SonnyCallicottPhotography
“You don't take a photograph, you make it.”
- Ansel Adams
artist statement
Sonny Callicott (°2001, Plymouth, United Kingdom) makes photos and media art. In a search for new methods to ‘read the city’, Callicott seduces the viewer into a world of ongoing equilibrium and the interval that articulates the stream of daily events. Moments are depicted that only exist to punctuate the human drama in order to clarify our existence and to find poetic meaning in everyday life.
His photos sometimes radiate a cold and latent violence. At times, disconcerting beauty emerges. The inherent visual seductiveness, along with the conciseness of the exhibitions, further complicates the reception of their manifold layers of meaning. By replaying the work for each exhibition and pushing the evocative power of the work a little further, he tries to focus on the activity of presenting. The character, shape or content of the presented artwork is secondary. The essential things are the momentary and the intention of presenting.
His works are presented with the aim not to provide an idealistic view but to identify where light and the environment are important. The energy of a place and its emotional and spiritual vibrations are always important. By emphasising aesthetics, he focuses on the idea of ‘public space’ and more specifically on spaces where anyone can do anything at any given moment: the non-private space, the non-privately owned space, space that is economically uninteresting.
His works are often about contact with architecture and basic living elements. Energy (heat, light, water), space and landscape are examined in less obvious ways and sometimes developed in absurd ways.
His photos sometimes radiate a cold and latent violence. At times, disconcerting beauty emerges. The inherent visual seductiveness, along with the conciseness of the exhibitions, further complicates the reception of their manifold layers of meaning. By replaying the work for each exhibition and pushing the evocative power of the work a little further, he tries to focus on the activity of presenting. The character, shape or content of the presented artwork is secondary. The essential things are the momentary and the intention of presenting.
His works are presented with the aim not to provide an idealistic view but to identify where light and the environment are important. The energy of a place and its emotional and spiritual vibrations are always important. By emphasising aesthetics, he focuses on the idea of ‘public space’ and more specifically on spaces where anyone can do anything at any given moment: the non-private space, the non-privately owned space, space that is economically uninteresting.
His works are often about contact with architecture and basic living elements. Energy (heat, light, water), space and landscape are examined in less obvious ways and sometimes developed in absurd ways.
Personal Project
Ansel Adams artist research
Ansel Adams was an American landscape photographer best known for his iconic images of the American West, including Yosemite National Park. When he shot his photographs he was well known for taking his photos in black and white, when taking his landscape photos he would take photos of mountains. He was known for taking his photos during the 1900's. His work inspires me because his photos are shooted in very exotic places across the country. When taking my images I will shoot in colour and then use Photoshop to change the image to black and white. Adams and Fred Archer developed the Zone System as a way to determine proper exposure and adjust the contrast of the final print. The resulting clarity and depth characterized his photographs. He primarily used large-format cameras because the large film used with these cameras (primarily 5×4 and 8×10) contributed to the clarity of his prints. So I will attempt his techniques to see if the images will be successful.
1st shoot analysis
1st shoot final images
I also like how this image has a very strong composition by having the tree placed in the middle of the frame. I like how underneath the tree is very dark but then surrounding the tree its very light and shows a difference between shadows. To make this photo better I would use the burn tool to make the outside of the image darker to give the middle tree even more of a striking feature and draw the viewer into the centre of the image even more. Overall I didn't really like this shoot because I didn't have access to taking my images in the mountains as Ansel Adams did in his shoots. So with my next shoot I am going to completely change to Urban photography but still use Ansel Adams techniques such as black and white. This will link Ansel Adams work to Dan Holdsworth.
Dans holdsworth research
James grundy Artist research
shoot 2 contact sheet analysis
I feel the second image once again shows someone who is isolated from society due to them being on their own in the tunnel. If there was more than one person it could portray a gang. By changing anything in the scene it will change the perception of the image which I want to do. This shows the different aspects of an image that I as the photographer have to take into account. Overall I like this image due to the strong composition and the graffiti in the background. To make this image better I could of added more people as said before to create a different atmosphere.
