Portrait Transformations
Maurizio Anzeri:
Maurizio Anzeri was born in 1969 in Italy. As of today, he lives and works in London, England.
Maurizio Anzeri is creating surreal images in his work. He does this by directly sewing into the vintage canvases that the original pictures are on. Anzeri does this to show the viewer that everything has a spirit and a soul.
Anzeri is doing this to show people that no matter how serious or old a person looks, they are still people and they do have. Maurizio Anzeri does this because he believes that people should know that the way that way they view a person can be completely wrong.
The artist has used manual manipulation in creating his images. He directly sews into his images to show a very surreal image that lets the viewers imagination fully explore the picture. This use of sewing and surrealism helps further Anzeri's point that everyone has a soul no matter who they are.
Maurizio Anzeri is creating surreal images in his work. He does this by directly sewing into the vintage canvases that the original pictures are on. Anzeri does this to show the viewer that everything has a spirit and a soul.
Anzeri is doing this to show people that no matter how serious or old a person looks, they are still people and they do have. Maurizio Anzeri does this because he believes that people should know that the way that way they view a person can be completely wrong.
The artist has used manual manipulation in creating his images. He directly sews into his images to show a very surreal image that lets the viewers imagination fully explore the picture. This use of sewing and surrealism helps further Anzeri's point that everyone has a soul no matter who they are.
Jose Romussi:
Jose Romussi is an Artist from Chile. He was living in New York when he started doing collages. He now lives in Berlin.
Jose creates surreal images using embroidery. He creates pieces of embroidery and then puts those pieces onto photographs. It is hard to know what the message behind his images are as Romussi says that he is still trying to find his 'style' of art is.
Romussi uses, like Anzeri, manual manipulation in his pieces. This helps create a sense of surrealism within the subjects of his art. This can be seen throughout all of his pieces.
Jose creates surreal images using embroidery. He creates pieces of embroidery and then puts those pieces onto photographs. It is hard to know what the message behind his images are as Romussi says that he is still trying to find his 'style' of art is.
Romussi uses, like Anzeri, manual manipulation in his pieces. This helps create a sense of surrealism within the subjects of his art. This can be seen throughout all of his pieces.
David Marinos:
Marinos creates psychedelic images using multiple different techniques. He makes new and brave images that no one before him has done.
Rankin destroy
James "Rankin" Waddell is a British portrait and fashion photographer and director born in 1966. A certain project Rankin is famous for is the project where he challenged 70 celebrities to "destroy" a portrait of themselves. My teachers challenged myself and my class to 'destroy' a celebrities photo and a portrait. The results are below. However, Rankin is not only known for his 'destroy' project, he is also known for being the founder of the 'dazed and confused' magazine, now known as 'dazed'. He founded this in the year 1991 with friend Jefferson Hack.
Morgan Freeman
Below is my attempt to create Rankin style art based on his project with celebrities. I decided to choose Morgan Freeman and turn the photo of him into something sinister and based around the accusation that were directed at Freeman a few years ago.
Double exposure
Christoffer Relander
Christoffer Relander was born in in Finland in 1986. It is said that he was drawn to art at a young age but it wasn't until 2008 that he discovered his passion for photography. A project that Christoffer is famous for is his double exposure project. There are some examples below and below those are some attempts of my own.
Christoffer Relander creates surreal images using the double exposure technique where you put an image on top of another one and adjust the opacity of the background. In my opinion, Relander wanted us to consider mankind's relationship with nature and to remind us that we are one with nature. |
Relander isn't considering any specific individual in his pieces of work and this is clear through the way that the models in the photographs are hidden and shrouded. He doesn't want the viewer to focus on the person, but focus on the picture as a whole. He does this by making sure the photo is in black and white while shooting the model in front of a bright background so that the two separate photos blend in together. By keeping the identities of the models hidden, he allows the viewer to make their own opinions of the piece.
