Open College of the Arts | |
Tutor report |
Overall Comments
You have chosen from the module flowers and plants, as a subject, to explore the design elements within a photograph. This is fine but you need to be aware of comments made by Michael Freeman in his opening to this section. These concern focussing of attention on to the graphic elements of the photograph, with this subject, and many others, it can become quite challenging to obtain simple and elegant compositions that exploit the elements you are looking for.
Images like the ones you have submitted would benefit from research and referencing to other photographers work. In this case the flower images of Robert Maplethorpe would have been an appropriate inspiration for you as would the black and white images of tulips by John Blakemore. I will comment more about this at the end.
Since your feedback on assignment one the OCA have introduced a slightly amended feedback form, this incorporates a statement to indicate your assessment potential, should you be hoping to submit work at the end of The Art of Photography for formal assessment. Ideally you should have this after assignment one but I include it on this feedback form.
Feedback on assignment
1. Single Point. Good use of shallow depth of field to isolate the subject. Michael Freeman talks about how colour can be used as a tool in composition and in this case it is colour that is helping to isolate the single point. As a graphic shape the white centre of the flower is where the eye comes to rest and as such this becomes the 'point' in the image. What does become problematic is the fairly complex background and detail of the leaves which detract from the 'purity' of the single point. Although in this case the strong colour helps to direct the eye towards the 'point' detail such as the yellow leaf behind the flower also starts to act as a point and becomes distracting.
2. Two Points. I like your comments concerning use of portrait format which is appropriate for this subject. This image successfully illustrates how two points occurring in nature can be photographed and the graphic qualities of these shapes can be exploited within a photograph. This is part of 'seeing' as a photographer and you have seen this potential and captured it, well done. Your choice of aperture to isolate the subject from the background is appropriate but as you mention in your comments this is not entirely successful, the foreground framing works well and helps to lead the eye into the composition. I find the strong diagonal branch that is behind the flowers slightly distracting, this raises questions such as: 'Should the photographer rearrange nature or capture it as seen' and also starts to ask questions about truth in photography, you will need you to research into this later on in the course. If you could not remove it before taking the photography simply placing a leaf on to the branch, to appear natural and to break the line on the right would help to reduce its strength and distraction.
As the D90 has a sensor which is not full frame means that you need quite large apertures to start to get really shallow depth of field. So shooting at f4.8 is starting to achieve this but f2.8 or even larger would produce a greater result. With the larger (full frame) sensors the light is spread out over a greater surface area which enable you to achieve shallow DoF with much more control.
3. Several Points in a deliberate shape. Your comments about the difficulty of this exercise are well founded. It is far harder to purposefully arrange a subject to appear as 'natural' than to actually photograph nature - or is it? (see comments above!). I actually really like your composition, your choice of colours and the confined colour palette you are working with and shapes work well together, you have produced a natural looking and sensitively arranged photograph. Your reflective comments illustrate how your thoughts and the process you have gone through to achieve this result have led you to a successful outcome, well done. I like the soft and uncomplicated light in this image as it creates no harsh and potentially distracting shadows. What works very well is your decision to allow some elements with the image to extend out of the frame, this allows the eye to roam around the image and contains it within the frame and is an effective part of your composition.
4. A combination of vertical and horizontal lines. A simple image that has partially captured these elements, although the main horizontal in this case is a diagonal and it is the diagonal that gives this image a dynamic quality.
The stone background is effective as it has an ambiguity and is interesting but is not distracting, I do find the foreground leaves problematic (as your own comments). Several of the leaves have lines which are also diagonal. So not entirely successful Eider and I suggest re-visiting this exercise.
5. Diagonals. This is a graphic image with a strong diagonal. The use of a diagonal will often introduce a dynamic quality to an image. It is the dynamic that will lead the eye through the composition and generate a sense of movement and excitement. Diagonals occur naturally and photographers often tilt the camera to create a diagonal where one is perhaps not occurring naturally. This can often be seen in editorial architectural photographs also in motor sport photography. In this case you have seen and interpreted this strong diagonal, which does have other diagonals within the image. This satisfies the assignment and 'ticks the box' but the image itself lacks a strong dynamic quality due in part to its busyness and unstructured shapes that are occurring. The image lacks context, you describe a narrative that attracted you to the picture but it is not evident in the picture itself. The white cloud is interesting as it adds an ambiguity but I find it distracting.
