Uploaded Oct 2015
Creating a great photograph can take less that a second or a lifetime. Many of the most famous and influential photographers are successful because they instinctively use these formal elements to create the best photograph they can whilst in front of the camera. This can be because they compose image with precision or that they recognise the perfect moment to press the shutter.
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cyanotype
Anna Atkins
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The cyanotype process was first used by Anna Atkins in her book British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions in 1843. Anna Atkins used this technique of exposing treated paper to sunlight to form an image after meeting Fox-Talbot, a pioneer of early photography. Her neighbour Sir John Herschel discovered that a solution of iron salt could be exposed to UV light to make an image. Herschel named this process Cyanotype after the blue colour. Anna combined these two discoveries to create her cyanotype images which captured the details and structures of plants and flowers.
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Making a cyanotype
Step one:
Collect some solid and translucent objects and practice making them into a pattern on a piece of paper treated with potassium ferricyanide and Ferric ammonium citrate. Step Two: Take your cyanotype paper and put it on a flat surface where no sun can get to it. Then transfer your design quickly onto the cyanotype paper. Step Three: Go outside and place your paper on a flat surface and stand back, making sure there are no shadows covering it. Step Four: Time between 3 and 5 mins – depending on how much sun there is, the more sun, the less time it will take. Step Five: Take your cyanotype back inside and take off all your objects carefully. Step Six: Run your paper under the tap until the paper turns a rich blue colour all over. This is so it get rids of all the chemicals – this shouldn’t take more than 5 mins. Step Seven: Leave your cyanotype on a flat surface and wait for it to dry. |
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This process has been used by contemporary artists and photographers. It is a simple technique that does not require a dark room and the chemical solution can be painted onto many surfaces.
MY CYANOTYPES - image by Phoebe Baldwin
I have been successful because the shadows make the objects look more 3D and there are clear outlines of the shapes which I really like. I like the way that mine turned out and I am really pleased with myself because it looks really pretty.
To improve I would try using translucent objects to see what those will look like.
To improve I would try using translucent objects to see what those will look like.
texture
Photographs are physically
flat, both on the screen and as a print. Texture is, by its nature, a tactile
or physical quality. Run your fingers over a rough surface and you can feel its
texture, run your fingers over a photograph of the same surface, and it is
smooth.
Using texture in your photography can create the illusion of an additional engagement quality, by looking at your photograph the viewer is encouraged to imagine how it would feel to run their fingers over the subject. The more successful the illusion the more time the viewer spends looking at your photography.
Using texture in your photography can create the illusion of an additional engagement quality, by looking at your photograph the viewer is encouraged to imagine how it would feel to run their fingers over the subject. The more successful the illusion the more time the viewer spends looking at your photography.
My Texture Photographs
Karl Blossfeldt
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Karl Blossfeldt’s photographs of nature captured the beauty of the delicate forms. He used monochrome with high contrast to emphasise the structures and shapes of the objects. He made abstract shapes by magnifying sections of shells and tree bark.
His photographs were highly controlled and he used lighting to create shadows and highlights. I particularly like the spirals which he emphasised using strong contrasts. I will use this way of closing in on the structures in my own photography. |
My response to blossfeldt
I have been successful because I have a clear link to Karl Blossfeldt. You can clearly see the spiky texture of the plant and I have emphasized this texture by creating higher contrast.
To improve I need to make the composition less busy so that the background doesn't interfere with the main plant. To do this I could take 1 plant into the studio and photograph it against a white background. |
developing my response to karl blossfeldt
Focus
By changing the aperture of the camera lens I can alter the amount that is in focus. I can use this technique to draw attention to part of my photograph.
Here is an example using pine cones
Here is an example using pine cones
examples of changing the depth of field and focus
photoshoot in Southampton common
editing and refining my photographs
andy goldsworthy
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Andy Goldsworthy creates sculptures out
of natural found objects such as leaves, stones and twigs. He makes them into
beautiful structures often repeating shapes and patterns so your eye is drawn
into the centre of the sculpture. He photographs his work to record his work as
many of the sculptures are delicate and only last for hours or days.
I particularly like the spirals which he emphasised using strong colours. I will use this way of creating shapes and patterns in my own photography. |