Realnder has used the multiple exposure effect in his work which is what creates the visual effect of the subject being one with nature. This helps support Relander's point of humans being one with nature and of the audience to develop their own perceptions of the piece.
Realnder has used the multiple exposure effect in his work which is what creates the visual effect of the subject being one with nature. This helps support Relander's point of humans being one with nature and of the audience to develop their own perceptions of the piece.
While looking for photos to analyse, I saw the one and it instantly became my favourite of Christopher's work. The way the man in the image is looking away to some far off distance makes him look wistful, maybe about his past or his present. The way that no one really knows what the man is feeling and thinking makes us also wonder what's relationship to the beautiful mountains range in the background is. It's an effect I tried to replicate with my attempts.
And now are some attempts of my own! Jai was the model in the photographs, check out his weebly, https://jaisharmaphoto.weebly.com.
WWW: I created an effective photograph that portrayed the use of double exposure very well.
EBI: If I'd used a variety of backgrounds to show the effect in a different way. I could also have tried to use a different model to add a new spin to the photos.
EBI: If I'd used a variety of backgrounds to show the effect in a different way. I could also have tried to use a different model to add a new spin to the photos.
Extension: Jasper James
Jasper James is a British photographer born in 1957. He mainly takes photographs in Tokyo, Japan and China working on double exposure images.
Jasper James creates his provoking image by putting two different pictures together. In his work, James wants to de-humanise his subjects yet at the same time personify the urban are he has photographed in to show the people living there as a living in a collective identity. James is trying to show the audience the loss of personality of people who live in large urban areas. This is evident through the way that in the pictures the subjects always look lost or lonely. This feeling of loss in his photographs proves his point of the loss of personality. |
Through the use of double exposure, Jasper James is able to get his message across to the viewers effectively, by showing the different lost people in front of the sprawling urban scenery. Plus, by using people who actually live in the cities he is photographing, he is further proving his point of the loss of personality by showing actual citizens who live in the area.
Below are some examples of his work.
Below are some examples of his work.
While scrolling through Jasper's photos, this one caught my eye. I like this one a lot as the model has been incredibly placed, and with her face being turned towards the city with the sunlight on her face, it ends up creating an incredibly wishful and almost melancholic feel to it. It's quite moving for the viewer as you start to think about who the lady is and her relationship with the city. I believe it is the most masterful of Jasper's photos.
force of nature
The intentions of the force of nature project was to show the relentless battle between man and the natural environment that he inhabits. This project is one that holds endless visual possibilities. The buildings and structures that man builds as symbols of prosperity and status are, at their basic level, simply a means of protection from the harsh environment that surrounds him.
WWW: The composition of the photograph, with the main focus of the image being directly in the middle and immediately catching the viewers eye. It is an effective way of passing on the message of the photograph instantly. That is what I believe went well.
EBI: If the lighting of the picture weren't so grey or dark, it would have been a more dramatic image to look at.
What the image effectively shows is the way that it is possible for a plant to grow in such unexpected places. It shows the struggle between man and nature very well and of nature trying to regain its territory.
EBI: If the lighting of the picture weren't so grey or dark, it would have been a more dramatic image to look at.
What the image effectively shows is the way that it is possible for a plant to grow in such unexpected places. It shows the struggle between man and nature very well and of nature trying to regain its territory.
WWW: The contrast in the photograph between the grey man made stairs and the innocent green of the plant is what works especially well in this image.
EBI: Again, the lighting of the photograph could be better and it would have shown the contrast more effectively.
This, like the previous image, illustrates nature's struggle to take back what used to hers using every little crack to break through.
EBI: Again, the lighting of the photograph could be better and it would have shown the contrast more effectively.
This, like the previous image, illustrates nature's struggle to take back what used to hers using every little crack to break through.
WWW: what went well was the way that the composition of the photo really helps portray the fight between man and nature.
EBI: It would be a lot better if I had managed to get more of the hand railing in focus rather than focus completely on the plants.
