STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
Henri Cartier Bresson:
Context:
Henri Carrier Bresson is a French photographer who was born on the 22nd of August in 1908. He photographs humane and spontaneous photographs , by linking this to the pictures above the viewer is able to notice that the man is having fun by playing around the puddle. As for Bresson he attended a school in village which was quite nearby Paris and in 1929 he went to the University of Cambridge to study literature and painting. He went to that specific university as he grew an interest in painting around 1927 and 1928.
Content:
that The photographer captured his pictures in black and white to indicate that it was taken in in the olden days and in a old-fashioned perspective or to symbolise the idea of power but simplicity . To add on , monochrome colours is a way of presenting the reality of life and this could to the fact that street photography is a decisive moment .As for the focus , the photographer brings his attention to the subject mainly. For instance , the man's reflection in the first picture is very clear and implies that is the most important focus for the observers. For the last photographer the observer could easily interpret that Cartier captured silhouettes as the subjects to add on mood and emotions such as mysteriousness , intenseness and ominous.
Furthermore , speaking of the lighting Henri has used in these , it appears to be gentle and quite subtle so that the subject of the photograph does not become over-exposed as again they are the focus of the photograph. If the lightening was not gentle enough it would be harsh on the silhouette in the third picture as well as the the shadow of the woman due to the fact that it would be difficult to be noticeable. In terms of composition Henri Bresson seems to have incorporated the foreground in the second picture as the shape and texture of the group is very sharp and pleasures the naked eye. The fact that he has made use of the foreground interest and depth composition signifies that he has perhaps used a wider angle lens to emphasises the sense of depth. Since , Henri has implemented patterns and textures in the first and second pictures highlights that these elements are visually attractive and connotes harmony as well as the fact that it compliments the other plain textures that neighbours it.
Furthermore , speaking of the lighting Henri has used in these , it appears to be gentle and quite subtle so that the subject of the photograph does not become over-exposed as again they are the focus of the photograph. If the lightening was not gentle enough it would be harsh on the silhouette in the third picture as well as the the shadow of the woman due to the fact that it would be difficult to be noticeable. In terms of composition Henri Bresson seems to have incorporated the foreground in the second picture as the shape and texture of the group is very sharp and pleasures the naked eye. The fact that he has made use of the foreground interest and depth composition signifies that he has perhaps used a wider angle lens to emphasises the sense of depth. Since , Henri has implemented patterns and textures in the first and second pictures highlights that these elements are visually attractive and connotes harmony as well as the fact that it compliments the other plain textures that neighbours it.
Concept:
As for the concept of these photographs , they all represent the idea of decisive moment which refers to photographing a momentary and carefree event in which the image reflects the reality of the event. When highlighting the meaning behind decisive moments, the photographic psychology of this can be added as It occurs when the visual and psychic qualities of people in a real-life setting come together in perfect resonance spontaneously and momentarily. This is what Henri Cartier Bresson states but from my own perspective , I think that the photographer perhaps wanted to show the differences in people's event which can include where they are destined to go or what they are doing at that exact time. I also believe that the photographer captured the pictures in black and white to emphasis that memories of that specific moment can be remembered by the photographer but not by the people in that moment as it is part of their everyday life and that they are so used to this feeling . By this I mean that this "normal" event could bring someone else success and can be remined as a great moment for someone else.
Stephen Shore:
Context:
Stephen Shore was born on the 8th October 1947 and grew up in New York. He was given a darkroom set by one of his uncle when he was 6 in which he used to produce his family's snapshots taken in a non-expensive camera. Using a camera gifted, Shore developed his photography skills . He left the Upper East Side to attended a boarding school in 1959 where the headmaster William Dexter was an avid photographer who encouraged Shore by giving him access to his darkroom. His first successful photographs were taken while he was in Tarrytown. He came to see the Factory as a way to in to gain formal artistic education which allowed him access to many other from whom to learn and a space to experiment photography. To add on , he was inspired by Andy Warhol's factory to create more photographs .
