My Projects

02/09/2020 My Projects
'A blank piece of paper'

Shoot plan
When given the title 'blank piece of paper' my rst thought was that there wasn't much you
could really do with one piece of paper to create a meaning withing the photos. I thought of
maybe scrunching up the paper and photographing it from di erent angles to pick up. Then I
came up with the idea of places the paper in nature to show where it comes from but also pick
up di erent shadows from the trees.
Location/ weather
I will take these pictures outside in my garden where there are a few trees and also bushes
surrounding it, meaning I can try some di erent areas to nd the best lighting and positioning.
I plan on doing it on a sunny day as this will ensure the shadows and colours are brightest,
resulting in the best pictures possible. It cannot be raining as this will damage the paper and
ruin the e ect. If the weather isn't right I will postpone shooting for a better day.
Equipment
I will use my digital camera and if needed, a tripod, although with sunny weather it may not be
needed as lower shutter-speeds will not be used. I will need two pegs to hang the paper in the
tree with and of course a piece of blank paper. I plan on clipping the paper to a thin branch on
the trees.
Meaning
I want to remind people where paper comes from and make a simple boring object almost
come to life by incorporating nature within it. The fact that paper and trees look nothing alike
yet one comes from the other is an odd concept but I hope that by putting the two together it
can show how one got to be something else. I think another strong message behind this shoot
is the idea of something man made being within nature, showing everything stems from earth.
Hopefully the shadows made on the paper will re ect the beauty and delicateness of nature.
Ideas
On the left are some sketches of some initial ideas, essentially showing
how I want some of my images to look. The e ect made by placing a sheet
of blank paper onto the tree trunk should look quite peculiar and hopefully
spark questions for people as to why it is there. That is an aim for this
shoot, to leave people wondering as to why the photo is taken the way it is.
https://thcaphillips.weebly.com/# 1/60
The rst picture shows my thought of just pegging the paper to a straight

branch and taking it from a lower angle so the other branches are in the
frame. I like incorporating nature as it is something I am interested in so
should bring more passion to my images.
Myoung Ho Lee
Whilst looking for inspiration for this shoot I came across a
photographer called Myoung Ho Lee from South Korea. He has a
series of elaborate photographs with a simple concept yet
executed precisely. I like how he photographs single trees in their
natural surroundings but uses a white background to point focus
on their forms, so you appreciate their beauty more. Although this
isn't particularly linked to blank paper, it gave me the idea of
incorporating trees into the photos but having the white as the
focus instead of it being behind, and seeing as paper comes from
trees it links well. I nd that by him placing the white canvas
behind it de nes the trees more as you can see each branch and
leaf, so I thought that within my photos the white paper could act in the same way but instead
enhancing the shadows. It is showing parts of nature in higher detail than we usually would
see.
Contact
sheet
This is the
collection of
images I
took for this
shoot. I like
a few of
them,
especially
those with
lots of
shadowing
on the paper as I think this is very e ective in showing the unappreciated beauty of nature.
Others show a simple yet well composed structure, but I prefer the shadowed ones.
Print 1
I choose this one because it is one of the best ones for showing shadows. I decided to change it
to black and white so that it would take the distraction of colour away and also enhance the
contrast between the white paper and range of grey shadows. In addition to this I darkened the
image slightly so that the corners were darker so more attention was focused on the paper. The
fact that the paper is in the middle means that maximum focus is on it. I think the shadows on
the paper prove very e ective and having the paper there means that you can see a di erent
angle of the leaves as it acts as a type of re ector.
(This may not appear black and white on the website)
Print 2
Below is print 2, I like the simplicity of this image and how unless you knew the project title
you wouldn't necessarily know why the paper was there. I decided not to make this one black
and white because the green in the background makes a vibrant image and if they were black
and white it would take away the life. Whereas in the photo above, it needed to be black and
white because the shadows were the main attention so I didn't want the colour to distract. I
captured the paper when it was blowing in the wind which adds an element of movement in the
image. One critique I would make is about the bit of fencing in the bottom left corner, I feel if it
was all the same ivy or if there were a tree in the top centre then the background would be
smoother and more sophisticated.
Print 3
This is another one of my favourites from this shoot. I
tried an angle facing the sun to see what shadows would
be made. I like that there are di erent layers of shadows
made and you can also see some of the owers which
lls more of the image up. However I do not like building
edge in the background as the straight line across is a
little harsh and takes away the calmness of nature. I feel
it would be better with a plain background of sky.
Print 4
of the four
This is the nal print, it is my least favourite
because the shadows are not as interesting and the
greenery around is dull. I think that the paper looks out
of place but not in an e ective way. If there were
perhaps blossom in the tree it would add a pop of colour
and something else for the eye to look at. As well as this,
if the paper was standing portrait to follow the root of
the tree as this would make the composition run
smoother.
Shoot evaluation
Looking back at my shoot plan I think that I executed my ideas quite well, I especially like print
1 and print 3 because of the shadows created and how this impacted the simplicity of the image.
I really think that turning the photos black and white helped build the contrast and highlight
brighter points of the photo. I also found that my sketch ideas were less feasible as in the big
tree in my garden the paper wouldn't stay hung up in the right position. This is what lead me to
just placing the paper in bushes and therefore discovering some unique lighting which made
the shadows. From rst getting the title 'a blank piece of paper' and not really knowing where it
would take me, it showed me what could be done with the simplest of objects. There is still a
connection between the paper and it being in the trees/ bushes as it shows where it came from
and it being back in its surroundings. But instead of this being the main meaning of the shoot,
it became about the shadows and how they emphasise the delicateness of nature. My artists
research of Myoung Ho Lee was what rst sparked the thought of incorporating trees with
paper and although my photos may not seem as though they are connected with his, they both
depict the principle of being simple in concept but also showing the beauty of things in their
natural surroundings.
'Nothing'
Shoot plan
Once again, this title was very open to interpretation as what di erent people see 'nothing' as
is very personal and there are thousands of ways someone could think of it as. Is 'nothing' an
empty space? Or maybe its an emotion someone is feeling? For me I originally thought of
photography empty objects, such as a cup with no water in it. But then that changed to my idea
of photographing things/ basic actions we do in our everyday lives so much that they almost
become 'nothing' to us as its encrypted in our brain and they are somewhat re ex actions.
Location/ weather
In my house, areas such as the kitchen where a lot of daily functions happen, the fridge, sink
etc. I plan on wandering around my house looking for things in which we use everyday so the
location will vary but still under one roof. I would like the lighting to be natural to avoid using
ash as I think that ash lighting looks too arti cial in some circumstances. Because of this I
will shoot around midday when lighting is at its peak. The weather will no matter too much as
its indoors but it shouldn't be too cloudy as it will limit the sunlight.
Equipment
My digital camera and I shouldn't need a tripod as with good weather and lighting the shutter
speed shouldn't be that low to detect movements in the camera. Objects around my house will
be props, such as light switches and the tap.
Meaning
For this shoot, I hope to show how everyday actions in our house become 'nothing' because of
the amount of times we do them. For example, turning on/o a light switch, we do this so
frequently that many of us don't even have to look where the switch is to turn it on/o .
Therefore it has become so normal that it is nothing as we don't even really think about it
much, it is now just a part of our lives.
Petras Gagilas
Gagilas has a very distinct style of photography and his
work ranges from portraits, landscapes to funky objects
you wouldn't think of photographing. He nds something
interesting in everything he captures. I saw the picture on
the right rst and thought of how it represents nothing as
the water is running down the drain, but also the fact that
as washing up is done so often it is 'nothing' and your mind
drifts to nothing when doing it. The image on the left, I like
the composition of it and how the hand is directly in the
middle. These two images are very simple but they still are
very e ective, I hope to portray similar simplistic qualities
in my shoot.
I will experiment with turning my images to black and white as I love the e ect it has on his
images, deepening the contrast and stripping away any distraction of colour. I will need to set a
lower shutter speed to freeze the movement of the water.
Contact sheet
This is my contact sheet for this shoot, I started o with my main goal which was to
photograph water running down the tap and then moved onto just shooting random household
objects and also actions people were doing or had left. I particularly liked how the sink ones
turned out and will try turning them to black and white.

