Ideas for another shoot

My mum told me that we have some sheets of white lace in our attic. I would like to use one colour of textiles for a whole shoot. I plan on using lace with different patterns to add to the detail and the textures within the images. I will drape the lace over tree branches like I have done with my past shoots. My plan is to use the lensbaby like I have done on my last 2 shoots as the dreamy/hazy look is something I’m trying to aim for. Hopefully the lace I find will be something like this. I think some of it will probably look slightly aged or discoloured but some of the lace is quite old so it’s a given really. I’m hoping the discolouring will add something to the pictures instead of taking away from them. I also feel that discolouration would fit in with the dreaminess and memories meaning of my work. This is because firstly I am basing my work on the Victoria and Albert exhibitions. I am basing it on the embroidery and design of the ‘Raphael of silk design’ and also the ‘Victorian dress at the V&A’. Secondly I think

Zine Research

We have started a project with Shaun. We have already been on two shoots to Mill Hill and back which I have spoken about in previous posts on my blog. I have done some research on what a zine actually is. As far as I can tell it is usually a self-published magazine containing original images.

From Wikipedia:

• A popular definition includes that circulation must be 1,000 or fewer, although in practice the majority are produced in editions of fewer than 100, and profit is not the primary intent of publication.
• Print remains the most popular zine format, usually photocopied with a small circulation. Topics covered are broad, including fanfiction, politics, poetry, art and design, ephemera, personal journals, social theory, riot grrrl and intersectional feminism, single-topic obsession, or sexual content far outside of the mainstream enough to be prohibitive of inclusion in more traditional media. The time and materials necessary to create a zine are seldom matched by revenue from sale of zines.
• Small circulation zines are often not explicitly copyrighted and there is a strong belief among many zine creators that the material within should be freely distributed. In recent years a number of photocopied zines have risen to prominence or professional status and have found wide bookstore and online distribution. Notable among these are Giant Robot, Dazed & Confused, Bust, Bitch, Cometbus, Doris,Brainscan, and Maximum RocknRoll.

Separate research

• Giant robot website that includes the Cometbus zine as far as I can tell.

Mill Hill shoot 2

Shaun spoke to us and suggested that we go out on our own and document our own journeys. He also suggested that we concentrate more on the people on our journeys and less on the actual buildings etc.

I decided to borrow the lensbaby from college as I had not used it for the first shoot. I also wanted to take it with me because I use it for a large proportion of my shoots/photographs. The lensbaby gives my images a look that is out of the ordinary and abstract. I don’t necessarily ‘plan’ my shoots. I plan what equipment I will take with me but do not really plan further. This is because I like to use my imagination and that is why the Lensbaby links in so well. The images or ideas we have are not always crystal clear and using this lens

Mill Hill Shoot 1

Shaun told us on Facebook that this morning we would be going for a walk to Mill Hill and back. He said that we should take our cameras with us and document the journey there and back. I borrowed a camera from the college.

We walked along the main road that leads to Ewood and then turned off and followed the canal to Mill Hill then we stopped for a brew at a cafe there then walked around Mill hill and back past waterfall mills.

I have tried to include a pop of colour within most of my images. I have also taken photographs of the signs around Blackburn and Mill Hill as I think they help document places and buildings that might not always be around.

 

Assessment with Shaun 1st December

• Re-write shoot 2, expand on it. Link to lensbaby. Get rid of ‘the blurred lens’. Put link to images from lensbaby images(give an idea). Explain what I mean (the images are hazy). Link the work from the museum to the shoot 2. It links in (the colour).
• I could even start flipping the images and creating abstract images from them using layering.
• Look at early Victorian dress making. Could it link to Japanese dress making.
• Tim Walkers work.
• Crop the images.
• Link first shoot to second one. say at the bottom (get rid of lensbaby work). Link dads picture by saying I wanted to use the colour and have moved on to looking at textiles.
• Even when the inspiration is in black and white it still looks very ornate.
• Put artist research in. Tim walker.
• The images flow. Link to Tim Walker.
• Research Victorian dresses.
• Get more complimentary textiles.
• Maybe go to Spring Wood.

