First Film

As my theme is architecture for my first film strip I thought of different places that I could take photographs. I shot three different locations on my first film, houses around Old Coulsdon, the work house tower in Croydon, and the chapel in Queens Road cemetery. I did a test strip for my contact sheet, I has the light of f16, filter 5 and exposed each section for 1 second. After looking at my test strip I could see that I need to expose it for 8 seconds. 

 After making a contact sheet I then went onto processing some of my prints. I did a test strip of one of the photographs to see how long I should expose the image for. From the test strip I could see that I needed to expose the images for 9 seconds.

The two prints below came out particularly well with a lot of contrast because I left them in the develop for slightly longer than some of the other prints. 

Enhanced Image - Digital Manipulation - HDR Effect

I experimented with applying a HDR effect to digital photographs I have taken. I think it is effective because it brings out the detailing of brick work and the ornate windows but I personally do not like this effect as I don't like the harsh lines around it as it makes it become almost cartoon like. 

Step 1 - Open image. Duplicate background layer. Go to Image - Adjustments - Shadows/ Highlights. Increase the highlights to roughly 50% depending on the photograph, Increase the shadows a little bit less than the highlights.

Step 2 -  Click Show more options , mid-tone contrast to +60, colour correction +10. You can also adjust the width and radius of the highlights and shadows.

Step 3 - Duplicate background layer. Move to the top of the layers palette.

Step 4 - Go to Filter - Other - High Pass, radius of roughly 10 pixels. Go to image adjustments - Desaturate.  Change the blending layer mode to Overlay.

Step 5 - Go to layer - New adjustment layer - colour balance. Highlights - Drag the yellow and red up a bit, Shadows - Drag the blue, green and cyan up a bit. Adjust the mid-tones.

Enhanced Image - Digital Manipulation - Lomo Effect

To improve my Photoshop skills I experimented with adding a lomo effect to a digital photograph I had taken of Osborne House in the Isle of Wight. I followed a tutorial to create this effect. I think this works well with this particular image as it brings out the detail in the brick work.

Step 1 - Open the image in Photoshop. Duplicate background layer. 
Step 2 - Using the lasso tool draw around the main part of the image you want to be vignetted. Go to select - Modify - Feather - 250 pixels. Go to Select - Inverse.
Step 3 - Go to adjustment layers - Layers - increase the shadows and decrease mid-tones to your desired look. Go to adjustment layers - Curves - RGB to form a S curve (pull highlights up, pull mid- tones down, pull shadows down)
Step 4 - Add another curves layer - Red, pull highlights up, and shadows down, - Green, highlights up, shadows down - Blue highlights down, shadows up. 
Step 5 - Select all layers - right click and merge layers. Go to layer adjustments - Gradient Map - Black to white gradient map. Adjust the opacity down.
Step 6 -  Go to layer adjustments - Hue/ Saturation - increase saturation.
Step 7 - Merge all layers. Copy layer. Filter - Blur - Lens Blur, increase the radius.
Step 8 - Add mask - select paint brush tool with the colour black - adjust the opacity and flow to 50%. Increase brush size. Paint on the parts you want to be sharp.
Step 9 - Select background layer - Filter - Sharpen - unsharp mask, amount to roughly 95%, Radius to 5.5 pixels
Step 10 - Merge layers. Add new layer. Select a colour of grey, Fill layer. Filter - Noise - Add noise, amount 18%, uniform, monochromatic. change blending layer mode to overlay, decrease opacity. 

Enhanced Image - Digital Manipulation - Nashville Effect

Step 1 - Open image in Photoshop. Duplicate background layer, hide original layer.
Step 2 - Create a new layer. Change the colours to Red 247, Green 217, Blue 173. Fill the new layer with the colour, change the layer blending mode to Multiply.
Step 3 - Select the duplicated layer - Set Curves, Green output to 37, Blues 133.
Step 4 - Select Levels - The middle box type in 1.36, the end box type in 236
Step 5 - Select Brightness/ Contrast, 6 for brightness and 51 for contrast
Step 6 - Go to curves, go to green input 13, Blue input 88
Step 7 - Go to brightness/ Contrast, brightness to -6, contrast to 33
Step 8 - Go to curves, Red output 4, Blue output 14

I think my first experimentation I did of the church worked the best as the colours are even whereas with the other images I experimented with they all look quite yellow. I tried to used images that had blue sky as this would bring out the blues but as the buildings were quite yellow to begin with it washes out the blue of the skies. 

