Final Evaluation

There are many ways in which my research has influenced the images that I have created. One artist who really inspired me through one  part of the project was Jeff Koons. I looked at Jeff Koons and his image of the balloon dog in London with gave the inspiration to put animals in Trafalgar Square due to how effect Jeff Koons had created through placing a ballon animal in London. Another artist who inspired me was Stephan Shore and the way in which he tends to show pieces of landscape that people don't normally see and I decide to follow this when photographing Epping in the snow as I decided to go to places that not many people go to and therefore meant that I was able to capture different locations. I took slight inspiration from Vivian Maier. I didn't copy her idea exactly due to the fact that she shows herself as the reflection in the window however I did like the idea of the reflection in the window so I decided to use it but photograph both the reflection in the window and the person creating the reflection. This inspired me to take the reflection of things with the object that the reflection is of which is a topic that I used a lot when taking reflection photographs during this project. 

I have learnt a lot of new technical skills during this project. I learnt how to use the functions on my camera better. I learnt about how to use the manual setting on my camera in order to create the exact picture so that in some cases little editing is needed. During this project I also learnt about shooting in the studio, this was something new to me as I had never done this before. I learnt how to set up the studio lights and put the reflectors in the right places in order to create a good image. I spent a lot of time learning about different set ups for the lights and looking at how to create different atmospheres with in my photographs. I also learnt about the importance of using a light meter before taking any photograph in the studio due to the fact that otherwise you end up having to take multiple photos in an attempt to find the right settings that worked with the lights and I learnt that this whole process could be avoided if I used the light meter correctly. 

The way in which I take photographs has changed a lot. Before the start of this project I never really thought about the composition of my photographs however during this topic I have learnt that composition is an important part of taking a photograph as by looking at the composition of the photograph it means that you can take a better photograph due to the fact that I could get all the features  that I wanted to in my photographs. By looking at the composition of the photograph it has also caused me to not rush the taking of my photographs. I have learnt that through taking my time and not rushing when taking my photographs I am able to create a stinger set of images that when I was rushing.

By doing both computer experiments and print techniques it allowed me to use features of photoshop that I normally wouldn't use and this is because I didn't feel that these photographs worked that well with the project however it was fun to use them and understand what they did to the pictures. This showed my ability to experiment due to the fact that I was able to manipulate over 15 photographs on Photoshop all in different ways. I also completed physical experiments to show that I was able to manipulate my photographs with out having to use photoshop. By using physical experiments I was able to manipulate photographs in different ways such as burning them and colouring them in, this added to the theme of the photograph for example I ended up burning a photograph of a fire exit sign in order to add to the idea of there being a fire within the photograph. 

I feel that I was most successful in editing my photographs to make them better than when they were unedited. I feel that editing was one of my strongest parts of the unit as I like learning different ways in which to edit my photographs and I like spending lots time editing my photographs trying to get them perfect. I feel that I was successful with this part of the project because I started doing this at the start of the year and have continued to progress with my editing through out the unit and into the next unit as well. 

One area that I felt I was least successful in was the research of other photographers. I feel that I was least successful in this because I didn't really know what kind of information to include but in many case I struggled to find any information about the artist and I think this has shown me that I need to do deeper research and not give up when nothing appears on the first search. I feel that I did have to learn this the hard way however now I have learnt this and I will be able to put this style of research in to multiple different subject and this can only help me. 

Final Pieces

Best 30 Images

Print Techniques

 Black and White 

Repetition 

Duotone

Selective Colour 

Soft Focus 

Photojoiner 

Composite Image 

Multiple Imagery 

Liquify 

Cluster 

Computer Experiments

 Colour Filter 

Colour Half Tone 

 Invert 

Lens Flare 

I decided to place a lens flare over the woman's face and this highlighted the meaning that I was trying to get across through the image. This was that no one ever pays attention to the food sellers in camden market so therefore it doesn't matter what they look like and by taking away her face and covering it I feel that this adds to the meaning and shows that no one knows who the photograph is off because no one pays attention to it. 

Mosaic

Noise

Surface Blur 

On this image I chose to use the surface blur in order to conceal her face but I left the eyes out so that it feels like she is looking at you but you can't really see her as she is blurred. This image now has a rather  strange connotation which is rather different to the angry connotation that is present in the raw image. I like that you get the creepy feel from the photograph as I feel that it all works well together and therefore it gives off a very strong emotional feeling and give the person a lot to think of. 

Posterize

Spherize

I used the spherize to highlight that the bagpipe player stands out in London and this is shown through the fact that he is the main feature within the photograph. This experiment worked well because it makes the man stand out just like a bagpiper player does in London as it is not something that you would expect to see there on a day to day basis. I think the spherize effect works well with this photograph as it all stands out and creates a thinking device through the photograph as people wonder why that experiment has been done. 

Threshold