Shoot 2 Work Diary

For today's shoot I wanted to focus largely on contrast within the topic of hyperreality. I wanted to take an image and adjust some key components within it in order to create a enhanced reality. In the past I had noticed that the final product may seem completely different to the image that I began with. The difference between an enhanced image and an unedited image can often go unnoticed. This idea of fooling someone into believing what I have set up to be an accurate representation of the world is one of the main components of the hyperreality topic. I am taking a lot of inspiration from the work of Staudinger Franke and other surrealist photographers. Within their work I have noticed that when depicting a fictional reality, they use very vibrant colours which appear vastly more colourful than anything within everyday life. The use of colour in this way creates a heightened, more exciting version of reality and it is one that I intend to replicate within my shoot today within the subject of hyperreality.


Example of Staudinger Franke's use of unique colours:

This image just simply shows how bland real life looks compared to the one that is represented through edits. Grey skies turn to blue, and brown trees turn into a pallet of different colours. Since this image is merely enhancing the components of our reality, it would be easier to dismiss the dull reality and assume that the colourful one is our own. It is only as we compare the two that we begin to notice that the reality in our minds are vastly different to the ones in real life. A challenge while shooting the base image for the effect was the weather. I had chosen a day which has cloudy skies in order to make the environment look even more gloomy. As a result the sky would appear over exposed. In order to compensate for this without adding too much contrast to my image, I kept a shutter speed of 149 and an ISO of 400. This created the balanced image that I wanted to achieve because if the image had more contrast then the image wouldn't look as tonally dull.

To begin, I chose a dull image where the colour appears to be largely muted. I believed that this could help show the largest contrast between the final effect.

I decided that I wanted to create a more striking contrast by including the image with and without the effect. I achieved this by using the marquee tool to split the image diagonally, knowing that the saturation would only affect the elected area.

I began adjusting the saturation within the frame. It was important that the media reality was represented dramatically so I purposefully oversaturated the image in order to make the effect seem exaggerated. This helps to enhance the final contrast while making the media world appear completely put of the ordinary, and exciting.

This image highlights the contrasts between the two images. Through simple changes, I have changed an environment that may initially appear gritty, dull and litter filled environment into a healthy landscape. I managed to fool the audience into believing that this was a healthy field by removing litter and patches of mud along with enhanced colours. In order to create further contrast, I adjusted my settings in camera in order to dull the image. I had a shutter speed of 60 along with an ISO of 200. This would allow the tone of the colours within the frame to appear darker, allowing me to create a greater contrast when I adjusted the saturation within Photoshop.

I took a similar approach with this image, except I wanted to highlight how the media might censor aspects of reality that may not fit with the final image. As a result, I represented this through the use of the beer can that is present within the left of the frame. I used the lasso tool, cropped out a section of grass and pasted it down multiple times. I blended the effect by using the eraser tool, with the hardness of the brush set to 80%. A softer eraser would help me to blend each image more seamlessly. I wanted to use the same piece of grass over and over for the cover up in order to create a pattern within the image. I hoped that it would make the image appear purposefully manipulated and false, through obvious repetition.

Progression:

This shoot has taught me some techniques in order to make an image appear different to how it originally appeared by changing a few aspects. If I were to do this shoot again, I would like to experiment with urban landscapes in order to explore a different side to this type of hyperreality. For future shoots I would like to keep this idea of creating a believable hyperreality through portraiture instead. This is a very common form of hyperreality that people see every day in magazines but instead believe it to be their reality instead.

Shoot 2 Contact Sheet

Shoot 1 Work Diary

For my first shoot for hyperreality I wanted to experiment with every day objects and scenery but I wanted to show them in extraordinary ways. In order to achieve this I looked to show everything from a vast perspective, making these environments appear larger than life. By the end of the shoot I  wanted to reduce the scale of the subject within Photoshop in order to almost evoke a sense of discovery/fantasy. Hopefully I would be able to enhance everyday life through photo manipulation in the same way that the media would make everyday life more visually exciting. I wanted to experiment with tone in the image too in order to make the effect more believable, while also adding some tone and contrast within the image causing more detail to be present..

This image shows how scale can change the way that we perceive the world around us. A simple image of a window with a relatively uninteresting view is suddenly transformed into something completely different. Simple plants in the distance become the size of trees by simply changing one aspect of the image. The result allows the audience to look at this image with a new perspective which they would never notice within their everyday lives.

This image shows us how even inconveniences such as litter can be transformed. I have considered the composition within the image in order to further give a sense of scale and fantasy by choosing to frame everything from a low angle. This low angle would cause a small object such as a can or a leaf to appear larger in scale, making the audience view the world from a slightly more dramatic perspective.

Progression:

This shoot has given me a few things to consider before going into my next shoot. When editing in photoshop I have learned to consider things such as lighting and how it will affect every aspect in the image. For this shoot I worked around this by using black and white and adjusting the saturation of the subject to blend into the rest of the image better. If I were to attempt this shoot again, I would look at different lighting techniques in order to reflect some of the natural light within the base images.

