Don McCullin Research log

Donald McCullin, was born 9 October 1935 and is an internationally known British photojournalist, who is commonly recognized for his war photography and images of urban strife. His career, which began in 1959, has showed an extreme focus in examining the underside of society, and his photographs have depicted the unemployed, downtrodden and the impoverished. McCullin uses formal elements in order to emphasise aspects of his images. These formal elements include contrast, tone, pattern and more.

This photo is interesting because it shows the gritty industrial areas in a few interesting ways. The black and white filter of the camera enhances the gritty and polluted themes within the image. The image is set up in in a way where the sky is used in contrast to the gritty industrial structures in the bottom of the frame to enhance the themes of pollution . This contrast is shown using the black and white filter to bring out the black colours of the smoke and the white colours of the sky. Pattern can also be seen within the fallen fence, depth can also be shown by analysing how the structure changes over different distances. This same example of distance can be seen using the lines of the road.

This image features a man mid-action. The use of the man holding a gun acts in contrast to the white background. This promotes the thought that the violence of the man is acting in contrast to the purity of the white wall. This use of contrast makes the man with the gun the focal point of the image. The light being shone across the ground reveals the rough texture. Pattern can be seen within the image. This is shown on the frame of the door, revealing a square pattern. The dark shadows of the open door create a striking contrast within the image. This is caused by the bold black colour from the door clashing with the light colours of the surrounding the image.

This image shows pattern within uniform and shows a united power amongst the police. Contrast is also emphasised here as the protester stands out and becomes the focal point of the image dues to his difference in both outfit and position within the frame. The black and white filter highlights the contrast between the dark colour of the police uniform and the white background. The contrasts within the image cause the protester to become the focal point of the image. The fact that the sign is turned to a large group of policemen makes this a more visually powerful image as a result. The fact that the audience cannot see what the protester's sign says makes the image more intriguing to the audience.

This image is interesting because of its composition. In this photo we can see the facial expression combined with the body language of the soldier to show us that he is shocked and scared. Tone and form have been used within this image in order to highlight the shadows within the image. This causes the soldier to appear more detailed as a result, revealing emotions, clothing and dirt. This all culminates to tell the audience the story of what the soldier is thinking. The image has been composed in a way that includes the gun in the lower frame. This makes the image more powerful as it makes the soldier appear more fragile as grips his gun in a defensive state.

Evaluation:

Don McCullin's approach to his images offers layers of meaning to be seen by the audience. He is able to use multiple themes to tell a story in his pictures. His use of black and white filters help to accurately reflect the tonal weight of the image. Some of the formal elements used within his images allow for a more unique visual style, through pattern, tone and contrast.

Influence:

 I would like to reflect McCulin's use of hidden meanings through different elements in my own work in order to produce interesting results. I would do this by thinking about different formal elements in order to show different results.

I havde used some formal elements such as movement in this image in order to recreate some of McCullin's methods. As a result I am able to incorporate different themes into the image. I think that McCullin has had a positive impact on my work as I am now able to consider the use of formal elements within my work before hand and can add layers of meaning to the image and cause it to be eye catching to the audience.

David Bailey, Research Log

David Bailey is one of Britain's best known fashion and portrait photographers. Bailey made his ascent in vogue, shooting 800 pages of vogue editorial in one year. We can see in his work that he has kept with the black and white colours on his pictures in order to capture the detail of the shadows in the faces. Different lighting is used to capture the emotive expressions in the people that he is photographing that are used used to crate more wrinkles in their face and add more depth to the black and white filter that he uses.

This photo focuses on dark tones mainly. The black and white filter adds to the shadows being produced around the photo that blend in with the dark choice of clothing, creating a dark effect throughout the entire frame that causes us to purely focus on the face since it is the lightest part of the picture.

This photo uses low key lighting. This is used to capture the soft features of the woman's face while using tone to create a shading that causes the edges of the face to become more softer and the colours to fade into each other.

