SonnyCallicottPhotography

“You don't take a photograph, you make it.”


- Ansel Adams

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.

Personal Project image
For my personal project I want to explore landscape, urban, nature and documentary photography. I will take a photo shoot with each of these ideas and then narrow down to one that I find the most interesting and can get the most out of the final images. The photographs will have a different meaning behind each photo. When taking my photos I want people to be able to see the meaning behind the image. So I want to be able to change the perception of an image by changing the scenario but keeping the same scene within the photo. I will do this by using a range of different techniques to create different types of images. This will be my main focus throughout the project. My first shoot will contain a range of different landscape photos to see what worked the best. If this works then I will carry on with landscapes but if not I will try urban photography.
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.
Ansel Adams artist research imageAnsel Adams artist research imageAnsel Adams artist research image
1st shoot analysis image
With this first shoot I just wanted to go out and take a range of different photos to see what different themes I could capture, when I was out I noticed a key theme is nature and the use of the colour green. But to make this in the style of Ansel Adams I would change the image to black and white. This was my favourite image out of the shoot because I like the contrast between the bark and the green moss on the tree, I also like how I have used the rule of thirds by having the tree placed on the left hand side of the frame. Also the tree is the key viewpoint of the photo. I took this from a human perspective. This photograph makes me feel connected with nature and shows a different side of the city. It differs from big buildings to the beautiful side of nature.  To make this image better I could use the long exposure technique to make the water look misty and foggy. This would of improved this image but I also think there needs to be  a message behind this image to take it to the next level.
 1st shoot final images image 1st shoot final images image
This is my first final image for the project, I decided to focus on landscapes and try to re create the work of Ansel Adams. Ansel Adams predominantly takes his photos in the mountains and I didn't have access to really tall mountains so I decided to take the photos in the forest. The main focus of this image would be the tree on the left hand side of the rule of thirds grid. I also like how this gives the photo a very strong composition. I also like how the branches are very dark and then feeding off the branches the leaves are very light which shows a juxtaposition feeling within the photo. I feel this image could have been improved by using the long exposure technique to make the water look misty and foggy which looks like a cloud of dust covering the river bed.


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 imageDans holdsworth research image
When shooting my last shoot it didn't really interest me because there is no meaning behind my images. So I have decided to change to street and urban photography. I'm going to research Dan Holdsworth and then explore night time photography. Dan holdsworth is a street photographer who focuses on taking photos of natural landscapes, roads and lights. When taking his photos he uses long exposure as one of his many techniques, this allows him to capture light trails from the cars. Long-exposure, time-exposure, or slow-shutter photography involves using a long-duration shutter speed to sharply capture the stationary elements of images while blurring, smearing, or obscuring the moving elements. Long-exposure photography captures one element that conventional photography does not: an extended period of time. I'm also going to explore the techniques of night time photography. When taking photos at night I would take a flashlight to light up aspects of the image. I would also take a tripod to stop the camera from losing focus. Night time changes even the most familiar scenes. This creates an opportunity for a whole new range of photos. You can easily change the perception of the image by taking the photo at night instead of taking the image in broad daylight.
James grundy Artist research image
James Grundy is a urban street photographer who captured most of his images in New York City. He looks at The different cultures and sub-cultures, and captures each of these. He looks at The portrayal of people with different occupations, the different looks and styles, different backgrounds and nationalities. One of his projects that I'm interested in is Urban Race, this  is a testament to life in the city. The qualities and characteristics of that life including the personalities and characters. How each of these changes and flows from one neighbourhood to the next, all the way from the southern most tip of Manhattan to the northernmost tip of North Harlem. He took these photographs and changed his ideas and created a book to show the different lifestyles in different cities. Most of the time he shoots his images in black and white and has the odd colour photo in the project. When taking my photos I would shoot in black and white and then use the a range of techniques to give the image more detail.
These three photos were my favourite images from the shoot. This was my first shoot in the style of Dan's Holdsworth and Ansel Adams co-ordinated together. I went out and found local tunnels and subways that could show different meanings by changing the scenes of the image. The first photo shows a teenager who is isolated from the world and feels lost. When I edit this photo I'm going to convert it to black and white and make it dark but have the lights shining. With this photo I could of taken it from a range of different angles to make the boy look bigger or smaller. By making the boy smaller it would represent him being lost in such a big world, but if I made him bigger it could portray him as someone who everyone is scared of for example a bully.

