Planning a Picture Project


                           Planning a Picture Project

Assignment 1

Brief

To make a photograph that shows Blackburn or an aspect of Blackburn life that exhibits one or  more of the following :
  • Visual Irony
  • The decisive moment
  • Juxtaposition
Requirement

 1 JPeg image of no more than 2 MB to be emailed to Richard by the evening of the 26/09/16.


Visual Irony

 Is when photographs or art work are used to illustrate situations that are opposite of what is expected most of the time, this is shown in a humours way.

Here is 3 examples of Visual irony.



Image 1 No Photography




Image 2 - Looks like a human dog/half and half




Image 3 - There has not been enough space left to correctly fit the whole of the title, which is ironic as its the College of Architecture and Planning.




The Decisive Moment

The Recognition in a fraction of a second, the significance of an event as well as a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression.


Here is 3 examples of The Decisive Moment



Image 1- This a  spoof or a mock up of the famous Photograph by Henri Cartier-Bresson.  https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Henri+Cartier-Bresson&id=DA6766DD07F31CB9F67E5A81C6CEDD6B9B1E58F0&FORM=IDBQDM


Image 2 - Looks like the picture image is biting the passer-by's head off.


Image 3 - A Goose flying into the picture just as the runner has jogged past.




Juxtaposition

 The fact of two things being seen, or places close together with contrasting effect, for example, black or white, big or small, up or down.

Here are 3 examples of the Juxtaposition.



Image 1- Real child & a family of bronze statues



Image 2 Young & Old



Image 3 - No picking flowers sign, with a young girl picking flowers.

Research

How I researched the Visual irony, The Decisive moment and Juxtaposition, was by looking at examples of photographs posted online on Google images, by browsing through photographic books like  The Photo Book, published by Phaidon, which shows  how other photographers, known and un known had captured their images.
I also looked at Henri Cartier-Bersson, as his photographs gave me the most inspiration, I loved the way he had caught so many precious moments, like trapping them in time, for many to enjoy for years, that have gone by and for many more to come. Henri was a French humanist photographer who had managed to become a world wide known figure for capturing that all inspiring deceive moment on his photographs, most was captured by using a 35 mm film. He was also famous for the use of street photography. Even today his work has inspired and influenced hundreds if not thousands of photographers.

  https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Henri+Cartier-Bresson&id=DA6766DD07F31CB9F67E5A81C6CEDD6B9B1E58F0&FORM=IDBQDM

What had made them stand out from others?
What made them memorable?
What/who influenced them?

The pictures I choose made me laugh, for example the man with his head in the mouth, or appealed to me, in a way, that made me "get it" like the young child picking flowers next to the No picking flowers sign. These are simple, self explanatory examples.

I used these picture images for ideas and inspirations that I wanted to portray in my work. That my pictures would include all 3 of the projects brief. 


Here are a few of my examples from my Photo shoot week 1 project that I had taken in Blackburn with


 Visual Irony.



No parking


Image 1 -The car parked in the loading bay and refuse bins


 Age UK

Image 2 Age UK - Older lady sat outside the Age UK shop, looking like she is checking out the young passer by, with the sign Wanted above his head.
Recycled


Image 3 - Recycle bin , which the people handing out the free drinks for intended the empty cans to go in - being put into the top of the  litter bin next to it.

The Decisive Moment


Happy

Image 4 - Blackburn street entertainer, he was laughing at me bending down at the side of the bin taking my pictures, I caught him and turned, he bowed his head smiled so I took his picture ( I did bow my head as a gesture of acceptance of me taking his picture) He carried on playing.

Juxtaposition

Wee Man

Image 1 - the Wee man sign was etched into the wall, there is a wee man picture, I also thought it was ironic as it was in a doorway which had the aroma of urine, across from the library in Blackburn town centre.

Open/closed

Image 2 - A shop that has its shutters down that has on it its always open, with sorry we are closed on the yellow door, I also like the reflection on the door, its a sign with a stick man falling, there is 2 peoples reflection which appears to be looking right at the falling stick man

Evaluation

In these pictures I don't think that I have managed to capture all 3 components in one sole picture, this can sometimes be down to being in the right place at the right time, subject matter and reaction of the shot.


I do have a shot which was taken on my mobile phone , while on a visit to the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool. One of the galleries curators, who was explaining about pixels in the picture of the what appears to be a white back ground, captured visual irony, the decisive moment and Juxtaposition.

http://openeye.org.uk/



The curator was explaining the picture or pixels of a picture (white back ground on the wall) which had cast a black shadow.

So we have big and small, black & white (Juxtaposition).

 For me, (The decisive moment) was that the curator was appearing to be hitting himself or shadow on the head.

(The visual irony) I felt was the shadow had cast, what appeared to look like his private part was hanging out of his trousers.


Open Eye Gallery - Liverpool




Festival of Contemporary Art - 9th July - 16 October


I was given the wonderful, exciting opportunity to attend an all expenses paid visit to the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool, with the artist and designer, Stephen Turner and his wife Julie.

 Stephen Turner who is well known for spending a whole year living inside the Exbury Egg , and also appearing on George Clarkes amazing spaces.

 please see links for more information .https://exburyegg.me/  or https://eggman.site/blog/ 

On Stephens blog page you can see a couple of my Photographs that I had taken while I was doing a 3 day project. The pictures are a little bit grainy, as I had left the ISO on a high number.



by on  

   
Extract from Stephens Eggman Blog ( see link above)

201
Blackberries are starting to ripen in sunny locations at Finsley Gate Boatyard. I picked the first ‘punnet’ today and I will freeze them as a contribution toward our first Burnley Wood Jam. The moment was captured by photographer Andrea Holt who was documenting time, change and history around the site as part of an Exbury Egg Photographers Group project









347


 http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=george+clarks+amazing+spaces+exbury+egg&qpvt=george+clarks+amazing+spaces+exbury+egg&view=detail&mid=9D8DFCEC15FFF248A6359D8DFCEC15FFF248A635&FORM=VDHSOP&fsscr=0

   This has all been funded by Super Slow Way (SSW) http://superslowway.org.uk/about/
The Leeds & Liverpool Canal who powered the Industrial Revolution in Pennine Lancashire. 200 years after the canal’s birth, SSW aim to stage a new, creative revolution powered by art and people.


Liverpool Open Eye Gallery

Image 1 - This image I took on my mobile phone - its the Back entrance to the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool.

FLASH BACK - DAVE SINCLAIR PHOTOGRAPER
KOKI TANAKA, JAPANSE ARTIST



              


                                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O0_6pVYtRY


Japanese artist Koki Tanaka had been commissioned  for his work to be shown in the  open eye gallery. His work was in conjunction with the Liverpool Biennial 2016 . The photographic subject was the Government's Youth training Scheme protest which happened in Liverpool on the 25/04/1985. Koki wasn't sure what work he was going to use, but was looking through, an out of the way, and off the cuff book store, when he came across Dave Sinclair's book with his pictures from the YTS protest march, and thought it was a good way to show the Pictures again and restage the march, with some of the original protesters and their children, also to ask questions, How did it really affect you ? Did you ever do a YTS job ? you can see the interview in the video link above.