Checklist

Photography checklist w.c. 30/11/2015

1 2 3 comments
Illustrated Project Proposal -
Mind-map
Statement of the nature of the personal investigation,
Timetable of shoots (planning)

Research log
(list the number of photographers researched)
Detailed research of  five photographers include how their work links(to yours) and a summary section of what you have learnt from researching them. 1/2

Techniques (to include a definition post)
• Sequencing
• Blurring
• Animation
• Multiple exposure
• Minimum depth of field
• Close up
• Wide angle
• Location portraiture
• High Key
• Studio lighting beauty tutorial
• Studio lighting table top tutorial
• Animated gif
Shoot one straight images, contacts, work diary, progression, etc.
Shoot two straight images, contacts, work diary, progression, etc.
Shoot three straight images, contacts, work diary, progression, etc.
Shoot four straight images, contacts, work diary, progression, etc.

Staudinger Franke

Staudinger Franke is famous for his focus on visually striking presentation. He has won awards for his complex pieces and is regarded as a leading figure in his methods. He takes everyday photography and flips it on its head by changing details within it. I am a fan of his somewhat dark visual comedy at times, for example taking a soft teddy bear and turning it into a cactus or replacing a children's slide with a food grater. This idea of changing certainties within our day to day lives for a comedic or eye opening undertones could be something worth exploring for my hyperreality subject.

This image is interesting as it takes a common sight for most people and changes it to make it something extraordinary. The wing of a plane is a common sight for a lot of people, and for businessmen such as the type seen in the image it can be a sight associated with boredom. Franke has taken this common setting and person and showed them in a new way by having him on the wing of the plane, making it exciting.

This image at first glance can seem quite strange and ordinary upon first glance. Looking into more detail, we can see that this image is actually an exciting rendition of what would otherwise be a boring image. Franke achieves this by changing something as simple as butter into something as extraordinary as a mountain range. As a result, this image plays with the audiences perspectives in a way that is not commonly seen within this common setting.

This image is interesting because of the way that Franke offers a new and interesting way to tell a visual story. We can see what appears to be a shipwreck, with debris floating in the water, chipped surfaces and algae growing on the boat. Franke is able to give us an insight into what life on the boat was like before the wreck. We can see two men having an arm wrestle, who are sat as if the boat was still sailing. This simple method of story telling through contrasting images is an effective way of getting messages across to the audience.

Staudinger Franke is able to give us an insight into what other people are thinking through simple visual methods. The interesting thing about this image compared the Franke's other images that I have shown so far is that it looks as if little amounts of photoshop have been used. We can see the formal element reflection being used in a way that gives the illusion of akan playing guitar. We can assume that the person within the image dreams of becoming a musician or owning that guitar in the window. We can see that he is imagining himself playing it in the reflection.

Summary:

Staudinger Franke offers an interesting variation on surrealism through different purposes of his methods. Where some surreal artists will look just to show a distorted reality, Franke puts story within some of his images. We can deduce what a person wants, what they think or we can even tell what life may be like in different circumstances. All of these images are set within relatively standard settings that may appear boring to some but are immediately made extraordinary due to Franke's special blend of surrealism. I could utilise this idea and develop it in order to take an everyday situation and heighten it in similar ways to Staudinger Franke, similarly to how the media create heightened versions of reality within film and magazines.

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Shoot 2- Landscape

Shoot 1- Miniatures

Thomas Barbey

Thomas Barbey grew up in Geneva, Switzerland and has been a photographer for over twenty years. He has recently adopted a style of photomontage and has had a big role in surrealism. This genre has allowed his work to become very distinctive from other forms of photography. He specialises in taking our ideas of reality and showing them in a different light. He combines images in a way that make his effects more believable, allowing more people to be engrossed in the hyperreality that has been set up.

I like this image because it has a child-like innocence about it. We can see a simple technique has been used in order to compress the focal length to make the image appear as if he is playing with the cars. The child aspect of the image comes from the way that he looks like a child playing with toy cars. This could be a great way of showing what the child is imagining as he moves the fake cars around. This is a great example of hyperreality as we can see it from a child's perspective and imagination.

This image is interesting because it plays with perspective. Barbey takes our ideas about gravity and everyday life and changes them as a way to create his own hyperreality. Barbey achieves the effect so convincingly that he manages to make the initial viewing of the image even more puzzling for the audience.

This image plays with hyperreality on different scales. There is a contrast between something as big as a mountain range to something as small as a table cloth. The seamless blend of the two scales cause the hyperreality to become more convincing and amazing as a result. The image is interesting because it takes something as common as a table cloth and makes it extraordinary by bringing a unique perspective to the image.