Print 1
For me this is my
favourite print
from the shoot as it
not only
incorporates the
inspiration of
Petras Gagilas but
also the movement

of the water
towards the drain

hole. I edited the
image to black and
white so the
contrast is harsher
and you can pay
more attention to
the lighter and
darker areas of the
photo. Having the
plug hole on the
left of the photo
evens out the
cutlery on the
right, making the composition more pleasing as it follows the rule of thirds technique. I
originally didn't want to use ash but I tried it out for this image and I think it proved e ective
because it re ected o the metal cutlery creating highlights and giving more de nition to the
water. Relating this to the title 'nothing' is that running the tap and washing up is something we
do so often that it has become nothing and boring.
Print 2
This photo
displays
ripples from
the impact of
the water
hitting the
sink. This
e ect adds
another shape
to look at and
emphasises
the image
being 'frozen
in time.' I
wondered
what the
composition
would be like if the spoon wasn't in the frame and whether it would add more mystery to the
photo as you wouldn't necessarily know where this was taken. But I do think it adds another
layer to the image. The movement of the water is captured perfectly and the background is in
good focus but I don't know whether is would look better if the water stream was in focus more.
I have found while analysing these that the title 'nothing' also relates to them because the water
is clear and the lack of colour but monotone lter makes it look emotionless.
Print 3
I wanted to photograph a light switch as I think it encompasses my
meaning well, as you don't even have to look at the switch you just
know where it is as you have used it so much. This way it almost
becomes invisible and therefore 'nothing.' This is my least favourite
one of the four as the simplicity is not as e ective as the others. Once
again I edited it to black and white to emphasise the shadows however
I do think the whole image is a bit dull and missing something. Above,
I sketched what could be put in place to ll more of the empty space
and therefore make the image more visually e ective to look at. I do
think it is quite quirky though, because if looked at enough the light
switch and screws become a sort of face.
Print 4
This is the nal print I have chosen because I like
the sequence and repetitiveness shown by the
stairs which could symbolise how walking up and
down the stairs is a thing we do a lot during one
day that we don't even think about it and its just
normal to us. I like the darker shadowing in on the
right side of the stairs because it adds contrast to
the lighter grey tones, this was achieved by turning
it black and white. And I also think that having a
straight line of the side panelling next to horizontal
lines it creates some interesting shapes and forms.
For example, the triangles made from the
connecting vertical step up and horizontal lines of
the stairs. Another thought I had on making this
image more linked to our everyday lives is having
someone walk up the stairs and photographing
them doing so from the knee down, like an action
shot.
Shoot evaluation
Looking back on my shoot plan I do think I captured the essence of 'nothingness' throughout
some of my images, my main link and meaning between my photos and the title was how we
constantly do one action so it almost becomes nothing. We just about loose the connection with
doing it consciously as it has turned into a repetitive instinct action. However, I also think that
when linking my images to 'nothing' the uncomplicated and simplistic style to them re ects
'nothing' as a word. I am particularly pleased with the rst two prints of the sink, and I think
Petras Gagilas' in uence is clear in those images. I was able to explore photographing the
movement of water and enjoyed doing so as it fun to try and capture the exact right
moment. Furthermore, I have realised the e ectiveness of using black and white to enhance the
contrast, and especially with quite abnormal photographs it helps to create a more surreal
impact.
'Corners'
Shoot plan
Out of all the titles we have been given so far, for me, 'corners' was the hardest one to come up
with a unique idea for. I think this is because it is more of a literal thing, in the sense that a
corner is a corner and there isn't much you could interpret from it. For a few days I tried to
come up with an idea that wasn't photographing just the corners of a building, room or object. I
then came across an artist who photographs fruit in di erent ways and cuts them in half, which
sparked the idea of cutting di erent fruit in squares, so they have corners. It would be a still life
style shoot.
Location/ weather
I plan on setting up a blank background on a at
surface so that the fruit can be the centre of the photo
and stand out with no background as a distraction. I
think for optimal outcomes the lighting should be
natural sunlight so the shoot should take place around
midday when sunlight is at its peak. As long as there
as no clouds to block the rays then it should be ne.
Here is a sketch of my set-up plan, with a piece of
paper folded up to act as a simple background.
Equipment
My digital camera with a built in ash, although this shouldn't be needed if the lighting is good
enough. I will also need a blank piece of paper to use as the background, along with di erent
fruits. To cut them into squares I will need a knife, this will be used responsibly. A table will be
needed as a 'stage' to put the paper on and do the shoot.
Meaning
I think by using fruit, it incorporates colour that wouldn't necessarily be present in photos of
corners of buildings. It should be quite a quirky shoot as having square fruit is not something
you normally see, therefore sparking questions and a sense of oddness for the people seeing it.
It should also show the insides of fruit in a closer up way, which lets you appreciate the
delicateness of how they are made up.
Florent Tanet
I took inspiration from his fruit and veg still life images as I think they are unusual and fun. His
images are particularly e ective because of their plain backdrops, making the fruit or the
forefront stand out. The image of brussel sprouts in a square is what gave me the idea of
squaring fruits to show corners. I like the composition being right in the centre as it matches
the shape of the fruit in the middle.
By cutting the fruit and veg in half, it allows us to see the varieties of shapes and designs on the
inside. It shows how no one is the same and they sort of all have their own personality. For my
shoot, instead of having lots of di erent ones lined up, I will have a singular fruit so that all
attention can just be on that one. Having the line at a slight angle means you can see more of
their shape as opposed to it being straight on where there isn't as much perspective. Although
for mine, when they are cut in squares their natural shape will not be seen, but this ts the
corners brief well.
Contact sheet
Here is my contact
sheet, I tried both
portrait and
landscape frames
and I think the
portrait seems
more e ective. I am
really pleased with
how they look, I
don't think they
will need editing as
the colour is
already vibrant, the
lighting is what
highlights this. I
may crop some of
the images though,
to perfect the
frame.
Print 1
This rst print
is one which I
think turned
out the best.
This is because
the composition
is set on the
rule of thirds as
well as stalk
adding a darker
spot and
evening out the
image by facing
to the left. All 0f
this makes the
image more
visually pleasing. I also like how there is still some skin left on the top because this adds a
variation of colour so something to draw your eye to the image, rather then it being basic toned
creates a depth of eld.
colours. The shadow
Print 2
For this print, I don't like how the lemon is
slanted to the left as it ruins the upward
composition of the photo. What I do like is
how you can see the texture in the lemon
and the 'veins.' The shadow helps to show
the size of the lemon. I don't feel this image
is as strong as the others. Perhaps this is
because the frame is portrait which for this
shoot isn't as successful.
Print 3
I really like how
obvious the
corners are in
this print, and
also the
shadowing made
by the kiwi. It
adds depth to the
photo and this
depth is further
emphasised by
the fold in the
paper in the
background. I
nd the design
inside the kiwi
fascinating and it
is really shown in
detail in this
image. Overall I
think the square
shape makes it a
very
intriguing photo,
it is one of my
favourite ones as
the corners are
very sharp. I
think when looking at this image, it shows the in uence man could have on fruit/ food in the
future. With genetic modi cation, who knows what kiwis or any other fruit could look like in
the future, they may be square like in this image? In connection with Florent Tanet's images,
this one shows the interesting inside which lots of his do too.
Print 4
I tried a di erent angle for
this print, photographing
it from a higher
perspective means that
you can see a type of oral
shape at the top, adding a
new pattern to look at.
This one in particular
looks like a still life
drawing, because of the
shades of yellow and there
is a slight
fuzz/blurriness to it. The
higher angle, shows the shadow from above, this emphasises the corner as it is shown in a
di erent view.
Shoot evaluation