The then conservative prime Minster, Margaret Thatcher was planning to role out a new project called the Youth training scheme or YTS for short. It was felt and criticised at the time that it was a way to get young people to work for very little money "Slave labour"

10,000 children and young people took to the streets and demonstrated there anger and objections against the scheme.  This was something that had caught the authorities by surprise they had not expected such a turn out.

The march took the route of starting at St Georges Hall, passing down Dale Street, passed the Town Hall and ending up at Pier head in the Liverpool docklands area. The children's march moved very quickly, and with a lot of enthusiasm, laughter, shouting, and joy, the authorities found this very hard to contain, causing confusion among view watchers.

Dave Sinclair photographer who was only a young man of 18 at the time, just happened to be in the right place at the right time, he had only 3 roles of film, but managed to capture the raw energy, optimism, joy and anger from the youth of that era.

Here are some examples of Dave Sinclair's photographs taken on that day in Liverpool, which are exhibiting at the Open Eye gallery, these images I have taken from the gallery with my mobile phone.




Image 1 - This Picture is printed as a Black and White digital print and stands in the main entrance to the gallery on a giant billboard, as you can see from the picture, the children's faces, they are not angry protesters, I feel they thought it was a bit of fun, a giggle and that they felt they was doing something good and significant for the children of that era. 


                     
Image 2  - YTS protest Photographs
Image 3 - YTS protest Photographs.


              
Image 4 - YTS protest Photographs


Image 5 - YTS protest Photographs


Image 6 - YTS protest Photographs


Image 7 - YTS protest Photographs

Image 8 - YTS protest Photographs

Image 9 - YTS protest Photographs

Image 10 - YTS protest Photographs


           
Image 11 - YTS  The original protest banners 

Image 12 - YTS protest banners , the original ones that were used on the day of the protest. 

                         
                               Image 11 - YTS original protest banners

Image 12 - Poster printed in digital Black & White


Koki re staged the march in June 2016, with some of the original protesters and their children, there was 76 people on this march, Dave Sinclair the photographer was among these people. The march took the same route, and used some of the original banners from the protest march in 1985.

Image 1- In this photograph we have the re staged protest in June 2016 with some of the original protesters and their children. Dave Sinclair can also be seen in the check red shirt (one on the right)


Image 2 - The TV interview that is playing in , the gallery of one of the original protests


Image 2 - Koki


Here are some images that I took on the same day from my mobile phone, from around the gallery and Liverpool city centre. Some of the images are a little grainy, or not sharp and I have edited them in light room. (possibly over edited in cases) I also changed the colour to Black and White.

I had forgotten to take my camera, which is a bad idea for any photographer..... lesson learnt...!!!!


 

Banana sheep, around Liverpool Open Eye gallery.





                                                      The Liverpool - Open Eye Gallery










Learning How F stops work


I am struggling with understanding the technical side of the camera so I have printed these off ,so I can look at them, and understand them before I start making pictures, this will enable me to see at a glance, or as a starting point for me to begin with.



Focal Length

Assignment 2

Hyperfocal Distance







Brief

 Hyperfocal Distance, to produce a landscape or Urbanscape photograph, that shows the foreground, background, focal point, mid ground and infinity. Must be a wide angle, preferably with all image clear. Daytime colour. 2 week deadline.

Rule of Thirds



This a compositional guide rule that suggests that if  compositional elements occupy ‘third’ lines within the image, the composition  will have balance  and  a  dynamic.     







This is only a guide but there is some value in understanding this rule.


 Equipment

 DSLR camera, set to 200 ISO, F22, 18mm, 1/15 ( 1/4 1/8 ok ), raw image, set to manual.
Prime lens preferably wide angle.
Tripod ( with bag and brick or sand bag)
Remote, cable release, or timer.
Tape measure (5 meters to focal point, also measure from back of camera, not the front)
Requirement

1 JPeg image of no more than 2 MB to be emailed to Richard by the evening of the 17/10/16


Hyperfocal Distance Photographer Research Examples

Here are 2 examples from Ansel Adams
Image 1- love this one, it has a eerie feel to it, and amazing depth of field. Ansel Adams photographer.

Image 2 - Ansel Adams  photographer - Yosemite National Park California 1938



 Here are 2 examples of images from Joe Cornish - Photographer.
Image 1 - Whistling Sands, Gwynedd
Image 2 - Joe Cornish Photography.


Here is my submission for Hyperfocal distance.

I took this picture before we got our full brief on Hyperfocal distance, I have slightly over edited it and have missed my foreground off the full picture. I did go out again after the brief and spent 3 afternoons shooting different areas. taking approximately several hundred pictures. I choose this picture to submit, because I liked the bird flying in the middle of the picture, and you can see a tractor in the back of the photo, very clearly, but I should have submitted a picture which fitted the brief more, and this I have now learnt, that you have to follow the brief.



Here are some more photos I took in my experimental afternoons. some pictures are better and clearer that the others, this is due to having different settings and apertures, as I was testing to see the different results that would be achieved in the final photo.

 Hyperfocal distance.

Image 1 - This was taken at the fishing lake in Nelson I have almost achieved Hyperfocal distance, except for the front of the picture, when there was a slight wind. ISO 100 55mm F9.0 1/160 sec



Image 2- This was taken near the Windmills - Rocks , Just outside of Burnley. ISO 200 18mm F22 1/6 sec.


Image 3 - The old cotton Mill in Nelson, Lancashire - ISO 200 32mm F13 0.4 sec , I was very fortunate to get into this building (twice) as it has now had the roof taken off and all the insides removed.



 Image 4 - The old cotton Mill in Nelson, Lancashire. ISO 125 30mm F25 2.0 sec


Image 5 - The old cotton Mill in Nelson, Lancashire. ISO 125 30mm F25 2.0 sec

Image 6 - Leeds and Liverpool Canal - Brierfield, Nelson Lancashire. ISO 200 38mm F13 1/125 sec.

Image 7- Steps going up to the fishing lake in Nelson ISO 100 18mm F14 1/30 sec.
Image 8 - Boiler house roof over looking a Burnley street. (not sure of settings on this photo)


Image 9 - Boiler house roof from a different angle. ISO 100 18mm F22 1/4 sec.

Assignment 3



Shallow Depth of Field Portraitures. 

 Brief

To produce a portrait photograph of a person, showing a shallow depth of field, Concentrate on facial expressions, no smiling, blurred background.
F1.8 - 85mm - fantastic for shallow depth of field.

F1.4, F1.8 or F2.8
55mm
shoot with Aperture priority
Hand hold the camera and focus on the eyes.
2 week deadline.
Take plenty of photos, reassure your subject, talk to them

Summary

Use widest possible aperture e.g. lowest F Number.
Use longest lens focal length e.g. Highest MM Lens
Use Largest Sensor or film format - AVOID camera phones, Go -pros, or compacts.