6. Curves. This is a well seen image and the macro technique works hard exploiting the natural geometry and form of the plant. I like the ambiguity of this picture as it requires thought and investigation from the viewer. These subtle curved shapes have an intrinsic elegance which you successfully make use of within your framing. Great use of shallow DoF. I will criticise the slight lining up with the foreground leaf and the way it 'just' intersects the curve on the left. Careful observing (can be difficult at macro level) of how shapes and lines intersect need to become an important addition to 'seeing' an image. Try to get lines and shapes to intersect on purpose or look for a viewpoint that will avoid that occurring. If they do intersect then make sure, if possible, that they do not 'just' touch but demonstrate a deliberate overlap. So in this case the slight intersection becomes distracting if it crossed into the curve very slightly more it would be less distracting, this may mean moving the camera just 2mm (at macro) to the left before shooting but not enough to lose the small amount of white background showing. At macro level all movements become very small to effect the final image quite dramatically.
7. Distinct, even if irregular, shapes. The two circles work well here and the insect breaks the rhythm of the petals quite successfully along with the petal at the bottom which is bent slightly.. I like the out of focus fern as a diagonal as this leads the eye into the central flower. I find the stem above the flower which travels out of the frame distracting, it would have been useful to remove this at the time of shooting. As mentioned above it is surprising how much attention to detail is required when shooting at macro level.
8. Shapes - light. Interesting composition and I really like the use of shadow which balances the subject and the strong lines of the tiles add a dynamic quality to the image. Your comments about the shapes are valid but I find the subject slightly confusing. What is the orange mesh? and are there some hidden labels or gift tags behind it? The leaves intersect with the mesh to make a large area that is confusing and difficult to look at. When shooting this style of still life photograph attention to detail is essential. Have a look at the still life work of Irving Penn, his work appears to be casually occurring but is in fact highly considered and constructed but retains a natural and casual look.
Not sure about your focus on this image as the front rose looks to be either slightly soft or it may have some camera shake or movement due to your 2 second exposure.
9. Shapes - Irregular. Good use of shallow DoF to isolate the subject. I like the curve of the pot that can be seen as this introduces some dynamic into the picture. The flower does poses an inverted triangle that works in the composition. The brown leaf that intersects the flower is distracting, again it is lacking in attention to detail. When you shoot apparently simple subjects they demand the utmost attention to detail from the photographer. The viewer has nothing to distract them or allow the eye to look at and enquire after - so they look very closely and critically at the subject, which needs to be perfect. The foreground leaves on the right work well on this as they are slightly ambiguous and interesting and help to direct the eye into the image, not so sure about the leaves on the left as the bottom one has the intersection problem as already mentioned in image 6 above.
10.Trapezoid. Well seen as a trapezoid and an interesting composition using that shape. The image is ok but for me looks like the type of image you may see on a packet of seeds from a garden company, it is a simple record of four flowers, as such it describes the flowers very well but lacks emotion or narrative. You describe an interesting narrative that led you to take the photograph while out walking but this is not evident in the actual picture. This often happens where images are not planned but just taken in passing. Think about the surroundings and the narrative you describe, how could you incorporate that into this picture?
11. Implied triangle 1. Well seen in terms of the triangle shape and I like the background on this, it is sufficiently out of focus not to be distracting yet holds interest in its ambiguous shapes. The viewer has to look and try to work out what is happening or where it was taken, the image starts to have a narrative, unlike the image 10 above. The main triangle works as a composition device in holding the three flowers together the second triangle of the leaf is simple and does help the composition by stopping the eye from drifting of the frame.
12. Implied triangle 2. A similar image to 11 and one that demonstrates an implied triangle. As above the out of focus shapes in the background are interesting and help the picture to start to have a narrative. Good rationale for choice of camera settings. This is a technically well presented and photographed image but lacks in originality or style. This really comes back to research and looking at other photographers work to inspire and inform you.
13. Rhythm. I like this image and rhythm is evident within the flowers, the rhythm creates a tempo or beat which allows the eye to travel through the picture. What often works in photography is to break the rhythm at a suitable point in the composition - may often be on a third within the frame. In fact in this image the slightly blurry flowers caused by the wind? are starting to break the rhythm, you comment about should have used a faster ISO and shutter speed - think the opposite - use a tripod and a slower shutter speed so that you deliberately allow the wind to break the rhythm for you. This again comes down to planning and thinking ahead about what you want the image to say and achieve. I find the earth showing through at bottom left distracting and interrupts the pattern, slightly moving your viewpoint to avoid this would have produced a simpler and more effective image.