I think it worked really well with fruit because we see most fruit in a circular form so changing
the shape drastically to a square would really catch someones eye. I am happy that I didn't take
my original idea of just photographing corners of things around my house and the outside, as
to me, that wouldn't be something that was visually impactive. I originally thought the portrait
photos would be more e ective but when analysing the chosen prints, I actually prefer the
landscape ones. I think this is because it allows us to see more of the background and the
shadowing. I really like still life photography, so this incorporates that which my other idea
wouldn't have and it made me think creatively and outside the box a little. This shoot
de nitely incorporated my artist research, especially the two images above of his, it is almost a
combination of both of those; a square shape and the fruit cut in half. I choose not to select the
banana photos for analysis as the corners were not as obvious so didn't t the brief as well.
Perhaps if I had taken the skin o and cut the banana into a square then it may be more
suitable for 'corners.'
Overall, I liked the creativity of this shoot and how it included still life, an aspect of
photography I enjoy.
'Paint with light'

Shoot plan
When rst given this title, I felt a little
bit restricted to how I could pull this
o , my only idea was to use a light
source such as a sparkler, change the
shutter speed down to really low, and
capture the sparkler moving in
di erent shapes and squiggles. I did
this shoot and was overall not very
happy with the outcomes, as I felt
they were not original nor showed
anything outstanding. It was also very
hard to frame the image right because
the sparkler was moving around so
much. Looking back at my images, I liked the closer up ones as you could really see the detail of
the individual sparks. This lead me to the idea of using a lit match and photographing it really
close to capture the movement of the ame. The image above is one of the better images I took
but I don't like how I took the brief so literally, whereas my new idea shows a di erent sort of
meaning, that lights paints itself instead of humans painting with light.
Location/ weather
I will need to nd a spot that has a blank wall with no distractions in the back, it needs to be
dark outside so that the brightness of the ame can be exaggerated. Therefore the weather will
not matter as it is indoors and dark.
Equipment
I will use my digital Nikon D90 camera to take the pictures, along with a tripod to hold it steady
and a match or something to light on re. I will need someone to hold the match/ stick as I will
be holding the camera. I will try and make a black background with some material. This will be
done safely and responsibly. I will experiment with having a torch shining up on the ame to
see if this emphasises the smoke and it may help with focusing. With focusing, I will need to set
it to manual and focus it on something beforehand and then put the match in place so that the
focus should be right.
Meaning
With the title 'paint with light' the meaning I correlate with that is how di erent light sources,
for my shoot, matches and ames, leave a trail of light in their path. When photographed with
the right shutter speed and surroundings, this path can be captured in beauty and detail. Often
when a match is lit, it happens so fast that we don't see the beauty in how it happens, so the
images I hope to take should freeze time and let people appreciate it.
Inspiration
I found it hard to nd a speci c artist who did similar things to which I want to do, but I chose
two images which show some of my visions. If I could create something like this I would be very
pleased. I really like the black and white one, and the level of detail it shows especially with the
textured part, having this centred in the middle and in complete focus makes the ame around
it more of a second point of glance. The ame seems almost perfectly formed, the light has
been painted evenly. The overall black and white tones allow you not to get distracted by the
colours and really strip down the image. As far as composition, having the match and ame
centred directly in the middle is very e ective as it takes up most of the frame, leaving a strong
statement. The colour image is another one I like, rstly the smoke is eye catching and adds
something to the top half of the image, without it, it would seem incomplete. Having the ame
in the bottom right and the smoke moving to the top left evens out the composition, making it
visually pleasing. The ame of light has painted the smoke. For my shoot, I will take into
consideration these inspiration images and try out photographing the ame from di erent
angles, in di erent parts of the frame and also amount I zoom in on it. I don't think my camera
will be able to zoom in that close and still focus but I will try and see what has the best
outcome. I will also play around with lters afterwards, as I think the black and white proved
e ective on that image.
Contact sheet
My contact sheet shows a sort
of time series of di erent
ames and their shapes and
sizes. I started o
photographing a small match
but the ame was minimal and
not big enough to make any big