The third image as the same as the other ones show someone who is isolated from the world. I like how the image is blurred and is only focused on the ground. This shows the man is always in the background and forgot about. If the focus was on the man it would show he is important. Overall I think this shoot went well. The images show how people can be isolated from society and not everyone realises.
shoot 2 most successful images
This is my second final image. This was taken in a subway. When taking this photo I wanted to portray a different meaning with having a boy stood on the side and acting as a gangster. This makes the image not have a welcoming presence. I did this by changing it to black and white to not create a warm effect. I used the burn tool around the lights to make the light brighter to create more shadows and different depths. This image was shot in crown hill Plymouth whereas the other image was shot in stone house, Plymouth. This shows the different depths of Plymouth and that different areas can be portrayed differently and given a different label. Also this could portray the boy is isolated from society and is very lonely. Both of these images where in the style of Dan Holdswroth and James Grundy because of the urban photography edge. Also when editing these images I decided to change to black and white which gave them an Ansel Adams type of theme. But this was with street photography not landscapes. In my next shoot I want to explore the colour and lighting in the images that I will be taking. This will give the photos a different kind of feeling and emotion.
shoot 3 contact sheets analysis
shoot 3 final images
The second image was took in a subway where it was very bright and colourful. when editing this image I decided to change the colour and make it more dark and gloomy. this changed the perception of the image from a bright subway to a mysterious subway. I feel this worked well as it gave the picture a different feeling with the girl stood in the centre of the subway with everything else surrounding her. this made her the focus point of the image. to change the perception of this image I could brighten it up and have a man walking through in a suit showing its his way to and from work showing a different kind of meaning to the photo. These images where in the style of James Grundy who was an urban photographer who captured different images and changed perceptions. With my next shoot I am going to explore lighting and different colours again, I am going to experiment with light painting and long exposure, I will do this by looking at Michael Bosanko's and litchfaktors photography.
long exposure research
lichtfaktor
Michael Bosanko
Michael Bosanko does many different types of photography but the one im going to focus on his light graffiti which is also known as light paintings, when taking his photos he has different categories such as organic, abstract, illuminating artists, iconic movies, creatures, aliens, pupils, font, logo and vehicles. when looking at his work I find his abstract light paintings very interesting and different to other photography. when he takes the photo the shutter speed can be between 10 seconds all the way up to one hour. most of his photos are taken in empty urban night spaces and desolate landscapes. he just works with a torch and a camera. Michael Bosanko writes 'To get the best results the shoot depends on the amount of ambient light that is available'. where there is lots of ambient light for example a city he has to work very quickly. he puts random shapes in places they don't belong which creates an aesthetically pleasing photograph, this shows how abstract his work is.
editing process
When creating this photo I used a light sabre to have unnatural background light to give the image a blue tint. When crafting this photo I had the shutter speed set to 30 seconds to give me enough time to draw the strands off light coming from the cup. When drawing these lines I used a white torch. When editing this image I changed the brightness and contrast to make the cup more focused on then the table and background. This also made the strands of light stand out stand out. I adjusted the vibrancy which made the image a lighter and more prominent blue. Before I did this the image light was very grey and dull. To make this image better I could of shot this photo outside to have natural background light.
1st shoot 4 final images
This is my second image from shoot 4. I wanted to use a human being as a figure and use a torch to draw around the person to create a light painting. This is a light painting portrait. When experimenting with this photo I liked how the person is some parts of the image overlaps the torch light creating a different contrast between the torch and the human. Also I like how some parts of the person is lit up from Manuel light and not natural lights. This shoot was an experiment but when experimenting I found inspiration in the different locations that I shot.
2nd shoot 4 final images
Jason D Page
“Light Painting is its own art form, just as drawing is an art form or painting is an art form. Calling light painting a photographic technique would be the same thing as calling painting a canvas technique. I am a light painter.” (Jason D. Page). He creates his images in total darkness and just uses manual light. To capture his light painting work he uses a photographic technique known as long exposure photography. He opens the shutter of my camera for an extended period of time and use various light sources to create colour and designs within the frame. Every light painting is unique and unrepeatable. To produce his images he uses everything from ordinary household flashlights to chemical concoctions of nitrate and potassium chlorinate to create explosions of light. There is no photo editing used to create anything use in his images. In this next shoot I am going to combine light paintings with landscape photography.
pablo picasso
planning shoot 5
shoot 5
techniques used for shoot 5
When taking these images I used several tools and techniques to create the image. I made sure the camera was kept still to prevent any blur. I had to change the aperture to very low to let as much light in as possible because it was very dark outside. This made the man the focal point due to him shinning while the rest of this image was not as bright. I used the bulb setting on the camera so I had enough time to draw the man. The shutter time was approximately 180 seconds. To draw the man I used a torch to get the key definitions in the photograph. Due to shooting at night I had to make sure I had the right shadows to get the right amount of light present. I also used a flash light from behind the camera to light up certain aspects of the image.
