Project 9 - A comfortable situation

For this particular project I chose a busy area of Cambridge. I needed to find a comfortable situation in which to photograph strangers. I happened to be in the town for a long weekend and it seemed like a good place to ease myself into photographing "people unaware."  The area is usually packed full of tourists with cameras and I was able to use mine easily without being observed 

I noticed these men adjusting the clock outside one of the colleges and took the opportunity to capture some images. I was completely at ease taking these shots as they had their backs to me. I took a number of images and I don't think they turned to look around once.

I stepped closer for this shot and was still completely unobserved.

Photographing workmen in the street is an easy way to get used to photographing strangers. I've done this before in London and they usually just glance across and then carry on with what they are doing. This time, because I was facing them, I was eventually spotted. Again, I was comfortable in this situation - mainly because the subjects were three floors up from were I stood!

I decided I needed to get closer and challenge myself a bit more. Along the riverbank are areas where a lot of students can be found taking time out from the more crowded places in the town. I sat down on the bank and waited. I wiled away the time by photographing punts as they floated past and it wasn't long before other people began to find their own spots on the grass. Because I was photographing boats they ignored me and didn't notice that I had swung my camera around to face them.

I took this shot but then decided to try and get a more interesting composition and moved further down the bank.

The man in the hooded top and the woman in the background are unaware that I have taken their picture.  I did feel my level of anxiety begin to rise purely because I was in close proximity and they could easily have looked around and seen what I was doing. I was prepared to explain that I was working on a project and if asked to stop I would have done so. My conclusion is that taking risks can certainly increase the chances of getting a better image.

My last shot is of a woman eating her lunch on the other side of the bank. She glanced up once while I was photographing the punts but then continued with what she was doing. My lens was at 200mm and I couldn't get any closer. I am aware that I need to be able to take pictures much closer than this so that the subjects expressions can be read more easily. At the moment I am shooting at safe distances and I need to definitely challenge myself more.

Assignment 1

I posted off my assignment to my tutor this morning. I'm so relieved that it's finished. I am three months behind in my work for this module - not a particularly good start to the year. It's my own fault. All my procrastinating with the portrait section has taken me well off target. I realise that because I am out of my comfort zone with photographing people that it will take me longer to absorb the skills required. It's not that I wasn't thinking about the projects and assignment all the time though. Perhaps I thought about them a bit too much (agonised over them in fact.) I should probably have just got on with them. Easier said than done though when there is so many good portrait photographers out on the Net to research and you're not confident about your portrait abilities. And of course, the degree is not a race to the finish. But some sense of discipline is required to complete a module in a year and not get bogged down.

Here are my five portraits. As usual with my assignments I have some images that I really like and others that I procrastinate over and think should I do another re-try? At some point though I think it is better to move on and wait for my tutor feedback. Then, if required, I can do some re-shoots or, god forbid, redo the whole assignment.

Image 1 - Gerry.

Image 2 - Clarinet Player.

Image 3 - Theatre Steps.

Image 4 - In the Dark.

Image 5 - Last Coffee Before the Train.

Tutor Feedback:

Feedback from my tutor on my first assignment has been very encouraging. Her advice to just relax is definitely something I need to take on board. I knotted myself up over the portrait assignment and my lack of skills in this area. I now realise that most people feel like this when they begin the course and my tutor has assured me that I do have the necessary technical and image making skills. I need to take this advice and move forward. My tutor really liked the final portrait in my sequence - so much so that she flagged it up to Gareth Dent at the OCA and it is currently displayed on their homepage. The image is my favourite too. As I noted in the accompanying assignment essay I am drawn more and more to narrative images and this was my attempt at making one. It is interesting to note that my other images in the set were fairly well planned in advance. This one, "The Last Coffee before Catching the Train," was purely inspirational and thought up and put into action within minutes. It does have some technical issues due to very low light and no forward planning but in my opinion, from a creative aspect, it stands head and shoulders above my other, more formal, portraits - I guess that when working on a project technical knowledge and planning can go a long way to smooth the issues but creativity will trump them most of the time.

My tutor noted that she thinks that I worry about too many aspect of photography at once (technical, compositional, pose) and that this tension can communicate to my model. It was noted that my model does not smile in any of the images. That was under instruction from me. I was so conscious that my images not look like smiley snapshots that I edited out any that had a hint of a smile. I realise now that I moved too far in the other direction and I need to address this by re-shooting or re-evaluating some of my earlier images in the session.

