@camerapenguin / camerapenguin.tumblr.com
Buchstaben Museum, Berlin
Over the summer I visited Berlin and I went to a museum that saved the letters from old signs, included some still working neon. It was really amazing to look around and I took a lot of photographs including these above. I loved how (the first photo) still had the plant life growing inside it and how it stood out in the blackness of the room and the second just had the most bright white neon with the cracked paint behind it.
Got to love some neon!
Philip-Lorca diCorcia
These images are from a series called 'Eleven' done by Philip-Lorca diCorcia in collaboration with Dennis Freedman that he worked on from 1997 to 2008 for the famous W Magazine. DiCorcia travelled the world working on this impressive portfolio creating beautiful narratives using both celebrities such as Marc Jacobs to passers by on the street.
They are amazing images that all tell their own stories for you to interpret.
Its seeing work like this that reminds why I got into photography in the first place and keeps me inspired.
I haven't blogged since I completed my BA at CCAD and well, thats just not good enough. Even though I started this blog to do alongside my set projects I now want it to be a place for me to talk about the all mighty hunt for a job in this industry, show my work and talk about photographers and work that I love and keep me going.
Time to get started!
I have now come to the end of uni and so this is the final evaluation I will ever do. It's been my most adventurous project and it has taken a lot of hard work to get to where I am.
When I started this project my aim was to create fashion images on location that were perhaps quite cinematic and scene like. I then went on to do a lot of research of photographers and into possible locations for these shoots. I found out fairly quickly that it was far easier to scout these locations myself than to go through location agencies as that cost a lot of money. I also started to learn that the idea of them being cinematic would require a great deal of lighting and possibly even a team of people to make that a reality. This is when my idea started to change and become more just fashion on location and the kind of thing I would like to see in a magazine. I really just wanted to ensure that what my images really had was an idea and theme behind them.
My first location shoot was at Bolton Kirk, near where I live in Scotland. I decided from the day that I scouted it that I wanted to just use the natural light here as that was appropriate to the setting. My theme for this shoot was a sort of LBD with a twist as this isn't a usual setting for that sort of attire. In the editing of these images I came across some problems as some of them were over exposed when the sun came through suddenly but I had plenty where the lighting worked nicely so this was not a major issue.
My second shoot was at Lickety Split Ice Cream Parlour in Seaham. I ended up choosing this location when my shoot at an American diner fell through. It had a great 50s vibe and I matched this with the fashion I chose. I didn't have time to visit it pre shoot but I decided for this shoot that I would take studio lighting with me. I was really glad that I did as it brought a whole other level of professionalism to the photos and ensured that the room, the model and the ice cream were lit well. These are some of my favourite images as I loved the location so much and I really enjoyed pushing myself and using lighting outside of the studio environment. I now feel confident that I could do that again no problem.
My third shoot was by the Forth Rail Bridge in Fife and my theme for this was really just modern fashion. I got my model to be quite out there and adventurous with the poses and the lighting was really great that day so no extra was required. After this shoot I went on to shoot some more at Linlithgow but although these images are nice I felt they weren't strong enough for what I wanted to do.
The last shoot I did was at the Hippodrome in Bo'ness and was one of my favourites. I went with a 20s theme as that is the age of the cinema and I used my flash gun to create more dramatic lighting as the lighting in the cinema was quite dim. I loved how the sequins of the dress reflected on different surfaces and how the mix of artificial and natural lighting worked together.
For a while I was thinking I would just hand in prints but I realised it didn't really give off the fashion spread vibe I was wanting. This is when the idea of the layouts came in. These were hard to make as I didn't have the software required myself to do it so I had to travel home but i'm glad I made the effort as it looks just as I imagined. I put short pieces of text on each one to show that it was from a magazine and left in crop marks and colour marks to emphasise that they are layouts. Lastly I made some short pages of copy to go along with each one to tell a little story. I also printed one image large just to try that out for possibly the shows.