Editing process
When editing this photo I decided to change it to black and white because the background was slightly blurry so by changing it its not as clear in the image. With this image are mainly used subtle changes such as brightness, contrast, exposure and brightness. I adjusted the brightness because the background of the image was light not giving the full effect of the man. I have created this image in the style of Jason D Page and I feel he has influenced my work due to me being very intrigued with light within a photograph. I also changed the exposure of the image to once again make the image darker to give the man more of a shine.
shoot 5 analysis and final image
research on composition
Composition refers to the way the various elements in a scene are arranged within the frame. This could be from using the rule of thirds, leading lines, diagonals and triangles, and changing point of views. We have a natural tendency to want to place the main subject in the middle. Placing it off centre using the rule of thirds will more often than not lead to a more attractive composition. Leading lines help lead the viewer through the image and focus attention on important elements. There are many different types of line - straight, diagonal, curvy, zigzag, radial etc - and each can be used to enhance our photo's composition. This gives a focal point to the image. I will experiment with these compositions to see what works the best.
shoot 6 planning
shoot 6
Final image from shoot 6
myths and legends
For this next shoot I am going to look into myths, legends and history of Plymouth. This first shoot will be around a legend that was based in the Royal William Yard. Numerous legends claim the Royal William Yard to be haunted by a whole load of ghosts. Over recent years, the yard has been under renovation, so reports of paranormal activity have flooded in. People regularly claim to hear the sound of cattle walking along the cobbled stone floor. They say that ghostly figures can be seen walking the old buildings in naval uniforms. But they can only be seen from the outside of the buildings, through the windows. Within the site, many doors are known to open and close by themselves as if by magic. As these doors are very heavy, we can certainly rule out the wind as a cause. For this shoot I will use the man that I have been drawing to show a ghostly like figure in the photos.
Artist research on Bjorg elise tuppen
Bjørg-Elise Tuppen created a project based on the myths and legends of Norway and interpreted the photos to what she thought they would look like. The project was called The Land of Myths and Folklore. She quoted “I also wanted to reinterpret them, give them a more updated and current look. Growing up in Norway one hears myths and stories about them, and for a child they seem both scary and fascinating.” This means she shows the images how they would look in the modern day. For example this picture was made around a myth of a fisherman who died. In Norwegian folklore Draugen is a walking dead, the ghost of a fisherman who died at sea, and was not buried in holy ground. He brought death to those who saw him and would also sometimes try to pull his victims down into the dark sea. For my next couple of shoots I am going to re create myths and legends around Plymouth.
Radford house myth
shoot 8
shoot 8 contact sheet analysis
This is my second shoot on myths and legends, This shoot was based on a higher classed girl who lived in radford castle and died when crossing hooe lake with a young working class boy. The myth believes she has been seen sitting beside the lake and others have seen her in the grounds looking for her lost love. So for this shoot I went to the castle and made my perception of the photo. I used a small tripod to try and keep the image as still as possible but due to the wind and rain the tripod was moving ever so slightly which caused blur. When shooting I used the bulb setting to make the shutter last around 180 seconds so I had enough time to draw the figure. I had the aperture set low to let some light in because it was pitch black outside. I also had the Ios set to the lowest as possible which was to 100 to minismise the noise and grain of the image to capture extreme detail.
This is one of my favourite photos due to the figure looking over the lake which was what the girl has been seen doing. This is my perception of what the photo would of looked like. When taking this image it was very hard to keep the camera still because of the wind so it made the images background blur, i'm going to use this as an advantage to make the figure stand out more from the rest of the photo. As you can see if the bottom left photo I was stood on the end of the walkway to make the figure actually look over the lake. Overall I think this image was very successful but next time I would go when its not as windy and raining so I don't have to hold the camera and an umbrella to stop the camera from getting wet and blurring the image due to the water drops on the lense.
