Business Cards

Here's our first proof for our business cards

FINAL, FINAL 12!!!!

have spent quite a bit of time deciding which images I should use for my Final 12. Steve and I decided that ideally, they should have a linked theme but still all be different from each other. Its not hard to realize that my theme is very much based around Sand and Sea. I am usually very critical of my own creativity. Sometimes I see a great image and then after seeing it again repeatedly, I start to criticize it. I based my final 12 images on the fact that I genuinely preferred these 12 images (all for different reasons) from the outset. Even after viewing them tens of times, I have never grown tired of them and I'm not AS critical of them as some of my other work.I felt that my photographic skills are perhaps more highlighted in more natural "non-pressured" environments and feel that this comes across within my images of natural landscapes. My tutor Steve also agreed with this as I wasn't quite "invasive" enough to follow in the footsteps of Martin Parr type images.

Here are the final 12

Man on the Moon (Title chosen because it looks like someone discovering new planet for the first time).

Available in all sizes (Title chosen mainly due to the concentration on the pebbles/rocks and their different sizes).

Furry Green Steps (Title speaks for itself. I particularly like this image due to the texture and colour of the steps. Its not the most beautiful of images but felt like it was a strong image)

Town Reflection (Again, the title speaks for itself based around the reflection of the town in the wet sand)

Not so clean slate (Tongue in cheek title. The saying "clean slate" is used in everyday life and as the slates in my image strongly focus in the slates detailed ageing, I thought the title of "not so clean slate" was appropriate.

Peering under the peer (A cheesy title I know but I felt it was a fitting name as I was actually peering under a peer)

Curve Appeal (The title reflects purely the amount of curves featured in the image from the barriers and on the big wheel)

Waiting for Spring (I like this title as it features dried out flowers. The flowers, as dead as they look, still have life in them as though they are hanging on for something....perhaps being brought to life in the Spring)

Red Raw (I particularly liked the rawness of the rivets in this image. They almost look gory and horiffic)

All dried up (This buoy is waiting for the water to come so it can do its work)

Unrecognizable (I particularly like the texture of the sand in this image and the way that the shallow depth of field makes the figure in the background "anonymous")

Glory in motion (This image title reflects the motion of the person reaching for the sky. I particularly like the way the feet shows the action of the person jumping up)

A break from work.....Fields of Gold

During these final crucial stages towards the end of my NCFE in Photography, I couldn't resist walking along to a field near me which was full of yellow flowers. I simply took my camera, lens and Tripod (the flamin cheap thing broke on me) and snapped away. Some of the images shown below were edited in Photoshop as I think it added to the effect. Not quite as natural as i'm sure Steve would like but I like them! Manual settings were used on all images and flash was used throughout.

Printing the final 12

Having chosen my final 12 images to use for my final portfolio I have ordered the prints from Truprint at a size of 12" by 8" in Matt. I was pleased enough with the images that I took and found that I had very minimal Photoshop to do which was an aim of mine and I know Steve prefers this. Because of the minimal amount of Photoshop used, I will only produce a CD of my edited images as there is no severe use of editing used hence no difference in the "before & after" images. I spoke to Steve about this and he was ok with

this.

The major work carried out in Photoshop was merely for sizing and resolution purposes.

The below image shows proof of my Photoshop knowledge and how I sized up my final images.

Editing final images in Photoshop

After deciding on my final 12 images, it is important that I edit them appropriately in Photoshop where needed. Also it is vital that I size them up correctly ready for print.

I have to also make sure that I don't over edit any of my images in photoshop unless it forms part of the photo's visual.

I have to provide a CD with both original and edited images (marked seperately). Also I have to present the images in print with a minimum size of 8 x 6 inch upto a size of A3. Resolution needs to be at 300dpi. These images need to be presented in a folder with my name and student number specified.

I will update my Blog showing Photoshop techniques as I go.

The Final 12?

After a meeting with Steve, he decided it was time to start thinking seriously about choosing a shortlist for my final 12 images for my portfolio.

I have alot of images that I can use and we agreed that the final 12 should be based around a theme. My main issue at first was to either adopt the "natural" style landscape images or to go for some of the images that tell a story!

As my trip to Blackpool identified to me, I personally believe that my best images are the more natural style of images. Instead of waiting for the correct "humorous, story telling" image, I believe I have an eye for the au naturell!

I shall base my theme on the Sea/Seaside landscapes and start to wickle down the list before editing them in Photoshop before handing in for assesment.

I shall now sit down calmly and choose my top 12!!! To follow................

Wedding number 3

I took part in photographing my third wedding last Friday! I was amazed this time how much I was able to shoot always on manual mode. I adapted well from changing settings inside a church to the clear bright sunshine outside. The only critisism I would make is that I had the ISO too high inside the church and the quality of the images were lost. Again, as ever, It was another learning experience and it was something I shall learn from in the future!

Some images taken are as follows:

Trip to Blackpool

Following in the steps of Martin Parr, I thought I would travel to Blackpool one day and try to capture the moment. Here are some of the images that I took. All images were took using manual settings which I have become lot more confident with. I was quite happy with the images but after talking to my tutor Steve, he seems to think that I should have been a bit more invasive instead of the images featuring people in the background. I agree with what he said as Martin Parr was great at capturing the moment with people being the main feature.

I simply took my camera and my eyes with me and snapped away in Blackpool for just an hour. Here are some of the images taken;

Developing my idea

NATURAL LANDSCAPE IMAGES

OR.................

LANDSCAPE IMAGES WITH A DIFFERENCE?

Whilst I'm very excited about the work of Martin Parr, it is very important for me to think about how I can take inspiration from his work.  Circumstances that can effect this is the fact that i don't live near the sea.  I am planning to visit Blackpool sometime in the next few weeks and I'm hoping to create some Martin Parr style images from this. 

I am now seriously thinking of the final 12 images which I have to present.  Whilst I like alot of the images that i've taken already on this course, I think that presenting a mixture of naturally beautiful landscape images along side my own take of Martin Parr style images may not mix well as I want there to be a similar theme throughout.

I will see what comes from my Blackpool trip and then decide soon on which route my final portfolio will go down.  

Alot of the type of images I want to take are based on wether a certain person/object is in the right place at the right time as i don't want it to be too staged!  This idea may fail and I could always go down the natural landscape route.  Time will tell.

Martin Parr Images

I have spent lots of time over the past few weeks looking at Martin Parr's work.  Below is some of his work which was of particular interest to me.  Whilst i don't believe in copying people's work, I look forward to producing my own versions as his work has given me great aspiration.

Whilst some of these images are not merely landscape, alot of them provide a main focus image with the landscape featured in the background.  I am very excited by the though of doing landscape images - almost with a twist, just like Martin Parr