iPhone Photo Shoot

As part of my development when taking my photographs I am experimenting with using different sources to capture the images, the pictures that can be seen below are ones that I have taken using the camera on an iPhone. I then edited my photos into black and white as this is the colour theme I want to use throughout all my images. With this photo shoot, I also experimented with taking my photographs from various angles so that the building was slanted.

 

 

 

 

I liked the outcome of taking pictures in a slanted way so it is something I will think to continue when doing other photo shoots. Furthermore, I like the effect that taking my pictures on my iPhone has as they do not look perfectly clear and I think this adds to the rugged and decaying view of the derelict building. Within some of these pictures I have used a shallow depth of field, particularly on the images where parts of a plant hang in front of the building. As well as the use of a shallow depth of field, I also used a wide depth of field. Within these photos and those continued from this shoot, I think there is something quite creepy about them as they look dark and cloudy , there is also quite dark contrasts within the pictures.
I think I could improve these photos by trying to get more images close up and focus on one area/aspect of the building. I could also experiment more with cropping and lighting/brightness.







Review (2)

After visiting the exhibition at the Tate Britain I am beginning to feel more confident about my topic, I also feel that this exhibition has helped me to generate new and different ideas and also the different types of presenting dereliction and decaying matter. I am continuing to plan and take photos and I would like to experiment with the use of different cameras for example; digital, disposable and also the camera on my phone as I am interested to see the different effects (if any) that this would have on my photos.
I have been looking up many different locations that I can visit to take photos in and around London, as finding these derelict locations was one of the problems I was to face as London and its peripheral areas are being regenerated and new buildings are being built all the time, therefore there is not many places that suffer from urban decay as there once was. I would also like to look at the interiors of the buildings I visit as well as the exterior to compare and contrast the two if I am able to do so.
Furthermore, I have found this week and those previous to be successful as I have been researching a lot into urban decay and its process and finding photographers and artists that I can relate to, I have also decided to look into radioactive decay and the Chernobyl disaster as part of my contextual research.

Exhibiton at Tate Britain

Phyllida Barlow-'Dock'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I visited the Tate Britain for one of the exhibitions called 'Ruins Lust', whilst there I also decided to look at these sculptures from the Tate Britain's Commission for 2014 by Phyllida Barlow. They are from a series called 'Dock' and she is known for making large scale installations using everyday household or DIY materials. I think the sculptures relate well to the topic of decay as she uses objects and materials that make the pieces look as though they are old and decaying/rotting. What I liked about Barlow's work was also the scale of the sculptures as they can be quite powerful.

 

Ruins Lust

I then went on to visit the 'Ruins Lust' exhibition which I found really interesting as it enabled me to think about other mediums and ways of presenting a derelict/decaying structure. Figure 1 is one of the pages of my sketch book based on this exhibition:

 

Figure 1

One of my favourite pieces from this exhibition was a laser chrome print mounted on to aluminium with diasec, by Jane and Louise Wilson who photograph the Nazis defensive wall, this particular photo was called 'Azeville' and figure 2 shows an image of it from google as you were not allowed to take photographs in the exhibition.

 

Figure 2

What I liked most about this photograph was how they had thought about the scale of the image when presenting it and also how they presented, as it was mounted on aluminium which made the photo really stand out and highlighted its clarity. I also like the use of black and white as it allows you to see the detail of the subject without being distracted by the use of colours.

 

 

 

Ideas

This image shows a brainstorm of a few ideas that I have begun to generate.

Creative Making Week

As part of this week project we had to work in groups and team up with students from Graphic Design. Within my group we started talking about what objects we could use from our 'kit of parts' in order to create something to show on the final day. We came up with a number of different ideas, for example, making animals out of water bottles or paper clips, creating something that floats in order to make the object float from one side to another, making a solar system and creating a stop motion animation.
After this we decided to create a stop motion piece on one of the objects, the three objects we took into consideration were a paperclip, a sponge and a sock. Our final idea consisted of 'a day in the life of a sponge', as part of this we began brainstorming different storylines we could create and concluded that we would make it to be a love story as well as a sponge's nightmare as we wanted it to be scared of water/drowning.
The next stage of our preparation was making the sponge character using actual sponges and putting faces on them in order to animate them, we then began writing a storyline.

Figure 1 shows the two sponge characters and figure 2 is a picture from the stop motion.

