Task 2: Series of Manipulated Images

Selected Images in Order

All Unedited Images

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the end of the First World War, people's perception of the concept of normal had completely changed due to four years of relentless horror and bloodshed. In an attempt to challenge outdated ideas of what was considered normal, Andre Breton published the first portion of the Surrealist Manifesto in 1924, thus founding the Surrealist movement to "embrace the absurd, the unconventional, and the shocking." (Victoria & Albert Museum, 2007). I bring this up because it feels like in the modern era that we're living in tensions rise and our view of what is "normal" and "right" changes on a near-daily basis. Now more than ever we must look at the teachings of surrealists and challenge ourselves to look at things from a new perspective to gain a better understanding of our current world.

Works Cited

Victoria & Albert Museum, 2007. Surrealist photography. [Online]
Available at: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/surrealist-photography
[Accessed 12 March 2024].

 

With the focus of my series being surrealism, I wanted to show aspects of daily life that groups of people struggle with. I wanted to show a representation of a person's mental and emotional state during major bouts of burn-out, fatigue and overworking. The specific scenario that came to mind was the sudden realisation one feels after finishing work in the late hours of the night/early hours of the morning only to remember that they have to work the next day as well. It's almost like a continuous cycle of working to meet deadlines only to get a new set of tasks to do the next day. Days merge together into one giant pool and then the cycle repeats.



In this section you have to mention and then give reasons for your creative decisions and tools:

Camera: 
I used the Canon EOS 200DII. My main camera is the Canon EOS 550D, however, I was encouraged to use the 200D by a senior of mine simply for its ease of use, as the 200D has an adjustable touch screen, which allowed me to completely focus on how I wanted to frame my shots.

Lens:
Similar to task 1, I decided to stay very basic when it came to my camera equipment so that I could focus on showcasing my creativity. For this reason, I decided to stick with the 18-55 mm kit lens that comes with the 200D. The selected image was shot at a focal length of 30 mm.

Lighting:
I had mounted the handheld LED light to the camera and was using it as a key light with lamps and other indoor lights providing backlight. I wanted to be minimal with my lighting with this task to make it look like all the light was coming from some kind of table lamp or computer screen, making him essentially consumed with work. 

Black and White or Colour:
Colour was used for this task since I was discussing a modern issue. Also, I felt the depth of these images and their potential while editing was greater in colour. It allowed for differentiation in later images and the way the intensity of the lights was changing it added a further sense of chaos in the images.

Angle:
I have taken straight-on close-up shots. This is to emulate a POV shot from the perspective of the computer that he's working on. 

Aperture:
I had set my aperture to F4.5, as that was the most suitable considering our shooting environment.

ISO:
ISO was set to 400.

Editing Software:
As I did not have access to Photoshop I used an online alternative by the name of Pixlr to merge together and layer the various images to create the results seen in images 2-4.

Tools Used During Manipulation:
I used the following tools: Lasso Select, Marquee Select, Cutout/Mask and Clone tool.

Popular posts from this blog

Task 1 Experimental Film

Image
Final Film: Pre-Production Synopsis: In the distant future, humans are gone. In their place, advanced androids, nearly inseparable from humans, live on and continue to maintain the Earth under the command and supervision of The System. That is until one android starts to exhibit strange behaviour. Story: Ergo is about a nameless android who follows the commands it's been issued by The System, it receives commands at the start of the day, to act like a human. It does this for a while, however, we learn that this is not the life the android wants for itself, it is capable of more but gets tied down by the System and its commands. However, through its own efforts, it works to go against the System and prove its free will. To take a closer look at its themes, with this film, I'm looking at depression and dissociation. There are a number of people who are living their lives the same exact way every day without change, not actually being present in what's happening in their live
Read more

Task 1: Single Photograph

Image
Selected Image: All Unused Images For reasons, I'm not quite sure myself, I've always been interested in prison mugshots. Perhaps, it has to do with the history of the camera and how different groups of people viewed photography. Lecturer Liam French has stated, that the camera was "a tool for documenting reality" (Davidson, 2017). Law enforcement at the time took this opportunity to take photos of convicted criminals of all kinds and use them as a form of warning to the common people. A warning that these are what criminals look like and these types of people should be avoided. Naturally, this would lead to various forms of segregation, false claims and other such negative consequences that come from class divides (French, 2015). With all that being said, the main focus of my research was to look at the history of the camera and photography and explore the practical side of photography that most people wouldn't really think of, just to show that there are more si
Read more