This is one of my favourite photos due to the figure looking over the lake which was what the girl has been seen doing. This is my perception of what the photo would of looked like. When taking this image it was very hard to keep the camera still because of the wind so it made the images background blur, i'm going to use this as an advantage to make the figure stand out more from the rest of the photo. As you can see if the bottom left photo I was stood on the end of the walkway to make the figure actually look over the lake. Overall I think this image was very successful but next time I would go when its not as windy and raining so I don't have to hold the camera and an umbrella to stop the camera from getting wet and blurring the image due to the water drops on the lense.
Shoot 8 final image analysis
shoot 8 editing process
From the first picture to the second I changed the brightness of the image. By doing this it made the figure look more full and pop a bit more out of the photo. This also made the background lights and the sky have a more orange tint. The sky has a more orange tint due to the light pollution from the houses. I adjusted the exposure, offset and gamma correction which made the image darker down a little bit which once again made the man stand out in the image more. After adding this layer it made the sky go back to a more monochrome colour so I changed the vibrance and saturation. This gave the sky a orange tint again which I feel works really well due to all the other picture being in black and white and then this one being coloured. To finish this photo up I adjusted the curves which makes the background lights lighten up. I also like how there is a light coming from behind the building on the right hand side. I feel this gives the photo a very strong composition.
shoot 8 2nd final image
both of shoot 8's final images
planning my final outcome
another final outcome idea
my final outcome idea
choosing the landscape photo
final outcome process
my final outcome
my final outcome analysis
This is my final outcome and overall I feel like it was very successful. First of all I printed of the plans I was going to use so then I knew the correct measurements and cardboard thickness. To create this I used 2mm thick cardboard because I used slightly thicker cardboard before but it was struggling to bend and stick together. So the 2mm cardboard was the thinnest I could use. At first the man I created was about 6 inches tall but this was too big for the inside of the camera. So I decided to make another man who was 3-4 inches tall so then he didn't look to big for the photograph inside. I used the man because in my light painting photos before he was the main focus of the image. So I made him out of wire as this is the closest thing that represents the strands of light in the images. I changed my idea of the photograph inside as the landscape did not look as effective as the dark mysterious tunnel. With this picture there are two lights that are edging towards the front of the image, I thought that it would work best if I put a light at the top of the image that couldn't been seen. So when I turn the light on the man lights up and creates shadows surrounding him. I found that this worked very well.
I created the lense and the camera separately, I tried sticking them together through using the hot glue gun but this was unsuccessful and kept coming apart. So I came up with the idea of using velcro straps which would keep the camera together. When painting the lense I decided to paint it black and then silver so the camera didn't get washed out with too much black. For the actual lense I painted on a lense so then the photo isn't just black. Overall I found that this was very successful as the idea came from me taking photos and using light trails. To improve this final piece I would have the mage inside slightly darker to create a more scary environment, but I couldn't do this as the printer was not printing it off as dark as I would like. But overall I think this is a very successful final piece
Personal study
For my personal study I am going to research two photographers who go by the names of Mikko Lagerstedt and Dan Holdsworth. By researching these two photographers I will gain knowledge on the way they craft and go about taking their photos. By taking account of the way they create these photos it will help me create my images and make them look as professional as possible. I have picked these two photographers because they represent the style of photography I want to create. Which is using long exposure and creating surreal images. They tend to make images based on landscapes, cityscapes and seascapes which I find really interesting so I am going to try to recreate and use similar techniques to make my images similar to theirs. Also these analysis will change my perception on how I plan and actually take the photos I have planned for. Also I will use different techniques that Mikko and Dan have used when taking their images because I have kept to the basics whereas I am now going to expand and use a variety of different conventions. Most of these conventions i have not used is due to the fact this is the first time coming across these techniques.