movements. I then got my
mum to hold a bigger match
sideways so that the movement
of the ame down the match
could be picked up. As you can
see, the ame gradually gets
bigger and the ame doubles
and I captured one where it
starts to smoke. I also switched
to photographing on my phone
to see if I got take a burst and
select the best photos from
that. However I found that the
closer I got the harder it found
it to focus., leaving the image
look bad. I think some of these
would look e ective as black
and white so I will try editing
them.

Print 1
This is one of the rst pictures taken with the match, I
changed it to black and white and cropped it a lot to
make there not as much empty space surrounding it, it
was more of a landscape picture before. I think having it
centred in the middle, and portrait, draws your eye to
that spot and makes a bolder statement. The black and
white e ect, takes away the distraction of colour and
extenuates the contrast of di erent parts of the ame. I
like how you can see the top of the match still as this sort of shows you what the picture is of, if
it was blurred on covered by the ame you wouldn't necessarily tell what it was. However, I do
think that it would be even better if you could see more of it. With link to the brie ng 'paint
with light', even though there is no extravagant ame, the idea is still that the match paints its
own light, being the ame.
This is the original photo, being not so as zoomed in you cannot see the detail of the match and
ame and the colour does blend with the background.
(sometimes doesn't appear as the original on the website)
Print 2
This is the
only print
where I
was able
to capture
the smoke
e ect and
I think it
really
proves
e ective
in
showing a
pattern
which was
the ame.
In this one
especially,
the ame paints a pattern along the match. The smoke also adds depth of eld and a sense of
movement, you can imagine it immersing into the air around. Throughout the shoot, I found it
very hard to be able to focus it. The auto focus wouldn't work as the ame was so bright and
doing it manually proved tricky as I had to move the camera round to get di erent angles. This
shows in this image as it is slightly out of focus but I think the smokes distracts from this.
Print 3
I like the
compositio
n of this
one, the
biggest
ame lies
on the rule
of thirds
line and it
really helps
to make the
image
more
pleasing to
look at.
Once again
the black and white really outlines the contrast and allows you to focus on the composition
of the image. I do wish that the biggest ame had slightly more darker areas to add to the
contrast. This image clearly shows how the ame paints a path of light as it moves up the
match.
Print 4
This is one of the best outcomes of the
shoot, the composition (like the one
above) is on the rule of thirds, drawing
the viewers eye into the image and places
more emphasis on the ame. I chose not
to make this one black and white,
although it looks good in it, as it is nice
to see the di erent shades of oranges
and yellow. These colours are an
important factor of the light the ame
paints and also help to create a sense of

warmth to the image. There is still some
small glowing embers towards the left
which allow you to still see the match
and show where the ame has left its
path. As well as this, the burning ame
reaches up to almost the top of the frame
which makes it seem fuller as opposed to
if the ame was only small, having not as
big of an impact.
Shoot evaluation
My ideas changed a bit from when rst receiving the title, but I am glad I took an alternate
route instead of the sparklers as it enabled me to be more enthused with the topic. A major part
of this shoot was guring out the focus and shutter speed time as the auto focus would not
work as the ame was to light and if the shutter speed were too fast then the full colours of the
ame would not have been developed. The auto focus not working led me to changing it to
manual focus and focusing it before we lit the ame, with another object for me to focus on.
This proved to be quite tricky as the ame was moving and so was I, trying to get the best
angle, therefore messing with the focus. I do think I got quite a few that had good focus but I
think it is something which needs practice to nd the best technique. One of my
research photos was in black and white, which led me to change some of mine to this, I really
like the simplicity it adds to the image and adds a more sinister sense. The contrast is really
deepened by the areas of light grey to areas of black that wouldn't be present if the image was
colour. I knew that the setup would need a black background of some sort so that the bright
ames could stand out in front of it, I taped a black top onto the wall and it worked perfectly.
When trialling it out, the ash was on which showed all the dust and cat hair on the t-shirt but
without ash it works well as a background, whereas with landscape your eyes have more to
look at so it has less of an impact. I think the portrait photos are more e ective then the
others, as soon as the viewer looks at the portrait, their eyes instantly settle on the
subject. Overall, this shoot was quite successful, the photos don't range that much but I think
they go well with the theme 'paint with light', because the ames are painting their own light.
'Rear window'
Shoot plan
When I rst saw this title I was very unsure of what this could entail as a rear window doesn’t
seem something that could be enthralling to photograph. My initial idea was to photograph an
upstairs window from the ground outside in a way where you could see the bricks around it
and a silhouette in the window. However, I didn’t think this really interpreted the “rear” part of
the title. I then had the idea of using the back window of a car and from inside the car,
photograph my dad standing in the road to make a “retro” looking, quirky shoot.
Location/weather
This shoot will take place outside my house, there is a single track road which is quite quiet so
we should be able to park the car in it and get my dad to stand in the road whilst we do the
shoot. The weather will need to be sunny as this will make the lighting better and make it
clearer to see through the back window, if it was raining the glass would fog up and make it
hard to get a clear picture of what is behind it.
Equipment
I will need my digital camera but won’t be able to use a tripod because there won’t be much
room in the car, it most probably wouldn’t be needed anyway because if it is sunny the shutter
speed will be high. I will choose some di erent “quirky” props to make the image seem odd and
misplaced. For example I thought of using a banana as a telephone and maybe have him
holding household objects that don’t usually go outside or don’t really t in with the
surroundings.
Meaning
The meaning behind this shoot is to incorporate a more fun aspect into it, by having a mix of
props which are not normally seen in the surroundings of the photo and also having my dad
make some weird faces. I will focus mainly on the props as well as the composition and editing.
The props will help to tell and story and start a loop of questions in the viewers mind as to
what they are doing in the image. I imagine it having a kind of retro feel to it, I want to edit
them to black and white and see what impact this has, whether the images look like old
fashioned commercials or not.
In my shoot, I want to involve some of Soth’s techniques such as having my dad centred in the
middle frame and have him holding some props which add a story to the image. The
background of his images are quite symmetrical and not distracting so with my dad standing in
the middle of the road it should stand almost symmetrical in the frame.
Alec Soth
For this shoot my inspiration is Alec Soth, his work
incorporates everyday objects and open
surroundings. The person is usually directly in the
middle of the frame looking deeply into the lens
making an instant connection with the audience. I
like his image of the girl holding the doll as there
seems to be some hidden story behind it and the
background tells you about where they are and the
identity of the person. His technique of positioning
the person in the middle is clever as it breaks the
rule of thirds and centres to your eyes straight to
her. The image of the man holding what looks like
a rocket has some type of sadness surrounding it,
the man looks lost and without an emotion and the background looks dull and dismal. This
leaves you with a connection to the image and the person it is centred around, even though you
have never met them. Once again having him in the middle makes a clear statement.
Contact sheet
These are all the pictures
taken from this shoot. As
you can see I tried a
range of angles and

