01: Light and Dark
Photographers and filmmakers can manipulate light and dark to create meaning or express
ideas. In the black and white photographs of film theatres and seascapes by Hiroshi
Sugimoto, the contrast and balance of light and dark can be sudden or gradual. Film noir is a
cinematic genre where intense mood is evoked through the use of strong light and deer
shadow. In the photograph Fig. 7, 2019. Erin Shirreff uses subtle and stark transitions from
light to dark when recording the form and texture of unusual objects. Photographs by Emil
Otto Hoppé of figures in front of buildings feature areas of solid black shadow and clear white
illumination. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response (on Light and dark).
ideas. In the black and white photographs of film theatres and seascapes by Hiroshi
Sugimoto, the contrast and balance of light and dark can be sudden or gradual. Film noir is a
cinematic genre where intense mood is evoked through the use of strong light and deer
shadow. In the photograph Fig. 7, 2019. Erin Shirreff uses subtle and stark transitions from
light to dark when recording the form and texture of unusual objects. Photographs by Emil
Otto Hoppé of figures in front of buildings feature areas of solid black shadow and clear white
illumination. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response (on Light and dark).
Both shadows and lights can be used as an effective way to present certain themes or ideas within photography. I chose to do light and dark because I think that I can utilise these concepts to create a compelling and interesting piece of work. Another reason that I chose to do this theme is because one of the best ways of presenting it is using black and white photography, which is the style of photography that I already partake in. As a way of preventing myself from taking photos that are similar to the ones I have already made, I am going to try and focus on more abstract concepts and photos. This will provide a more unique look to the photos, as well as giving me a challenge that I can work to overcome. I plan on making abstract photos of both landscapes and portraits as they are styles of photos that can be made and presented in different styles and with different techniques.
My photos
These are some photos that I have taken that fit the theme of light and dark. I chose to focus more on the shadow to create a greater contrast between the lighter parts and the darker parts of the photos. I also chose to take photos of some simpler subjects where there is not a lot in the frame, creating a more abstract style of photo.
Artist research - Hiroshi Sugimoto
One of my main points of inspiration for this task was Hiroshi Sugimoto and his seascape photos. I am a big fan of the fact that they are both simple and abstract. There is a significant lack of human or animal life in these photos means that if viewers were unaware of the fact that this is a seascape they could be confused as to what they are looking at. Sugimoto stated in an interview that the seascape project came around because of a photo that he took of the moon. He explains that when he first looked at the photo he didn't want to share it because he thought that it would "no longer be conceptual art". It wasn't until he turned the photo vertically that he realised it could be seen differently. From this he chose to make a series of seascapes with a "cosmic vision", presenting what he believes to be the only view we have left in the modern day that we can share with our ancestors, which I believe is another reason that there is no inclusion of any type of life.
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Initial response
These are some photos that I made in response to Hiroshi Sugimoto's seascapes. They were originally just normal photos of the ocean that I had taken and that I edited to fit the style of Sugimoto. I chose to edit them in a fairly similar way to how he takes them because I found his original photos to be very interesting and I wanted to try and replicate that style in my own photos. I think that they turned out fairly well and the low contrast between the sea and the sky works well to add to the abstract nature of the photos. I think that I could improve them by using a lower shutter speed to make the waves come across as less severe or harsh on the eyes.
Artist Research - Erin Shirreff
Fig. 7 is a very interesting and unique photo as it holds many different layers. The original photos of the sculpture are already fairly interesting as light is used to effectively highlight the sculpture as the darker background and lighter foreground allows more of our focus to remain on the sculpture as it is able to stand out more. The photo we see in the frame is made up of two separate photos that have been put together in the style of a diptych, creating a photo that at first looks normal, but eventually starts to look slightly off. The final outcome of the photo has been put in a frame, which, when lit up in the way it has been, creates its own use of light and dark in a way that turns the photo into its own type of sculpture.
Artist Research - Dolorès Marat
A book that I have looked at to aid me in this project is "Edges" by Dolorès Marat. This book is full of photos that have been taken with a higher shutter speed and a slight movement of the camera. This technique presents the world in a way that we would never see it. This is then emphasised by the focus on light and colour which is used in a way that adds to the almost etherial nature of the photos. Her style is also seen outside of this book in some of her other work. One of her photos that also interests me is one entitled 'on the "Napoléon Bonaparte" '. I'm interested in this image because it is fairly similar to Hiroshi Sugimoto's seascape photos, however, it still shows Marat's more unique style of photography.
I am a big fan of these styles of photos and I believe I could take some inspiration from these styles of photography with the lower lighting. However, I am not sure if the lower style of lighting would work well with the ideas that I am planning to create, such as double exposure photos and potentially videos. Although I do think that there are still aspects of this type of photography that I can take inspiration from, such as their abstract nature and the fact that you can tell what is in the photo, but not why it is there.