The first photographer I'm going to analyse is Mikko Lagerstedt who is a self taught fine art photographer from Finland. He loves to capture night, and atmospheric photography and enjoys capturing simplistic landscapes. His work is mostly surrounded by taking photos of landscapes, this is what I'm mostly interested in with his work. I like this style of photography due to the photographer expressing himself through nature. I like his landscape, cityscape and seascape style of work the best. This is because his images are very interesting due to the use of long exposure to make the water look misty in some of his photos. In his photographs he takes all composition rules into account for example leading lines and the rule of thirds. Also most of Mikko Lagerstedts work features at night time when he can get pictures with the stars in them.
This is the first image I will be analysing and recreating. This photo features mikko taking a photo of a train track using the composition rule leading lines drawing you to look at the end of the train track. Also I like the colour balance in this image. Also the contrast between the different colours shows strong visual difference between the two colours. Also I like how the colours fade into one another making some of the stars visible in the darker aspects of the photo and non existent in the lighter part of the image. This image is very surreal creating a different type of atmosphere. This photograph makes me feel alive because it's very different from other types of landscape photos. This picture was not staged and was just taken when mikko was out taking photos. This image also makes me feel empty because this image is very simple and does not have a lot going on in the foreground. He has used Photoshop to change the contrast of the image to make it differ in the brightness. So when I take my photo the sky will be a mixture between day and night time.
This is my first image i created using the style of Mikko Lagerstedt who I have analysed. With this image I have used an image of the internet to create the two contrasting skies, to do this I just pasted into a selected background and used overlay so the sky wasn't so strong and bold. Also I used another picture off the internet to get the light trails. When I reshoot this photo I will have my own light trails due to using long exposure and changing the shutter speed to 10,15 or 20 seconds. I think this is similar to Mikko and his work because the sky is very important in the image to show the difference between night and day. When taking this photo I did not use a tripod so next time I will use one to make sure the image is totally focused. With the sky I changed the vibrancy to create a stronger impact on the photo. I used the crop tool to crop out the left part of the image because there was nothing happening and it was very dull and boring. When looking at this image im drawn to the moon due to there being such a colour difference between the tree and the moon. Mikko uses some of these techniques so i used them to re create my own style of his work.
The second photographer I am going to be analysing is Dan's Holdsworth who is a British photographer who creates large-scale photographs and digital art characterized by the use of traditional techniques and usually long exposure, and by radical abstractions of geography. Dan is known for the awards he has won and the personal collection he has. Dan chooses his subject through research, science and travelling to different locations for inspiration. Dan quotes ‘our perception of landscape is driven through science and technology’. This is one of a series of photographs from Holdsworth’s series A Machine for Living, 1999-2000, which depicts the Blue water shopping complex at night. Blue water is a large shopping centre built on the site of a disused
quarry near a major motorway junction in suburban Kent.
The second image I will be analysing is this photo above. I'm interested in Dan's work due to him using long exposure and traditional techniques when creating an image. Also when I take my photos I want to be making landscape photos and this is what he does. With this image I like the contrast of the colours from dark colours to brighter colours coming from the lights. The colour red portrays a very warm setting. With this image I am drawn to the roads because they are lit up. Electric lights in the car park give off an eerie, excessively bright glow. The scene is completely empty of people, and this barrenness, along with the saturated colours, conveys a sense of unease. This image looks very empty due to their not being any people present in the image, this creates an uneasy atmosphere when viewing this image. When looking at this image i don't see the actual location as being a real place and more of a made up place but when i look into the background on the horizon line i see pylons which actually shows signs of life and that it is a real place.
this is my final image that I created in the style of Dan holdsworth. When shooting this image I went on top of a car park and placed the camera on the wall. I turned the shutter speed to 10 seconds to capture the light trails from the cars that were passing by. By placing the camera on the wall it shows the difference between the town and then the car park with the two contrasting colours. The wall is dirty and grey. Where the roads and lights is a more colourful setting with a red tint. The red tint creates a warm effect. This is what Dan did with his work so I decided to use that technique. This makes my work have the same effect as his. Also with this image I like how the lights are very strong and stand out when looking at the image. I used long exposure to create the light trails from the cars. This is a technique that Dan used so I copied him to make my image look like his. Overall I thought this image was very successful due to using Dan's conventions.