including some of them
taken from the front
mirror. However, looking
through these they are
mainly blurry, don’t t
the ‘rear window’ brief
and over exposed in the
sky so I won’t be
analysing them. If I were
to do a similar thing in
the future I would
perhaps have to set up
the tripod and trial
around with shutter
speeds, but I was in a bit
of a rush being in the
road. I took multiple
shots of the same frame
to try and make sure I
had a choice of the best
outcome. I want to
change the photos to
black and white as I think
this would add to the
retro look I am going for.
Pr
in
t1
Th
is
im
ag
e
is
on
e
of
th
e
be
st from the shoot, I changed it to black and white and cropped the frame slightly to make the
composition more pleasing. I especially like how even this made the frame, with the bushes on
each side and him standing in the middle it really lls the image with lots to look at. However
you cannot see the prop he is holding very clearly, he was holding a banana as a telephone,
because you can’t see this, the “quirkiness” of the image wasn’t achieved the way I wanted. It is
good though that the image was not relying on this to make it interesting as there is still plenty
in the surroundings. Compared to the to other 3 prints this one is shot from further back so
is why you can’t see the prop as well.
more is tted in the frame which
Print 2
I think this photo really envisions Alec Soth’s
work because of it being portrait and having
a prop clearly visible. Also being able to see
his shadows gives the image more
dimension. I think the rear window may ruin
the image a little because it is quite harsh
and imposing on the bottom half of the
frame, especially because the background is
full of delicate owers and nature. I think
this could have been solved by moving
further back, like print 1, so that you could
see more clearly that it was a window.
Print 3
In this
image, I like
the
summery
ambience
bought
around by
the owers
on the right
hand side
and clear
sky which
opens up the
frame. I still
do not like
the rear
window
parts and
windscreen
wiper which
are showing,
but without
them it
would not t
the brief.
The prop
goes well
with the theme of the image as it adds more of a summery atmosphere because it is a fruit box.
It reminds me of a retro shoot of people from the countryside.
Print 4
Once again with
this image, I
think the frame
is ruined
slightly by the
imposing rear
window edges
and the images’
softness is
damaged. Other
than that I like
that you can
clearly see the
prop, being a
wine glass, and
how it looks as though there is a drink in it because of the shadows created. Having the prop
makes the image more odd as you wonder why the wine glass is there and what it has to do
with the image.

Shoot evaluation
I am especially pleased with the rst print because the rear window was captured perfectly but
it also envisions my idea at the same time. There is the right balance of rear window and the
outside. With the other images I found it quite hard to frame them because the window isn’t
the prettiest of things to have in the fore frame and it juxtaposed with the surrounding nature. I
do think the black and white makes it more timeless and let’s the viewer focus on every detail
in the image instead of the colours. The in uence of Alec Soth is quite evident in my shoot,
from having my dad standing in the middle of the frame to incorporating weird props, it all ties
together to show techniques he used. The whole shoot was a little trickier than I expected, as
you can see in my contact sheet I tried shooting from the front mirror, then realised that this is
not so much rear window. As I said before if was also hard to frame the images correctly and
the images would most probably look better if they were not taken from inside the car but by
me being outside aswell.
'Deconstructed landscape'
Shoot plan
For the shoot, I rst looked into what the
word 'deconstructed' means and found
that it primarily means when you take
something part and put it back together,
but not necessarily in the same way as
the original. My idea was to zoom into a
part of the image, crop it and place it
somewhere else on the image. Here is a
drawing of my idea which may explain it
better. I will also try and turn the cropped
part black and white.
Location/ weather
I will go down to the river near my village
to hopefully get some good landscape pictures of the water and surrounding elds. Therefore it
would be good if the sun was out as this would create a warm atmosphere and exentuate the
colours. However if the weather isn't perfect I will still do the shoot as it may be my only
chance in the week to go to that location.
Equipment
The only thing I will need for this shoot is my digital camera and I am not going to take thr
tripod with me as it is too big and heavy to walk with, I shouldn't need it anyway because the
weather is looking sunny and I will be shooting around midday with lots of light.
Meaning
For this shoot, I think the meaning behind 'deconstructed landscapes' is that an image can be
made more unique and interesting when it has been edited or had things added to it. I want to