I was given a list of photographers to research and I'm looking forward to seeing where this direction will take me:

Annie Leibovitz

Richard Billingham

Fred Herzog

Wolfgang Tillmans

Barry Whittaker

In conclusion I am relieved and happy that the assignment was received so well. I feel very encouraged by my "pep talk" and will definitely try to relax more and try not to let my creative side become hindered by technical worries.

Revised Final Images

Here are two images from one of the earlier shoots for this assignment. I have re-looked at them in the light of my tutor's comments about the tension and non smiling in some of my images. Both of these pictures had made it to my first selection stage but been rejected - live and learn...

 

I will undertake another couple of shoots for this assignment to add some more varied shots to the set. Although this assignment appears to be exempt from the assessment I still want to try and improve my  portraiture skills.

Project 7 - Focal length and character

This project shows the results of three similar images taken at different focal lengths. They have been cropped slightly to remove extraneous detail. I've done this exercise before, early on in TAOP, I think. With portraits the focal length is even more crucial as an unflattering (or unrealistic) portrait is less than desirable most of the time.

My first two images I consider to be taken at suitable focal lengths. Compression is more pronounced at the longer focal lengths and facial features become less prominent. Unless some sort of quirky effect is required wide angle shots are best left alone.

Image 1 - 200mm.

Image 2 - 65mm.

Image 3 - 18mm.

Project 6 - The best of a sequence

For this project I took advantage of a portrait session set up by my local camera club. Lighting and models had already been supplied. I was glad about this as it allowed me to concentrate on taking test exposure shots, making adjustments, my interaction with the model, and choosing the poses that I wanted to try out for this exercise. 

There is no denying that I still feel awkward doing portrait work. But I am getting better and I don't feel quite so much like a rabbit in the headlights anymore.

I have uploaded a contact sheet below for the session. The model started off with a couple of good poses unprompted and I could tell that I would like the results. I then asked her to move her head slightly and change her eye line a few times as we worked our way though the session. My instinct proved to be correct for the early images as when I got back to my computer I graded these early shots as "C=good and one of them "C/D=good/best shot."

At this point the model changed pose and put her hand to the side of her head. With my first shot of the new pose I hadn't zoomed out enough and her elbow was cropped from the picture. I re-framed the shot and took some more. Again, I asked her to move her head and change her eye line a few times. I have graded "A=not good" because of the cropped elbow or the eye line is wrong and the others as "B=acceptable" or "C=good."

A longer shot that I took is okay but the plain background adds nothing of interest to this image. "B=acceptable."

We then incorporated a chair into the shoot and played around with several poses - some in the chair and others astride it. I quite liked this chair pose when we set it up but when it came time to grade the images the models hips look wrong due to the lower viewpoint and her leaning back in the chair. "A=not good." It is not a flattering image. When we turned the chair around and begun to experiment with the hands I asked her to clasp her hands together but straight away I could tell this did not work and didn't bother to even take the shot. The model also looked slightly puzzled by my suggestion and she obviously felt the pose not suitable. This is probably why the very next image was graded "A=not good" - the model has a slightly bored look in her eye!

I then zoomed in on the face and single hand for the next few shots and have graded all of these as "C/D= good/ best shot."

The last two images I thought looked good in the camera but when it came time to grade them they did not work. The shot with the hands draped over the chair back are too prominent in the shot and the clasped hands in the chair looks ungainly and contrived. I graded both "A=not good."

Of the images marked as "C/D=good/best shot." I chose these two as the overall best shot (I know, I cheated by picking two.) I liked the quizzical expression in the first and the shape of the hair as it frames the face and mirrors the hand in the second.

Project5 - Eye contact and expression

I have discovered that when taking portraits a constant dialogue between the photographer and model is crucial. A stream of instructions on how to sit and where to look delivered in a casual confident manner needs to be maintained - on top of all the technical considerations if any successful images are to be achieved.

Here are some images from two separate sessions. I have used them to illustrate the different looks that can be achieved through eye contact or lack of it. Expression is also key to achieving a satisfactory image.

Image 1. Direct eye contact. No smiling please!

Image 2. The model is occupied with an object that I gave him to stop boredom setting in. His expression is unguarded and more natural looking.