Requirement

1 JPeg image of no more than 2 MB to be emailed to Richard by the evening of the 31/10/16.

Quick Reference Guide:   Depth of field is governed by three factors: aperture, lens focal length and shooting distance.


 Remember the following relationships:

    1. The smaller the aperture, the deeper the depth of field (the other two factors remaining the same). For example, if the lens focal length and the shooting distance stay the same, the depth of field is much deeper at f/16 than at f/1.4.
    2. The shorter the lens focal length, the deeper the depth of field (the other two factors remaining the same). For example, comparing a 28mm lens with a 50mm lens at the same aperture and shooting distance, depth of field is deeper with the 28mm lens..
    3. The greater the shooting distance, the deeper the depth of field. i.e. other two factors remaining the same). For example, if the subject is photographed from three and then from seven meters away, the zone of sharpness in the foreground and background is greater at seven meters.

Another characteristic of depth of field is that it is generally deeper in the background than in the foreground.

Large aperture = Small f-number = Shallow (small) depth of field.
Small aperture = Larger f-number = Deeper (larger) depth of field


This is my image that I have submitted this week for the portrait assignment.

Here are some of my other images that i have taken of various people in different surroundings, and travels over the last couple of weeks. I found that most people, once you explained that you was a student doing a photography course, and by showing them my university pass, didn't mind having their picture taken.
These 2 ladies, Sandra & Joan are friends out on a shopping trip, and had stopped for a bite to eat, when i turned up, they was both very chatty and very accommodating, they let me take a few pictures of them.
Image 1 - Sandra
Image 2 - Joan


image 4- Man selling Big issue - Manchester
image 3- Man selling Big issue - Manchester

 The gentleman in images 3 & 4 was selling the big issue magazine in the city of Manchester, he had asked me for a cigarette, so I asked him if I could take a picture, he didn't speak very good English and wanted me to take another picture because he wasn't smiling in the first picture, he gave me a big hug after I had shown him the photographs. I didn't get his name.






Image 5  - This was Derek a delivery driver in Manchester, he didn't mind having his picture taken at all, in fact when I told him I was a student we had quite a banter.

.
Image 6  - This was Pam a lady who was out in Burnley, doing a bit of Christmas shopping, she was a bit nervous at first but seemed to relax the more I spoke to her.



Image 7 - Young girl in sandwich shop in Huncoat, she was lovely, she asked me to take a picture of her, when I explained who I was and what I was doing, I did ask her not to smile, but she found this very hard, she couldn't stop smiling.

Image 8 - we did manage to get one of her (well nearly ) not smiling.

Image 9 - Shop assistant , she agreed to having her picture taken but then became very shy when I starting taking her photograph.

Image 10 - Customer in the sandwich shop, he also agreed to have his picture taken.
Image 11 - Bill he was waiting for his wife, he says he's always waiting for his wife.



Image 12 is my sister, Julie, she is also a student, she is doing the same photography degree course as me but is in her 2nd year.


Image 13 again this is my sister, we had gone out for the day on a photo shoot to Huncoat power station and Huncoat graveyard, where this picture was taken.



 Image 14 & 15 are photographs taken in my garden of my colleague Michelle, she let me practise on her before I was let out the streets.

Image 15 - Michelle.



I have also included a couple of animal picture portraits that I have taken.


Image16  Big Lad caught on my Macro lens looking out through the living room window.

 Image 17 - Bracken my pooch having a rest

Image 18 - Bracken sat nice for his picture, that maybe due to having a treat in my hand just off camera.
Image 19 - Baby girl - ISO 1600 40mm F3.2 !/50sec - she doesn't like anything close to her face..

 The Sunny 16 Rule

I have been looking on the internet at different web sights for inspiration to help me understand better how my camera works and how best to use the F stops and ISO settings to work together to make better photos, I came across the Sunny 16 rule. I have printed this off and keep it in my camera bag, so I can look at it for reference, when I am struggling to help me get started, so I have something to start from. 


Student day out

Photo Shoot - Huncoat Power Station



Monday 24th October.



A couple of students from University arranged to go on a photo shoot to Huncoat power station, on the Monday of reading week. The power station is now an abandoned, vandalised building and is full of graffiti, rubbish, rotting things and broken glass. This is my second visit now to this wonderland. It is a forever changing magical landscape, that changes with the seasons and visitors.

The derelict building and office blocks, have been home to many things for over the last several years, like a children's unofficial adventure playground, a porn movie shoot, graffiti playground, scare and fright night jaunts and much more. I lived in Huncoat until I was 17, it was a working power station then, and if we went near, we would get chased away by security. It is a very interesting place to visit now, and with the decaying and rotting building it makes a very good place to take photographs. There is no security now, but it is a place that should be treat with respect, there is many dangers to be aware of. Man holes with no covers, rotting floor boards and debris. Here is a small selection from this second visit. 22 photos.


Image 1 - ISO 1000 18mm F3.5 1/160 sec - Room with a view

Image 2 - ISO 1000 18mm F3.5 1/50 sec - Black & White

Image 3 - ISO 1000 18mm F3.5 1/100 sec looking through the square window.

Image 4 - ISO 1000 18mm F3.5 1/40 sec - Burnt out !!

Image 5 - ISO 320 21mm F7.1 1/6 sec - Open Doors

Image 6 - ISO 800 55mm F5.6 8.0 sec - This was in a lift shaft, which was very dark. the image is slightly blurred due to not having a tripod with me.

Image 7 - ISO 800 55mm F5.6 1/10 sec - Open stairs.

Image 8 - ISO 800 55mm F5.6 1/50 sec - Lights out !!

Image 9 - ISO 800 20mm F4.5 1/200 sec - Graffiti Bob.

Image 10 - ISO 160 28mm F8.0  1/20 sec - Through the looking glass

Image 11 - ISO 160 55mm F8.0  1/125 sec Huncoat Reflection

Image 12 - ISO 160 20mm F8.0  1/125 sec - black & white paint lines.

Image 13 - ISO 160 48mm F8.0  1/6 sec - Hidden rubbish

Image 14 - ISO 160 34mm F8.0  1/50 sec - Reflection.

Image 15 - ISO 160 34mm F8.0  1/40 sec - As you can see I was taking pictures of reflections of the buildings in the puddles on the roof of the building.

Image 16 - ISO 160 18mm F4.5  1/1000 sec - Black & White Views

Image 17 - ISO 160 28mm F8.0  1/20 sec. I stood on a wall to take this image from a different angle or view point.

Image 18 - ISO 1000 48mm F5.3  1/500 sec - Dexter !!

Image 19 - ISO 1000 42mm F5.0  1/40 sec.

Image 20 - ISO 1000 25mm F4.5  1/400 sec - panels

Image 21 - ISO 1000 38mm F4.8  1/125 sec - Elegant

Image 22 - ISO 1000 18mm F3.5  1/320 sec open stairs.


 This was a fun trip out, and I'm sure Huncoat power station has had more photographs taken of it than we have had hot dinners put together, but it was a fun day out and a few students got to know each other with friendly banter etc.
  Assignment 4

Bunch of Flowers - Still life.


