Modern Masters ( 3 of 7 )

Modern Masters other images taken

When we were given this brief, although I had researched many images, my mind set was stuck on the image of the 'Laughing Cavallier'. I knew that Jim had in his possession these different outfits. His kilt is a new addition as it is his own clan's pattern,which he is proud of. The different outfits also gave me the chance to experiment the pose in different ways. Finding the best one that replicated the pose the best. I was also was still trying to think of different tag lines that I could apply and what product would go with the chosen image.

Comparing image to painting

This image I placed next to the painting for comparison of pose and expression. The background colour was changed to try and keep it running with the theme.

Modern masters with tag line selection

The tag line was chosen in keeping with the cowboy theme as it is known to be associated with "The Duke", John Wayne. Although there is some debate wether he did say the original line in the film True Grit or was a quote made up by comedians about the man in question!

Whatever -  It seemed an appropriate line to recreate and change the word " milk" to "beer" for the purpose of advertising the new range of Carling beer which Jim has taken to. I must add that once I had tried it I too much prefer it, as it's not so heavy as Carling!!

I experimented with moving the tag around in different places and used a mixture of capital and bold typography with an outlined shadow and the tried to incorporate the colours of his waistcoat into the design. Some seemed more over powering than others.

Modern Masters chosen


I chose this image because I was satisfied where I had placed the logo for Carling Chrome - it didn't seem to clash with the white of the shirt or get lost in the photo. When I had experimented with just a solid colour it seemed to overpower the whole image and became the main focus which I didn't want. I then toned down the orangy red and placed the white shadowy border around the lettering to create a kind of separation but at the same time look as if it was a part of the image. I wanted to make use of the open space to the right so as not to obscure the image and make it look cluttered. Lastly the word "beer"  - due to the advert I wanted to place an emphasis on the word which I feel works well.

Photo essay/ editorial ( 1 of 7 )

Photo essay/ editorial


This was a great experience as I had wanted to photograph and research many of the sculptures that I had seen around the area for a long time, but as ever, time can sometimes be one of those things that we don't always use to come back to what we wanted if for in the first place so to speak! I grabbed this opportunity to educate myself more and to fill in those burning questions about the sculptures that I had myself. The down side I found to some of them was not always getting the image that I had imagined and this was more so with that of the Oswestry Border Farmer. The light on the day sometimes created a problem for me capturing the image as well as the sun obscuring some aspects . I did however manage to accomplish the task without the distraction of shoppers in the background! The other problem I came up against is that I didn't want to replicate the images that were already taken of the sculptures. I took pleasure in participating in  this task as I have been able to educate  and draw other people's attention to the sculptures and why they are there. I have also printed out larger images of those sculptures featured that I used to show more detail.

Please note


The information researched to accompany my images were taken from various websites.
The article was written as a uni brief, my only personal gain was to look at these modern sculptures in more depth and to be able to draw people's attention to them. My other personal accomplishment was in educating others as to what they represent. 






My images up close

 

Portrait ( 5 of 7 )

Portrait

The aim of this brief was to take images in and out of the studio environment called ( formal and informal portraiture ), to show the spirit of the individual. I initially found this brief as a challenge as I didn't know who to use so that I could capture their character and do the images justice that were to be produced. After much deliberation I had found the perfect candidate in my mother, as she has so many hobbies and interests as well as liking going out for picnics!  I felt that it would be great to capture what is not a hobby but a daily task in hovering and dusting the house. I wanted to make this into something comical as an element in relation to her humourous side. Between us we came up with a list that could be achieved in and out of the studio environment. Although many images were taken some I felt worked better than others and this was due to me not assessing lighting conditions properly when in the kitchen taking shots. The light from the window behind her became overpowering and darkened the image too much and the focal point was spoilt by having so much light. This was an oversight on my behalf, which was a shame really as there were many images that I had taken where I had been very happy with the composition.






Portrait images chosen

The 8 images chosen I feel capture the hobbies, humour, the closeness of their relationship and characters very well. So the breakdown of them is simply, the hobbies of knitting and bead making, the love of being with her husband and how their humour can rebound off each other, going for short walks depending on how she feels on the day, the cleaning routine, the love of summer family outing and peace of mind of having a picnic packed for us all!  Lastly - food shopping  brings contentment to her in knowing that food can be planned and then prepared.