Enhanced Image - Digital Manipulation

To experiment with enhancing digital images I experimented with vignetting.This was my attempt of adding a vignetting effect to one of my photographs of Osborne House. I then done one of cottages in Godshill and another photograph I had taken on a day out. I don't particularly like this effect as I think it create a quite harsh vignette around the image because it is very dark. I think it would look better if it was softer without such dark edges.

Step 1- Open a photograph
Step 2 - use the elliptical marque tool and draw an oval over the part of the image, generally the center.
Step 3 - Right click, Inverse
Step 4 - Create a new layer
Step 5 - Using the fill tool, fill the selected part with black.
Step 6  - Deselect. Go to filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, adjust it to what you like, click OK.

Dan Mountford

Dan Mountford

Val / Royal Pavilion

Dan Mountford is an English Graphic design student. He works in photography, illustration, editorial and motion design. He experiments with in-camera double exposures. This particular 
photograph is called Val / Royal Pavilion, it is a double exposure photograph of a girl called val and the royal pavilion in Brighton, it was taken in October 2010. This photograph was presented in an exhibition along with his other double exposure photographs he has produced. I have chosen this photograph as I am keen to experiment with multiple exposure as I have never tried it before, it looks quite simple but for a beginner it might take me some time to work out. My first reaction to the photograph was that I was amazed by it as I haven't done multiple exposure before. I like that he has combined two different elements into one photograph. It will improve my knowledge of photography and learning new techniques. I like how he has captured the facial features and the building without distorting either image. Multiple exposure is a photographic technique that combines 2 different images into a single image.
I looked at his website and his Flickr page to increase my understanding of the work he produces. http://www.flickr.com/photos/danmountford/sets/72157625371295037/
http://www.danmountford.bigcartel.com/

I like that he's used a person and a landscape or building as I think there is a meaning behind the choice of subject matter. The place could be linked to the person such as an area where she has grown up, somewhere she wishes to go or somewhere meaningful to her. I would associate Dan Mountford's double exposure work as portraiture as it is mainly of people, although he also does some landscapes. 

Dan Mountford describes it as a visual journey through our minds by calm and tidy meaning which the reality of everyday life does not show. This photograph was captured simply by using a camera without the assistance of Photoshop or editing techniques. He only used Photoshop to adjust the tone and remove imperfections from the image. I think that the black and white photography makes it a much more powerful image rather than it being in colour. 

Leslie David

Leslie David

'Souvenirs de Paris'

Leslie David is a graphic designer, illustrator and art director based in Paris.  Most of her works are photographs of landmarks, streets and buildings. This picture is part of a series of 8 postcards called souvenirs de Paris. It is a photograph that had been taken in Paris then partly covered with various coloured paints. She has a range of clients that the work might be for, but as it is called Souvenirs de Paris I would assume that they are to be sold or used as postcards as they are a 'set of 8 postcards'.
I have chosen this particular piece of work as my chosen theme is architecture. Her work fits into architecture as the photographs that she uses are of buildings in Paris. I may consider using her idea of applying different coloured paint on top of the photographs, possibly changing the way it is applied and to the area that it is applied. 
There is not much information about the postcard, which leaves it up to the imagination of the viewer to think of about it. To me I think the meaning behind this image is that you can update something old without changing its appearance. By working on to the photograph it is not changing or manipulating the building it is simply adjusting its time to make it something new. As the colours are quite bright and vibrant it could be showing that new life can be given to the building by simple gestures such as colour change. 
My first reaction to this image is that its odd, I originally didn't like it as I think its quite simple and doesn't really work with the photograph. After spending a bit of time looking at the other works my thought have changed slightly, I think it has a meaning to it but its up to the viewer to decide what it is. To me its updating something without changing it completely. I like the choice of colours to overlay on the photograph but the one thing I don't like about it is the way the paint was applied. To me the paint doesn't work with the composition as it is just applied over the photograph without thinking about it, in my opinion it may have looked better being applied into the negative spacing such as the sky. The work has inspired me to experiment with working on top of photographs to see what affects it has on the image, maybe using other materials as well as paint. 