Brief

To produce a photograph of a bunch of flowers. The light in the picture is important.

Use - Normal perspective lenses or portrait telephoto for this brief.
Use a tripod, plus appropriate ISO, Aperture and shutter speed ( in that order of importance)
Consider the importance of DoF in order to assess your aperture choice.
Use manual exposure and focussing.
The techniques discussed include macro and colour temperature.
The image does not have to include or utilise them both.


Photographer Research
Robert Mapplethorpe

Image 1 - Robert Mapplethorpe - Self portrait 1985.

Robert Mapplethorpe was an American artist and photographer, who lived in New York, he was very popular in  the 70s and 80s, he was know to have been quite conversional with his images, there was supposed to be a lot of sexual context to his flower work, It is believed that he thought, even though I cant say for sure if this is a true fact or not, that he believed flowers had sexual organs and depicted the male and female sexual organs. The clitoris and penis.  He worked with his close friend Patti Smith.

Flowers in a vase 1985 - By Robert Mapplethorpe - Photographer.
Image 4 - Tulips 1987 - Robert Mapplethorpe - Photographer.


This is my submission for flowers and a vase

What I used was a crystal wine bottle stopper, with a vase and flowers etched in the crystal, I set up a mini studio area in my spare room, I should have used a tripod to get a clearer, crisper image. I decided on this one because you could see the flower in a more close up version, I took several photographs, in different lighting positions, with different coloured lighting.

Image 1 - ISO 800 55mm F11 1/125 sec - Vase and Flowers.


These next few images are some more of my practise shots of flowers and vase.

 Image 1 - ISO 200 55mm F 10  1/60 sec -Flowers and vase - with this image I decided to hold the bottle stopper in my hand with a probe blue rose light behind the glass, and a desk lamp on a work top.


Image 2 - ISO 200 55mm F10 1/60 sec - With this image I had stood the bottle stopper in a plant pot, went close to the glass, I had a desk lamp at the side of the glass, with a white glass bowl at the opposite side, which reflected the light from the desk lamp.


Image 3 - ISO 800 55mm F11 1/125 sec - This was the same set up as the previous image. I did want to see how the reflections and context would look like in Black & White.


Image 4 - ISO 800 55mm F11 1/125 sec - The camera was hand held, that is why I think there is a bit of camera shake and the image is not as crisp and clear as I would have wanted this to be. If I had put the camera on a tripod and changed the F stop to 22 and used a slower shutter speed this would have resulted in a crisper image.

Image 4 - ISO 800 55mm F11 1/125 sec What I did with this vase is filled the water with green food colouring, and froze it. It was a sunny morning, so I decided to shoot it in the sun light, I thought it would look better in the garden. I like how my fingers had melted the ice on the glass, I like how the shadows from the other plants are falling onto the glass.

Image 5 - ISO 200 40mm F8 1/125 sec - This is the same image as above but shot from a different angle.

Image 7 - ISO 400 52mm F10 1/160 sec - Vase and Flowers

Image 8 - ISO 800 42mm F7.1 1/160 sec - I like how the image of the flowers and the vase is slightly blurred

Image 9 - ISO 800 55mm F8 1/125 sec.

Evaluation

I didn't spend enough time on this project, because I was going away for a few days and had a deadline for the brief. I wanted to have another go at shooting the images but with a different point of view and object, but with the same brief. In these images I should have used a tripod and used a larger aperture like say F18 or even F20 and slowed my shutter speed to around 1/4 sec.



Re -Visit Shoot
Because of the time I didn't spend on this assignment I wanted to show some more images that I went back to afterwards, and spent more time over, as you will see from the results, you cant rush when it comes to projects that demand your time.


Image 1 - ISO 180 40mm F5 1/100 sec - I was using the water from the worktop to reflect the flower, I used a strobe light
(small torch) and the kitchen light was on. the camera was hand held. This has been edited in light room.

Image 2 - ISO 220 40mm F4 1/60 sec - The same image but from a different view point, with the torch shinning directly onto the white flower. edited in light room.

Image 3 - ISO 400 40mm F5 1/1250 sec -  I liked this image better in Black & White, I was shinning the torch down from the top, towards the centre of the flower.

image 4 - ISO 800 40mm F3.2 1/4000 sec - The same image with the torch in the centre from above.

Image 5- ISO 800 40mm F3.2 1/4000 sec - I moved closer to the flower in this image, the focal point was the centre of the flower.

Image 6 - ISO 200 40mm F4.5 1/80 sec - This image looked better in Black and white, the torch was coming down from above and aimed more at the reflection.

image 7 - ISO 180 40mm F5 1/100 sec - The Ambient light was on at all times in the kitchen, all I used was a strobe light ( small torch) to enhance shadows and create reflections.
Paul Hill - Photographer - Lecture, Blackburn University Thursday 3rd November

Paull Hill Photographer.



Paul Hill - Photographer - Approaching Photography.


Today I attended a Lecture at Blackburn university, with the renowned Photographer, Mr Paul Hill. He has been holding a couple of lectures through out the term, for all the peers groups in our department of photography, 1st , 2nd and 3rd years. He has been passing on his knowledge and experience to us with an incite into the industry. 
some of the key points for a photographer to stand out from the crowd are

Write articles and get your work out there, good gritty stories, make them interesting.
Make sure you are different, give your work something extra, what you wear for example can give off good or bad vibes.
Volunteer yourself, this could be with a local charity, or a charity abroad, which could lead to other exciting adventures, assisting on other peers photo shoots, you can volunteer to help them set up studios or environmental shoots, gain you experience.
Life style events, what's going on in the world, or local area, How does it affects people, social media, headline news, how can you get involved.
Be off the wall, make it happen in your work/images.
Titles can be a key starting point in your work, it gives it a name a connection.
Class doesn't matter, we are all human beings, people with feelings, empathy and emotions.
Life experiences, what have we experienced in our own life, that can reflect on our images.
remember if it doesn't get recorded it dos not exist, people need to know what is going on, or maybe they don't, but if its there you cannot get away from it. I.E be adaptable in your photographs.
read magazines, like the Digital camera magazine, check out photographers websites, or blogs, research them, this brings new ideas to projects.
start your own personal projects.


http://www.mariafalconer.co.uk/ This link takes you to Pauls girlfriend, Maria Falconer, who is a performer, dancer and a photographer in her own right.

Maria Falconer - photographer - Performing artists.

Paul told us students, about some of his recent work titled Anon, where he and Maria had volunteered to help charity organisations who was  there at the time distributing food, clothes and aid to the refugees in Greece. They had seen the very distressing images in the media and had decided to help with issuing clothes, and helping in anyway they could with the refugees that had been turning up in Greece.

http://www.mariafalconer.co.uk/prints.html# this is a link to view the images that Paul and Maria took on their journey, you can purchase these images with the money raised going to aid the refugees.

