Mark Power's Gallery.

 This image was my favourite from his series 'Black Country Stories' (the gallery we visited in Walsall). the story was that he noticed this pile before returning to his hotel room and re-visited in the morning to photograph as it looked like this. It's rather unusual, especially as the pieces of bread aren't even whole. It's like people are just throwing away the bits that they didn't like (the crusts) to the birds. However, the pile in the centre looks like bread crumbs which creates unusual shapes- circle in the centre surrounded by lines and squares.

I found this image really interesting due to the amount of quirky objects found within the skip- even the skip itself is painted half purple and half yellow, it looks out of place and fruity. In the skip is a large painting which could possibly be of great value but this could have gone unnoticed by the viewer or possibly the owner too. It is ironic that the house next door supports CCTV cameras which suggests that it is monitoring the painting much like a gallery or exhibition, where the skip is helping the painting to be propped up for viewing.

 

For this project, Mark Power photographed many subjects such as urban landscapes, beauty salons, Gentleman's clubs, shopping arcades, tattoo studios, spray tan parlours and people's shoes on the pavement. He manages to 'reveal the beauty in the everyday and overlooked' as although the images show 'dirty pole-dancing clubs' and people trying to improve themselves with make-up as they hate their appearance, these are the ideas that ensure that the town contains thriving businesses and essentially what the town is most proud of. The negative views are then hidden amongst the success and beauty of the businesses. I really enjoyed this gallery and it genuinely inspired me to see the beauty within the world rather than taking things with their face value. :D

 

This image stood out to me, especially in correspondence to the 'gentleman's clubs' seen in other images. Although Mark Power took images of random people's feet, these particular pair of heels look quite tacky and suggest that her profession may be within one of these clubs. You can see this by how cheap the shoes look, as well as the unkempt look of the nail varnish on her toes. The detail in the leggings emphasises the sexy/lacy texture and possibly lingerie.

Looking at the juxtaposition of images situated around the room, I noticed that the photograph of an elderly gentleman's, smart shoes on the pavement helped to represent a frail innocence. This was hung next to the clip of the dancers in the 'gentleman's club' not wearing much to cover their bodies. This contradicts the previous image and suggests that innocence isn't always quite as pure as you'd think. As these clubs were thriving, the chances are that many people attended.

Unicorn Crane.

So, we were on the road to see Mark Power's gallery in Walsall today and although the coach journey might have been a bit of a bore, we always find some creativity within our midst.

Amy's origami skills never fail to impress with her folded crane made from an éclairs wrapper.

This one is somewhat special though as it has an extra bit- definitely must be a unicorn horn that is sticking out. ;)

Post-it Car

So I walked out of my front door to leave for work at about 1pm today and this is what greeted me at my doorstep.

I don't know who or how, all I know is that this is BRILLIANT!

Who's car was it?
Maybe a prank?
Maybe someone did this to their own car?

I came back later at about 11pm and the car was gone, just leaving a trail of post-it notes scattered across the road. It's strange how people get their kicks these days...

However, it's quite creative I guess. All of the post-it's were blank but co-ordinated nicely in patches of colours like the wind-screen (some have obviously blown away), I mean c'mon, look at the detail of the post-it's on the wheels. Definately a photo oppourtunity- I literally ran back inside to grab my camera.

Portraits.

My College

For the first project back from the summer holiday, we were told to research the college website as well as competitors to assess the quality of the photos. We found a few good points for photos but the majority were quite bad:

• Blurred images
• Fake smiles
• Impersonal stock photos
• Poor composition
• Inaccurate
• Bias towards specific campuses

• Unrealistic
• Unhappy expressions
• Empty college shots
• Over- edited (super-imposed)- Bad Photo-shop skills
• Out of date
• Colour casts
• Too saturated

 So I decided to attempt to shoot images myself as a monkey could have probabaly done a better job than the existing photos.

Martin Parr

I was looking at some of Mr Martin Parr's work recently and thought that he has a great eye for composition, especially the framing of an image which can be done with other objects within the image such as two people, one either side of the subject. This is done extremely well with the two women with ginger hair. Although the slight narrow depth of field means that the distance isn't the focal point, it emphasises the point of what these two ladies were looking at to begin with.

I like the idea that the framing doesn't always have to work in the same way. With this second image, the foot is the main subject coming from the front of the image, but its framing would be the surroundings. The subject is still focused on due to the narrow depth of field in the background where you can make out the shapes and colours of people but no where near the amount of detail seen on the sandal and the sock. This is also quite ironic as most people don't wear socks with sandals whereas here it is pointed out and obviously stated to represent the person's individuality.

I found these images by typing his name into 'Google' search but you can also access his images on both his website: http://www.martinparr.com/index1.html
And the Magnum Website as he is a member: http://www.magnumphotos.com/

Camera Flash



Paparazzi


Why does everyone insist on using the flash constantly? 
 

Although it might be a slightly dull topic to begin my blog with, it's actually something that I feel is rather important because there is a lot of controversy over who is 'right' or 'wrong' about the situation when it comes to flash.

Firstly, what is a flash? I hear you ask. Flash photography is used to create an artificial light to help illuminate a scene, particularly a dark one. It can also be used to capture objects that are moving quickly or it can also just alter the quality of the light.

You will commonly see flashes built into compact cameras already which will automatically be triggered by the shutter. This is even seen on a DSLR when using automatic mode. This tells the camera operator that flash must always be needed. However, the camera is assuming that the inexperienced photographer on auto mode won't be aware if they have a good quality of light or not and therefore just alters the light for them anyway with an automatic flash. This is obvious as in a manual mode, the flash will not be triggered unless you tell it to (given that you previously assess the lighting condition ahead of you). This proves that an automatically rising flash is due to the assumption of inexperienced users not being able to tell what needs to be used.

When using a DSLR, other than using the 'on- camera' flash, you can mount a flash to the accessory mount bracket or 'hot-shoe'. The problem with this is that if you don't know how to use it properly, you will use the flash just as a 'direct' light source, much like the built in flash but with a higher light intensity meaning that the image will be quite still and unmoving. I would definitely recommend a bounce flash if possible (when you're inside with a low enough ceiling) as the light created is much softer and even. This effect can also be created with the use of a 'Fong' and possibly a dome. This is just a diffuser which the light of the flash hits and therefore spreads the light out more evenly. I don't particularly like this type of diffusion as it looks quite unprofessional with a big plastic cup attached to your flash.

You always see the paparazzi on the TV photographing celebrities with their huge DSLR cameras and hige flashes attached to them. However, you also see them holding the camera up above the crowd and just pointing downwards. This involves no skill what so ever as they don't even look through the viewfinder to see what is in their shot before they press down on the shutter. This must also be bad for photographers surrounding them as numerous flashes going off at once would surely disrupt a few lighting conditions.

In addition to this, the cost of a flash to attach to your DSLR would roughly set you back about £150-£200 whereas it would be free to use natural lighting. Also, the size and weight of the flash has to be considered when you carry around all of your gear.



Ring Flash

Positives for flash:

• Ring flash creates a lovely 'halo' effect
• Good if there is not much available light
• Studio flash lighting is needed to illuminate the model in the darkness

Natural lighting just cannot be beaten at all. If you compare an image taken with a flash to one taken using natural lighting, you will see how soft and even the lighting can be when it's natural. My favourite example of this is Julian Germain and his project 'For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness'.

http://www.juliangermain.com/projects/foreveryminute.php

Next time you go to take a portrait shot, instead of using the flash, just stand your model by the window instead with the light coming in towards one side (if the window is behind them then you'll get a silhouette) and you will see how effective it can be for a naturally occurring element.