Friday 10 June 2016

Final Images


Images I chose for my final images:

"One View"

The photographs I chose out of my shoot for my final images are the ones below. I recreated some of the poses from the test shoot, to get some close ups and try get some body parts close up. I really like the feel of the images with certain parts illuminated and the shadows encroaching the rest of the image. The shadows being the blanket of comfort which is used to conceal herself from the world, showing only parts of herself she wants you to see.









My images are quite still dark i wanted them a little more highlighted than what they are, so I'm going to edit them in photoshop with basic edits of levels and curves. I want to then increase the contrast to boost the high lights further. 








I'm pleased with outcome of the images I feel the edited ones with the highlights emphasised works better than the darker images. This style of portraiture is different from what I normally produced and was out my comfort zone, but I don't feel as though I achieved the best I possibly could have. I think my composition and framing has progressed massive amounts and I happy with how they have come out. But it's the lighting side of things I think I could have pushed a little more to achieve what I wanted in camera rather than having to correct it in photoshop. The close up of the foot is my favourite and I think for this collection I should of either focused on the close ups of different areas of the body almost abstract, or kept it to the parts of her coming out the shadows. I could have even tried more personal shots coming more into the model, shots coming out the frame I feel these could have worked well too. I feel this body of work is a good set but could be improved, the narrative is there but I don't think I nailed it completely. Defiantly want to carry on with this series and take it further to progress as I feel this could be bigger and better. Displaying these images I want them A2, looking around the exhibitions the larger displayed pieces are more eye catching. I would like to impact on this and create the same sense of wowness for my viewers. 

On reflection of the images I have decided not to exhibit the above images but use my images I have produced for my online portfolio Behance. I feel these images show a more creative side of my photography. The collection of images produced for my Behance account I feel work together as a body of work than the above images. These go rather well as a show piece and I feel more comfortable and proud to show the alternative images as my exhibition piece. The narrative is still based on identity but without the darkness, adults/children in today's society hide themselves away through insecurities and paranoia. Some have problems with themselves and body so put a front on to the rest of the world, they mask who they are. Using my children as the models is a bit of a contrast of the narrative as the connotations with children are innocence, adorable, confident, and happy. But in reality children this young are known to have he insecurities and anxiety which is really sad. I named my series "Obscured" as the identity is not clear this is shown with the water and milk obscuring the face. Using my 50mm prime lens on F1.8 it gives a really soft depth of field focusing on only parts of the image, this links in with the narrative as you blur the pieces of yourself to society showing only what you want them to see.

My images I'm going to exhibit: 












For the exhibition you need to provide an exhibtion label to go alongside your work, this details the title of your work, year it was created, the photographer, the size of the exhibited pieces, and also if its colour, black and white, film etc.  Then just add a short blurb to give the viewer the insight to the narrative behind your piece of work.

Leonie Lamb

“Obscured”


2016

A2 Matte Printed

Black & white



This collection of work is based on identity, using water, milk and a glass screen to create the portraits. My pieces of work portray a mask that individuals put on. This mask is used to hide their true identities, a smokescreen of their insecurities and paranoia.

Thursday 9 June 2016

Nottingham Contemporary - Alien Encounters



Sun Ra Exhibition


Sun Ra Arkestra

Sun Ra (1914-1993): The Cosmo Man 
This is the first exhibition in the UK devoted to the work of Sun Ra, the legendary jazz musician and Afro-Futurist. It aims to present him as a “total artist”. Besides his compositions, recordings and concerts, Sun Ra was a writer, philosopher and poet. He also designed his Arkestra’s record covers and publicity, and conceived and starred in a feature film, Space Is the Place (1974). Sun Ra took the name of the Egyptian sun god and claimed to have come from Saturn. The exhibition is designed by leading French scenographer Nadia Lauro.


Rana Hamadeh: The Fugitive Image
Rana Hamadeh presents The Fugitive Image, the latest chapter of her long-term project Alien Encounters, for this, her first solo exhibition in the UK. The original impetus for her Alien Encounters series was Sun Ra’s film Space Is the Place. Her sculptural installations, exhibitions, and lecture-performances explore the idea of being alien as a way to address urgent issues in the Arab and wider world today. Hamadeh revisits the story of the infamous serial killer sisters Raya and Sakina, the first women to be sentenced to death by a legal court in the modern history of Egypt.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgLWXlE8KPU
18.03.2016

This exhibition being my first ever was really weird, and I didn't quite understand the concept behind most of the exhibits. I suppose I was more taken with the display of the different sections, it allowed me to open up to the possibilities of presenting my own work in different ways. I didn't particularly like the exhibition I think mainly because I didn't quite get what it was about.

Test Shoot for Final Images

 Contact Sheet for Test Shoot: 





This was my test shoot done for my end of year show, my idea was to get parts of the body lit with the shadows taking over the rest of the body. I did some shots close up of the face feet legs with some fuller shots of the body. I shot in raw this is why the images are in colour, but for editing I want them to be in black and white. Setting up the shoot I used a black backdrop with the one main light and had barn doors attached to direct the light where I wanted. Using the barn doors helped direct the flow of the light without light spilling on to the whole sceen. I had the modelling set without flash as this was adequate to style of light I required. My back drop was placed against my patio doors which let daylight through the back drop. It is only made out of muslim cloth so I had to use some black out curtain behind and tape them to the walls to hide the access light. The images are quite dark my ISO was on 200 and shutter speed 1/60 sec using my 50mm prime lens, the images could of been better exposed by upping my ISO, lowering my shutter speed would have caused the images to show movement and blur so that wouldnt of worked. I could of tried turning the intensity of my lamp up also. For my final images I want to edit them black and white and have them high contrast, so the highlighted parts stand out. On doing my next shoot I want to concentrate on some pacific poses the model did, I want to bring them out of the image.