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.
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This is my first final image, this image was shot in a tunnel with various graffiti throughout. At first I had this image in colour but changed it to black and white to give the tunnel a colder and less welcoming presence. This is in the style of James Grundy. I decided to use the burn tool to give the edges a darker feature. this photo was taken at night to give a more scary effect. I like how I used the prop at the front of the photo but I dislike how bright the prop is and think the image would look better if it was darker. I took this image at eye point but to make this image better I could take the photo from worms view to make the person bigger and have a scarier effect. Or I would like to have multiple people in the frame to create a different atmosphere ranging from a gang or the individual being on there own showing they are isolated.

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 image
This first image is my favourite photo from my second shoot. This image is my favourite because I think it has very strong composition due to the girl being the key focal point of the image. Like my last shoot it links to people feeling isolated and lonely but in different locations. To change the perception of the image I would make the picture darker. This would give the subway a colder feeling and convey that people don't want to walk through the subway. Also to change the perception again I could have some young children playing football in the subway to show that it can be a happy place as well . I also think this image has a high contrast because you as the viewer is focused towards the girl instead of the outskirts.
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These were the two most successful photos from my 3nd shoot. the first photo works really well because the main focus of the photo is the words. this is because I made the background very dark so the words would stand out. I did this by changing the hue and saturation. I also changed the brightness and contrast to give more edge to the words. to improve this image I could make the photo more realistic by changing the shade of blue to a lighter and not so harsh colour. I like this image because I wanted to explore light and colour, If this photo was to be in black and white it will give a more scary and frightening feeling whereas it has bright colours it gives the image a different feeling.


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, time-exposure, or slow-shutter photography involves using a long-duration shutter speed to sharply capture the stationary elements of images while blurring, smearing, or obscuring the moving elements. You need to Place your camera on a tripod and focus the lens to infinity. You'll want to use a cable release to eliminate camera shake of any kind, as it will RUIN your photo. Set the camera to B “Bulb” shooting mode and set your aperture between f/2.8 – f/4 for optimal results. Depress the remote to open the shutter. there are many types of long exposure photography such as steel wool photography, light paintings, star trails, cityscapes and street life. I am going to focus on light painting's and look at the work of Michael Bosanko.
lichtfaktor imagelichtfaktor image
Light painting is where we started, where we made our name. Even today light is our most important material. Why? Because light is life. Because there is nothing more beautiful, more fascinating, more animating And because all people feel drawn to it. Lichtfaktor are a group of individuals that create photographs using just lights, camera and a tripod, these have inspired me to try there techniques within my own shoot. They find inspiration in graffiti, street art, and in others light painting work. Lichtfaktor says that they enjoy the contrast from using different light sources to create their images. They plan out most of their work but do find inspiration on location. When asked if Lichtfaktor thinks Light writing is an evolution of graffiti they say this “For us it is an evolution and a chance to animate graffiti characters in urban landscapes.
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.
 
Michael Bosanko imageMichael Bosanko imageMichael Bosanko image


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.
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This is my first final image from shoot 4. This is one of my favourite images from this shoot. I wanted to explore lighting and long exposure. Light paintings connect both lights and long exposure together to create an image. In the process of this photo I used a torch and a light sword . I like the contrast between light and dark and this image was made off Manual light such as the torch and light sword. I also like the idea of unnatural photos and creating them through using different objects. This gives the photos different meanings. I think this photo shows how using different types of lights and objects conveys different photos. In this photo it shows how important light actually is. I enjoy the contrast from using different light sources to create my 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.
These are three more of my final images that I really liked so I could not leave them out. The photo of the man drawn with a torch was a quick experiment that i thought worked really well. I think this worked well because the photo looks very cool and futuristic. when creating this photo I had to draw with a torch around my body to make the outline of a man. I want to re shoot this photo but in a better area because this was quickly taken in my front room, when taking this photo again I would like to do it in a park or a forest with just a bench for the man to sit on. The other two photos were created with a glass cup, laser, lighter and a torch. To create this effect i shined the torch and laser in the cup which gave out loads of different reflections which also gave a krypton atmosphere which conveys the future. So for my next shoot I am going to carry on with light paintings. I want to try light painting mixed with landscapes and surreal images. I will explore Jason D Page and his light paintings in landscapes.
“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.
Jason D Page imageJason D Page image
pablo picasso imagepablo picasso image
Pablo Picasso was one of the first people to explore light painting. He used a small electric light. Pablo Picasso was known for his famous art, after drawing one of his images he recreated them as a light painting. The first photo was a bull that he drawn and then he recreated this image in the form of a light painting. This made it feel very futuristic and advanced from the time he was making art. This was also known as continuous line drawings. This has inspired me to create more light paintings. He took these photos by only using a light and it was always turned on which made these a continues line drawing. This very similar to my work as I keep the torch on at all times and continue to draw.
planning shoot 5  image
This shoot will be in the style of Jason D Page who is a light painting photographer. For this shoot I would like to capture a man drawn by a torch, I am going to shoot this with a landscape background. I am going to take these photos in the forest so I can have the man as the main focus with trees surrounding him. I am also going to stand behind the camera and use a big torch to light up specific parts of the image that I want to light up. I feel this will make my shoot feel very futuristic and unnatural. For this shoot I will use a tripod to keep the camera steady and I will also need a small torch for the outline of the person and a big torch to light up the trees and selected areas I want to light up. Also when shooting I will draw the man with a thin light source and a thick light source to see what torch gives the man the most definition.
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.