Brian Auer

Dark Architecture 

Brian Auer

Brian Auer is a photographer currently living in North Idaho. As well as being a photographer he also works an a mechanical engineer. He started to develop an interest in 2003 when he was on vacation and wanted to capture a moment in time and keep it forever. Brian Auer experiments with different types of photograph with various styles. He owns a collect of different cameras from old to new as the effects vary from camera to camera. As well as digital photography he also takes film photography mainly in black and white as he thinks this is his strongest suit and has the best impact on a picture. 

His photograph is called Dark Architecture, it is taken of a building on the Princeton Campus in New Jersey in November 2006 using a Konica Minolta MAXXUM 7D. As he is just a photography enthusiast and does photography as a hobby on the side of working, the work was not made for anything specific other than his personal collection and to share with others. ' My dad and I were doing a little exploring last time he was out for a visit. Some of the buildings there are really something to look at. It's hard to believe that they use these buildings on a regular basis'. 

I chose this photograph as I am taking similar photographs as my theme is architecture. My main focus is on old buildings rather than new .

The size of the chapel itself is large but to make it look even bigger he shot it at 18mm with his 18-200mm lens. It has a barrel distortion at the low end so it causes the buildings verticals to converge from the perspective he was shooting at. 
Originally he shot the photograph in colour then edited it to give it a daunting scary effect. He did this by working in photoshop. step 1 - changed the channel mixer to 0%red, 0% green, 100% blue. step 2 - created a mask to separate the sky form the building and branches. Once  he had his mask he applied it to a levels adjustment layer for the building and boosted the contrast by bringing the white down to 137 and bringing the black up to 55 which clipped some of the shadows. Step 3 - He used the same mask to apply a curves adjustment layer to the building with a moderate 's' curve to separate the tones. Step 4 - He inverted the layer mask from the previous steps and applied it to a levels adjustment in which he brought the black point up to 223 and left the white at 225. Step 5 - He added a layer of vignetting and a tiny amount of sharpening to the sky.

I chose this image because it related to my theme of architecture, and as I am doing old buildings rather than new. My first reaction to this photograph was that I was amazed by it, I like the angle he took it at as it looks like it is over powering you  and makes you feel small compared to the size of the building. The effect that he has added to the building makes it seem more daunting as the sky looks like there is a storm coming and the building is surrounded by trees makes it seem that it is in a forrest or a woodland area, making it feel as if it is an abandoned chapel. This place reminds me of a set out of a horror film where people find them selves hiding from something in a chapel which is haunted. I like how he hasn't included a lot of the trees but just enough to surround the building giving it a spooky effect. 

First Film Strip Ideas

Mood Board

After looking at some architectural photographers, I chose my favourite photographers to show on my mood board. They mainly work with black and white photography as it has a more powerful meaning that colour and the detailing of the buildings stands out more. 

Jacek Kadaj.  Alain Etchepare.  Stéphane Suisse.  Rob Cartwright.

Mindmap

This is my mind map of ideas for my chosen theme of architecture.

The Enhanced Image Project

The enhanced image project is to teach further darkroom techniques and ways in which to enhance my images with new methods of working. It will include darkroom experimentations such as vignetting, creative masking, toning prints, different ways of developing, multiple exposure and much more.

Quentin Jones

Quentin Jones is an illustrator who makes fashion films and photographs in a cartoon style with photo montage animation.

This was my own inspired piece of work in the style of Quentin Jones. I used cuttings from magazines and newspapers then placed then on top of my photograph. I chose images that related to the word escape,the traveler could be escaping to the countryside, the plane symbolizes escaping to somewhere far, the leopard could be escaping from being caged and the skull could be escaping from life. 

Rebecca Chew

Rebecca Chew is a graphic designers and illustrator who occasionally uses photography. She has used origami to create a series called  'brain puzzles.