Figure 1

Figure 2

In order to create our final outcome we set up a camera on a tripod and photographed every single move, we took several photos for each movement to try and create a flowing piece, however I feel that we could have taken more in order for it to be smoother and less jumpy. We then put it all together and added sounds and a voice over. The final outcome can be seen by following the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm5iG8WXoLQ 

Review (1)

At the moment I still feel quite confused as to where to start with my project, I have taken some photographs and also begun researching my topic however I am struggling to narrow down the topic of 'Urban Decay' to make my photos different.
So far I have looked at photographing two different forms of decay, one being a building being knocked down and the other dying roses. Although my focus is on buildings and structures in an urban environment I think it is important to explore the variety of different forms decay can come in. I aim in the next few weeks to have planned and taken another photo shoot when I feel that my idea is strong enough. From the outlook at the moment I would like to look at decaying buildings using shallow and wide depths of field as this is an aspect I enjoy using in my work, I also want to look at the buildings as a whole so you see it decaying in different parts. I would also like to use monochrome colours when presenting my work so that the viewers are not distracted by the different colours.

Research

Secondary Research

I began researching decay and the various different aspects of it for example the cycle of decay, radioactive decay, urban decay and rural decay. When researching this I found an article about and upcoming art exhibition that uses organic materials to explore life and death called 'Growth and Decay', it consists of the work of three artists; Sarah Meyers Brent, Jodi Colella and Sirarpi Heghinian Walzer. The link to this articlecan be found below:

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2011/2/28/works-growth-colella-decay/

I really enjoyed reading through this article, I then continued with this and began researching the three artists individually which helped me to develop some ideas. My favourite work was from Sarah Meyers Brent who uses layers of different textiles such as paint, flowers, dirt and decaying plant materials to give the effect of decay.

Sarah Meyers Brent

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figures1 and 2 show two very different pieces of work by Meyers Brent, what I like about her work is how many different materials and medias she uses as she creates paint work as well as sculptures. The two images above are my favourite pieces as I like how she has included dead flowers and paint as I think this adds texture- I feel that this has also inspired me to think of final idea possibilities.

Jodi Colella

Figure 3

Figure 3 shows a piece of work by Jodi Colella, what I like about her work is also that she uses different and interesting materials to create structures that resemble natural forms, they are often made out of materials that have been thrown out or woven from one material to make another. I think that this process makes her work look aged and decaying.

Sirarpi Heghinian Walzer

Figure 4

Figure 5

Sirarpi Heghinian Walzer's work is very abstract and she also uses different materials and in some of her work includes mixed media. For example she uses oils and acrylics, inks and pastels, she also draws, scrapes and paints on canvas and wood and other materials that have various layers. I like the aspect of layering that Walzer uses within her work which is something I am aiming to include in my own work, I also like how the decay you see in her work is not obvious as you see it more through the materials and colours she uses as well as her techniques. Figure 5 is a piece of work from a series called 'Pentimento', the paintings in this series evolve, decay and morph.

 

FMP-Week 1

For the first week of the final major project I decided to research using my camera by taking photos of various things, for example images of a building being knocked down, dying flowers and the buildings/architecture in Camden in order to explore the theme of decay in different forms. I also visited the science museum and looked at old transport as a reference to how things have changed and modernised, however there is still work to be done as many places still suffer from urban decay which is what I aim to uncover throughout my project. A selection of these photographs can be found below.

Science Museum

 

 

Fallen Building

 

 

 

 

 

The photographs that you see above show a building in the process of being knocked down. I decided to take pictures of this as I thought it was relatable to my project and also shows part of the process of urban decay as it does sometimes involve derelict buildings being bulldozed. What I like about these images is the different colours as I took them as the sun was setting and I think this can make photos look quite romantic. I also like the various textures of the bricks and rubble and also how in some of the images you can see parts of a newly built structure in the background which creates a contrast. I have tried to experiment with different angles and orientations of the pictures in order to show a wide view of the building being knocked down, however I feel I could improve these photos by being more adventurous with my perspectives and focal points to create a variety of pictures. I think the time of day works well with these images as the lighting creates a softness among the photos as well as highlighting the detail of the falling building.

Roses

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took these photos of dying roses in order to experiment with different forms of decay. What I like about these images is the detail you can see on the roses as I took them as close up as I could. I also used the flash on my camera in order to make sure the outcomes will be clear and also to accentuate the colours and details on the petals and leaves. I think these photos have a rather warm mood because of the oranges and reds and the use of over head lighting, however I feel that I could improve these photographs by experimenting more with different types of light sources and where the light source is coming from. with these images I also experimented with wide and shallow depths of field.

Other Photos