Project 4 - An active portrait

For the active portrait project I have shot two separate sessions. The first was shot while my subject was making dinner. I encountered a number of problems with this session. The first was that the subject had his back to me while preparing food at the worktops. By leaning across the worktops I managed to get some profile shots though. Secondly the subject tended to suddenly move out of the frame when opening a drawer or going to a different position in the kitchen - it was hard to keep up! I switched my focusing to automatic and let it track the subject at this stage. I've never had a great deal of success with this focusing option and usually end up with mostly blurred shots - just need more practice I guess.

Anyway, I did get some good shots.

Image 1. Consulting Delia.

The light from the window helped to illuminate the subject well here. The bend of the arm, the hands, and gaze direct the viewer to the book and activity taking place.

Image 2. Selecting a pan.

Not so keen on this image. The light from the snow outside the window caused exposure problems. This image is a composite of two exposures adjusted in RAW and combined in Photoshop.

Image 3. Waiting for the ping.

Definite activity taking place in this shot. The finger on the microwave button is a strong gesture and combined with the subjects gaze it creates an element of tension in the image.

Image 4 - Subject aware.

This image is a grab shot. I wanted a long shot to convey more information about the subjects surroundings. On the whole I'm not really satisfied with these images as the subject's face is rarely out of profile. The lesson I learned from photographing a portrait during an activity is to make sure that the subject's face is not going to be obscured by the kind of activity taking place! In the end I got a lot of back shots!

Because of the perceived failure of my previous task I took the lessons learned and applied myself to another session - this time making sure that I would be opposite the subject's face and have more opportunity to catch a range of expressions. This time the subject was seated at our dining table and cutting mount card for framing photographs.

 Image 1. Working it out.

Luckily for me this activity requires a deal of concentration and working out of measurements. Mistakes when cutting mount card are also likely so a range of expressions from puzzlement to exasperation can be seen!  The light from the bay window was quite bright and bounced around the plain walls to even out the shadows.

Image 2. Cutting.

Not so keen on the patch of white mount card and the brown leather chair in this composition.

Image 3. Puzzled.

Image 4. Making the cut.

Conclusion. Still not happy with my portrait skills. Lots more to learn and incorporate into my photographic practice.

Untitled student website

Recently I became involved in setting up a website for OCA students to promote their artwork. We wanted a space to exhibit the best of our work and the students came from different artistic backgrounds such as photography, painting, drawing, textiles etc. We had a lot of discussion about what the site should be about and how we wanted to represent ourselves. The conclusion appeared to be that we would put the best pieces of our work on show and that the purpose of the site was to show ourselves as artists first and students second. This meant in practise that the best pieces from assessment and other work made outside of the course was to be included. We each had our own webpage designed by Dewald, another OCA student, and the site came out really well.

Untitled gallery

I collated all the student data so that we could work out how to apply it to the website and the whole idea was masterminded and pulled together by fellow student, Penny. Overall, despite some initial caution from some students, the site seems to have been well received and hopefully now that it is online it can be used as a base from which to build upon.

My own contribution consisted of five images that I pulled together to make a narrative sequence. I have spotted these images before in my growing archive and have noted that the reason for making them at the time isn't always clear to me. But, as I have started to continue on a creative pathway with the OCA certain themes are developing in my art.

Untitledgallery.org/michael-colvin

I have always been drawn to pictures of windows - either taken from inside or out, it doesn't really matter. I can relate this back to a particular time in my life when I was 12. I was standing at an upstairs window, looking down on a scene below, when I realised that my father had died. As a photographer, whenever I come across particular types of window I'm reminded of this incident and everything that panned out in my life after that point. That was the initial basis for pulling the images together for the Untitled sequence. It felt a bit odd to be putting an intimate and emotional part of myself "out there" on display but I consoled myself with the fact that we have been told by our tutors that our art needs to be honest and drawn from within - this sequence certainly does that.

Another point that I have picked up from studying with the OCA is that art does not necessarily have to explicitly explain itself. Ambiguity can help a viewer relate something of themselves to an artwork. They bring their own knowledge (baggage) with them when they analyse art. The meaning behind a created piece of art does not stay with the creator. That is why I have deliberately left out a lot of information in the sequence. I wanted the viewer to be able to draw upon their own memories and experiences and at the same time this approach allowed me to keep some semblance of protective armour around myself.