Content:
This photographer mainly used colour as his main theme as it creates more depth to the picture as well adding more of a mood to the picture. By looking at the first picture , you can see that the place called "BAY" is vey visible and this due to the colour for making it stand out more to the observer. It has been stated that the subject matter of the photo is more in focus. This allows street photographers such as Shore to use the zone focusing and hyper focal techniques when manually focusing, for lightning fast shots. In the second photograph the photographer planned to use more monochrome colours as perhaps the subject( which is the man) is standing is feeling tired or not in mood. The idea of using grey colours in the second picture is to illustrate the shadows from the surrounding objects as it adds more sharpness to the picture. In the third picture , the photographer has also used lighter and brighter colours such as yellow to perhaps show the similarities between the weather using colours.
Moreover , when it comes to composition the photographer has used a mixture of leading lines and colour combination . He has particularly used leading lines in the last one as the shadows of lines are more noticeable with also the combination of colours that includes vintage colours such as pastel yellow , bright red and monochrome colours like grey , black and white.
Moreover , when it comes to composition the photographer has used a mixture of leading lines and colour combination . He has particularly used leading lines in the last one as the shadows of lines are more noticeable with also the combination of colours that includes vintage colours such as pastel yellow , bright red and monochrome colours like grey , black and white.
Concept:
When speaking about Shore's within the process of capturing these pictures.He has utilised his work as a visual diary on several occasions, communicating his own experiences through images. Shore's photographic choices elicit emotional states in the audience, frequently gaining strength from the manner in which light and composition elicit sentiments that the spectator is unable to describe. In the second picture Shore has used a white colour shirt for the person in order for them to stand and the way their body is being expressed in way that the it is tired and stressed from work perhaps. The vintage yellow pastel colour is said to represent happiness , comfort and warmth . I particularly like that Shore's work represents the joyous and the enjoyment of his everyday life as he has really emphasised this through the use of bold and harmonious colours .
Ronya Galka
Context:
Ronya Galka is a urban photographer from London . She is from Germany and went to school there .She launched her photography career and developed her own style of urban and street photography, extracting the extraordinary from life around her when moving to London in the 1990s.
Content:
For the first picture Galka used the lights of the car as a background to illuminate against the rain. She used black and white photography to reinforce the lighting more . The lighting the photographer seems intense as it needs to reflect the ground . For the second the lighting has the made shadow more prominent on the ground which has the made the overall photographer more intriguing as it could reflect the meaning of the picture. When it comes Galka's perspective on visuals , she incorporates different types of compositions which ranges from focusing on the foreground , rule of thirds and accentuating the focal point of the photograph to demonstrate street and urban photography. To add on , she really uses the background of her photographs to set the mood and portray more of unique style.
Concept:
When analysis the ideas and perspectives the photographer may have had to produce these images , it is quite evident that it could be linked to her daily life of walking in the business of London . When researching about how Galka's photography is heavily influenced by her personal life as it has been stated that "she relentlessly walks the busy streets of London , capturing as she goes" meaning that she uses her photography as to depict the concept of photojournalism as she is seemingly capturing pictures she finds the most interesting and highlighting a story or a narrative behind it. This is because it is essentially seen that she captures photographs that are candid mostly as the subjects ( the people in the shoot) usually have natural expressions which can be seen from the third image above and it shows that the man is smiling and demonstrating happier emotions which could perhaps indicate that he was humorous conversation with another person or it could reflect his personality in general . All these various expressions of people allows the viewers to make assumptions of each individual's narrative as the photographer has left an open interpretation for this to happen. The photographer also stated that she usually captures business people in London which can be observed by the sense of style these people have , which is to represent the reality behind corporate world as she's an expert in this field .
