Busy busy busy!

Sorry I haven't been posting recently. For the last month, I've been in an internship (which might become a full-time job) at Neotrims/Janeo Jewels in Oadby, Leicestershire. There, I assist with the order management as well as photographing the stock, amongst other responsibilities. As it is nearing Christmas, it is very busy there, and so I have not had time to work on new projects or post here.

Sorry!

Lúnasa performance at Leicester Grammar School: 27/09/13

Yesterday I photographed Lúnasa's (Irish instrumental acoustic band) performance at Leicester Grammar School. Unlike the Dervish performance last year, I had a working external flash (previously the flash batteries leaked when I was setting up). Consequently, the majority of photographs were sharp and in focus (though a bit noisy), even when handheld!

Unlike with Dervish, where I shot from the side, I got to good angles, one at the top, centre aisle, the other sitting in the front row, centre aisle (as there was an intermission, I shot half at one angle, half at the other).

First angle towering over the audience

The lighting was an interesting combination of purple from the left, gold from the right, beautifully demonstrated in this photo.

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Action shot as, being folk artists, could get quite animated

Example of the sharp photographs despite dark, concert conditions.

While not seamless, this arrangement of two photographs allows you to see Lúnasa and all the Leicester Grammar School students in one.

The Irish (Bag) Pipes (relative to the better know Scottish Bag Pipes) were popular, not least for being more unusual.

Encore where Ed Boyd (guitarist) jumped off a chair in true rock fashion (despite being folk artists)

Finished! - Birmingham Aston University Memories montage

It is finally finished to my satisfaction.  The most difficult part was filling in the gaps between buildings, ensuring that they connect in a pleasing way that is not too jarring.

Update on Birmingham Aston University Memories montage

The montage is coming together, remembering to ensure the Starbucks and Aston University signs are clearly readable. However, the montage is not finished yet, especially if I am intending to make it resemble a ficticious building, like with previous montages in this series.

New architectural montage

A new commission of mine involves photographing memorable locations for the client from a certain period in their. The first such example is this one in Birmingham from when the person was at Aston University. This includes places such as the Folly near the Edgbaston Reservoir (which was near their accommodation), and their favourite Starbucks. Like with the architectural theme, this could have good commercial potential, as it can serve as a memory of that time of their life.

Below is the (very) early stages of the montage.

London architectural montage: Brutalist - prototype

 When exhibiting in London recently I photographed a new architectural style; Brutalist. Brutalist architecture is a style of architecture that is typically very linear and 'blockish', and is majorly built with concrete.

The style initially was associated with government buildings, low-rent housing and shopping centres, resulting in functional structures at a low cost, and while the style has been criticized for it's 'ugliness' and the fact that concrete ages poorly (staining easily and attracting moss), it has it's followers.

Montage for Nottingham shoot

I've been busy recently networking and improving CV etc., so have not been able to post the new montage I made until now.

Anyway, this montage differs from previous images in 'The Castles of the Architects' series in a number of aspects. For example, the montage is not mirrored, instead resembling a cityscape more than a single (fictional) example of architecture. This is to reflect the choice of subjects, which was that of tourist locations, rather than a specific architectural period of theme. To further emphasise this, more pavement is visible, and trains and trams are represented, giving a greater sense of a sprawling metropolis.

Nottingham montage shoot - early montage

Here is a in progress montage from the Nottingham shoot yesterday. It differs from the 'Castles of the Architects' montages because they focused on a selected architectural style, whereas this montage is more directed to general tourist attractions; a tourist map was used to help with this.

As with the previous montages, arranging and cutting the buildings out is slow progress, but the work is steady and quickly improving.

'Must-haves' in the montage are Nottingham Castle and the Robin Hood statue. The castle, however, was difficult to photograph, as the front was shrouded in trees, and the back was against a sheer drop, with no clear angle to photograph it from, though I managed a distance shot in the end.

The reason for the inclusion of the 'City of Caves' exhibit entrance is that Nottingham is known for having many caves, and this exhibit was the nearest to a cave entrance that I could find that was accessible.

Final tools photographs and printed images

Here are the final 10 compositions. This will still remain an ongoing project as I have ideas for other subjects, such as Mortician (which I have not yet been able to find a willing donor of tools). Overall, I am very happy with how the compositions came out, though it can get a little repetitive with the same background colour in each.

Final 'Castles' of the Architects' montages

Montages had to be resized to A1 proportions as they were all different dimensions. Overall, the changes were not major and the montages still work.

I recently discovered Foamex, rigid and durable PVC in board form, which I decided to print these montages on (A1). The final images are amazing, and the Foamex is cheaper than framing (while still looking professional), though obviously it depends on what you are displaying as to whether it works with Foamex.

Montages for 'The Castles of the Architects' project

The chosen three locations are Leamington Spa (Georgian), Lincoln (Tudor), and Oxford (Middle Ages). Now, instead of the date included (which would only cause disagreements concerning accuracy), they simply feature a name that describes the architectural style and the location. They have all been re-sized to A1 (for now double that size to ensure quality is retained), which does mean that the white border is uneven around them.

Overall, the three montages form a cohesive series that, while they resemble each other enough to be seen as a series, feature enough of their own individual appeal that they could be displayed alone.

