Narrative and Sequence
Fine Art
Dale grant
Dale was born in 1961 in the Bahamas, after he graduated from university, he became a photographer specialising in fashion and portrait photography. He worked as a commercial photographer for magazines and fashion houses however he completely turned his focus to fine art photography.
Dale likes to focus on capturing flowers that are coming to an end as he finds them quite unique. “I find that as flowers begin to wither, they finally show their unique beauty when their petals open fully, and their vivid colours become more muted in tone”.
I chose Dale Grant after having done some research. I came to find his work quite interesting and similar to my idea so I thought Grant would be perfect to use as my reference.
I chose the first image of grants as I really enjoyed the colours and the backdrop combination. I think low key lighting was used to shoot this image as its quite a contrast between the flower and the black backdrop which makes the flower stand out. I think this is a digital image as the photo is high quality and clear without any grain to it. From what I can see the image was shot in the studio and it was done so in quite a controlled environment, also I think the image might have been shot with a 35-50mm lens. the object used for this image, the flower, looks like it was shot at its peak when its fully bloomed showing all its beauty, with detail to how the petals have been positioned to show as much of the flower as possible. From what I can see the image is quite saturated as the colours on the flower are very bold and rich. I also think maybe a flash was used so the details weren’t lost in the black backdrop.
For the second image I think it is a close up shot as no background was captured in the image and its mostly closer shots of the flowers with some cut off and half in. I think it was shot in the studio as there is no trace that it could have been location. The reason for this is that it looks like low key lighting was used with an added flash to capture details also, the image seems clear and in focus with no grain. It was shot on a black backdrop which creates a high contrast between the background and the object used.
This also makes the colours pop and brings forward a lot of the details. It seems the image might have been saturated quite a lot with a warm tonal range to it, the colours are quite rich and in your face. The composition is interesting as it looks like it was captured while the flowers were moving around almost making it look seamless and adds a touch of story to the image and makes you wonder.
I created this mood board to put together a few ideas of what I would like to do for my fine art project. I decided to go with flowers so, I done some research on the different ways flowers can be captured and the different essence they can represent, and I thought it would be a good idea to go with something a little dark yet rich and colourful. I chose to focus on colour, shape and movement with a sense of calm tone yet added mystery at the same time.
Robert Peek
Robert Peek is a Dutch photographer based in Rotterdam; he was born in 1961. Peek was trained at the royal college of art and ended up developing an interest in using light as his tool to try and change the composition and textures of his work. The main object in his photography is using a variety of flowers and smoke to create mist that wraps around the blossoms and becomes almost like one. Peak’s inspiration is nature however his interest in loneliness and isolation is a big part of his work. He likes to capture the rawness of the blossoms almost as if frozen in time, capturing a moment forever.
Robert became successful in advertising photography. From photography for advertisements to fashion stills and product photography. As he progressed in his career, more people started knowing and wanting to work with him. Domestic and international customers were interested and knew where to find him. Companies such as Yamaha, Coca-Cola, Mammoet, Big Green Egg and Inno Essentials. Some inspiring advertising agencies such as DLVS and Nijgh and Waal aan de Maas. Robert also works on portraits with the same rawness and loneliness that you see in his nature work.
I chose these two images from Robert’s collection as I found the colours to be quite intriguing.
To capture this image, I think a 24-120mm lens was used, this is because the images are close up shots, but it ranges between close to medium with a little background space. I think this was done so space was left for the mist in the images. From the look of the images, I would say this was a studio shoot as a controlled environment is needed to create and capture what Robert has created. To capture all the mist and the details in the flowers and to get a good colour outcome, strobe lights were used to get enough light while still creating those shadows and deep haziness while having enough light for everything else. The images are clearly shot digitally as the focus is quite clear and no grain is seen. There is great detail in the images while still keeping the misty effect.
The composition of the flowers is quite simple yet still very well thought. The flowers are mainly placed In the centre of the image while giving enough background space for the smoke to surround the flowers and make it seem flowy.
The colours and tones in the images vary from warm tones coming through from the flower with its orange and red colours in the first image, then it switches to cooler tones in the background with its grey colours and the cool tone white, grey mist coming through.
Whereas in the second images I think there are more cooler tones with some warmer tones in the flower which is a yellowy\ orange colour.
I think the saturation of the image’s changes through different areas of the image, this can be seen when the mist covers some areas of the petals which dims down the colours however, if you move to the middle of the flowers the colour becomes much richer and more saturated.
