Photo Essay

A photo essay is a series of images which document a particular event, place or whatever. They generally illustrate a story to the viewer or they intend to evoke feelings within each picture, or throughout the timeline of photographs. Photo essays also consist of incorporating several variations of shot sizes and angles for any desired effect.

My photo essay

Here are a series of images to document my journey of going home from Oxford street. I experimented with different shots such as establishing shots, long shots, and close ups to show a variety of different shots within my images.

Angle shot sizes

Establishing shot

This establishing shot captures the new york skyline by using a extreme long shot to display allow the viewer to know where the location is set. These shots are generally used to establish the setting, and often the mood. In this picture the light from the moon is juxtaposed against the dark sky to emphasize the contrast and heighten the source of light in the image. The effect of this connotes quite an elusive quality. However the photographer also captures the buildings along with the moon, therefore abolishing the elusive connotation associated with the moon, and creating quite a lively, busy atmosphere instead.


High Angle shot                                                         

In this picture, the photographer used a high angle shot as the camera is placed above the eyeline. This specific shot creates a notion of empowerment and superiority which can be seen in this image of new york. The shot used makes the subject of the image appear powerless and vulnerable.

                                                                                     

Improving the Edward Weston style images

Before when I was experimenting with Edward Weston inspired images, the majority were very dark and a bit too underexposed. Therefore I attempted photographing Edward Weston - esque photos again by making them brighter by making the ISO lower.

I took this picture again because the last time I took this image, the lines were not very prominent in the image, and i believe that that is one of the most important aspects of the picture because it highlights the shape and form of the radiator. And also, Edward Weston's photography themes around the shape and form of items.

Stephen Shore inspired images

Writing on pictures

Incorporating writing on pictures seemed like quite an interwesting concept to heighten the intended meaning an theme within my images. Therefore i used photoshop to add text on my pictures to see if i would like the outcome, and even consider, incorporating this idea onto my final piece.

1. First I opened up any image on photoshop, in which I then selected my chosen font and placed it on the image.

2. I then clicked on the layer and selected the option "rasterize type".

3. I then chose the option "warp" to allow me to manipulate the shape of the text, in which I slanted it to make it look as though it was printed on one of the discs.

Stephen Shore

Stephen Shore is another photographer that inspires me as I believe his images all encompass the theme of "everyday life" which is relevant to this project. However he also incorporates a certain endearing quality to his photography as he captures his everyday life (food, rooms etc) with muted yet contrasted colours which make the richness of the tones appear much more prominent due to the shadows. I also adore the mise en scene which emulates a feeling of being in the past, i.e the vintage television, grainy texture and eccentric wall hangings. Although the mise en scene won't be similar in my images, I also intend on simulating this exact style which is associated with the past. Moreover, the intention for my project is to also document/photograph the norm in my day to day life, yet apply a certain dynamic, style to the pictures. For example, in one of my images, i will photograph the corner of a room as Stephen Shore's images have a continuous theme of diagonal lines, therefore in my image, I capture the usage of diagonal lines leading to a bookshelf, which will be the focal point in the image.

 This is my favourite picture from Stephen Shore as I believe the notion to photographing food is so simple yet effective in capturing a sense of everyday life. The point of view shot is also places us in the perspective of the photographer which therefore engages the viewer in the image.

Although yellow seems to be a prominent colour in this image, there is an absense of a happy connotation, instead the photograph appears dingy and grim due to the dim lighting. This picture also emits a feeling of elusiveness as Stephen shore photographs a person's foot, yet eliminates any other features of the person in the picture, which adds a sense of mystery on the viewers behalf. It also poses the question of who the person actually is, and why have they been portrayed in such a hidden manner, Is stephen Shore trying to hide something? and Why does he choose to photograph in such a closeted manner?. To reinforce the ambiguity in the picture, the face in the telelvision appears to be of a human being, yet the features of him/her also appear to be unrecognizable. Furthermore, Stephen Shore also captures this image in the corner to higlight the diagonal lines used, as they subtly leads the eye of the viewer to a focal point, and in this picture, the focal point seems to be the shoes.

Edward Weston inspired images

These series of images are inspired from Edward Weston's photography. I used several different close ups and extreme close ups to place focus on the shape and form of the image.

Similarly to most of my other images, the quality of this photograph isn't very clear due to the lack of light and the noise and grain within the image. I think it would have been effective if I perhaps lowered the ISO or if I used a flash to create a contrast with the dark background, and the source of light from the flash juxtaposed against the dimness. However, what worked well in this image was the close up technique used to focus on the shape, which emulates the style of Edward Weston.

I captured this image with very dark lighting around me, yet I turned on the flash on my camera to juxtapose the light source from the flash against the dark atmosphere with no light whatsoever. By creating this contrast, it places emphasis on the shape and detailing of the wall. I also ensured that the subject of the image was not centered because I wanted to incorporate an empty space within the image as I find this technique rather aesthetically pleasing. I also used a close of up the switch as I wanted to emulate Weston's technique of using extreme close/close ups to place significance on the subject of the image.

In this picture, because I used an extreme close up, the image appears significantly out of focus and very noisy which degrades the quality of the image and differs from Edward Weston's sharp in focus pictures.

Statement of intent

For my assignment, my intent is to emulate Edward Weston's concept of photographing ordinary objects in which we use everyday, and incorporating a sense of significance to them by experimenting with different camera techniques such as close ups, and specific angles to achieve this intention. However, not only does Weston document everyday items in his photography, he also focuses on the shapes and texture inside his images, which is another aspect of his photography that I could incorporate in order to embody the style of Edward Weston in my pictures. Moreover, the pictures will be captured at home to create more of an everyday environment, as that is also where the majority of my "everyday objects" are located. Furthermore, I believe the message in which Weston intends to convey through his images is to appreciate the daily neccesites in which we take for granted, such as the toilet.

Journey home

What does the "everyday" mean to me?

Words that spring into mind when I think of the "everyday" are:
Fridge
Tap
Light swtich
School
Home
Food
Cafe
Toothpaste
Bed
Bath
trees
bricks
pavement