There is also a 3 part documentary programme on BBC2 called Exodus - Our journey to Europe, which you can check out on the link below.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07ky6ft/episodes/guide

 Location photoshoot.
 Whitby - November 4th - 7th 2016 



I went up to Whitby with a couple of friends for the Gothic weekend, it is some thing i like to go and experience. The people and the costumes are amazing, there has been a lot of time and effort that goes into producing and making these costumes.

 Whitby is a place where "strange" or different people, of all ages, and sexes, can be themselves, without prejudice from others, they can dress in a way that could be seen as weird.


Whitby is also a beautiful little coastal fishing town, in the North East of Yorkshire.

It has been around for Hundreds of years, but has been made most popular for the ghostly  Benedictine Ruined Abby, which is peached high on a cliff. This was the inspiration for Bram Stoker's gothic tale of 'Dracula'. Abby and the legend of the dark forces.


It was disestablished during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under the auspices of Henry VIII. It is a Grade I Listed building in the care of English Heritage and its site museum is housed in Cholmley House.


The town has quaint little side streets ready to explore, full of cafes, bars, pubs, eating places, and jewellery shops, selling the infamous Whitby Jet.  


While i was there i went to visit the Frank Meadow Sutcliffe Gallery, as we had talked about the images in one of our lessons, and i wanted to see for myself the images on show.

I wanted to buy a calendar to fetch into University, but they had sold out, so i have had to order one online.

Image 1 - The Calendar cover from the Sutcliffe Gallery.


http://www.sutcliffe-gallery.co.uk/

This is the link to the gallery.





Images 1- Ref 26-50 & Image 2, Ref D9 are Titled  "Fisher people" and  are both exhibited in the gallery. you can buy these prints in different sizes.






Below are some of the images i took while i was visiting Whitby, how the times have changed over the year !!!!
 how the clothes, and people have moved on in time, and what Whitby, (I'm guessing) is now more famous for.
Not the fishing but the people, and there unrequited style.




 Image 1 - ISO 800 70mm F4.5 1/4000 sec - Spooky house, walking along the sea front. edited


 Image 2 - - ISO 800 70mm F4.5 1/4000 sec - the Pier in Whitby - edited



image 3  - ISO 800 70mm F4.5 1/4000 sec - Sea front Whitby



 Image 4 - ISO 800 165mm F4.5 1/4000 sec - "Brass Monkey" My chap, Martin freezing on the sea front at Whitby.



image 5 - ISO 1000 300mm F5.6 1/4000 sec - Couple walking on the beach at Whitby.

These images where taken while I was walking on the sea front at Whitby, it was a very cold, windy and freezing day, the lighting was very dull.

The people of today in Whitby - Goth weekend November 2016.


Image 1 - ISO 4000 40mm F2.8 1/4000 sec - Whitby Steampunk woman.


Image 2  ISO 4000 40mm F2.8 1/4000 sec - Whitby Woman. her friend told me I had made her day, as her husband had left her for another woman, I told her she looked beautiful.


image 3 - ISO 4000 40mm F2.8 1/200 sec - carnival couple posing for photographs


Image 4 - ISO 4000 40mm F2.8 1/2500 sec - Submissive and her master


Image 5 - ISO 4000 40mm F2.8 1/3200 sec - Dominatric and her Slave


Image 6- ISO 4000 40mm F2.8 1/200 sec - Young Steampunk boy.


 image 7 - ISO 4000 40mm F2.8 1/4000 sec - Steam punk couple.



 Image 8 -ISO 4000 40mm F2.8 1/200 sec - Watching you watching me


Image 9 - ISO 4000 40mm F2.8 1/200 sec - Young Steampunk Girl in Black and white.


 Image 10 - ISO 4000 40mm F2.8 1/4000 sec - Game of thorns couple.



Image 11 - ISO 4000 40mm F2.8 1/4000 sec - Lovely woman.





Assignment 5 - Great British
Brief

This weeks assignment is " Great British" what makes Britain great, what makes us think of our culture, heritage and belief's.

Creative Approaches'.

Landscape that typifies our country (difficult)
Documentary images
Semi - staged documentary e.g. Café table.
Environmental portrait or peoples shot.

Technique's relevant to this project

Decisive moment, Juxtaposition and visual irony
Depth of field
Composition and suggestion
opportunity sourcing - going out in search of images spontaneity.


Photographer Research
Tony Ray-Jones
Image1 - Photographer Tony Ray-Jones

Tony Ray-Jones was a British photographer, born in Somerset in 1941 - he died at the age of 30 in 1972 after being diagnosed as having Leukaemia.

Quote " Photography can be a mirror and reflect life as it is, but i also think it is possible to walk, like Alice, through the looking glass, and find another world with the camera" - Tony Ray-Jones

He was brilliant at captioning the satire, irony of every day people.

here is some of his captured  images.


Image 1 -  This image made me laugh, often people used to think that the sun could damage your eyes. I think it must have been cold in those days, as you can see people went to the seaside in their suits, woolly cardigans and scarfs.

Image 2 - Tony Ray-Jones - Scarborough 1967.

Don McCullin - Photographer.



Image 1 - Don McCullin - Photographer. he is recognised as one of the most important living war photographers and is also known for his work with images of the homeless, and unemployed.



Image 1 - Don McCullin -Photographer - Homeless. This image , I feel is a very powerful image, it makes you want to give him a bath, clean him up, and give him a good meal, but if you look at his eyes, or into his eyes, it shows you life experience, determination, pain and survival.


Image 2 - Don McCullin - Photographer - Shaped by War. in these images, you can almost feel the pain and anguish that these people are suffering.

These are very powerful images, that show the grief and pain of war, or how we don't often see, or want to see and acknowledge people living in poverty around us, like the homeless.
 I feel sometimes that we need to see images, that show true pain and graphic content, that make us think, for us to take a step back, or to reflect on how lucky we really are.
 to put us " Lucky ones" out of our comfort zone, and see what really is going on in our world, from time to time.

This is my submission for the Great British weekly project week 5

Image 1 - ISO 400 40mm F8 1/250 sec - The British Builders Bum - this image was taken in Burnley town centre.

I liked this picture as I felt it was caught in the moment, a little bit of visual irony, I didn't realise at the time of the photo but when you read the street sign in the back ground it says  "British Heart Foundation man build ty agoon"
I can not say for sure if the Builders bum is British, but I do feel we own it due to our British sense of humour.
I could have perhaps blurred the background out a little bit by changing my settings to F2.8 1/200 sec.

These are some more of my examples of "Great British"


Image 1 - ISO 100 40mm F2.8 1/4000 sec - This was taken in Burnley Town centre of the memorial garden just outside the Library. The Rose caught my attention, so I focused on that.

Image 2 - ISO 360 40mm F11 1/500 sec - This is the same place, but I thought the lady was looking for something or someone, as she was there for a long time, walking back and forth. I went over and starting talking to her.

Image 3 - ISO 200 40mm F11  1/250 sec . This was what she was looking for, between us we found him, she told me his name was William "Bill" Scaife. He had served in the war and was killed because he had given up his place for some Nurses thus causing him to be killed in action. She had promised her friend that she would find him and pay her respects because he had now passed away.


