some photographs of my friends outside near blossoms, using natural lighting from the sun. This theme isn't something that I am looking to explore in depth, however definitely something that I want to focus on for a few shoots. 

Food

Finding or creating patterns through the use of food is definitely something that I am thinking of focusing on the most throughout this project. I touched on ingredients photography in my previous project and would now like to explore it even further this time around. Food staging is what I am looking to try the most, similar to the two middle photographs and the bottom right photograph. These pictures are captured from a birds eye view looking down on a table top of ingredients situated around eachother in small and tidy portions. You can mix a variety of colours together by doing this, and create very interesting and artistic patterns. The top two photographs are both very interesting, having paintbrushes use scoops of ice cream as an art medium is fascinating and a stylish method of advertising. You can link paint colours to the colour of ice cream which could be extremely interesting for a customer. The one with the watermelon seeds acting as raindrop coming from a cloud (the watermelon) is quite a surreal photograph, and one filled with a large quantity of imagination. I love the amount of colour that can ooze from food photography as it's a broad topic and is nowhere near boring. I also find that you can never really run out of ideas for shooting food and drink as there is always some surreal technique you can employ into a certain image if you're struggling with ideas. 

Creative

 

 

Creative photography is another theme that I have looked at in this project which I am thinking of developing the furthest. I like with this topic that you can capture anything you like and use surrealism to create a pattern. In the bottom two photographs of the wine glasses, both have liquids in them with different subjects. The left one has a photograph of the buildings seen through it flipped upside down an in focus, allowing this to stand out against the blurred background (minimum depth of field). This pattern is immediately eye catching and possible for me to create myself. The photograph of the wine glass on the right features drops of paint or food colouring mixed together creating an irregular but colourful and artistic pattern. The top left photograph is simply just an arrangement of pictures stuck on the wall in the shape of a heart which I thought worked well in the composition and created an eye catching and inspiring pattern. The top right photograph is extremely effective, using surrealism as a way to convey the true emotions of a female with a face full of make up, displaying how she uses make up to cover up her bruised and damaged appearance beneath, perhaps spreading the message of domestic abuse and how it is done to the women who perhaps look the most content; it can happen to anyone and we should all be aware. The middle two photographs are the most relevant to my ideas for this project as I am looking to explore lots of food photography, therefore capturing creative food photography will give me an even more versatile mixture of images. 

Natural

 

 

I find that capturing natural pattern is something that could be possible if I was to live in an artistic town or go on many travels. I would come across natural pattern every day, however this isn't the case for me, so I'm not looking to develop this topic much throughout this project but I do want to start with it in order to set myself up for the beginning of it. I like natural pattern in travel photography such as the middle two photographs, which both include a strong reflection that contributes to the effective apperance of the pattern. The one of the lanterns practically fills the whole frame, with the orange glow and warm appearance, the pattern makes this photo very artistic and a location that I would want to travel too. The picture in the middle right appears extremely tranquil and bursting with autumnal colours, making this spot seem like the perfect place to travel too if you're looking for peace and quiet away from a big city. The pattern in the top right hand photo is featured in the pillows which are all stacked up on top of eachother. Not much effort would have had to have gone into this image; nonetheless pattern is still one of the most evident formal elements featured in this piece. The bottom two photographs feature a lot of pattern emphasised by the main colour white, allowing the dark patterns to stand out. There is depth in the second to last image of the Victoria & Albert Museum with stylish architecture portraying the most pattern. I have visited a few art galleries myself, and know that they are the most photogenic when capturing depth and pattern, therefore I am aware that these are fascinating places to visit in order to capture captivating and intriguing pieces.