make certain things stand out from my images and this could be done with shapes, making
parts black and white or zooming and cropping sections.
Victoria Siemer
This is my inspirartion artist for this
week, I like how she incorporates
shapes and the re ection brings more
attention to an otherwise simple part
of the image. The black and white
image is very atmospheric and brings
out the di erent contrast tones. For
my images I want to use both black
and white and shapes to help bring
focus to an area.
Contact sheet
These are the images from the shoot, I deleted some of them in error after I edited them so
they are not on this contact sheet. There are still some here which are some of the best ones
and I think could have great outcomes. I like the lighting in this shoot as it looks spring like and
there are lots of pretty shades of green.
Print 1
This picture is composed of two images, the black and white one lines up perfectly with the
coloured image to make it look like I just made a rectangle part of the picture b&w. By having
that part black and white it brings focus to the crater in the eld as the white part is
emphasised in the grey surroundings. I like how the hill is on a slant which lets your eyes follow
the contour and the fence adds a contrasting line so you look at every part of the image.
Print 2
Instead of
putting a
separate
image on
top of the
boat, I
decided to
try a
di erent
approach
and on
photoshop
make
create a
square and
then
change that
to black
and white. I
quite like
the e ect of
this as it
strips back
any colour
from part
of the
image and
almost lets
you see two
worlds. My
photos link to the brief because they are deconstructed by stripping away colour to just leave
the object in its place. Also in this photo I like how the trees in the left, ll the top left corner
and sky to make it overall feel fuller.
Print 3
as I like how both urban landscape (the mobile
This is one of my favourites from the shoot
homes) and natural landscape is included. By adding the black and white it brings focus to the
fore front of the picture whereas before your eyes may have been drawn to the back where
there is a pattern of houses. The cluster of owers is in the rule of thirds cross section making
it more pleasing. Also what helps to bring your eyes across the image is the path running
through it. I do think the image is slightly wonky so could be rotated slightly to give it a
straighter frame.
Print 4
For this
last image I
made
multiple
black and
white spots
over the
trees.
Instead of
making
them
square I
tried ovals
so that they
performed
better with
the shape
of the trees. However I wanted to ensure I left the pink blossom tree in colour so that it added a
pop of vibrancy amongst the green tones. Having the river along the bottom of the frame gives
the image a sense of movement as you can image the ripples moving down stream, almost
transporting you to a calm environment. One thing that I think could be improved in this image
is the exposure of the sky, there isn’t much depth to it because the clouds cannot be seen.
Shoot evaluation
This shoot turned out di erently to what I had rst expected, I achieved part of what I wanted
to do, by adding black and white segments to add a uniqueness to the image. However I did
struggle with photoshop and being able to do by original idea of cropping part of the image and
pasting it on top of the original, I successfully did this once but found it wasn’t as e ective as I
thought. This is what lead me to experimenting and nding a tool which was easy to take a part
of the image and make it b&w. I am especially happy with print 4 with multiple black and white
spots as it really just adds something di erent to the image and also a kind of pattern. As
mentioned before I think having the black and white areas links to deconstructed landscapes
because they have been stripped of their colour which deconstructs how you would normally
view them. In terms of artist research, there is some reference to Victoria Siemer in my shoot,
from experimenting with shapes to incorporating black and white but I think mine has been
done in a more subtle way.
'Minimalism'
Shoot plan
For the topic minimalism I always envisioned it being cool toned images with clean nishes and
nothing too glaring that it ruined the simpleness of the photo. So I begun to think of how I
could make clean looking pictures from home with plain backgrounds and an object which
captured the look of minimal. I can across an image which used paper (an easy background
colour to use) and sliced of fruit on half of the paper. And when I think of minimal I also think
of nature and plants because they are delicate and simple yet with so much detail. I decided to
incorporate both these ideas for my shoot.
Location/ weather
The shoot will take place outside in my garden where there is a lot of natural light to bring out
the colours of the owers. Therefore it will preferably be midday on a sunny day. It cannot be
raining either because the paper will get damp and ruin the e ect.
Equipment
I will need my digital camera, a small table to put the props on, di erent coloured paper, a
variety of owers and a chair to stand on so that the angle looks down on the set. I may also
need someone to hold the paper down in case it is windy, or use bluetack.
Meaning
I don't think that there is a strong meaning behind this shoot, but I do think that minimalism
can be one of the most e ective themes within photography. In my photos I would just like to
achieve something whihc is simple yet well executed and allows you to see the beauty of nature
up close.
Inspiration
This was the original image which
sparked by idea, I like the structure
to it, with having the contrasting
colours and straight line down the

middle which makes it really
simplistic yet impactive. For my
shoot I am going to use this idea of
having a similar colour paper to the
ower to add something to the
backgroound instead of it being
plain white.
Contact sheet
These are all the
images from my shoot,
I especially like the
ones of the bigger
owers where you can
see the shadowing. I
don't think these will
need editing but I
might try one in black
and white to see how
this changes the
concept of the image.
Print 1
In this image I like how you can see
the frilly details on the petals and
how these are emphasised by the
shadows created by the natural
sunlight. I feel this makes it look
even more 3d and it almost jumps
out at you. I matched the paper as
best I could with the colour of the
petals and I think it adds something
other than a plain background, and a
di erent direction in the frame. I
focused the ower well so you can
see each detail and line. Having the

ower directly in the middle takes
the eye straight there so it is
e ectively composed.
Print 2
In this image, having the
forefront of the ower
focused and the back of it
less so, it brings your
attention to the right part
of the ower. I think that
the block colours of the
image make it minimal and
an easy thing for your mind
to focus on, so ts the brief
well. I do think that the
yellow paper couldve lined
up with the corners of the frame better though.