Within this image, Barbey changes one aspect which causes the entire image to appear distorted. Again, the effect is made to look so seamless that at first glance some might miss the fact that the entire background is Flipped on its side. What could be just a picture of a person looking through a telescope is immediately made other worldly as he changes just one aspect within the image.

Summary:

Thomas Barbey has a very effective style of surrealism that looks plausible compared to some other photographers who aim to change all aspects of their images in order to create a surrealist effect. Barbey achieves this by keeping the changes in his images relatively simple, often relying on one or two aspects of his images. He likes to play with perspective within images in a way that often appears seamlessly within the image. His sparing use of convincing techniques causes his images to have a visual style like no other. I am a massive fan of the way in which he uses ordinary sights and uses them as a platform for otherworldly effects. I could utilise this process as a means of creating extraordinary yet believable sights out of everyday life. This will be the base for my hyperreality.

Phillippe Halsmann

Phillippe Halsmann was an American portrait photographer who was born in Riga as a part of the Russian Empire. Halsmann had a unique visual style within his photographs which gave an impression that something was slightly off. This granted his work instant recognition amongst audiences. When Halsmann began to collaborate with surrealist artist, Salvador Dali, his work continued to branch out into the more visually dynamic. Halsmann is able to use strong imagery in order to create a hyperreality without any assistance from computer technology, which is something that I would like to consider in my own work.

This image utilises a typical setting of a man at his desk. Halsmann manages to change the foundations of what would typically be an average image by decorating the environment with people. This slight change within one of the simplest of images causes massive effects to how the audience perceive the image. This is an example of how a simple alteration can have massive effects on the image or setting.

This image is instantly concerning. The audience will notice a suspicious man who is appearing next to a skull. The audience, upon further investigation will begin to notice that the skull is made up of people. This creates an almost unnerving image as a result. The effect is heightened as two different images are merged together in a way that causes them to appear from one perspective. This causes further disorientation to the audience as they attempt to make sense of the image. This image simply shows how to take simple tricks and present them in skewed ways in order to create an unnerving effect/reality.

What would have been a simple portrait image has been transformed due to the use of practical effects. We can see that a bird has landed on Alfred Hitchcock's cigar in a way that causes the audience to immediately associate this image with something out of a film. This simple factor of the image immediately causes the image to become otherworldly. Surrealism has caused a simple portrait to become something more, which will cause the audience to view it totally different as a result.

This image show perhaps Halsmann's most interesting and recognisable works within surrealism. He uses complete practicality in order to create a zero gravity effect. The most noteworthy aspect of the floating objects is the fact that only every day items are included. This is just another example of how Halsmann has taken an everyday setting and turned it on it's head, creating his own hyperreality.

Summary:

Phillipe Halsmann's work is a massive inspiration for my project. I have studied how he has managed to manipulate an image or an everyday setting and create something extraordinary. The thing that I appreciate most about his work is the way that he had to experiement with surrealism before the invention of photoshop, meaning that he had to utilise other more practical methods. As a result, he creates an instantly more believable world that causes audiences to be amazed at the hyperreality in which he has created.

Don McCullin

Donald McCullin, was born 9 October 1935 and is an internationally known British photojournalist, who is commonly recognised 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 utilises bold imagery in order to communicate a single point. This type of story telling is on that I would like to seriously consider when doing my own work.

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 . There are formal elements included within this image, including contrast, pattern and depth. Contrasts can be seen against the white sky with the black pollution.  The figure in the road shows more examples of contrast as they appear as a silhouette against the lighter background. Pattern can be seen within the panelling of the fence as it begins to fall down. Depth can be shown as objects such as the fence and the lines on the road change as the distance increases.

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. Other formal elements such as pattern, contrast and movement can be seen within the image. The bold black colour of the open door creates a clear contrast against the white background. Examples of pattern can be seen on the door frame in the form of large squares. The movement within the image can be seen as the man appears to have a foot off the ground mid-sprint.

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. Contrast is a main feature of the image and serves a powerful purpose. The clothing of the policemen stand out against the white sky. The contrast of the dark outfits of the policemen and the light colour of the protester create a visually powerful image. The lighter colours used indicate that the protester is purer than the policemen. These contrasts cause the protester to be the focal point of the image and the fact that the audience cannot see what sign the protester is holding, creates a more interesting image.

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 frightened. The result culminates in a way that shows shell-shock. The composition is a key factor in making the image reveal the soldier's emotions. The bottom of the frame is used to show that the soldier is clutching a gun, causing him to appear more defensive and afraid. The form and tone of the image enhance the shadows on the face and clothing revealing more detail in the emotion and state of mind of the soldier.

Summary:

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. Tone is reflected throughout his images by the emotion shown by the subjects along with the black and white filter and dark colour pallet. McCullin's use of formal elements in order to create strong images serve to tell the audience a small story. I would like to use similar themes in order to create striking images that can tell stories and reflect heavy subjects within hyperreality.