High key lighting has been used in this photo. This is used to give the subject defined features around the cheek bones and jaw lines to make the image pop out to the audience. This all links back to making the face the part of the photo that the audience looks to straight away as a result.

Shadows are used in an interesting way in this photo. The wrinkles of the face are made more prominent by the use of lighting and tone that cause shadows to appear darker. The wrinkles give the subject a more emotive and natural look that will cause interest amongst the audience.

Summary:

David Bailey is able to make his portraits more interesting for the audience by considering character in his work. He reflects this by using poses which he then uses to make the image more eye catching. Bailey uses black and white filters in an intelligent way, in order to expose more detail within each portrait by enhancing the shadows.

Influence:

 I would like to use these methods when I photograph portraits. The different techniques that are used to draw audience attention and cause interest will be very useful when i am looking for ways to cause my work to show a good amount of variation. I would replicate this style by adjusting both filters and lighting in order to gain interesting results.

I have used a black and white filter while taking a portrait picture in order to recreate Bailey's style. As a result I am able to draw more detail within the photo by enhancing the shadows on the face. I have also adjusted the lighting and background in order to improve the emphasis on his face and to pull the audiences attention to his face. I think that this has had a positive influence on my work because I am abel to consider emotion when taking a portrait picture and I can now find ways of using lighting and black and white filters to enhance these emotions to the audience.

Bruce Davidson, Research log

I have chosen to focus on Bruce Davidson's work as it focuses on an interesting time in history and he also shows us a good way to photograph people in a natural way. Davidson is an American photographer whose documentary work of gang life in Brooklyn, poor districts of Harlem, New York, and his photographs of the New York subway system in the 1970s helped him break new ground. He has been a member of the Magnum Photos agency since 1958. His mother built him a dark room and he began taking photos. Soon after, he approached a local photographer who taught him about the technical sides of photography, in addition to lighting and printing skills. His influences included Robert Frank, Eugene Smith, and Henri Cartier-Bresson.

This picture is interesting as it shows gang cultures on the New york subway. This picture also uses a bright and interesting background covered in graffiti that gives you a vivid and gritty idea of how the New York subway system really was. Pattern can be seen within this image. The two men are standing either side of the train doors and are wearing the exact same clothing, showing that they are in a gang. Within this pattern, we can see other examples of formal elements that are shown as a result. There is a contrast in race which Davidson has highlighted through pattern, making the image appear almost like a parallel of each other.

This is a celebrity portrait picture. I chose this picture because I find it interesting how the subject has been positioned mid movement. This positioning causes the subject to appear more natural and fluid than they would if they were simply posing uncomfortably for a picture. The black and white filter used enhances the tone of the image. Here we can see minor details that have been enhanced using the shadows of the image. We can now see details within the face through wrinkles and details in clothing and body. Examples of pattern can be seen on the chain fence, and can also be seen changing over different distances.

I like this picture because of the context. Davidson has chosen to photograph an interesting time and shows us some features of the time period. The image gives us an idea of the fashion within gang culture and the attitudes of the people within these gang cultures; they are seen smoking cigarettes as a sign of rebellion. The pattern on the decking changes over a larger distance. This image features a few examples of contrast. The image contrasts in colours, the dark colours of the buildings clash with the bright white colour of the sky. The two people in the foreground of the image create more contrasts within the image. The man on the left is dressed in light tones while the other is dressed in black colours.

I like this picture because it tells you a story. We are immediately aware of the context in which the image is set and the social views. We can see that this is an entirely different America than we are accustomed to and Davidson highlights this to create an interesting subject point. Pattern can be seen as the backdrop of the image is the American flag. The stars and stripes all form together creating both contrasts and patterns. The subject matter is made instantly clear to audiences by using contrast. The paint on the person within the foregrounds head is white with the words "Vote" written in dark letters.

