Outline Photography
a wonderful way to convey drama, mystery, emotion and mood in a picture.
My Starting Point
I have chosen the theme Outlines as a starting point for the exam. I have seen some of Holly Roberts photographs online and really enjoyed the way she composes her abstract images. I really like Jasper James studies of portraits and his travels around the world. His work shows human emotion through the use of silhouettes, inspiring a new, refreshing look on life. I don't know much about the work of Hengki Lee, I have no doubt that I will enjoy finding out about his his work. He is a very inventive photographer who pays close attention to shadows and the play of light during various activities. I am keen on the ordinary becoming the extra-ordinary in photography and the recent work I have done for Unit 1 should help me continue to develop my skills and ideas for the 'Outlines' theme. I have discussed some ideas with my teacher and feel confident about starting to research in detail.
Holly Roberts
Having reached 60, and with more than half of her lifetime spent as a working artist, Holly Roberts isn’t concerned about making an impression — she just tells you what she’s thinking. Holly's images force us to examine ourselves and our humanity. Holly Roberts grew up and now resides in New Mexico. A city known for its history and spirituality; elements that are essential for her pictures to come to life. The results of her efforts surprises the nation, as it embraces all of the worlds flair for innovative style and far fetched dramas. All of which confront the joy, disappointment and complexities that is known as our daily life.
This photo in particular stands out to me the most because of its bold choice of the colour red. Red is the only stand out colour that's included in the picture. The photo requires one to think of its abstract and unique story behind it as it is not something we cannot identify straight away. Judging by the striking differences between her photos, its easy to suggest that the photographer shows you what they're thinking rather than telling you. The paintings themselves are narrative; thus adding a little more to the story is told.
Jasper James
Jasper James is a China based photographer working in Shanghai and Beijing,His photography ranges from portrait and travel. His series of stills showcase the wonder a city inspires and those who experience it. The city is seen through the silhouette of the viewer, who portrays a range of human emotions from love to peaceful reflection to playful wonder. Jasper’s travels through China have inspired this series, a unique look at life in the city from a new and refreshing perspective.
This is my favorite image and the reason I have chosen this images was because it can interpreted in so many ways, which gives the photograph a different story each time it is looked at. For example, I see a person who looks like he has conquered the city, he is looking down at. Half of the photo is exposed to less light, than the other. This could mean that city is divided into two, between the greater good and bad. The way the photographer has taken this photo is very clever, it requires the viewer to find the deeper meaning or simply think...why?
Hengki Lee
Hengki Lee is an award winning photographer from Indonesia. His black and white photography displays a unique style with dramatic distortion. He is a self taught photographer; learning from books and tutorials. He describes his genre of photography as surrealistic poetic photography. Although mentions the difficulty of this genre is getting a striking mood with poetic expression. Working in this specific genre, he makes the photos have a strong and specific character.
This photo is my favourite photo. I love the way the model has posed in-front of what seems to be a window. The photo could be telling the viewer a story. The window is glowing with light and acts if it is beckoning her to the light - its like a fairy tale interpretation. Who knows? She could be the modern day Cinderella and the window is the key to her freedom. The contrast between the two colours, Black and White is well thought out, and makes the image look more powerful than it is.
First Shoot
Working in the style of Jasper James - Shoot 2
Photoshop Editing
I first opened both photos and loaded on to Photoshop. I then used the magnetic lasso tool to go around the persons face, once it was selected and dragged the selected picture over to the New York picture. Finally, once it was successfully transferred over, I then increased the size of the persons face to fit the screen and experimented with different opacity's.
This was my first take in working in the style of the artist Jasper James. I tried to replicate his work, using my New York pictures I had taken on holiday and photographed a fellow student.
Shamekh Blewi
Shoot 3 - Working in the style of Shamekh Blewi
Shoot 4
Photoshop Editing
EXAM
What I Need:
Canvas
Holiday photos
Paint
Brushes
Canvas
Holiday photos
Paint
Brushes
For my final piece I intend to put a collage of my holiday photos together on a canvas. To do this I will edit my photos on Photoshop, the same way as seen directly above. I will use a selection of different colored paints to go over the outlines. The photos will be printed on pieces of A5 paper, so that I can fit all my pictures on the canvas.
Process
Final Piece
Evaluation
I think my final piece works well together, this is because the image that I wanted to portray came across well. In my opinion I have successful shown unique outlines, whether on buildings or otherwise. The colours I have chosen are bold and stand out in the pictures, this represents how loud, flashy and bright the cities are. However if I was to try this again I would experiment using different colours, mainly because I don't want the pictures looking alike. I used the red and blue to represent the American flag, thus bringing to life The American Dream.