Ronya Galka also is known to capture the weather in London on how this really sets the mood in the image as as well as making sure to use the car lights as way in to add depth to her photograph and make the images more mysterious rather than sticking to simplicity. I personally particularly like how this photograph has used the style of monochrome colours in an outstanding way and highlighted the weather ( the heavy rain in London) in a very classic way using different camera technicalities such as the usage of IOS , exposure and composition.
Ronya Galka also is known to capture the weather in London on how this really sets the mood in the image as as well as making sure to use the car lights as way in to add depth to her photograph and make the images more mysterious rather than sticking to simplicity. I personally particularly like how this photograph has used the style of monochrome colours in an outstanding way and highlighted the weather ( the heavy rain in London) in a very classic way using different camera technicalities such as the usage of IOS , exposure and composition.
Photoshoot 1
FIRST IDEAS - COMPOSITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS-
For these pictures I attempted to focus on the reflection using puddles on the street . For the second picture the viewer is able to see that the background is blurred and the reflected subject is mostly in focus as that is what obtains pleasure and mesmerisation to the human eye . The first and third photographs show the juxtaposes the idea of the blur as the as everything is in focus .For the last picture I adjusted to make it black and white so that it adds strength and emphasises the monochromic colours. As for improvements I would need to focus more on the angle of the picture as well as adding clearer focus on the reflection as it is not very visible if you look closely.
Response is inspired by pictures in Henri Cartier Bresson's style:
Experimenting with composition:
For the first picture I attempted to use diagonal lines as my focus to add dynamic , a sense of depth and freedom. In order to improve this I could take more pictures with different types of diagonal lines (in terms of composition ) such as objects like buildings placed diagonally in a scene as this could be more attractive , other diagonal lines such as the leading eye which is when the photograph leads the viewer's eye to a point in the image. For the second picture I used a long exposure to make the road smoother through smear and blurriness . I personally like the second picture as it is decisively but sharply and intensely captured. For improvements of this specific picture I would like to try having a moving car in a active or passive space composition.
Exploring texture , perspectives and compositions ( worms eye view/ birds eye view)
For the first image , I attempted to capture the texture using a fill the frame composition and more of an abstract point of view. When it came to my intentions while capturing this picture, it was to represent the "graffiti" side of street photography and to explore black and white colours , however , If it was to be improve I would retake this using textures of floor and how grainy and texturised it can be . For the next two photographs I captured using the bird's eye view composition to really accentuate how wide the river side is.
This photoshoot was mainly to explore the theme of street photography and picking out ideas that I would perhaps would want to re-create in the future. This photoshoot also included trying out different types of compositions spontaneously and attempting to make links to the photographers I have chosen such as Henri Cartier Bresson. Within this photoshoot I think the pictures that consisted of capturing reflections of the water came out well in my opinion as I was particularly interested that specific idea as it was something that came in my mind when hearing about street photography as well as capturing buildings using different angles which is some I want to explore within my journey.
A02- Experiments
Black Light - Experimenting with exposure using photoshop
For these edits I used photoshop to play around with the exposure using "threshold" effect which make certain part of the image darker than other parts. I have done this to make the photographs look more animated and more like silhouettes which gives it a mysterious vibe and makes it look more appealing. For the first edit I wanted to add a blueish colour to it as make it seem like the ground is a river or an ocean while the other stick to black and white concept. For the second edit I wanted to use this effect to highlight the building's windows as they create an interesting pattern when using this effect. I adjusted these photographs because these experiments were to explore the different adjustments photoshop has and how it can turn a normal picture into something more unusual and abstract.
Photoshoot 2 - Candid ( using long exposure & close up composition)
My ideas
For this photoshoot I wanted to explore candid photography as demonstrated through my mood board as it includes a lot of influences from the 3 photographers I chosen ( Galka , Cartier and Shore). I think through this photoshoot I have captured the pictures using long exposure really well as it resembles some of the pictures from the mood board meaning that the outcomes came out well. By capturing the pictures in a blur I have captured the pictures using the live camera choosing the long exposure setting. Some pictures are in an amber box because the exposure was too high or it was taken from a weird angle especially the bus picture as it kind off came out blurry. However , these pictures can amended and adjusted through photoshop to make it look more sharp and stand out more to reflect the ideas I had for it.
