This image was taken from the top of the Preston bus station which allowed me to get the desired view from up high needed to emphasise such an aesthetic. But this also created some problems. I have been to this location several times photographing other things, but until now I had never photographed overlooking the structure. And I had forgotten how the architecture of this building had curved sides. This made positioning the camera fairly tricky. So for this image I had to be very careful and precise with my preparation and setup of the camera equipment. Because of the fact I was using a large format camera, the use of a tripod is essential. And so I had to figure out a way to arrange the legs of my tripod, so that I could position the camera in such a way that overlooks the bus station sides and holds the camera steady and safely. This process proved even harder than imagined as on the morning the conditions were very cold and icy. This meant that the legs of the tripod where susceptible to slipping and moving, meaning that I had to be even more careful and cautious whilst changing the plane of focus, setting the focal point and inserting the dark slide. There were times where I thought that the camera could possibly fall over the side of the bus station, so I had to pay extra attention to the tripod head, and making sure that all of the movements were securely fixed and had now play. But despite all this, I did manage relatively easily, and it allowed me to really slow down my practice and concentrate.
The image itself I feel is successful to what I wished to achieve. And I feel that the tilt and shift focusing technique has created a very unique image, again something which I wished to create, as I feel that this image will be totally different to everyone else’s work, and in this image I have changed the plane of focus so that it falls horizontal, running through the frame, and falling pin sharp on the lettering on the floor where it says “look right”. Due to the nature of the x-ray film used, there is a relatively high level of contrast, with a lot of mid tones not being present, but I feel this down side to such film is boosted as the snowy conditions gives the image some lovely areas of highlight detail, increasing the tonal range to this specific shot, making the image more pleasing than if the snow wasn’t present. So overall I feel this image to be a very strong one, and one of which I look forward to displaying in the exhibition.
This image was taken from the top of the multi-storey car park next to the Preston train station, overlooking the back of the fisher gate shopping centre. Fortunately for me, the icy conditions weren’t such a problem, as the ice had already melted as the sun was shining on what was a beautifully clear day. So the camera set up wasn’t an issue. Again for this frame, I used the tilt and shift capabilities of the camera to alter the plane of focus in such a manner that allowed me to run this plane of focus horizontally through the frame, focusing along the shop front with anything before or after this line of focus, falling nicely out of focus, again giving the image the miniature aesthetic that I want. As previously stated the film I have used doesn’t have a very broad range of tones, but in this instance this has been helped, not by areas of snow, but by the reflections of the strong sunlight of various cars and vehicles in the shopping centre car park, giving my image some areas with highlight detail which make the image more optically pleasing overall. This image also has a very pleasing composition which conforms to the rule of thirds. Also I like the way I have metered for this image. The shadowed area in the bottom left of the frame acts like lens vignette, drawing your eyes towards the middle of the frame, to the mid tone and highlight areas recorded in the sunshine, also the way in which the cars are parked act as leading lines towards the horizontal focal line of the image. As with my first image, I feel that I have managed to create an image with my desired aesthetics and creating a very strong image.
This image was taken on top of the Shudehill bus station in the heart of Manchester overlooking the Arndale shopping centre, as with my images in Preston, the conditions were cold, snowy and icy, but again, fortunately for me , this didn’t prove to be a problem. Unlike the Preston bus station, the sides of this bus station itself where simple in design, which allowed me to set up the camera orientation with ease. This location gave me the ability to get a great view over as busy location in the heart of one of Britain’s main cities. One key difference to this particular image is in the manner I have manipulated the plane of focus. As up until this image I have changed the focal plane so that it runs horizontal through the frame, but it is clear that in this image I have done the opposite and have moved the camera plates in such a way that makes the focal plane shift into a vertical line down/up the frame. And I have then focused on corner of the “technics” audio shop, so that anything to the left or right of the frame falls out of focus. Despite the fact that I have manipulated the camera in a different way, the same miniature affect is created. This is emphasised by the cameras location over its subjects. As with my first image, the element of snow adds to the image, giving a more pleasing and varied range of tones, also adding some festivity to the image, especially at this particular time of year with Christmas approaching. I also feel that this image has a strong composition, as the tram lines act as natural leading lines to the miniature portrayed. So overall I again believe I have set out what I wished to do and in the process have created a very strong image, and one of which I can’t wait to see hung on a wall at the exhibition.
Unfortunately i do not have a scan of this image as the negative was over developed and the negative is to dense to scan. i shall take a photograph of a small print of it at a future date.