 I was inspired by Rebecca Chew to experiment with turning one of my photographs into origami. By following a tutorial of a rabbit I made the origami below. I think that the origami rabbit is a good object to fold the photograph into as it shows more of the photograph compared to an origami swan. It was quite easy to follow as the folds were not that hard. I think a more complicated origami object would not work as effective because it would include more folds which would result in not much of the photograph being seen.

Stacey Page

Stacey Page embroiders over vintage photographs to enhance the image and make it more interesting to the viewer, to make it something different.

I made my own embroidered photographs inspired by Stacey Page but simplified the stitching. My first attempt was very basic as I only stitched around the window. My second embroidered photograph I stitched along the black beams. This way to enhance an image would work with a wide variety of images. With mine I chose quite simple ways to stitch the photographs. For my first attempt I could have thought of stitching the diamonds and squares in the window in different colours to make it look like a stained glass window rather than stitching around the window frame. The stitching on the black and white house I think worked well with the subject as there is not many elements I could have stitched except for the beams, the flags and the sign. 

Stephen J Shanabrook

Stephen J Shanabrook takes images of portraits from magazines and defaces them by folding them , occasionally using staples to fix the folds in place. This results in a distorted image that obscures the identity of that person.

 Using Stephen Shanabrook's technique, I recreated my own inspired folded image using a photograph that I had taken of the Swiss cottage at Osborne House. I don't think this experiment works well with my chosen theme as the lines of the folds do not match up with different areas of the photograph to give it an abstract appearance. I think this would work particularly well with portraits as the folds could result in giving the person a distorted face which would alter their identity. 

William Hatch Crosby

William Hatch Crosby is an artist/illustrator currently based in Brookyn, NY. He is also known for doing Art Department work in the Film and Television industry. William designs often include intricate patterns in bright colours.

 This was my attempt at doing a William Hatch Crosby. I didn't like this experiment because I felt it didn't suit my chosen theme of architecture. The building could have been painted or decorated to this effect which is why the embellishment doesn't alter the subject of the photo. Whereas William Hatch Crosby's embellished paintings alter the subject.

Amy Friend

Amy Friend is a Canadian artist known for her work that involves creating tiny little dots with a pin or other small objects so that when the picture is held up to the light, you can see it shining through the holes, creating an interesting effect.

 This was my recreation of Amy Friend's pin hole photographs. Its hard to see the pinholes in the photograph, they are in the windows and around the fascias. I think this is a really effective way to enhance an image as its not destroying the image or changing its appearance it just adds detail and texture to the image. I would like to possibly take forward this idea to my final outcome depending on my photographs.

Greg Sand

Greg Sand is an artists and photographer who works primarily with digital photography to produce his works. Remnants is a series of works about recollection and remembrance. Each 'remnants' in the series is composed of three found photos each from a different point in the subjects life that have been cut up into strips and woven together to form a portrait. 

 This was my recreation of Greg Sand's remnants series. I chose two photographs that I had taken while I was in the Isle of Wight. I decided to choose two of the same place but taken from different angles so that you can still make out what the image is. I think this works well with photographs of the same image, possibly in different colours such as one full colour and the other in black and white.

Abigail Reynolds

Abigail Reynolds is known for cutting into photographs to reveal a photograph behind. I think its a good idea to cut into a photograph to reveal one behind, I think it works particularly well when using contrasting photos for example a countryside and a built up city, or a photograph taken 30 years ago in contrast with one taken in the present day; they would work particularly well if the photographs are taken from the same point. 

This was my attempt if creating a Abigail Reynolds inspired piece. I make it by choosing two photographs, I decided to go with contrasting photos like a countryside and a city. First I mounted the countryside photograph onto black sugar paper and the city photograph onto black paper.  I used a ruler to draw a grid on top of the countryside photo then cut along some of the lines so that when bent up it would reveal the image underneath. once I was happy with what I had cut I then glued the city picture behind the countryside one so that when you look through the cut out gaps in the photograph you can see the city behind it.
I was pleased with my outcome but I think it could be improved by cutting more shapes out to reveal the image underneath more as i think you cant really make out what is behind it.