I have made the decision not to include these images because they are for family viewing only. (  Uni examiners will know where to access these images )

Book Jacket ( 2 of 7 )

Book Jacket  - other images taken

I understand on reflection that it may not look like as if I have expanded my imagination to what other images I could have used. It was just for this brief (as explained on when choosing my chosen book) I had done a process of elimination before I went out and captured my images! That is why many of these images are aimed more towards graffiti and the countryside. The images of buskers were the only two that I had taken whilst in London and seemed to kind of work. I enjoyed this brief because it was nice to get the chance to actually create a book cover with my own images. I did however find that I do need to find out more information on how to compose the rest of the detail that goes into making covers. For images revamped - no offence was intended to the original book cover images - I found it a great challenge to undertake.

 

Book Jacket Cover

The object of this brief was to research many books and look at the covers for one that appealed to me to redesign.  I have included visual examples of a few books that I have researched.  Quite a few of the titles I found interesting to try to recreate but I lacked ideas when finding a suitable cover that I could recreate for them.  Examples of such titles are:

·         Champagne at the Murder – a small idea I had for this one was having a glass of wine, a kitchen knife and a dark background. The title reminded me of something dark from an Agatha Christie novel but it seemed too simplistic and that possibly I wasn’t thinking hard enough to try and be creative.

·         Mystic River – the image I had for this cover was getting up early and going down to the river to capture the mist as it rises to give it a moody feel. However, the weather at the time was not suitable for the idea I had and time constraints did not allow me too much time to wait for suitable weather.

·         Alcohol – seemed to lack any scope for creation as visually the only thing I could think about was alcohol containers and glasses. This seemed to be a bit boring and too similar to something I had done last year.

·         Navigation for Walkers – the image I felt would have portrayed more of the picturesque countryside rather than the focus on being a walkers’ guide. This could have been a problem for me to interpret.

Canola and Rapeseed

I got the idea for this book cover when driving home one evening.  I had stopped at the traffic lights and this vibrant yellow field in front of me caught my attention.  The blue sky accentuated the beauty of nature.  I was previously led to believe that this yellow field was something to do with mustard.  On further research, I had educated myself to the real name of this typical spring image.  When I had looked at books with the rapeseed on them, it became obvious that I would be replicating the cover of these existing books so I decided to isolate the image and concentrate solely on the flower and colour, rather than including the sky with it.  Here are a few versions of the book cover I made.  The original book is also included.

I have experimented with the positioning of the banner, various sizes of banner and some without one. I selected my chosen image from many that I had taken on the day. Some I took of the whole field, some were of the plant from above and some included the sky. All these I evaluated before adding them to the image seen here

AA Book of Britain’s Countryside

I wanted to use this image as, to a certain extent, it felt like a familiar British scene of the countryside to me.  It gives a sense of uplifting spirits and beauty, as well as warm, summer colours.  I want the public to be intrigued enough to want to pick up the book and view further and I think I achieved this with my chosen image.  It would have been hard for me to have taken images of wildlife to use for the cover. I have also slightly altered the title by adding in the words “A” or “The”, mainly because it seemed to read a little easier to my mind and slightly made the “AA” unnecessary when read as a title.

The Country Diaries

I came back to this image because I felt it could be used for this title also.  Looking at the original cover, I felt it tied in with the feel of imagining somebody living with inspirational scenery such as this. However, I am aware that for many of the book covers I did use the same image and on reflection I possibly limited myself too much. I do quite like this image and especially as at the time of working on this task the weather was not playing ball! I know that for next year’s tasks I MUST be more flexible.

The Birth of Graffiti

I was fortunate enough to go to London and while I was there I came across this amazing open space which was an area dedicated towards graffiti, skateboarding and mountain bikes.  I thought it was a good idea to have space for such activities.  Initially, I thought the image of the young woman was an advertisement poster, but on closer inspection was astounded to find it was actual graffiti.  Due to the impact the image had on me, I found the original book shown and thought it would be an appropriate title to use.  Although both images look identical, there’s a small difference – one image just has the black band, while the other one has a hint of white before it to make it look as if it has more depth.