This image again like the previous one discussed was also taken in the Manchester city center, but was taken a few minutes’ walk from the previous location; the location for this particular image was taken in the northern quarter from the top of a multi story car park. Again my choice of such a location was purely based on the ability to gain such a perspective that would allow me to create my desired miniature aesthetic. This vantage point over looked a busy cross road, where many people passed on their day to day routines. But the one particular detail of this location that struck me was the fact that upon setting up the camera and tripod, I noticed that there was an adult shop, of which had a person smoking a cigarette at the door. And so from this I wished to act fast and try to miniaturize this character. I did this by again utilizing the full capabilities of such a camera to change the plane of focus, so that it ran through the frame on a horizontal line. After doing so I loaded the film holder into the back of the camera, removed the dark slide from it and waited patiently for several minutes for other people to walk past this shop. This image I feel, like a couple of others in this series of work, has been made stronger by the presence of snow, this has given more highlight areas to the frame, giving the overall image a much nicer tonal range making it a much stronger image. I also really like how the Christmas decoration on the lamppost on the left of the frame is pin sharp in focus, giving a more festive feel to the image, making it more relevant to the current time period which we are in at this time of year. Again I feel I have clearly captured what I wished to, proving my technical skills, this clearly showing my development and improvement of methodologies and technical skill.
For this image I returned to Preston and to a location of which I hadn’t previously thought about going to for this project, this being the multistory car park alongside the Preston market area, next to the city center. And from this elevated position, I overlooked the ring road and the zebra crossing which is by the fish market. This gave me a great view of an often busy location. So for this image I again proceeded to shift the plane of focus in a vertical manner, and made the focus pin sharp on the area of the crossing at the lower part of the frame. This means that I would have to simply wait patiently for a person, or group of people to fall into this area of focus. Unfortunately on this day there wasn’t any snow around as it had already melted, giving my image a low tonal range with a high contrast. Despite the lack of snow, the ice was still present, this didn’t affect the set up of the camera so much, but just slowed I down in general on this particular day, as I didn’t wish to slip and potentially break the camera or any of the equipment I was using. Overall I again feel I have made a very strong image.
Again this image was taken from the same location as the previous image discussed, it was just taken from the other side of it, overlooking the pedestrian subway, which runs parallel to a slip road off the ring road. This I felt was a lovely location, again one of which I hadn’t thought of until on the day. With this image I decided to revert back to my more favored method of shifting the focal plane in a horizontal line, this of which I ensured was focused just below the sign in the middle of the frame, where the railings begin. I did this to ensure that I could release the cameras shutter once my subject has moved in this area. Like with the other images, I set my focal point to which I remain focused on myself as I wait for someone or something to come along. For this image I had to wait for some considerable time for a subject to fall into place. I really like the composition of this image and I’m really glad how it came out.
For this image I decided to detach myself away from the urban landscape and see how this aesthetic would fair in a less dense environment, so I then headed for Winkley square. And for this image I decided to set up the camera under a tree in a secluded spot, somewhere were I wouldn’t get noticed. As for this image I was pretty much photographing at the level as my subjects. So I had the disadvantage of being spotted and my location being revealed and having a non natural image. But fortunately I was not spotted until I had already taken the image and was packing the camera equipment away. So for this image I used a horizontal line of focus to pre focus on the park bench, after doing so I simply waited for people to interact with this space to make my image. This image I feel is one of the most simple of this body of work. But as the saying goes, “sometimes less is more” and I really do feel that this is the case for this frame. The overall contrast and tonal range is somewhat let down by the absence of snow. But this is a down side to this type of film. But never the less I believe to have yet again produced a strong image that I am looking forward to printing.
I then proceeded to continue with my images of the less urban in Preston’s Avenham Park. For this image I waited for someone to walk along the bridge in the middle of the Japanese gardens. The fact that this is still under maintenance and has several tools and items strewn across it didn’t deter me as I knew I could simply leave such details to be faded out of focus by my extreme uses of tilt and shift. This I decided to photograph in portrait format as I feel that this gave a much more pleasing composition. I photographed this from a slightly elevated position that overlooks the whole garden. This helped to emphasise on the focal plane, rendering my subject into a miniature.
This image was taken from the old railway bridge that goes over the river alongside the Avenham and Miller parks. This gave me a lovely view of the pathway that runs parallel to the river and also the tree row. So following on from these natural lines I decided to use a vertical line of focus which would run along this path. This path is home to many different people; dog walkers, cyclists and runners. But as I waited to take the shot I heard a little snappy dog that reminded me of my own personal pet. And so with my focal point set and the image already in my head, I waited for the right moment to document such a character and its owners, and from this I captured a lovely scene, with great natural leading lines, composition and detail.
Again as i stated clearly at the beginning of this post, these are merely low quality scans that have then been inverted in photoshop, with some slight contrast changes. but these will simply give a brief look to the final prints
No comments:
Post a Comment