I think the Smokey mist used in this image was used in such an interesting way as it makes the objects seem as its almost floating and its slowly slowly being surrounded until at the end the flowers almost completely disappear.
This image is from Roberts collection, I chose this image to use as inspiration and as reference as I think it looks different to a lot of the other images I have written about. I think this image was taken with the same camera and lens as the images that I have mentioned before, around 24-120mm lens. This image was most likely shot in the studio as there are many things that you would not be able to do on location shoots. This image would have had to be shot in a controlled environment with controlled lights as wells smoke being used to create that misty effect. I think Robert uses flash in his images to be able to capture and freeze the right moment and the right amount of detail and colour . the images from what I can see were taken with a digital camera, the reason for this is that the images are off good quality with no grain in the quality also, the image is quite sharp.
Robert used the flowers in such an elegant way and presented them quite mysteriously while still keeping the beauty that a flower has. I think Robert has composed his images quite well, the representation of the different ways the flower could have been captured has clearly has been shown, wether that is less paint on the flower or more pain on the flower or some part is clearer than others. The flowers are spread out nicely and well thought. The tones in the image are slightly muted and not as vibrant. the white paint int he water is spread out making it seem as if it's being dragged into a mist. The mist like effect that surrounds the flower, tones down some of the colour which is why it's not as vibrant as the rest of the images.
Call sheet for workshop 1
Call sheet for workshop 2
Image 1
These are some screenshots of my process on postproduction.
I started off with my main base image and then I went onto editing out some bits of the image like the cup. slowly I started incorporating some smoke into the image from another image that I shot.
I continued adding in more smoke from my images and making sure I liked the way it was coming out. I was making sure everything is blended in well and it looks seamless.
I also started working on some of the curves.
These are the final edits as I added the final touches on curves by making sure the smoke had enough exposure without it being overwhelming
Image 2
These are my screenshots of my post production process for image two.
I started of with my base image as you can see in screenshot one, I continued onto bringing forwards a different part of an image that I shot by using the masking tool.
This is the process of me working on the curves and making sure the exposure is right and the shadows are correct. This is so that the smoke is not to overwhelming but it's also enough and seamless. I wanted to make sure the flower has enough exposure but not soo much it looses detail.
Image 3
For this image my post production was quite a simple process. I played around with some images to mask through the best parts making sure it's not overexposed.
These images show the last bit of the post production process, as you can see i've added in some extra smoke and worked on curves to add some depth and contrast.
Image 4
These images show how I have taken a base image and masked through other bits of other images I have shot to bring forward the best parts of what I like.
I have continued masking through my images to add in some more smoke and create a bit more drama.
The final bit of my post production process is the added contrast and playing around with the levels to create that depth you see in the final image. I also decided to up the vibrance a little as I think It adds an element of drama which I really like.
Image 5
Starting off with my base image, I added through bits of my other images by masking.
as you can see the left bit of the flower was too dark so I masked through another image I show that had better lighting on the right side of the flower.
To finalise the image I added in the smoke images. I then worked on levels to add in some depth and get the right exposure and contrast, also I played around with the vibrance a little to add some drama to the colours and make it more intense.
This is a little example of how I would like my images to be exhibited.
I quite like the idea of the little sequence of flowers and the way they each complement each other.
Conclusion
WWW- Starting this brief I think I got off on a good foot, I think that my planning went well as I started off with mood boards which helped me visualise my idea. I was able to find good photographer research which is also something that really helped me bring my idea to life and also helped with the process of how I was going to achieve what I had in mind. As this brief is a sequence of 5 images, I've done well regarding following what the brief asked in the sense of having 5 different images that come together to create a story and link with each other.
Talking about the post production process, I think that helped me quite a lot in detailing my images and, the entire process of editing my images went very well.
I have learned how to work with a still life shoot, it has given me the opportunity to learn how to work with smoke and convey my ideas in the way I would like.
the artist research has helped me learn how to detail my work by having to analyse the artists images . It has made me think about my own work by having to go through every detail of what I was putting down.
I have also learned a lot about post production by having to practice it on my images and it has improved my skills.
This brief has also given me the chance to work knowing how to exhibit my own work and to understand what works and what doesn't.
EBI- To improve my work I think I would have to practice my artist research further and make sure I go into full detail on the analysis, because I struggle with writing it is something that I would need to work on.
To further improve my work I think I need to do more artist analysis and research as I could have more, this would improve my work as it would give me more examples and techniques that I could potentially use in my own work.
