Patterns was the topic that I chose to explore for this unit as it was the topic I thought I could approach in the most creative way. As I am consistently fascinated by surrealism, I was certain that I'd be able to approach this unit with shoots that explored this movement. In surreal photography, you are able to piece together images that take time to put together, such as the 2nd shoot in my coursework and the 6th shoot in my exam with the falling M&M's and falling Starbursts. I also wanted to photograph the patterns found in architecture, inspired by one of my photographers Frank Bohbot, and shoot birds eye shots of food layouts inspired by Carl Kleiner. Therefore, by choosing this topic as my starting point, I gave myself a foundation for an endless amount of potential, and as a result I have collected a solid variety of pattern photography through experimenting with an assortment of techniques.
Photographers that inspired me the most for this unit were, as mentioned above, Carl Kleiner and Frank Bohbot, as I looked into patterns created through surreal techniques/sweets in the studio, and patterns found in architecture on location. These photographers inspired me for the majority of my shoots, whilst the other three photographers gave me inspiration for single shoots and part of my exam. Phillip Shannon influenced my 5th shoot in my coursework with the black background contrasting with the subject and the splash effect, whilst Nick Fancher influenced my 3rd and 11th shoot in my coursework and my 6th shoot in my exam, with the patterns found in nails and the patterns created through birds eye views. Damien Blottiere influenced my 10th shoot in my coursework and 1st shoot in my exam, along with a few of my physical experiments which I wanted to attempt in his geometric pattern technique. Overall, these photographers thoroughly embraced the theme pattern in their work and allowed me to gain inspiration to manipulate this subject and shoot it in my own style.
My most successful shoots from this unit were shoot 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 12. The reasons for this, are because these are the shoots which convey the formal element pattern through an artistic style. Shoot 2, 5, 6 and 12 required photo manipulation on Photoshop to enhance a pattern/create it from scratch, whilst shoot 8, 9 and 10 were carried out on location where I captured patterns found in clothes, through depth photography, and in architecture. I believe I have effectively explored this theme in a variety of different styles in order to present my diverse approach to photography; always experimenting with different techniques and methods and ending up with an assortment of varied images.
Shooting in the studio and shooting on location were two different experiences in this unit. On location, there was always natural daylight to light the shots, which made taking photographs simpler and quicker. In the studio, you had to set up the shot before you could take any photographs, and even then you were limited to just a few shots of products as different shots require different set ups in the studio depending on where you want the light to bounce and whether or not you're photographing people or products. Whilst shooting in the studio took more set up time, it provided me with some of my most successful pieces as the lighting was strong and the quality was precise and sharp.
For my computer experiments, I used the overlay tool, the cut and pasting technique to create a repeated pattern, the liquify tool, the clone stamp, multiple imagery, posterize, the invert technique and smudge tool. By using these tools on Photoshop, I was able to have an insight into some methods that could enhance a photograph that already conveyed pattern, exaggerating this formal element further. In my print techniques post, the most successful outcomes were selective colour, montage, repetition, framing and image and text. With all of these techniques, you can sense the topic advertising, which is something that I have always been interested in and therefore a theme which I wanted to employ somehow in my work. Selective colour is the most effective technique in my opinion, as this emphasises a focal point in the composition and creates a fine art style to the picture.
In my exam, I was extremely satisfied with the amount of shoots that I was able to carry out, as this was the time where I took photographs that had been nowhere but in my imagination. I wanted to finally develop Carl Kleiner's surreal technique further and Nick Fancher's birds eye view/table top shots. I also wanted to develop my 10th shoot from my coursework and use Damien Blottiere to inspire the beginning of my exam. The splatter technique from shoot 6 in my coursework was also something that I was determined to experiment with further after it being such an extreme success. I therefore used my exam to pour out all of my development ideas which resulted in a large quantity of good quality photographs portraying patterns.
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