14. Pattern. Good use of natural patterns and textures and interesting sunlight on this picture. This helps create an atmospheric photograph which holds your attention. I like the dead leaves as they break the rhythm, I feel that there is too much space on the left, quite often when deliberately setting out to photograph pattern then filling the frame is an effective away of framing the image. I do quite like this space but it is slightly too much and the curly branch is too distracting and draws the eye away from the pattern. I am pleased you have commented about your focus issue - attention to detail Eider! In this case that leaf is actually the focal point of your image and should be the sharpest part!
Sketchbooks
Consider creating a scrapbook / sketchbook to collate images torn from magazines, flyers and brochures of exhibitions and gallery visits and other photographic ephemera. Combine this with some brief annotation and reflective thought and this will build into a valuable tool of reference and help to illustrate your learning journey. You should develop the habit of correctly referencing research material, provide details of the author, the source you obtained the information or image and include the date you accessed it. Ideally this should follow the Harvard Referencing method, details for this can be found on the OCA student website in the form of a PDF published by New Bucks. University.
Learning Logs/Critical essays
Well written and thoughtful reflective comments, I like the fact that you list the technical details and comment why you chose those settings, this is good practice. You now need to expand those comments to discuss how you think you could improve the shot and has it fulfilled the assignment criteria as well as it could? So you need to look at and inquire into your image more. I attach a Word document that has some bullet points on to help you start to criticise your own and others artworks.
You also now need to develop your research and critical appreciation of other photographers work. At degree level this is vital, you need to immerse yourself into the work of critically acclaimed photographers (historical and contemporary) and also look at the work of acknowledged emerging new talent. This work will start to 'inform' your own practice and should be referenced within your blog / log and commented upon how it may have led you to undertake a project with a certain direction or style. This route will enable your own style and direction to develop and make you much more aware of different creative approaches and genres which in turn will enhance your own creativity and develop your self confidence and direction. By noting this into your blog you will develop this as a valuable learning tool that will provide you with material and stimulate creativity and perhaps just as importantly will allow the assessors at the OCA to see how productive your journey through the course has been and provide an excellent indication as to your abilities.
As already mentioned the images you have produced are ok and tick the box's for the assignment but they appear to lack much in terms of planning and reference to others work. This would have let you experiment and take some 'risks' with your images by stimulating your own creativity, trying new techniques and pushing your creative boundaries.
Suggested reading/viewing
Explore Irving Penn's still life work. John Blakemore (tulips) and look at the flower photography of Robert Mapplethorpe. Robert was a very complex person and photographer, he is often known for his very controversial depiction of his gay lifestyle which resulted in some quite shocking images. His flower photography is of a very sensitive and sculptural nature, it would be a good exercise for you to look at and indicate the shapes, triangles and points you can discover in Mapplethorpe's flower pictures and relate them back to your own.
This is a good starting point from the recommended OCA booklist:
Cotton, C. (2009) The Photograph as Contemporary Art (2nd revised edition). London: Thames & Hudson.
Here is a reference to a recent OCA 'Blog of the week'. Look at the two links as one is used for the research and planning of shoots.
When referencing and using others works of art within an educational context copyright issues may still arise. I attach some information on this.
Pointers for the next assignment
· Expand commentary on the visual content of your images, has it fulfilled the assignment brief? How could you improve it? Why you like it or do not like it? Photography is about 'seeing'.
· Try and avoid being too literal with the subject, develop 'seeing' and narrative. Plan and sketch ideas (keep in your log) in advance of the photography.
· If you decide, on reflection, the image you take for an assignment is not quite right then allow time to shoot the photograph again, until you are happy with it. This may require returning to a location on another day, or waiting for the weather / time of day to produce a result that fulfils your vision.
· At degree level it is vital to immerse yourself in imagery - good imagery. Look at the work of critically acclaimed photographers, you may wonder why some are critically acclaimed so ask and debate those questions within your learning log and or blog.
(List of websites attached - use as a starting point)
· Start to develop some visual references on your blog that point to research and images that inspire you.
· This research should start to 'inform' your own practice so acknowledge this in your reflections.
· Be aware of copyright issues in using images for research, Develop good habits about correctly referencing research material.
· You must start to develop the research element of your work and include pointers, annotation and reflective comments to this within your learning log and blog.
· Along with research is the obligation to reference the source material correctly. This is usually achieved by using a notation system developed by Harvard University. I attach a brief document about this and potential copyright issues. Further information is available as a PDF, published by New Bucks. University, from the OCA student website.
· Send me some prints for assignment 3 including some from this assignment 2 - Email me when you send them so I am aware they may be coming.
· Re-visit image 4, horizontal and vertical - publish this with a commentary on your blog and email me when you have done this.
Tutor name: | John Todd |
Date | 23rd August 2011 |
Next assignment due | 23rd October 2011 |