Summary:

Bruce Davidson uses strong references to the context of his images and uses poses to make his subjects appear more natural. His images usually feature outfits and props that are specific to the context that the image was taken. Davidson's use of movement allows for the image to feel natural and accurately portray the tone of the image. For example, the voting rights image uses a proud stance with a good posture, while the Brad Pitt image features a more chaotic tone due to his intense movement.

Influence:

 I would like to replicate some of the techniques that Davidson uses with his subjects. I would like to experiment with different ways of composing the photos and think about how I can place the subjects. I would take pictures of the subject as they are doing a pose or a movement in order to make the image seem more fluid.

I have taken an image that features the subject of the image doing a pose. This is used in order to create a style of image that replicates some of Davidson's methods and cause the image to appear more natural as a result. I used a black and white filter in order to replicate some of Davidson's images. This allows the subjects face to become more detailed as the shadows on his face are enhanced. I think this has had a positive impact on my work because whenever I need to photograph a person I can use Davidson's use of movement to make the image seem more natural.

Norman Parkinson

I have chosen Norman Parkinson for the way that he photographs people. The way that he uses movement in his photos really make the person seem more fluid and natural instead of boring and uncomfortable. Parkinson was born in London, and went to Westminster School. He began his career in 1931 as an apprentice to the court photographers, Speaight and Sons Ltd. In 1934 he opened his own studio together with Norman Kibblewhite in  London. Parkinson was a celebrated portrait and fashion photographer.

I chose this photo because it shows a way in which Parkinson has used repetition with people. Three women can be seen wearing the same outfit down the same street with one sign appearing after another, creating an unusual pattern. The people can be seen wearing black and white clothing, causing them to stand out against the background. The use of repetition allow for the effect of distance within the image to be more noticeable. The use of the same type of person across different distances allow for audiences to pay attention to the effect that distance has on each person. 

I chose this photo because here we can see an example of the way that Parkinson would use movement in a way to make his subjects seem more relaxed when taking pictures. Here we can see that the woman on the bike is generating a natural smile as a result which seems a lot more original and works better with the picture than a forced one. We can see the woman in the photo stands out from the rest. This is achieved through the use of contrasts of the black shirt and hair of the woman compared to the lighter tones of the other children. She also stands out because she is on a bike while the other children are all roughly dressed the same, creating a pattern among them.

I chose this photo because we can see a common them of colour in this image. The main colour that is present in this photo is the colour white. This will react well with the black and white filter that Parkinson uses, adding more to the depth, tone and form of the photo by making the shapes stand out more in a bold white colour. There is a contrast of gender within the image. This is achieved by the woman wearing all white while the male is wearing all grey. The male could be wearing a darker colour because it is more masculine than the colour of white which offers connotations to purity. The trees appear dark in colour against the bright sky, causing a contrast. This causes the trees to appear like silhouettes against the background.

I chose this photo because of the way that parkinson uses tone in this image. The picture is kept very simple showing only a handful of characters. We can see that the black and white colours are used multiple times in this photo in the clothing, shadow and overall tone of the building. The way that the camera is positioned a;so gives a sense of depth when we see the way that the size of the people and shadows change over a distance. The woman in the foreground is dressed in white while the other people are dressed in darker clothes. Other contrasts can be seen within the image such as in the pavement. The floor in which the woman is walking on features patterns from the brickwork, while the pavement of the people wearing darker colours is bland. 

Summary:

Parkinson is able to make an image seem more natural and is able to incorporate some of the formal elements into his work through interesting ways. Parkinson is able to make an image seem more natural  through the use of movement. Parkinson makes his images more visually striking by incorporating formal elements such as pattern and contrast. This causes his work to be very distinctive from other images.

Influence:

I would like to incorporate some of Parkinson's methods into my own work.  When i  have the chance to photograph people  will be sure to take a photo while the person is moving or doing something, in order to make sure that the image doesn't seem forced and to make all aspects of the photo seem smooth and natural. I will also try to consider ways in which I can reflect variation between people in the objects and use it to produce interesting results.