The first photographer I'm going to analyse is Mikko Lagerstedt who is a self taught fine art photographer from Finland. He loves to capture night, and atmospheric photography and enjoys capturing simplistic landscapes. His work is mostly surrounded by taking photos of landscapes, this is what I'm mostly interested in with his work. I like this style of photography due to the photographer expressing himself through nature. I like his landscape, cityscape and seascape style of work the best. This is because his images are very interesting due to the use of long exposure to make the water look misty in some of his photos. In his photographs he takes all composition rules into account for example leading lines and the rule of thirds. Also most of Mikko Lagerstedts work features at night time when he can get pictures with the stars in them.
This is the first image I will be analysing and recreating. This photo features mikko taking a photo of a train track using the composition rule leading lines drawing you to look at the end of the train track. Also I like the colour balance in this image. Also the contrast between the different colours shows strong visual difference between the two colours. Also I like how the colours fade into one another making some of the stars visible in the darker aspects of the photo and non existent in the lighter part of the image. This image is very surreal creating a different type of atmosphere. This photograph makes me feel alive because it's very different from other types of landscape photos. This picture was not staged and was just taken when mikko was out taking photos. This image also makes me feel empty because this image is very simple and does not have a lot going on in the foreground. He has used Photoshop to change the contrast of the image to make it differ in the brightness. So when I take my photo the sky will be a mixture between day and night time.
This is my first image i created using the style of Mikko Lagerstedt who I have analysed. With this image I have used an image of the internet to create the two contrasting skies, to do this I just pasted into a selected background and used overlay so the sky wasn't so strong and bold. Also I used another picture off the internet to get the light trails. When I reshoot this photo I will have my own light trails due to using long exposure and changing the shutter speed to 10,15 or 20 seconds. I think this is similar to Mikko and his work because the sky is very important in the image to show the difference between night and day. When taking this photo I did not use a tripod so next time I will use one to make sure the image is totally focused. With the sky I changed the vibrancy to create a stronger impact on the photo. I used the crop tool to crop out the left part of the image because there was nothing happening and it was very dull and boring. When looking at this image im drawn to the moon due to there being such a colour difference between the tree and the moon. Mikko uses some of these techniques so i used them to re create my own style of his work.
The second photographer I am going to be analysing is Dan's Holdsworth who is a British photographer who creates large-scale photographs and digital art characterized by the use of traditional techniques and usually long exposure, and by radical abstractions of geography. Dan is known for the awards he has won and the personal collection he has. Dan chooses his subject through research, science and travelling to different locations for inspiration. Dan quotes ‘our perception of landscape is driven through science and technology’. This is one of a series of photographs from Holdsworth’s series A Machine for Living, 1999-2000, which depicts the Blue water shopping complex at night. Blue water is a large shopping centre built on the site of a disused
quarry near a major motorway junction in suburban Kent.
The second image I will be analysing is this photo above. I'm interested in Dan's work due to him using long exposure and traditional techniques when creating an image. Also when I take my photos I want to be making landscape photos and this is what he does. With this image I like the contrast of the colours from dark colours to brighter colours coming from the lights. The colour red portrays a very warm setting. With this image I am drawn to the roads because they are lit up. Electric lights in the car park give off an eerie, excessively bright glow. The scene is completely empty of people, and this barrenness, along with the saturated colours, conveys a sense of unease. This image looks very empty due to their not being any people present in the image, this creates an uneasy atmosphere when viewing this image. When looking at this image i don't see the actual location as being a real place and more of a made up place but when i look into the background on the horizon line i see pylons which actually shows signs of life and that it is a real place.
this is my final image that I created in the style of Dan holdsworth. When shooting this image I went on top of a car park and placed the camera on the wall. I turned the shutter speed to 10 seconds to capture the light trails from the cars that were passing by. By placing the camera on the wall it shows the difference between the town and then the car park with the two contrasting colours. The wall is dirty and grey. Where the roads and lights is a more colourful setting with a red tint. The red tint creates a warm effect. This is what Dan did with his work so I decided to use that technique. This makes my work have the same effect as his. Also with this image I like how the lights are very strong and stand out when looking at the image. I used long exposure to create the light trails from the cars. This is a technique that Dan used so I copied him to make my image look like his. Overall I thought this image was very successful due to using Dan's conventions.
