Task 1 - Research

In this task, I will be researching the following photographers/artists:

i) Who has used/use film to produce their work

ii) Who has produced images of glass

iii) Who used/uses computer image manipulation techniques to produce their work.

William Eggleston

William Eggleston is an legendary American photographer who has great recognition in colour film photography from around 1965. Most of his images are based on street photography in America and I like how the retro theme comes out in his images on these colour negatives because of the century. I've chosen this photographer because I find his work amusing. The colour tones and quality is so great that it looks like it's been taken on a digital camera in this present time. The images are strong in contrast so it's bold and eye catching. I like the American theme that comes across in these images like the car and the donut shop. The blue skies in the bottom image almost reminds me of when I've learned about the American dream.

Oliver Liria

Oliver Liria is an Spanish photographer who's living in the UK. He takes documentary styled images on colour film and I've selected these two. I like the top image because of the muted colours, I felt like it stood out. There's a use of aerial perspective with the background hills. The timing of this shot was great because of the birds in the sky. Especially with the focus on the closest bird - I think the birds really contrast with the muted colours. I do like the grey effect overall and it gives a modern film shot an older effect. The second image is very urban and it reminds me of a abandoned building. This image is more bolder in colour and the contrast is quite strong. Both of these images have a theme of 'emptiness' and they are both quite mysterious. It can also connote a contrast of freedom and imprisoned. I just felt like these documentary shots were interesting to look at. 

Saul Leither

This is a photographer who produced images of glass. Having come across this photographer, I actually find his work very inspirational. I love these two images in particular. I like how he's used colour as an element to make the image stand out. The first image is great because it shows half taken of a glass and half real. Having the real side of it blurred because of movement, the full focus goes to glass. I also like how there is the raindrops on the glass which is focus. Speaking of colour before, I like how the red is quite distinctive in the image. From the blur, I think this was perhaps taken using long shutter speed whilst the glass is unmoved so it's in full focus. There is also a reflection on the glass which gives it this yellow tone, making the raindrops stand out further.

Moreover, the second image is better in my opinion. I just love the idea of the photo and how it was composed. The way the photographer has decided to photograph through a steamy glass and catch the texture of the glass. I like how this man is stood against the glass and I like how it visually looks over the window. The main element that is similar to the first image is the colour distraction that comes in here with the yellow. It draws your attention and gives it a nice touch. I like the angle it's shot at because it's very direct and shot straight towards the window. I think this image is perfect for a landscape format because it gives you the wider look on the glass.

Fran Carneros

Fran Carneros is a visual artist who uses computer image manipulation techniques to create these surreal looking work. From a glance, I saw these images standing out because they're quite effective with how they look. It is very effective in delivering a message and it has been edited really well. The first image looks astonishing with the face being ripped off and it connotes the emotions. It looks like it's visually expressing depression or frustration hence why he's pulling his face off. The second image differs from the first with the message it portrays. It seems like it's expressing how we wear a happy mask and we feel oppositely different inside. I love how both the images expresses a mood. The technical side of the image is well constructed. It was most likely made on Photoshop and looks like they've used a portrait from a studio and manipulated it using multiple other images.

LSD Photographing Studio

LSD is a company that is run by photographers' Marco and Paolo. They also make surreal image manipulating work and I've selected two examples. The first image is quite creative, a image of a woman. This has been manipulated so that her head is a balloon on the ceiling that she's holding on to. The technical side seems quite fun. I think they took shots of the lady holding a balloon. They've erased her head off her body and duplicated it on to the balloon. The second image is better in my image. I think it's quite quirky and creative. The way they've manipulated the image so it looks like there's people climbing on the guitar strings. The technique looks the same, cutting multiple shots of people out and pasting it on to the image of the guitar. I think the main thing to consider with manipulating is to consider the way the person is positioning themselves so you can fit it on to another image.

Moodboards:

Here is my moodboard of glass photographic imagery where I've interpreted the subject in a broad subject. There's images of glass globes or images through glass, patterns, reflections, textures and manipulation in my moodboard. I like the way the subject is the same in every image but it's been presented through different image-taking techniques. I've selected these images because I find it very inspiring and gives me ideas for when I can consider shooting.

This is an additional moodboard that is just focused on textures from glass. I find these types of images to be very interesting because it's presented glass in a striking way. For example the way the focus is so strong on the raindrops. I think because they're close up, it's not what we're used to seeing so it just stands out. I love the glass texture when the glass is all dusty and scratchy. I've also included an image of painting on glass which is a cool technique to capture texture on glass. These images here will also inspire me on the images I take just like with the broadened moodboard.