Image 4 - ISO 250 40mm F8 1/250 sec _ This is Joyce, she was the lady in the previous picture, I asked her if I could take her picture, she was lovely, and didn't mind at all, she said will you make sure you get my Poppy in the picture, I smiled said yes, she was happy with the result.
Image 5 - ISO 100 40mm F10 1/40 sec - I wanted to go up Townley park and capture some images up there and while I was driving I saw this flag hanging out of the window of a house on a street I used to live on, so I pulled in and took a picture.


Image 6 - ISO 100 150mm F6.3 1/160 sec - Townley Hall showing the English flag, the Union Jack - An English mans castle.


 Image 7 - ISO 400 85mm F5.6 1/500 sec - The War Manorial at Townley Park.



Image 8 - ISO 800 300mm F5.6 1/125 sec - This image made me laugh, its like the Robin is saying come and look at my stall around the corner, or the saying around Robin... with out researching in not sure if Robin red breasts are 100% British.

 Image 9 - ISO 1600 40mm F3.2 1/500 sec - This was taken in my bedroom, in a mini studio environment ( cube box and desk lamp ) I thought that the youth of today wouldn't know who Winston Churchill was and that he would be "Alien" to most.


 Image 10 - ISO 100 40mm F3.2 1/60 sec  - This coin was released as a special Five pound coin in the year 2000 Anno Domini - it also shows Great Britain.



Image 11 - ISO 100 40mm F10 1/80 sec - This was taken in Burnley town centre, I thought this was funny as the shadows cast by the sun on the wall looks like the Queen, who appears to be giggling at me taking the picture of the post boxes, some of the other photos show the shadow as Napoléon Bonaparte  who is French, now that would have been ironic.

Image 12 - ISO 320 25mm F4.5 1/200 sec  - This image was taken on one of my hobby events Trisling in Anglesey, Wales, with Pennine Landover club.

Image 13 - ISO 320 45mm F5 1/160 sec  - This image was taken on one of my hobby events Trisling in Anglesey, Wales, with Pennine Landover club. The youth of today !!!


Evaluation

The word " Great British" can mean a lot of different things for different people, I did search online and found that there was a lot of cups of Tea and the queen, maybe not all together, I didn't want to show this in my images. I hope I have given the viewer some ideas of what it means to me.

Planning a Photography Project

Blackburn University Pictures

Here are a couple of examples of photos I have taken outside the university of Blackburn, I walked around the area looking at different structures, angles, shadows.
It was a very bright sunny day with the sun quite high in the sky, and no clouds.

Image 1 - Steps to the entrance of Blackburn university, Taken on my Nikon D5300, ISO 400 38mm F16 1/125sec
The original pictures where taken in colour. but I thought they looked better in black and white, because they looked crisper, sharper and showed more detail.


ISO 400 38mm F16 1/125sec
Image 2 - Same steps but a different view point, I got on the floor and found that I like the composition of this one better as it shows more contrast on the actual steps enhancing the concrete, I think your eyes are drawn towards the back of the photo with how the handrails are lined up.


ISO 400 38mm F16 1/125sec
Image 3 - The café area, from a low angle, This is quite a high building and I have only shown a fraction or proportion of it. I love the shadow reflection on the windows. and how the shutters appear to be standing out.


ISO 400 38mm F16 1/125sec

Image 4 - This image is taken in the same place, again from a different view point, you can see more reflections, as you see a wider view of the glass windows. I feel this was a better view of the café window.


ISO 400 34mm F16 1/125sec

Image 5 - This is the main entrance to the building, this angle, I feel shows too much sky however I do like how its composition is set out. how you get a glint of clouds from the windows


ISO 400 34mm F16 1/125sec

Image 6 - same picture as image 5 ,again from another view point, I  wanted to keep the security camera in the shot, as a reminder, big brother is watching you !! but I do feel it may be better taken out, some would say this is a visual distraction.



ISO 400 34mm F16 1/60sec
Image 7 - Railings - I loved how the bright sun was shinning on these railing, and how the different contrasts and reflections between the shiny smooth metal poles, against the dull mossy covered brick wall and grassed covered floor.



ISO 400 34mm F16 1/60sec

Image 8 - I think you get the picture by now, same picture different angle, I have cropped this picture as I wanted to see how it looked without as much brick showing, I wanted your eye to focus more on the texture of the holes in the railings.

Evaluation
These pictures are all practice shots, as I am finding my way around the camera, most of the pictures have been taken using the camera settings on - ISO 400 38mm F16 1/125 sec ( except for images 7&8) these had ISO 400 34mm F16 1/60 sec. I am learning more about the camera and how to look at objects in different ways, as well as understanding the technical side of things too.
after all practise makes perfect.....

Note to self, remember little is bigger, bigger is smaller !!!!


Photographer Research

Paul Trevor - Photographer


    


" London-born Paul Trevor first came to Liverpool in December 1974 aged 27, as one of three photographers collaborating on a project to document inner city deprivation in the UK and people's responses to it. They photographed and recorded interviews in London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow and Belfast producing a book 'Survival Programmes: In Britain's Inner Cities' (Open University Press, 1982). He stayed for just over 6 months, Only a handful of his work was selected for a exhibition in Liverpool. The photographs from this exhibition are now part of the Museum of Liverpool collection. "

The photographs that were selected mostly showed "kids" of how the children of Liverpool grew up, played out  got dirty ,and were allowed to grow up, I think this had dramatically changed over the years, we don't tend to see our own children playing out as much as we did as youths.

Below are some examples of his images.

Image 1 - Paul Trevor - Liverpool 1975 - Our Den - candlelight

Image 2 -Paul Trevor- Mozart street, Liverpool 1975


Image 3 -Paul Trevor - Unknown girl Liverpool 1975


Shirley Baker - Photographer


Shirley Baker Photographer

An extract taken from Shirley Bakers Obituary - Telegraph - Wednesday 16 November 2016

"Sheila Baker’s best-known work was done during those years, in and around the streets of Salford, and from the very first she was keenly aware that she was preserving images of a vanishing world. People’s lives, she felt, were being destroyed; yet she was touched by the fact that, even as the terraces were being demolished, they remained as house-proud as ever, even scrubbing their front doorsteps as the dust descended around them. She was also moved by the resilience and good humour of the children, who smiled through the incipient chaos and fashioned toys from whatever scraps came to hand.
Thus she set about recording the trivia of everyday life: elderly women sitting on the doorsteps in a row of condemned houses; children playing amid the rubble and the rusting old cars. Her images are poignant, yet at the same time infused with a gentle humour. "




Image 1 - Shirley Baker - The front book cover for Street photographs in Manchester & Salford

Image 2 Shirley Baker - photographer - Streets of Salford & Manchester

Image 3 - Shirley Baker - photographer - Streets of Salford & Manchester



Jimmy Forsyth - Photographer

Jimmy Forsyth - Photographer

Jimmy Forsyth, who has died aged 95, was a remarkable photographer who documented the community that he lived in, on the Scots wood Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, in the 1950s and 1960s.
Forsyth was born in Barry, South Wales, and came to Tyneside in 1943 as part of the War effort. He had been at work for only four days when an accident led to the loss of sight in his right eye. After a period of convalescence he eventually settled in Elswick and set about trying to find work. He was unable to find regular employment, his days spent walking and reading about the history of his adoptive home.