Shoot 2 Final images

I spoke to the textiles tutor and she told me I could take any of the off cuts from the material they’d used. I took pieces of textile that were of one colour (not patterned) as the first shoot was to do more with experimentation. I borrowed a camera and the lensbaby from college and walked over to corporation park with Danielle. Once we were at corporation park I placed the pieces of material over branches on the trees. The results of the shoot are below.

I have taken photographs with both a normal lens and the blurred lensbaby. I personally admire the dreamy haze that the blurred lens gives my photographs. I think this because they have the look of something you could actually dream about. I also think they bring across what I had in my head, they are interpretations of my thoughts and my mind. The images do follow the Victorian era as it is often portrayed in a big Victorian mansion in the middle of a forest or field. The trees and woodland in the images link the images back to that idea.

Planning for Shoot 2

I spoke to Shaun about the portrait work and told him that I would prefer to do my work based around landscape photography as portrait photography is not something that I enjoy.

I have decided to base my V&A work on the materials and textiles that they wore during the Victorian era as they were very ornate and tended to be bright and rich with detailed embroidery. I am planning on draping pieces of different coloured textile over objects in the landscape then photographing them.

2up_0041, 2009-07-30, 9:17 , 8C, 3676×4435 (1296+2280), 100%, Repro 2.2 v2, 1/60 s, R62.3, G48.8, B58.4

Plan

• I am planning on going to corporation park which is just a short walk up the hill from college. I have picked this place as there are plenty of trees for me to drape textiles over.
• I have decided to speak to the textiles tutor to see if there are any colourful pieces of material I can use.
• I have asked Danielle Fowler to help me with my shoot as I am hoping to take material with me so another set of hands is welcomed.
• I am planning on using a normal 18-55mm lens and will be using the lensbaby alongside this as my photography is quite abstract and the lensbaby aids this.
• I won’t be taking a tri-pod with me as it’s quite a mild day and as I’m not going to be far from college Ii can always go back and grab it.

 

Lecture on 5th of November

Timetable

Monday – Individual learning

Tuesday – Pathway work

Wednesday – Video(film) in the morning and Lecture in the afternoon

Thursday – Individual learning

Guest Lectures

17th of November – Wayne Hemmingway

19th of November – Patric Grant

25th of November – Graham&Brown

25th of November – UAL talk

2nd of December – Soya

8th of December – CCW

10th of December – London college of fashion

Mathew Sawyer

Cosmo Sarson

Justin Wigan

Photography Presentation and First V&A shoot

For the photography pathway we have been asked to go onto the Victoria and Albert website and research the portraiture. We need to find at least 10 portraits that we could use to influence our own images. For our task we have been asked to take family portraits in the Victorian style. I found some work on the website that intrigued me. I found that the portraits within the page-were some portraits that had a slight variation to the types I would expect from that era. The subjects were painted in a way that showed that they were hard working/successful but they didn’t look stern or proud. The subjects were almost smiling back t the viewer.

I have then gone onto Pinterest for some more inspiration.

A lot of the photographs I found on pinterest were sepia toned or in black and white. They also look grainy which leads me to believe that they were shot on medium or large format film cameras. To try and get the same effect with my own images Ii used a high ISO. I also have a selection of coloured lenses that I blue tacked to the front of my lens to create different effects. I tried using a sepia toned lens but it was very warm toned and looked quite dark, losing the detail. The next lens I used had a blue to white gradient which you will see below. This worked a lot better for capturing the detail of the subjects.

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I have photographed my mum and dad. I wanted to photograph them side on as a lot of the older portraits were either facing forward or completely side on. I didn’t want the subjects to be in other clothing. They had just got back from archery and instead of getting them to change in to older clothing I wanted them to wear their modern clothing as it doesn’t have to be an exact copy of the inspiration. I think that from now on I will use a film camera as the photographs will have more texture.

I am also going to attempt to use the lensbaby blurred lens as I have always found that it helps the photographs mimic the older styles that are blurred, faded or damaged.