Reflection
For this experiment I used Photoshop to create and by doing this I have made it black and white. The reason why I did this is because the photographers I wanted to reflect my work on has desaturated the pictures to highlight how it was in the olden times. I have flipped the copied layer in order for the bus to be reflected . What I like about this experiment is that I attempted to link to Henri Cartier Bresson who captured a photograph of a man jumping and the reflection of this was noticeable. To add on , I would like to use this edit as one my final pieces or perhaps refine it .
Showing movement through Test strips
For these edits I have used photoshop which shows the exposure going from light to dark while for the first edit I have tried to use the idea of black and white combined with colour . I have done this to experiment with different types of editing styles that I may want to incorporate in my future photoshop edits.
Multiple layer- Exploring movement
For this edit I have attempted to use layering as my main element to create the concept of movement and telling a story behind it. This was supposed be used to tell how people move around to get to their destination and the layering of the photograph portrays this as this creates more visual interest than a dull one. This type of edit also creates more of dimensional as it demonstrates a realistic view of people's everyday lives and how movement is centred through people commuting to their destinations.
Clone Effect- demonstrating movement & hectic places through repetition
This edit was adjusted through photoshop by making copies of the person's face in order to achieve the clone effect. This edit was supposed to link to my mood board of people's faces being combined and blurred together with a slow shutter speed as well the concept of people moving from one place to another . Overall , this edit was aimed to depict the idea of movement in street photography and as part of my final outcome I would like to specifically refine this type of edit .
BW & Camera Effect & Colour Effect
For the first edit I adjusted it to black and white in order to link to Henri Cartier's photography as he used monochrome photography to show the idea of street photography .As part of this edit I wanted to show the reality of people travelling to their destinations through black and white editing as it this type of editing captures people's expressions well due to the simplicity and makes the viewer focus more on the subject rather than vibrant colours that may take the attention away from the main subject . As for the second edit I used the camera effect on photoshop in order to create a disposable camera effect as well as the resolution of the vintage film cameras as street photography pictures were taken in the olden days when looking at photographers such as Stephen Shore and Henri Cartier Bresson. The last edit is specifically inspired by Stephen who photographed the American streets and people walking with their families . To add on , Shore usually captures pictures with vibrant and bright colours which I wanted to reflect on .
Inspiration- Stephen Shore "Uncommon Places"
My response:
For this response I wanted to take inspiration and influence from Stephen Shore by incorporating pastel colours into my photographs as he did the same concept in order to make the images look enjoyable , lively and cheerful. I think I like how my photographs came out because the third image really presents a similar style of Shore's photograph as the focus in the image was the pink pastel coloured building that added a fresh and harmonious atmosphere to overall photograph. To add on , the colours of the photographs was my main focus in capturing these images .
Using liquify
For this edit I used photoshop to adjust to the image as well as adding desaturation to the photograph . I have used the liquify tool to drag parts of the subject's ( the person) sides to make it seem like they are moving. I intentionally did this because the subject is in a bus station which people usually move fast to travel to their destinations so by using liquify tool it has highlighted the concept of movement in a fascinating way. To add on , I would want to use this type of effect in my future edits to represent movement.
Best 3 outcomes- Demonstrating movement and hectic mood
As part of my final outcomes of the mock exam I chose these three as my best outcomes . I really like the first edit as I have incorporated colour as part of the idea by using test strips as this one of the experimental processes reinforces the colour the most. As for the second edit I particularly like it as it shows the concept of movement and how the person's head is moving slowly and faintly. I would also want this to be part of my final outcomes but not using the same image and instead refining it. For the last experiment , I adjusted it into black and white as the photographers I chose usually use black and white pictures but I also like the reflection created through copying the picture twice and I would want this to be part of my final outcomes because this would showcase the idea of street and urban photography.