As I said, the composition does portray the fight between the two forces well. In the photograph, it is like the rail is the only thing holding back the sea of flowers and stopping it from getting to the man made structure, yet bit by bit, nature is creeping past and taking over the man made path.
EBI: It would be a lot better if I had managed to get more of the hand railing in focus rather than focus completely on the plants.
As I said, the composition does portray the fight between the two forces well. In the photograph, it is like the rail is the only thing holding back the sea of flowers and stopping it from getting to the man made structure, yet bit by bit, nature is creeping past and taking over the man made path.
WWW: The lighting on this image is very effective and shows the subjects incredibly well. There isn't a single bit on the photo that is hard to see.
EBI: It would have been better if I had thought to include the sign in the background, which says, 'military zone, no access', a bit more
What I like about this is the way that nature has surrounded a man made structure that has already started to decay through time and that the nature has also ignored the 'no access' sign in the background and has already taken over taken that private section. Nature is winning.
EBI: It would have been better if I had thought to include the sign in the background, which says, 'military zone, no access', a bit more
What I like about this is the way that nature has surrounded a man made structure that has already started to decay through time and that the nature has also ignored the 'no access' sign in the background and has already taken over taken that private section. Nature is winning.
WWW: Again, the composition of the piece is what went well as the clear split between man made and nature with nature overlapping is an effective way to portray the struggle between man and nature.
EBI: If I had managed to get lower while taking the picture so that there would be less of the distracting bush in the background.
This photograph clearly shows nature winning, with the tree shown literally swallowing the stone structure that is in its way. The idea of nature as a giant mouth is humorous and allows the viewer imagine what it could look like when all is swallowed up by nature and no trace left of the rock.
EBI: If I had managed to get lower while taking the picture so that there would be less of the distracting bush in the background.
This photograph clearly shows nature winning, with the tree shown literally swallowing the stone structure that is in its way. The idea of nature as a giant mouth is humorous and allows the viewer imagine what it could look like when all is swallowed up by nature and no trace left of the rock.
Force of architecture
Negative Space:
This photo was. taken at the Palazzo della Civilt Italiana, It is also Fendi's headquarters.
I chose this photo to represent negative space as I thought that it was a perfect example of negative space. I think that the split of building and sky works really well, and the effect it creates it's almost as though the building is only supporting the sky in the photo, with the sky being the main part of the photo.
Line and Perspective:
This picture was taken in Rome, Italy, at the Pantheon.
I really like this photo for line and perspective. What I think is most effective in this photo is the way the column draws the eye all the way up it to the roof of the Pantheon. And then it brings the eye all the way back down to the base of the column. The use of the long line from the base of the photo is also very effective as the way the 3-D column pulls away fro the eye, it creates an effect of the column almost coming out o the phtotgraph.
Geometric Shapes:
This photo was also taken at Palazzo della Civilt Italiana.
When I saw this building, I immediately thought of how I could take pictures of this to show geometry well. It's almost effortless to get a picture of geometry out of this building. The perfect symmetry and repeated arches are also what make this a nice and pleasing photo/building.
I think the I enjoyed this project the most out of the past ones that I have been set, as it was really fun to go out to spectacular buildings and to be able to take a photo of anything I really wanted. I also believe that I did the best work I've done so far on the weebly. Below are my EBI and WWW.
WWW: I was able to go out and take many pictures that managed to cover all three of the sub-topics that have ended up looking pretty good.
EBI: I think that I should have tried to take more photos for geometry as I couldn't find many buildings that showed geometry very well.
WWW: I was able to go out and take many pictures that managed to cover all three of the sub-topics that have ended up looking pretty good.
EBI: I think that I should have tried to take more photos for geometry as I couldn't find many buildings that showed geometry very well.
Simon Phipps:
Simon Phipps is a photographer who focuses on post-war British modernist and brutalist architecture. He is the photographer that inspired the topic of Force of Architecture. Simon Phipps creates objective images. He does this by looking at a building and deciding which features would be most pleasing to look at, geometrically speaking. I believe that Phipps wants the viewer to consider how much has changed since world war two.