In 1954 he bought a cheap camera from a junk shop and began taking pictures along the Scotswood Road. At first they were just snapshots – people he knew, places that interested him. Eventually he decided to try to make a comprehensive record of where he lived – he wanted to document the people who lived and worked there and the buildings and the streets that were being knocked down during T. Dan Smith's redevelopment of the west end of the city.
Widespread recognition of his photographs did not come until 1981, when he was discovered by Newcastle's Side Gallery, which mounted major exhibitions of his work. The publication of the book Scotswood Road in 1986, featuring his photographs, led to considerable acclaim and he received the Halina Award for photography in 1987. A biographical study, Out of One Eye was published in 2002, and earlier this year Jimmy Forsyth: Photographs from the 1950s and 1960s was launched; sadly he was too ill to attend

This information was taken from Jimmy Forsyth's Obituary- Independent news paper, for full story please follow the link below


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jimmy-forsyth-photographer-who-chronicled-the-lives-of-the-scotswood-road-community-in-newcastle-1760732.html



 Image 1 -  Taken by Photographer Jimmy Forsyth - Ragman, Delaval Road, 1959


Image 2 - Ann Doughty - young girl taken By Photographer Jimmy Forsyth



 Image 3 - Demolition men taken by Photographer Jimmy Forsyth -  Pine St, 1960



Sirkka Liisa Konttinen - Photographer

Sirkka Liisa Konttinen- photographer

"Born in Myllykoski, Finland, in 1948, Sirkka began taking photographs at the age of twelve, inspired by her aunt Oili, who was a skilful amateur photographer. She developed a keen interest in documentary photography and later decided to study film making in the UK, enrolling at the Regent Street Polytechnic film school in London. Whilst there, she formed the Amber Collective with Murray Martin and a number of other fellow students. In 1969, the collective moved to Newcastle- upon-Tyne in the North East of England, seeking to document working class communities in film and in photographs, and in 1977 established the Side Photographic Gallery. Since then, Sirkka has played an active part in most aspects of Amber/Side's work. Her central involvement has been in the production of a number of long term photographic projects, resulting in exhibitions, books and documentary films.

Sirkka is perhaps best known for her book Byker of 1983, a seminal portrait of the terraced Newcastle community, eventually bulldozed to make way for the Byker Wall and the wholesale redevelopment of the area. She began her project in 1969, when she moved to the North East of England and lived in Byker for seven years, until her own house was demolished. Thereafter she continued to photograph and to collect testimonies from the residents for a further five years."

This information has been taken from British photography, please see link below for full information.






Below are some of Sirkkas images

Image 1 - Sirkka Liisa Konttinen- photographer -  Kendal Street (Byker) 1969, printed 2012  .     

Image 2 -Sirkka Liisa Konttinen- photographer - Kids with Collected Junk .(Byker) 1971, printed 2012    

Image 3 - Sirkka Liisa Konttinen- photographer  Girl on a Space hopper (Byker) 1971, printed 2012.
All the photographs are documentations of a period of history, caught in a time capsule, depicting  mostly of the  working class. Showing peoples living, working, playing, and getting on with their daily, day to day routine. They show a real sense of community spirt, hardship and freedom. 

I can related a couple of these photographs into my own childhood, where i used to build dens, collect rubbish items and build my own little castle, we as children, didn't worry about time, we only became aware of time when we was hungry, or it was getting dark. 
I had the privilege of playing out, getting dirty, building dens, getting into mischief ( and getting told off) and getting a clip around the ear from time to time.

Time management - Matt Savage


Today in class we had a former student Matt Savage, teaching us in some of our lessons in, Light Room studies.
the Time Management lesson is for us students to look at photography as a part time job, he has told us that we should be working approximately 3+ hours on a project/shoot, this could be planning, getting a set up or location ready. We should be shooting a minimum of 100 photographs per module, if we are unsure as what to photograph, we should be taking pictures of everything, from simple household items to making a set up, being creative makes us stand out and become different from the norn.
Do we re-shoot ? if a project didn't go well, or you didn't spend enough time on a shoot, have you gone back to re shoot it, it will never be the same as different factors get involved, or changed, the lighting, time of day etc.
It is also a good way to develop your photography skills, by going over what you have learnt, remember practise makes perfect, or at least give you a better understanding of the what, why and when.
Discover what is important to you, its important to challenge yourself, try out different genres, as you never know what you will find most appealing to you.
Have personal projects that are important to you, feel passionate about, this will show in your images, choose a simple idea, develop it, start off with a broad spectrum, and then in time narrow it down.
Do something you have never done before, step out of your comfort zone, and never give up, its all a learning curve.
Do the 365 day challenge project, where you take a picture/photograph every day for a year, if this sounds too much do one a week or month.
I choose to try some self portraits.
Self Portraits

 RAW

 After a Matt Savage masterclass lesson in time management I decided that since I had never taken any real, honest unedited photographs, or self portraits of myself for a project, (face book etc doesn't count) I am going to play around with this a little bit. I have decided to do this as a personal project to me, I have called the images RAW. I was working from home and feeling really ill, so I took my camera and starting taking self portraits of me sat in the chair and then later sat in the toilet..... I know ha ha who else takes their camera into the loo !!! Anyway here are some of the images I have taken of me.

Image 1 - ISO 400 40mm F3.2 1/25sec - This is me, testing out the settings, and lighting, this was my fist image.
Image 2- ISO 400 40mm F3.2 1/25sec - My camera was hand held through out the shoot, and I have not edited these images.
Image 3 - ISO 400 40mm F3.5 1/25sec - This image is a little bit dark, but I think it looks quite moody, if not a bit scary.
Image 4 - ISO 400 40mm F3.2 1/25sec - Hiding behind my hair.
Image 5 - ISO 400 40mm F3.2 1/25sec - Lost in thought.

Image 6 - ISO 400 40mm F3.3 1/30sec - close up of my eye, and wrinkles.

Image 7 - ISO 400 40mm F3.2 1/30sec - I like the shallow depth of field in this image.


For me some of the images i have taken ( not all images are shown here) are a little bit hard to look at, as I'm now turned 50 years old.
I'm not a girl who wears make up and I cant be bothered with messing around with my hair, or nails, so to me the images are RAW (hence the title). In my mind I'm still a young woman, so when I look into the mirror and see me with the lines of life, wrinkles, blotches and god knows what else it makes me squirm a bit, or makes me feel a little bit uncomfortable, it shouldn't do, as this is what I am, what I am made of, who I am, the real me......a mother, a daughter, a friend, a woman
... I guess in todays society, we are expected to look a certain way, have duck pouts , be perfect  and process flawless skin, oh and bodies to match.
This has given me an idea in this area which I am going to explore in more detail.