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 image
I feel this shoot wasn't as good as it could of been, this was due to the gale force winds which was making the tripod move whilst I was trying to create the images. This caused the images to be slightly blurry. But to make the most out of these images I have blurred the background to make it seem like it was meant to be blurred. When creating this final image it was pitch black but I changed the aperture to 5 to let as much light in as possible. If I was to keep this image as dark as possible you wouldn't be able to see the blur as much. This is why when editing I changed the photo to black and white and then kept the man as a blue light. This shows the contrast between the two different colours and how the man stands out and catches the eye of the image. In the planning stage I said I was going to try with a thin light source and a thick light source, after completing this I have decided that the thin torch is much better because it gives more definition and baldness to the man. I am going to reshoot this shoot when there is no wind to stop the possibility of blur. This shoot I used a small tripod which was moving slightly causing the images to be blurry so when I reshoot I will use a bigger tripod which is much heavier and will not move when shooting the photos. This is how I will improve this shoot and have better outcomes.



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.
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shoot 6 planning image
I'm still going to recreate the style of Jason D Page due to the last shoot not being as successful as possible. To make this shoot successful I will use a tripod to keep the camera still to prevent the blur. In my last shoot I used the blur as an advantage to focus on the man made by a torch. But this time I don't want the background to be blurry. I will also think about the composition of the photo, To do this I will use the rule of thirds to see what best suits the image. With these shoots I wont have as many photos due to the photos taking up to an hour to create to get the perfect photo.
Final image from shoot 6  image
This is my final image from shoot 6. When taking these photos I made sure I focused on the composition of each photo. This was my favourite image from shoot 6. I purchased a new torch to make the man more bold due to the torch being brighter than the last. I like how I have the light trails from the cars in the background going across the back of the image.  The only thing that didn't work was that the lights in the background created lens flair which I do not think helped, this is due to the lights flaring out and being bigger than expected. So I decided on photoshop to use the clone stamp tool to cover the lights. I believe this made a very significant change and made the image much better due to there being no lense flare and the figure pushing to the front of the photo more and catching the viewers eye instead of the background lights.
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.
myths and legends imagemyths and legends image
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.
Artist research on Bjorg elise tuppen image
Radford house myth imageRadford house myth image
The most popular ghost is that of the White Lady of Radford. No one seems to know her origin but word has it that she was one of several girls living at Radford in the 18th century. It is said that she made friends with a local boy from nearby Oreston, but her parents forbade her to see him because of his lowly rank. However, she left the house (with the help of a maid servant) intent on disregarding her parent’s wishes. As was her habit, she always wore white in the summer and so it was on this particular day when she met the young man. They took the boat across the lake which capsized drowning both of them. Some say she has been seen sitting beside the lake and others have seen her in the grounds looking for her lost love. For this shoot I will use the light to create a white lady. I will shoot this with her sitting beside the lake or her walking across the grounds.
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.
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This is my favourite image from this shoot. I went to Radford Castle in Plymstock to create these photos. This image was influenced and symbolises the myth of the young girl that died in Hooe lake. I made the image black and white but also very grainy to show my interpretation of the girl at the time she died. In this photo you can see the castle in the background of where she lived before she died. Then in the foreground is my interpretation of the young girl stood out the front of the castle. This was a real event that occurred in the 18th century. The most important thing in the image is the figure, this is due to the photo being based around the girl dying. The colour black and white convey the time at which the photo was shot. This piece was produced by using long exposure, I adjusted the shutter speed to 180 seconds and changed the aperture to F/8 to let some light in to make the castle visible in the background. I used a torch to create an outline of the figure and also shone a torch from behind the castle to lighten up the castle. When editing this image I cropped out the steel door on the right hand side of the image because the light was reflecting off the door which made the door the main focus of the image. By getting rid of this the figure was the main focus which is what I wanted. The mood and feeling of this image is very eerie and non welcoming. This has been achieved by the figure having a ghost like look about it. Overall I think this image worked well and has influenced me to work on another myth and legend in my next shoot.