Simon Phipps is considering the change in our society from world war two. This is evident as his main subject is the new architecture that can be seen around Britain. He was interested in this topic as he believes that it is relevant to us now.
Simon Phipps always uses digital manipulation in his photographs, always using the black and white effect in his photos. This creates a very bleak and depressing effect which helps prove his point of the difference and similarities between old and new society.
Below are some examples of Simon Phipps work.
Simon Phipps is considering the change in our society from world war two. This is evident as his main subject is the new architecture that can be seen around Britain. He was interested in this topic as he believes that it is relevant to us now.
Simon Phipps always uses digital manipulation in his photographs, always using the black and white effect in his photos. This creates a very bleak and depressing effect which helps prove his point of the difference and similarities between old and new society.
Below are some examples of Simon Phipps work.
This photo is my favourite of his for multiple reasons. One of the reasons is that I like his choice of having the photo in black and white, which is something I tried to do with my own, but decided that they didn't look as effective without colour. I also like how the photo shows the building from the bottom, leading our eyesight all the way to the top of the building, allowing the viewer to fully appreciate the composition of the building and photo. This is something that I wanted to do and tried to do with my own pictures, especially with the ones taken of the pantheon pillars.
Force of movement
Force of movement was one of my favourite projects in the 'Force' project and further down you will see that I chose this to explore as one of the three themes.
For this mini-project, we had to use the multiple exposure technique which is where you take multiple photos (using a quick shutter speed) of a person moving. You then, in photoshop, put the pictures one on top of the others and use the erase tool so you get the previous images of the action next to each other, so you get the entire movement in one image.
For this mini-project, we had to use the multiple exposure technique which is where you take multiple photos (using a quick shutter speed) of a person moving. You then, in photoshop, put the pictures one on top of the others and use the erase tool so you get the previous images of the action next to each other, so you get the entire movement in one image.
Thomas Eakins:
Thomas Eakins is an American photographer born on the 25th July in 1844. in 1884,Eakins joined forces with the photographer Edward Muybridge, the first photographer to do movement. He joined him on his animal locomotive project. Later, Eakins decided to ditch Muybridge's technique of using multiple negatives and instead used one negative. This can be seen in photographs such as 'History of a Jump'. He adapted Etienne-Jules Matey's style of spinning a slotted disk that only permitted light in a certain points. |
Above is 'History of a Jump'. This photo, I find, is quite impressive and, although one of the first ever photographs to involve a single photo of a jump, works really well, with the man jumping blending in well with the person in front of him. It doesn't look awkward when the man ends up in the same position as another, which is something I struggled with while photoshopping my own photo.
Contact Sheet:
My Final Piece:
Three strands
Strand One: Force of Water
Force of Water immediately caught my attention as it was a strand that could really be explored to its full extent.
What I wanted to achieve with this strand, was to create a surreal image with a very surreal meaning behind the photo. This is also what really excited me about this strand. I had loads of options at my disposal, and a wide range of options to choose from. Below are my favourite photos from this shoot, and a contact sheet of the entire photo shoot.
Force of Water immediately caught my attention as it was a strand that could really be explored to its full extent.
What I wanted to achieve with this strand, was to create a surreal image with a very surreal meaning behind the photo. This is also what really excited me about this strand. I had loads of options at my disposal, and a wide range of options to choose from. Below are my favourite photos from this shoot, and a contact sheet of the entire photo shoot.
Contact Sheet:
Favourite Four:
Below are my four favourite images that I took for this strand.
Below are my four favourite images that I took for this strand.
WWW: What went very well in these photos was that the model in these photographs was very photogenic and managed to position himself in various ways that really helped pass on the message of these photos. He was ready and willing to listen to me about how he should hold himself which made the photography a bit easier for me. (The model is Jai, look at some previous photos and GIFs of mine to see more of his modelling)
EBI: The lighting was very frustrating to work with and I think that if I'd spent a bit more time worrying about it, I would've managed to get the room completely dark which would've, in my opinion, added an extra layer to the photographs.