Overall, I am really happy with my work for this final project. I didn't encounter too many problems and gained a lot of confidence with dealing with people to ask permission, working with models and using lighting effectively. I look forward to doing projects like this is the future with real clients in the fashion industry.
Here are my final prints laid on my portfolio box. Along with this, I will be handing in a little bit of magazine type text to go along with each image and a large print of green hippodrome photo (this is already at uni hence not in the picture).
Just my evaluation to go and then that is me well and truly completed this final project!
Final Major Image 4
With this layout I wanted the text to be bold and eye catching. I also matched the colour of my model's hair to the coloured strip at the side.
I definitely think I have achieved the magazine look I was going for through these layouts and i'm very pleased :)
Final Major Image 3
With this layout it put the 'title' of the fashion page across both images to bring them together. I like how they are right bang next to each other and I think the colour difference with the background makes it quite graphic.
Final Major Image 2
With this layout I put a little more text which is like a little story to go along with the fashion and overlaps on the left image to bring it all together.
I have used the crop marks and colour ink tests through out all my layouts.
Final Major Image 1
As you can see to express further that this work is like a magazine layout I have added crop marks and colour ink test marks. I have also added text on the image about the clothes etc to give it even more of a magazine feel.
I am just about to post what my final work for the hand in looks like. I'm really pleased with how the work printed and it looks really good in the sleeves. I will post a photo tomorrow of the physical work in my portfolio but for now, here are the finals :)
My dad is a far better drawer than I will ever be so I got him to help me draw out the layouts before they got created with the real images on the computer. It helps more to see it like this and visualise it before diving straight in.
I spent a lot of time going through all my favourite magazines to look at layouts that I could use to display my own work. Above are the four that I have decided on. I didn't want anything too crazy and out there, I just wanted them to all have a little individual look.
I will be making up my own copy to go on the pages to match the theme of my images and I have decided for the purposes of hand in that I will print them at A3 size. At a recent tutorial, going to a larger size than this was discussed and I do agree, however, I feel that when it comes to the shows I will be doing in the following month that I may then print a couple in the larger size to be framed. I was also advised to do a little bit of writing about each one of my layouts to go alongside with it so I will have to be getting on with that ASAP!
It was also discussed that for hand in and the shows that I print one of the images on a very large scale to make a big impact with my work.
Hippodrome Shoot 5
This is the last of the images from the hippodrome shoot and again I used the green stairwell. I like the strong light coming from the 20s light that was next to her, it sets a sort of tone to the image. I also like how the sparkles have reflected up the wall.
Overall I loved shooting here and I look forward to taking all the images from the past shoots and making my final piece.
Hippodrome Shoot 4
Before I left the hippodrome I took a few photos on the stair way to the upper level. I loved the green walls and retro lighting and also getting some of the daylight from the main door created some nice lighting.
I really like the harsh shadow on the wall and the nice soft light on her face and hair. It feels like a little moment that you weren't meant to see.
Hippodrome Shoot 3
The red velvet seats in the cinema were far too nice to get included in some of the photos and it looked great with the black wedge heels and pop of red in the lipstick.
The whole of the auditorium was great to shoot in and i'm really pleased with how the flash worked out as well.
Hippodrome Shoot 2
Again I chose the shoot somewhere with a gold reflective surface as I like how the shine of the dress bounces around. I'm really happy with the lighting in this picture, I would have liked the opportunity to take lights from uni again but it being over Easter I couldn't so I just used my flash gun.
Hippodrome Shoot 1
All the photos before these next ones were leading up to the Hippodrome shoot. I was so excited when I got the permission to shoot here and as the theatre is in 20s design and style I wanted to reflect that in the style of my model's clothing.
I chose to shoot in this particular point of the theatre as I liked the red velvet rope. It suggests a sort of VIP exclusivity and I liked how the gold reflected with the sparkles of the dress.