Initial Photos
These are the initial photos that I took to link to the theme of light and dark and they were mostly inspired by the artists that I have previously looked at. I chose to take some more high contrast photos to create a clear difference between the light sections and the dark sections. As well as this I also chose to create a couple of photos that had a fairly small amount of contrast and where it was less obvious as to what the subject of the photos are.
These are some of the photos that I edited so that they could look more interesting than they already did. For most of the photos I increased the contrast slightly so that the subjects could be slightly more visible as well as making them more abstract. Increasing the contrast in some of the photos allows for a more clear understanding of what light and dark is as we are able to see the difference between the lighter parts of the photos and the darker parts of the photos. I chose to rotate one of the photos for a couple of reasons, one of them being the fact that I was inspired by the work of Hiroshi Sugimoto and the way that he rotates some of his seascapes. I think that doing this also makes the photo more abstract as it isn't the way that we would tend to see the world.
I decided to do another photoshoot where I focused more on long exposure photos. I chose to take a range of different types of photos to see what different styles would look like and I think that the experiment was fairly successful. One of the techniques I chose to experiment with was moving the camera while the shutter was open. This allowed for a very interesting style of photo to be produced as the branches of the trees created a unique texture. I also decide to take more photos of clouds and the sky as I thought that last time I did it they turned out very well and their abstractedness was a concept that I wanted to look more into. I really liked the fact that it is such a simple type of photo to take and yet they look like nothing else that someone could take a photo of.
These two photos are some double exposure experiments that I made in photoshop. I chose to layer these images because I thought that they worked very well together due to the fact that one of the photos I used looked more like a frame. After adding one of the photos on top of the other I used the multiply tool to create the double exposure effect that can be seen. I chose to use this tool because it was the best one to show both images in a collaborative way. I then chose to use the exclusion tool because I wanted to see what the photo would look like in a different type of style where the colours were inverted. I think that both of these edits came out really well as I was able to successfully combine the two photos into one photo that looks abstract, but still inteligible.
This is another example of a double exposure edit that I made. I chose to use two photos that are relatively similar in subject as it meant that I could play around with how the photos work together. I chose to have one of the photos at an angle so that the final outcome would look more interesting as it wouldn't just be a photo that includes two angles to it, but multiple angles that can allow viewers to look at the photo from any angle that they want. This concept is one that can be seen in the other photos that i've made, however, I believe that it is more relevant in this one due to the way that I chose to edit the photo.
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One of the main things that I wanted to explore in these photos was the abstract nature of clouds. After creating some of my previous photos I was very interested in how I could use clouds as an overlay for other photos so I decided to take more of these types of photos. I think that most of the photos from this photo shoot turned out fairly well, although some were not as expected. However, this does not mean that they are unusable as I can edit and manipulate them in a way that could still create an interesting and engaging piece of work.
Edited Photos
I chose to take a slightly different approach when editing these photos. I wanted them to continue to be abstract but I also wanted them to be intelligible for viewers. In order to achieve this result I did a similar process that I had recently done for my other photos, however this time I overlayed the pictures in a way that wouldn't drastically obscure any of the subjects. I also decided against using long exposure photos for this process as they were a large part of what made the previous photos that I created more obscure.
Artist research - Masahisa Fusake
While taking and creating my photos I found out about the work of Masahisa Fukase, and more importantly, his photobook "Hibi". This book includes a number of black and white photos that are covered in coloured paint. I found this concept very interesting as it was a great way of incorporating colour into a photo that would work better in black and white. One way that I could integrate this into my work is by creating a similar piece of work where I paint over certain parts of photos that I have taken and then overlay some videos that I am going to film on top of them. |
This video shows a flip through of Fusake's book 'Hibi'. When looking at each photo in the book it is clear to see that he makes different styles of paintings for each photo that he takes, making each one different to the one before and the one after. This clear difference in style from page to page is a great way of keeping people engaged with what they are looking at as they don't know what's gonna come up next. I think that incorporating this type of engagement into my work would allow it to become more memorable with people who see it, as they would be able to remember the fact that each piece of work was different.
Double Exposure Videos
This video is footage that I captured of peoples shadows. I am going to play these clips over the top of photos that I have taken as a way of making them more interesting and more in line with the theme of light and dark. I am going to do this by putting the videos on the layer above my photos in a Premiere Pro timeline and changing the blend mode to 'multiply'. This creates an interesting effect that can still be linked to the theme of light and dark as I am using different types of lighting. Doing this also makes the video a lot more interesting than if it was just a slideshow of stills.
This is the first draft of the video that I am going to make. In order to improve this I am going to add different types of videos that are being overlayed on top, such as different types of shadows that also include textures of the background that I am filming on. I think that doing this will make the video more interesting and engaging for viewers as it will be different throughout. I am also going to add some music in background, preferably music that can link with the theme of light and dark.