I have attempted to replicate the ways in which Parkinson incorporates the formal elements into his photos. As a result I have looked at repetition as an example. I have also tried to reflect variation by using dark colours on white background, offering some contrast to the image. I have been able to replicate Parkinson's use of formal elements through the use of photoshop. This has had a positive impact on my work as I was able to find new and alternative ways of showing the formal elements within my work. The use of photoshop has allowed me to find an exciting way of presenting my images while still staying faithful to Parkinson's use of formal elements.

Ansel Adams

I chose Ansel Adams because his work with incredible landscape shots really stuck out in my mind as unique. The way that he adjusted the contrast in his photos gave his pictures an amazing amount of detail, making the landscape shots even more spectacular. Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist.Adams, with Fred Archer developed the Zone System as a way to determine proper exposure and adjust the contrast of the final print. The resulted in adding more depth and characterized his photographs. Adams tended to use large-format cameras because their high resolution that helped ensure sharpness that have been associated with his images.

I chose this picture because of the different elements that come into play. We can clearly see that form  and depth come into play in this photo because of the way that the shadow of the mountain gives it a 3D look and makes it pop out of the photo. The trees at the bottom of the image give a scale of the distance and sizes of everything in the photo which give the picture an extreme sense of depth. Tone is an immensely important factor within this image as we are able to see the enhanced shadows within the image. This pairs with the light in a way that shows all the detail within the image and the texture of the mountain.

I chose this photo that Ansel Adams took because i feel that it really highlights depth. We can see this from the way that Adams uses a road to highlight this effect over a long distance. I like this photo because of the way that as the road gets further away, the quality of the camera starts to decrease and adds to the overall sensation of depth. Lines are a major feature within this image. The road features different colour tones that form lines that follow the road into the distance. The lines within the image can be used to study the distance within the photo as we can see how they change over different distances. Contrasts can be seen within the light colours of the road and the dark colours of the surrounding background.

I like this picture for the way that it manages to demonstrate colour in a black and white picture. in this picture we can see clearly that it is a bright and sunny day from the way that the tone of the cliffs change colour gradually at different angles. this also give some amazing detail to the photo as it reveals the individual details of the lines in the cliff face, creating an overall more detailed picture. The image features interesting examples of contrast. The black and white filter allows for the white colour of the cliff face and the clouds to stand out against the dark background. The light being shone across the cliff face allow for the rough texture to be more visible within the image.

finally,  i chose this picture for the way that movement is shown in this photo. The detail of this image is so great that everything seems to have come to a complete standstill with no notable blur occurring. This is assisted by the black and white filter that allows us to see the droplets of water spray into different directions in a smooth motion in a natural setting. Contrasts can be seen within the image. The dull colours of the cliff face clash with the colours of the brighter colours of the sky and the flowing water. The dark trees in the foreground of the image stand out against the white colour of the water, creating a silhouette effect. The light within the image creates tone within the image, causing the detail within the cliff face to be more visible.

Summary:

To summarise, Ansel Adams is able to capture a vast array of different landscape images. His technique allows the images to be immensely detailed due to his use of equipment. His black and white filters highlight the tone and detail within the image by enhancing the shadows.

Influence:

I would like to replicate Adams' style in my work by taking some interesting landscape shots. In order to show some of the formal elements that Adams has represented in his pictures, i would also like to use a black and white filter to help bring out some of the elements such as tone and form. I could attempt to replicate his landscape shots by focusing on large and interesting areas that I could use to property fill the frame with detail.

This is my example of some of the methods that I have taken from Adams. I haves attempted to use his style of landscape shots on a smaller scale. I also used a black and white filter in order to further replicate Adams' style. I feel that this has had a positive impact on my work as I have been allowed to experiment with filters and formal elements such as depth in order to improve the quality of my images.