I am aware that to some degree the image is sexist but the image fits well with the title of the book. A bit like my take on The Birth of Venus by Botticelli – or certainly the way I have put it together with the title of the book links into the famous painting.

Poems by a Country Lass

I wanted to use this image because I was drawn to the idea of using the tree branch to isolate the title of the book.  I have used this image again due to the typical unpredictable British weather and timescale of the task.  I was a little anxious as to whether I could create a sunny countryside scene.   On closer inspection, I started to see the error of my judgement – the title didn’t seem to lie with the image I had in my mind.  I initially found it hard with the whiteness of the clouds and the white in the typography I had used.  I did want to go back and create another cover for this book using the same image, but ran out of time.

Ode to the Countryside

Although this is the same image that I have used in other book covers, here I feel that it is a more fitting image than the original book cover. The original looked to be more about woodland. I love the blue sky, almost to the degree of borderline obsession and it is what I wanted to portray.

I initially put more emphasis on the word “Countryside” because I thought that was of more importance. I used smaller, solid colour for the subtitle but it was brought to my attention that I shouldn’t mix type and that the positioning (that I thought looked good) - I didn’t realise that the layout of type is just as important as the background image choice! When I go to a book shop and look at book covers I see the pictorial image and not necessarily the words and typology. This seems to be the way my brain processes what I see as always the image is more to the fore than any writing.

Busker’s Companion

My first image – whilst in London I came across this very unusual busker who I liked because he looked typical British with his bowler hat, his old radio and white scarf.  I hadn’t initially noticed the flame coming from the top of the tuba.  I felt quite limited when I made this into a book cover due to having no other option but to put the title on the purple band to cover up an area of whiteness in the cluttered background.  The other limitation I felt I had was the way I actually took the photo; I didn’t have composition in mind of adapting the image into a book cover at the time. 

I was in London and this was another busker I came across.  I decided to do the book title in red in order to complement the lining of the busker’s instrument case.  I didn’t know how much of the original cover’s detail I had to include, so I included all of it.   I felt there was too much background so I didn’t want to crop the image; that was when I incorporated the colour grey so as not to draw too much attention to the band deflecting away from the busker.  So, I placed the name of the person who arranged the book onto the banner.  I initially didn’t realise that the two topographies I used were totally opposite to one another – the title of the book was all in upper-case and the others mixed.

Street Art

This is my chosen image – some reasons for this are:

·         I thought the “neon lights” typography worked well with the theme

·         I think that the differing angles of the lines in the background help to give a sense of “depth” to the image

·         I like the grey base because it’s a good contrast to the very colourful art

·         I was impressed by what appears to me to be something very new in the urban environment (that is new to me)

·         The white and black border to my picture I feel, draws your eye into the centre of the picture and gives an almost 3D effect

·         However, the subtitle in grey at first worked well, but on reflection I can see that it would have been better if I could have lined it up with the existing lines in the photo somehow. I didn’t see this straight away. Despite this I still think it works as a book cover image.

Elegance in Decay ( 4 of 7 )

Elegance in decay other images taken

I took this brief on wanting to capture decay in many areas such as buildings inside and outside (abandoned and derelict ), objects ( discarded ), vehicles and boats and every day things like walls, wood,locks and metal objects. I wanted to cover all aspects from what was elegant in the eye of the beholder and has decayed to things that have become elegant with the help of decay. I found part of this a little hard as peoples' tastes in elegance can differ and what I like others may not. I just think that in most things there is beauty somewhere and it's just a matter of looking deep and finding it.

Elegance of Decay 6 chosen images

The boat


I chose the image of the boat because it was a place that I had gone to that is at a distance – I wouldn’t be going there that often!  The boat had seen better days! There are so many colours in the picture such as the blues and reds that have faded to a softer colour and the softness ties in with the softer greens and browns. Altogether I think it makes a complementing image that shows the decay of the boat in a subtle way and the background became a non distracting bonus.

The rope

I came across this purely by chance as I was in a ghosted farm yard - it was still owned but activity has ceased. I like this image and the detail in the rotting rope as its easier to see what's going on with the strands and the spreading mould of the different coloured greens. It reminds me of broccoli. I didn't feel that it would have given the same effect if it had been cropped or more focused on one part of the rope as how it is shows progress within its decay.