Print 3
I feel the ower in this image is in less focus
than the previous two so you cannot
necessarily see as much detail in it. I edited it
to make the pink paper sit along half of the
frame, corner to corner. Perhaps this photo
isn't as e ective because the paper does not
match as well so it isn't tied together as well.
Print 4
In this image, the line of two
di erent paper colours is not as
obvious but I think this is made up
by the fact there are two owers to
focus on instead. I was unable to
focus on both owers but the focus
on the pink ower is particularly

good. I do think the overall image
would be better if it was all in focus.
Shoot evaluation
I am not the happiest with this shoot because I feel it doesn’t really show my style and I
should’ve delved deeper to try and nd an original idea that really inspired me. Mainly I think
that this shoot looks too simple and that I took minimalism too literally, I wish I had looked at
some other aspects of the title. I do feel however, that the shoot was executed quite well and I
did what I set out to do. Overall I think something that really helped to make the prints look
better was the natural lighting and sunlight that was present, because it accentuated the
colourings of the owers and as I did it in an open space, there were no shadows to block some
of the frame. This may have happened if I did the shoot inside, in a smaller area. I de nitely
need to nd an artist to research next time as I think that really helps to inspire me to build a
strong idea of my own.
'Small world'
Shoot plan
This title is one which I have felt most excited about so far, I straight away thought of an idea
that could incorporate some of my passions within photography but also be very tting with

the brief. My idea is to capture the 'small world' of insects and nature, both things I love to
photograph.
Location/ weather
For this shoot, it will take pace in my front and back garden where there are lots of di erent
areas of owers and habitats. I will walk around the garden looking for di erent insects and
other aspects of nature. Therefore, for the best outcome, it will need to be quite sunny and not
raining because the natural sunlight will enhance the colours of nature and it means the ash
will not need to be used, which is good as it can often leave an arti cal look. However, the
forecast for this week is quite cloudy so will need to make do and hopefully get some images
when there are sunny spells.
Equipment
I will just need my Nikon digital camera and just use my surroundings to the best I can. Hoping
that there are a few di erent bug species to add variety to my shoot.
Meaning
The meaning behind this shoot is mainly to show the world that insects live in. Their world is a
mini version of the vast world we live in, and even though their world is part of our world, they
are like two di erent dimensions. For a humans eye, the world insects live in is tiny and meerly
a speck in comparison to the immenseness of our world, yet for insects and the tiniest species
in nature, our world is huge and perhaps daunting. Insects and wilderbeasts are in their own
small world, where a ower to us is like a tree to the. In my shoot, I want to emphasise this by
considering the perspective of my images and how this can change the way we view them. By
zooming right in on the insect I hope to capture the tiniest details which will show us humans
their delicateness and also allow us into their own small world.
National Geographic
After knowing what route I wanted to
take with 'small world' I looked for
some inspirations pictures in terms of
how to compose my images. National
Geographic are known for there

outstanding photography of the world
around us so I looked here rst. The
image of the bee is one I really like the
composition of because it is on the
rule of thirds line so places more
emphasise on him, also by having the
second ower on the left it counter
balances the frame to make it feel
more complete. With the image of the
uorescent beetle, having it framed
right in the middle allows it to be to
focal point instead of the yellow ower.
Contact sheet
These are all the images
taken on the shoot. As
you can see I tried lots of
di erent areas, not only
for new backgrounds but
to see if I could nd new
insects. I am going to
edit a few of them to see
the impact this has, as I
know that black and
white can sophisticate an
image.
Print 1
This is one of
the only ones
from the
shoot that
does not have
an insect in
but instead
focuses on
the
surroundings
you would
nd them in.
The details of
the inside of
the poppy are
very intricate
and not something you would normally pay your attention too, but in itself it looks like a little
world or pod where insects live. I edited it to black and white and enhanced the contrast so that
the shadows accentuate the ner lines. In terms of composition I like how it the unopened

owers ll the right half of the frame whilst the poppy takes up the top left.
Print 2
For this image, I like how you can see
the uorescence of the beetle and how
it is contrasted with the brightness of
the ower. Having the background out
of focus means that your eye can be
drawn straight to the ower instead of
being lost in the back. I do think the
composition of this could’ve been
drawn slightly o centre. The beetle
placed in the ower shows how it in
its own small world.
Print 3
I took
this
from a
di erent
angle so
that the
camera
was
looking
down at
the
subject.
This
o ers a
new
perspect
ive into
their
small
world
and also
shows
how
humans
look
down on nature’s world. By giving the camera a birds eye view you can see the bees wings out,
and also having the sunlight directly on them makes the shine so you can see the details on
them. Once again, having most of the image out of focus it means that there are no distractions
to what the image is showing you.
Print 4
For the
nal
print, I
particul
arly like
how the
ower
the bee
is on
looks
like a
part of
a globe,
only that it is a minuscule version of the world we live in. The perspective and angle makes the
ower look bigger and the bee tiny in comparison. By stripping back the colour, it allows the
such as the bee. It also deepens the darker areas
viewer to focus on other parts of the image
and lightens the lighter parts, overall adding to the timeless manor of the image.
Shoot evaluation
I feel that this collection of images shows how insects and their surroundings are at one in
their own small world. By experimenting with perspective and being close to the subject it
made it look as though the small parts of nature are much bigger, like they are to insects. I
found that changing them to monotone really helped to make you focus on what the image is
o rather than the colours it is made up of. Looking at the National Geographic helps me to
think about composition and macro photography which can bring out details and cleanness in
an image. However, I do feel it would’ve been easier to do if I had a proper macro lens that
could get even closer into their small world.
William Eggleston
In this image of Eggleston's, the
bike is shown in perhaps a
di erent way than you would see
it in real life. Having the vantage
point close to the ground means
that the bike has been
supersized and looks bigger than
the houses in the back. This
enhances the image by giving us
a clearer shoot of the bicycle up
close, which shows us small
details (like the rustyhandlebars)
showing it has been loved and
used lots. His low perspective
point means more of the frame is lled with the bike, the main focal object, instead of having
the distraction of bigger houses. The fact that there is a deep depth of eld shows that he
wanted you to be able to see the houses, maybe to add more of a story to the bike to get you
thinking where it has come from/ who uses it.
Task 2 - Elements of photography
Within photography, there are six key elements suggested by John Szarkowski which can be

used when photographing and analysing images. These six elements are: atness, time, focus,
frame, the thing itself and the vantage point. In this task I am going to photograph an image for
each of the elements.
Focus
In this image, your attention in bought to the peg
which is in focus and in the middle. By having
this particular peg in focus (one which isn’t
covered by any others or too far away to notice
details) it allows you to see it up close without
distraction of the other pegs. The shallow depth
of eld makes the trees in the background blurry
as well so even more emphasis is put on the
single peg, creating an order of importance.
Frame
I framed this
so that the
magazine was
taking up most
of the frame as
it shows a lot
of relevance to
the world we
are living in at
the moment,
giving a clear
message. But
also by
including my
mum on the
left hand side