EBI: The lighting was very frustrating to work with and I think that if I'd spent a bit more time worrying about it, I would've managed to get the room completely dark which would've, in my opinion, added an extra layer to the photographs.
Strand 2: Movement
As soon as I saw that Movement was one of the choices t0 develop, I knew I wanted to dit as the editing task we had done previously was one of my favourites and the GIF project we did in the movement section (check it out) I had also enjoyed. Below is a mixture of the two. One GIF and one edited photo.
WWW: What went well with these photos is that I was very easy to come up with ideas and I knew what I wanted to achieve which made the photography a little bit easier.
EBI: I had to retake some of the photos I did for the edited section as they weren't what I expected nor what I liked. So while I knew what I wanted to do, it was hard to pull off.
EBI: I had to retake some of the photos I did for the edited section as they weren't what I expected nor what I liked. So while I knew what I wanted to do, it was hard to pull off.
Strand 3: Applied Force
I originally didn't want to take photos of this strand however I unfortunately lost my SD card so I had to take photos of this strand in class with a school camera. I still enjoyed taking the photos however and it was interesting to create an image by just changing the shape of plastic bags. Below are my photos.
My contact sheet:
my favourite strand:
My favourite strand from the three above was Force of Water. Below are my developments for the project and the contact sheet of all the photos I took.
Development 1:
For my first development I was just testing things out. Although it was quite dark so while it wasn't a bad idea it was too dark to do much with the photos. Below is the contact sheet of the shoot and my favourite photo from the shoot.
What I was trying to do in these in these photos was to create a splash effect off of my model and while I managed to do this it was too dark to actually be able to see the effect too well. And while it is an aesthetically pleasing photo, it doesn't achieve the effect I was trying to get. Below is my favourite photo fro the shoot, ad while it is dark you can still see the splash reasonably well.
Development 2:
For my second development I wanted to return to the spraying but this time in the daytime. Below is contact sheet of my photos and my favourite below that. Some photos from this shoot are my favourite from the entire project.
I think what worked really well for this shoot was the fact that we had a lot of good luck with the sun in the background that reflected off of the water droplets. Below are my three favourite from the shoot. Two of them are my favourite from the entire shoot.
Development 3:
For my third development I decided to stop using hoses for the project and instead experiment with water balloons. Below is a contact sheet of all the photos I took for the development. There are a few more photos than on the other developments as I often missed my model while throwing the balloons.
Below are the best images from this shoot and again, one of them is one of the best images of this project.
Development 4:
For my 4th development, I still wanted to play around with water balloons. However, it took too long and was unreliable to throw the water balloons at him. So instead, I got him to try and pop them. I think that some of them are okay but they would work much better as GIFs, which I might turn them into in the future. But as this project is no about GIFs, i couldn't do anything to them. Below is a contact sheet of the shoot.
Below are my favourite for the shoot. Although this time I didn't choose any of these as my favourite four.
Development 5:
For my final development, I was purely experimenting. I wasn't sure what kind of effect I wanted to achieve, I juts had an idea of what I wanted to do and I then went and did it. Below is another contact sheet!
These photos didn't turn out as I wanted them to in my head but I still think that there are one or two decent photos from this shoot. Those are below!
My favourite four:
After all these shoots and developments, I had to decide which four photos were my favourite! I think I chose well. Below are my four best images from this entire project! Thank you!
Finally, to completely finish this project, I decided to choose my favourite image of my final pieces and then proceed to make a triptic, with three different versions of the same image. Below is this triptic.
Overall, this project was by far my favourite and I had a lot of fun taking all the photos and researching the photographers. It was also a really interesting way to experiment with my camera and see what I could do. I also enjoyed all the mini project that we did and this will probably be my favourite overall project that we've done for a long while.