 
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.
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This is one of my most successful images from this shoot. This is my interpretation of the girl looking over the lake where her and the young boy died. This shows that she is still looking for her lost one in the lake and shows her overshadowing the lake at night. For this image I decided to keep the in colour to show the difference in my images from black and white to colour frames. But without the background the picture would look very monochrome due to the image being shot at night. This only had some light due to aperture being around F/8 to let some light into the image. Due to using long exposure the water has become misty making the water looks like its part of a painting. I did this from having a 180 second shutter speed. When editing I decided to crop the image to make the man be a apart of the rule of thirds and it cuts out unnecessary sky. This has made the image have a very strong composition. This makes the image look a lot better. The mood and feeling of this image would be sadness and regret due to her looking over the lake in which she died for her long lost love. This image has a slight blur in the background from the tripod moving a little due to the wind. So when I next shoot I will take a bigger tripod so it will stop the possibility of blur within the photos. Also to make this image better I would have the building on the right lit up a bit because this is where the young girl lived.
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For my final outcome I want to create a man that is made out of wire for my final piece and I want the figure to look like its made out of wire. Then inside of the man I would like to have my final images hanging so you can see them through the lines of wire. I would also like to have lights shining up through the man. These would be shining through grass that will be placed on the base. This is so you cant see the lights but you can see the lights shining up through. For my first attempt I used garden wire but this was unsuccessful as the wire kept flattening and not keeping the shape. So I am going to use crafting wire which shroud keep the shape I give it. This will then allow me to put my images inside the sculpture.
another final outcome idea image
Another idea that crossed my mind is to have the man inside of a tv made out of cardboard. I would have a landscape image and then have the man made out of wire inside the tv but he would be 3D. The man would be about 15 cm's tall and made out of crafting wire so that he would keep his shape and not fall over and collapse on himself. I tried making this final outcome and throughout making it i released the tv has no relevance to the shoots. So instead im going to make a cardboard camera and have the man stood inside. This more relevant to the project.
my final outcome idea image
This is my last final outcome idea and the one I am going to use. I am using this one as the two before were unsuccessful as the the man kept collapsing on himself because the wire couldn't hold the weight of the man. The second idea isn't relevant to the shoots as the pictures were not taken through a TV so im going to make a cardboard camera. Where the picture comes up on the camera im going to have a man inside with a landscape behind. The camera I am going to make will be bigger than this man in the picture which is about 6-7 inches tall.
choosing the landscape photo image
I went out and took a range of landscape photos, One of these images are going to be used for my final piece. This photo will be placed behind the figure to make it look like hes in a picture that would come up on the monitor. I'm going to print the photo off on card, one will be printed in black and white and the other in colour to see which one will work the best. I'm going to use this photo as the man will be able to stand on the path and be apart of the image. When editing this photo I changed the brightness and contrast to make the image stronger and bolder. I also think that this photo has very strong composition with the lamp post on the right hand side of the rule of thirds grid, I also like the sky line as its quite far down in the photo.


This is going to be my final outcome. To create this I printed off the plans to then sculpt the camera. The cardboard I used was 2mm thick so then the cardboard could bend easy. I had to use 10 sheets of card to create this. I created the lense and the camera separately, I used a hot glue gun to stick together the cardboard and then painted the camera to the colours that best suited it. The inside of the camera will have a photo in the background which I have decided will be a subway as this best suits the man standing in it, I chose to steer away from the landscapes as it didn't work very well. After creating this I decided to make another man which is much smaller so then he fits perfectly into the monitor of the camera. The other man was too big and took up way to much room. Above where the picture is going to be im going to stick a light to the roof of the monitor to light the image and the man up. This will give a shadow effect on the image and man. I drawn on a lense at the front of the camera with paint to make it look like an actual lense instead of it just being black. I decided to use silver on the camera to not black out the camera. This give it contrasts between each colour.

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    

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.

Image result for mikko lagerstedt

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.

Image result for dan holdsworth
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.  

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