it gives an
insight into
who was
reading it and
adds
something to
the left side of
the frame.
Vantage point
I took this
from a very
low angle so
that the
camera was
looking up at
the plant
shoot. This low
vantage point
distorts the
plant into
making it look
taller than it really was. So we see it in a di erent view than you would in real life. This view
shows the new shoot growing into a bigger plant and allows us to appreciate the process much
more.
Flatness
In this landscape, we are unable to see any
3D-ness because of the angle it is taken at and
also the fact that in most photos the 3D is
often compacted into 2D. This portrays the
object as at and so it sort of looks like a
drawing. Aswell as this the sky is bought
forward because of the 2 dimensional look
making it seem like a screen.
The thing itself

By placing the teddy on a blank canvas
it straight away allows it to stand out
and be noticed more than if there were
other things surrounding it to look at.
The shadows help to make it seem as
though it is oating, and creates and
slight distortion making it sort of eerie
to look at. The black and white takes
any distraction of colour away so your
attention is on the object itself.
Time
The water
droplets and
bubbles are
frozen in time
which allows you
to study how
they are formed
and move in
more detail.
They aren’t
captured
perfectly but it
makes you
wonder how
they looked at
each stage and
the e ect they
had on the
rippling water.
Intertextuality within photos

This weeks task challenged us to take photos that use intertextuality to reference something in
the world. This could be in the means of a person, book, lesson or lm which could be
photographed in a way that you can see parts that subject within a photo.
Print 1
For this shoot,
I wanted to
reference the
lm 'Silence of
the Lambs.' I
printed out
the moth and
used it as the
symbol for the
lm as I think
that is what
people would
reference to
the movie. Taking inspiration from the lm cover I wanted to make the moth the key focus of
the image by making the rest of the frame black and white. The black and white is a powerful
tool which allows the absense of colour to connect with the viewer in a cleaner, more

sophisticated way. I didn’t want to completely copy the lm cover but instead take elements
like the black and white and moth.
Print 2
Once again, in this image I wanted to
make the moth the only coloured
object to make sure it’s the centre of
attention. A famous quote from the
movie is “I ate his liver with some fava
beans and nice chianti” so I included
the glass of red wine to add another
symbol of the movie without saying
what the lm is. I framed the wine
glass slightly o centre so it is in the
rule of thirds line to mar it more
pleasing to look at.
Print 3
Combining both of the types of images above,
I put the wine glass, person and moth in this
photo. I made sure the moth is still the main
focus by making sure her eye focus was not
straight towards the camera and the wine

glass wasn’t completely in the frame.
'Sembiotics'
'The study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation'
Task 1
(Mindmap of chosen theme and how it could be photographed without being obviously the
subject)
'Having been there'
This photo is one of a series of images by

Tom Leighton. It depicts the smoke trail of an
aeroplane in the sky and details its path very
well. This path is what links it to 'having been
there' as it clearly shows where it has been
and the route it took. This is emphasised by
the contrast and exposure of the sky being
black and the smoke trails as white. What I
nd interesting is that you can hardly see the
plane as it is so high, but the mark it leaves in
the sky is huge in comparison. Showing the
impact planes have on climate change and
that it doesn't just disappear when the smoke
does, but drifts the emissions into the
atmosphere.
'Message without a code'

Within this task, we had to revisit a topic previously done, I choose to incorporate the theme of
'nothing' within my shoot. I interpretted this challenge by thinking of photographing things
which don't necessarily show 'nothing' but if you were to think deeply about it and think of
what it may be showing you may come to this topic, therefore a 'message without a code.'
Everyone may see the message di erently...
Within this image, I wanted to capture a

moment in time that shows the end of
breakfast when there is no food left. In
this sense, there is 'nothing' left but
empty plates, however someone may not
think of this rst but rather inspect each
element of the image without thinking
too much about the context. The empty
plate symbolises that there is nothing
left, but also the cutlery being on the
plate is a sign of having nished that
meal. I shot this from a birds eye view to

get as much of the table in as possible
and I did not move the plates and bowls
so that it has more of a real life look.
When
thinking of
the subject
'nothing',
nature and its
emptiness is
something
which sprung
to mind. So I
shot an image
of an open
eld and dirt
track, that is
empty of any
life apart
from the
nature everywhere, there is no human present that could disturb the stillness. Making this

black and white means that it is stripped back of any distraction of colour and instead has a
sophisticated feel. Composition wise, I made sure the rule of thirds was in place to give a bigger
proportion of the frame to the elds and track,
For this image, I wanted to show how paint on a

palette is nothing until it has created a work of art.
But also that when you are done with a painting,
the leftover paint is nothing as it is no longer
needed for its job. This message may not be clear to
everyone but I think it serves well as 'nothing' in a
more abstract way.
With a similar
theme to the
previous
image, the fruit
scraps are the
after product
of a once
whole fruit, yet
when it is
eaten these are
left as
'nothing', with
no purpose.
For this, I took
fruit scraps
and layed them
on a white
chopping
board so they
could stand
out. On
photoshop I
made the
strawberry
heads the only
coloured object
so that the
vibrance could
stand out. The
black and
white
emphasises that the fruit is 'dying' and its colour is fading away.

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02/09/2020 My Projects

'A blank piece of paper'

(This may not appear black and white on the website)

also the movement

towards the drain

'Paint with light'

not big enough to make any big

(sometimes doesn't appear as the original on the website)

paints and also help to create a sense of

range of angles and

colours and straight line down the

see each detail and line. Having the

up with the corners of the frame better though.

on the pink ower is particularly

would be better if it was all in focus.

Geographic are known for there

Task 2 - Elements of photography

left hand side

The thing itself

Intertextuality within photos

straight towards the camera and the wine

'Having been there'

This photo is one of a series of images by

'Message without a code'

Within this image, I wanted to capture a

meal. I shot this from a birds eye view to

For this image, I wanted to show how paint on a

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