The wooden stairs

I was on my way home from taking photos from another location of decay,when I came across a derelict house for sale. The house had a lovely old tin roof and stone walls but instantly in the corner this staircase captured my attention. I think it was due to the "back to basics" feel  - the house had to me illustrated a time before all of the modern technology that we relied on so heavily today became so important.

It was the raw wood seeping  through what seemed like one coat of white paint and then appears to be complemented by the same effect in the stone wall, that I found interesting. It was a similar effect with the brick colour through what looked like one coat on the walls . To me the image somehow feels as if it is leading you on into wanting to know where they go to.

The washing mangle

I was fortunate to have had first hand experience with one of these as my Nain ( Gran ) had one of these in her shed and still used it to wring out the water. So this image is nostalgic to me.This image was spotted on a canal walk on the opposite side of the bank.The vibrant red leads you to the detail of rust and the green mould which then takes you down the image to the wooden rollers and its dark cracks. I like the composition with the added silver-coloured tin containers at the side of it. The only down fall is what looks like the modern pot directly underneath.

Roof tiles

I find it surprising really that on closer inspection of the images chosen in this brief, unbeknown to me at the time, it has a running theme of mould in them ! When I first saw this roof I instantly knew that I wanted to capture it as an image but I also had to wait while the sun played peek a boo with me - as in my mind I had already composed the image! I was drawn to  the light reflecting on the tiles and enhancing the patches of mould as I think this helped to darken the gaps where the missing tiles would have been on the bare beams below. The light also cast deeper and lighter patches of grey on the roof slate.

The red door

Although I was very passionate when I was taking this image, I later dismissed it for a different image! On reflection and a nagging gut feeling I reintroduced the image of the vibrant red, flaking painted door. I felt that it offered so much in the different red toned surfaces with the colour of a faded red underneath and another depth of pure wood underneath that layer. The rust gently making its way to the top with its dated latch. To top this off the cobweb seemed to be the icing on the cake for me! I don't feel that I could have made any changes to the outcome as to me it seems complete.

CD cover ( 6 of 7)

CD/album

The creation of this became an "eureka" moment although I had done much research on album covers and had thought due to the constant rain that my final images would have been in that category. On the morning that I went out to take these images for some reason my mind had wondered off into thinking about creating photos of bubbles, in what shape or form I hadn’t quite decided. I then turned to my bedroom for inspiration due to the fact that I like relaxing gadgets. I then found what I can only think to describe as bubble tubes and gel kind of like egg timers, I instantly decided on what images I wanted to produce. I had done a complete opposite turn to where I was originally heading.

The two CD covers used

Other images taken

Once I had arrived at my destination again I found the sun was toying with me, so I in the end had 1hr where it had escaped the cloud that was smothering it before it again disappeared. These images are taken from my different gadgets that I had taken with me, for my idea of a relaxation CD cover. Some ideas worked much better than others, I guess it’s the trial and error situation. The London image was another idea that I had for The Clash and London’s calling.

Images taken

There is a mixture of two lots of images some are before enhancement, on a few this may be hard to spot especially on the purple image some is lighter than others. On some other images shown there are also borders which are white as an experiment.

Other CD/album covers made

I then went on to make an assortment of covers with different writing styles on them to see which worked the best as a title. This lead me to produce 2 images to see what they would actually look like as covers on an actual CD case. The covers made are not intended to offend the creators of the original album cover; it was purely an exercise to see what our creativity would come up with.

The chosen CD/album cover

I chose this cover as my final image for many reasons, I liked the style of writing and the colour seemed to match well with the image and the existing blue. The soft focus is tended to draw your eye into the centre bubbles which are more crisp and clear. I had initially thought the image had worked well and the bubbles inside represented the inner peace and energy, may be it can also misinterpreted as being quite busy. It could just of well have worked just as good for the Chill out cover, the bubbles could represent a dream and relaxed state of mind. I have also produced an image of what this would also look like on a real CD cover. 