The Castle of the Georgians

The Castle of the Tudors

The Castle of the Middle Ages

Second montage and new working title

After performing a day shoot in Lincoln the other day, I have gathered enough material to create the second montage in the series now titled 'The Castles of the Architects'.

Drawing on the Medieval elements of Lincoln, the buildings focused on were the white with criss-crossing dark beams, and the remnants of castle walls, turrets and gates.

Currently, I have created a prototype for this montage (though the buildings have been cut around roughly).

Georgian arcitecture - montage concept [inspired by 'Archisculptures'

This project presents a chosen architectural style, in this case Georgian, as a collage/photo mural or ‘graphical assemblage’.

Within this project, a collection of architectural features and buildings of a chosen period are reborn as a larger, new structure or collage, emphasising the historical elements.

 

This project began as a colour montage, which was not symmetrical. However, it was decided that since

regularity and symmetry are the central ideals to Georgian architecture, that this should be reflected in the montage. Mirroring half of the montage was a quick technique in creating symmetry, but it also resulted in some of the montages appearing like 'manor houses', and so these separate buildings are 'born again' as part of a larger structure.

Presenting the collage in monochrome focuses the viewer’s attention on the architectural and geometrical aspects of the composition, adding cohesion to the collage. 

This concept was inspired by Beomsik Won's 'Archisculptures' (shown previously in this blog) and Paul Citroen's 'Metropolis'.

Note: The montages are still incomplete, for example, the buildings have been roughly cut out for the purposes of experimenting with the concept.

An example of Beomsik Won's 'Archisculptures'

The original montage

The first of the mirrored montages (made from half of the original)

The second of the mirrored montages (made from the other half of the original)

New montage made with the intention of mirroring it.

Georgian architecture - geometric presentation

Recently, I did a shoot in Leamington Spa, and to remove perspective distortion as much as possible, I brought a step ladder to further level myself with the centre of the photographs. Some Photoshopping was required to finish off the perspective correction (a 5x4 camera wasn't available at the time of the shoot).

The reason for this is so that the buildings are seen front on with no distortions, meaning that the viewer will focus their attention instead onto the repetition, symmetry, and carefully geometric presentation of Georgian Architecture.

Georgian Architecture - 'The Perfect House'

This is a montage I made (in Photoshop) using elements of multiple examples of Georgian architecture (shot in Leamington Spa). The idea is to create 'The Perfect Georgian House', and make it as realistic and seamless as possible. At the moment, if you look closely, the seams do show. Note: The shadow of the pilaster was created by outlining a shadow (using the pen tool) from a similarly shaped entrance and colouring in the selection.

Georgian architecture - refinement of 'blacked out' presentation concept

After a recent shoot in Leamington Spa, I thought that perhaps the problem with the presentation concept in it's current form is because the roughly cut out edges of the architecture contrast too sharply with the black background.

So, an variant experimented with the Leamington Spa photographs was to darken the background, not remove it and replace it with a solid backdrop. One of the resulting effects is that the building remains in its real life location, while heavy focus still being placed on the central subject. This could also allow the viewer to observe the architecture of the surrounding buildings to see if they are of similar style. For example, if the subject was added later, or is the remains of a period in history, that has been demolished around it.

In the example below, the building is more isolated, which could mean that it is a 'sole survivor' of that architectural style, especially as the other buildings visible in the frame are of a differing shape and style.

The original photograph. In future, a less bright day may be more desirable, as shadows could break the isolation/separation from surroundings that may be followed up in the future presentational styles.

The first idea of blacked out windows and background continued on from Leicester shoot.

Slight alteration to previous style, where the background is darkened, but still visible. The harsh contrast between subject and background is lessened, but still prevalent.

The latest variant, where the foreground in front of the central subject has also been darkened, so that only the building and it's immediate surroundings (no further than the front wall) are of the normal lighting. This results in a more geometric shaped central subject.

Georgian architecture - presentation idea

To focus on the various aspects of Georgian Architecture, and inspired by Edgar Martins photograph from the last post, the window panes and background have been digitally blacked out in post-production in this photograph taken in Leicester.

Overall, this is an interesting style of presentation. However, in it's current form it is too 'rough', which makes it look amateurish. Therefore, some refinement will be required, should this concept be continued.

Lighting is also a problem as evidenced by the hot spot at the top-right of the building.

Georgian architecture - inspiration for presentation

The following are creative ways of presenting architectural photography. Beomsik Won's 'Archisculptures' feature photographs of buildings that have been piled up to create a single entity.

Edgar Martin's photograph removes the distracting background, thus focusing the viewer's attention on the central building. The black also creates a sense of surrealism and an otherworldly tone due to it being removed from its real world setting.

Beomsik Won [archisculpture]

Edgar Martins

Georgian Architecture concept

Following on from my visis to Stamford (one of the locations of the previous shoots), I was quite fascinated by the Georgian architecture, and the 600 listed buildings within it. So, this concept is focused on this style of architecture and its defining characteristics.

The central focus point of this project is to examine the aesthetics of Georgian architecture (e.g. doors, windows, chimneys, porticos), demonstrating its symmetry and proportions, and the subtext behind them.
At this point, I have not been able to return to Stamford, so at this stage I do not have any additional photographs to bring to the tutorial, but would welcome your feedback on the way forward.