The Event ( 7 0F 7 )

The Event


This is a mixture of images from the event that I feel tells the story of the evening. They are  photos that were taken with a range of shots such as, close up, medium and long. They show the different artists and bands that performed on the night. The closeness of family, friends and work colleagues who came. Some  family members pictured also organised the evening and then the proceeds were split between 3 charities. I was approached by one of the family members, previous to the event, to capture a record of the event by taking photos. This was a great opportunity and privilege to be asked to be a very small part of the evening.




For more information please look at my other blog on this event;
called
Mike's Gig       ( Part 1 ) 24.7.2012
 

Camera Club day out 20.5.2012

I had wanted to go with Camera Club for a day out altogether since I had joined, but between one thing and another it hadn't been possible. Previously we had discussed where we all would like to go and it was then decided that we would all venture out to Chester for the day. The day arrived and I picked up another member and then  we arrived at the 2nd pick up spot to meet Debbie. I know this must sound a little confusing - it's just that Chester is one of the destinations that I don't drive to, I get confused as to which lane to change into for the town centre - in time I will conquer this.

As the 3 of us walked up to meet the others under the clock I chuckled to myself as it reminded me of the Boots' advert and the song of the " The girls are back in town" instead of the boys! To onlookers we looked like obvious undercover police or that we were" touting for business" which we laughed about. Debbie had already made us laugh by adding that we should all of had a red carnation in our lapels as it also looked like we were going on blind dates. So we went for a walk down the Street and back as we were early. The meeting time was for 11.am but true to his reputation of being late the other 2 came  just as we we were about to give up and carry on with the day. The two of them had been waylaid by taking photos without us!

As ever we must have had that doubtful look on our faces , so images of a beautiful white horse was produced for proof. Due to circumstances of other group members there was only 5 of us and first things first  - refreshments of a coffee hit for me! Full of jokes and innuendos we walked around and found a place to sit down outside, the morning was refreshing and sunny-  it reminded me of when I was in Paris sitting outside on the sidewalk sitting and drinking coffee. The camera club group are such a great bunch of individuals to be with as everyone is so relaxed and down to earth when we are all together we ache from laughing so much.

We all then decided that we would take a walk around the walls and go from there. We all looked so funny as if we had just arrived as tourists visiting the city for the first time.

A beautiful cherub face

The pigeon spikes look in a small way like a crown

The first of many chimneys

Old steps

I liked the shine and designs of the balustrade

This reminded me of Micky mouse, besides I like balloons

Could I have found the key to the City?

I was taken by the silver colour on the oak door 

We all became consumed by this view - after a little while we all laughed as the bird was just sunbathing and was actually fine.

Still on the City walls

We were all on track!

I liked the lamp design

I couldn't help but see the beauty of repetition in the scaffolding

More chimneys

Whoops! Again with the cathedral peeking behind!

I just liked the colour and shape

I had never been so close to a crane before - I thought it looked cool

One of many windows on the wall walk

This reminded us of one of the old chocolate box covers

Silhouette of a squirrel in a tree

I found this interesting

There is beauty in many things to me

We were looking back at the Watergate clock just in time to see this tourist bus

Amazing chimney!

Nice  unusual design on the bank wall

A different design

This reminded me of Coronation Street - the long running soap

There were many cool motor bikes

I liked the design of the ice-cream kiosk

" 3 little ducks went swimming one day "

We had walked to the river area and time had run away with us  - it was at least 2.30 and lunch time. We walked down to the Blue Moon cafe. I hadn't been here before but inside it was amazing with 50s and 60s memorabilia on the walls. I went back in before we left to have a closer look as there was so much for my eyes to take in a one glance. We had all decided to sit outside again as the weather was being kind to us. When we had finished it was time to make our way back to the car and home again.

On the way back we made a detour and stopped off at Eccleston, the effigies are from the grave of Edward George Hugh Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor, (1904-1909). He died following an operation for appendicitis, aged 4 years 3 months.

Aperture Camera Club 

come and join us 

LLangollen photographic club is attended by a small group of dedicated local photographers.

The group meets every 2nd Thursday in the month
7.30 pm - 9.30 pm
At the Rafa club,
Canalside Gardens,
      LLangollen. 

To find out more see below

http://www.chestertourist.com/bluemoon.htm

http://www.chester360.co.uk/chester-the-walled-city.htm