My next set of images are my eyes, my soul.

Image 1 - ISO 400 40mm multiple 1/25sec - The window to the soul...

Image 2 - ISO 400 40mm F3.5 1/25sec You can see the reflection of the toilet in this image.
image 3 - ISO 400 40mm F4 1/30sec - There is a real depth of shallow field in this image.
Image 4 - ISO 400 40mm F3.3 1/30sec - wrinkled eyes.

Image 5 - ISO 400 40mm F3.3 1/30sec - And no images wouldn't be complete with out a duck pout thrown in.
All the above images have NOT been edited


Other ways to research

PHOTOGRAPHY FACEBOOK GROUP PROJECTS



I have joined a couple of photography Facebook groups, over the last few months. I did this to gain some experience and knowledge from other local photographers, its a good way to see how other photographer's portray their work, what settings they used, and by what cameras they used. It can also help with questions you have to ask but cant find by researching the vast world of the internet. One of the groups, Colne and Pendle photographer (closed group) hold monthly competitions. I have submitted a couple of times a few of my photographs throughout the months here are a couple of my pictures.





Image 1- Buzzing around the garden.



This one I submitted to the Sept 2016 Comp. Bees, Bugs Butterflies & Things. I didn't win, but i am really proud of the picture. I took this with my Nikon D5300 and used a basic kit macro lens, which i edited in light room.
Another group is called Empty Seats, the idea behind this group is to post photos of empty seats, the more unusual the better, this is an Open group and anyone can post, its just for fun, here are some of my entries

Image 1 - Middleton castle - missing you
Image 2 - Quiet Moments - An empty seat in a church grave yard in Trawden
Image 3 - Burnt out - I found this car in the middle of a wood, in Brotherton.
Image 4 - Wet - I took this seat when it had been raining, this was in the pit top park area.

Image 5 - Forgotten - I had the privilege of going into an old mill, in Nelson that is being knocked down, after a fire in the building several years ago.
Image 6 - Empty Seats - This was taken at Warton Stock car race track, this picture made me laugh as it shows empty seats away from empty seats.
Image 7 - Stone Throne- This was taken at Inglebrough on the walk up to the caves, this was the first picture I submitted.
Image 8 - lick o paint - This picture was taken in the Trawden church yard
Image 9 - Garage reflections - As you can see in this picture the reflection of the garage equipment can be seen on the glass and the inside of the car can also be seen
Image 10 - Tea for one - I took this while I was sat watching a wedding of a couple who I didn't know, while I was on a boat trip around the lake in Keswick.
Image 11 - Broken - This was in the mill in Nelson.
Image 12 - Almost empty - Trawden church yard.
Image 13 - Camden Town - London café in Camden market.
Image 14 - Fixed - Toilets and tools - garage.
Image 15 - Weathered - Trawden church yard - I love the colours on this picture, how the moss has grown on the bench. 
Image 16 - Demolition -  This made me laugh as its a portable toilet. I thought this was visual irony.


Image 17 - Wheeled - This was taken up New Church, near Pendle Hill, it caught my eye because it looked like an old wagon wheel, which has been made into a bench.

 Assignment 6 - Beautiful winter.


Brief

Winter is a season of great contrast, produce a portfolio of winter inspired images.
2 week deadline - submit 1 image before Tuesday 4th December.
 show subtle editing

 There will be prizes set out in 3 categories.

1) Best winter image
2) A image that shows the most improvement
3) Best consistency throughout the 6 projects.



Photographer Research

Michael Kenna Photographer

Image 1 - Michael Kenna Photographer.

Michael Kenna is an English photographer best known for his black & white, unusual, landscapes with ethereal light achieved by photographing at dawn or at night with exposures of up to 10 hours.

here is 3 example of his works.
Image 1 - Michael Kenna Photographer

Image 2 - Michael Kenna Photographer

Image 3 - Power stations - Michael Kenna Photographer

I love the feel of these photographs, they have a mood about them, they feel quite haunting, like a ghostly aura around them, They look a bit grainy but I feel that what makes the images stand out almost pulling you into the picture.


 This is my submission for the weekly Assignment 6 - Beautiful Winter

Image 1 - ISO 200 40mm F22 0.62 sec - Snowed in.

I was looking through some camera magazines in uni, and saw a project where a man had set up a snow scene with a car, flour, fake smoke and butane gas, this I decided I wanted to try.
I found a Christmas card for the back ground, a toy land rover car, flour, which I also flicked onto the card, as well as the car. I set the scene on a Pyrex dish on top of my chest of drawers in the kitchen, which I had covered with flour for the snow. I have edited it to Black and white as I felt this portrayed the image better for a winter feel. I took several images using different lighting, I did try and make the head lights appear to be on in one of my images.


Here are some more of my examples for the Beautiful Winter assignment.

 Image 1 - Iced - ISO 400 40mm F8 1/125 sec - This was taken in the University garden early one frosty morning.


 Image 2 - ISO 400 40mm F5.6 1/80 sec _ frozen to you...


 Image 3 -ISO 400 40mm F8 40 sec - Family seat - This image was also taken in the University garden.



Image 4 ISO 400 40mm F5.6 1/3200sec - Sunrise - This was taken near Blackburn University, of the church spire when the sun was just rising



Image 5 - ISO 400 28mm F5.6 1/3 sec - This is my car, and its cold !!!






Image 6 - ISO 400 112mm F14 1/50 sec - Snow capped - This image was taken in Penrith, Cumbria.





I  Love trees with no leaves, I like this time of year and have taken lots of images of trees, I like how the skeleton of the tree stands against the sky's background.







 Image 1 - ISO 400 70mm F14 1/30 sec- Eerie.. This image was taken in Thompson Park, in Burnley, near the boating lake, I have edited it to make the colour more haunting, and cold.



 Image 2 - ISO 400 F11 1/80 sec - This was taken on the canal in Burnley just outside the park



 Image 3 ISO 400 70mm F11 1/320 sec - This image was taken in Thompson Park, in Burnley,


Image 4 - ISO 400 70mm F11 1/60 sec This was also taken on the Canal in Burnley.


Evaluation



I wanted to try and capture something other than the typical winter scene, I thought by experimenting and researching the magazine image. I know its a typical winter scene but it is shot in a different way. I did go out and take some other images which show the frost, and the snow. If I was to shoot this again I would like to go out in the snow and do some thing with red against the whiteness of the snow. This is something I may come back too.



Manchester Art Gallery 



Vogue 100 Exhibition


Friday 28th October



Today I went to the art gallery in Manchester as part of my university studies. Vogue magazine are celebrating a 100 years of publishing fashion through their magazine, since it was published.



As part of our assignment brief, we was asked to look at the exhibitions photographs and the photographers behind the success of their careers.





             Images 1 & 2 -  Banners of the Vogue 100 hanging outside the Manchester Art Gallery






              Images 3 & 4 - A couple of photographs outside the main entrance to the Art gallery.



Fashion is something that does not really interest me, but I thought that I would be open minded and give it the benefit of the doubt, if I don't experience it, how can I judge or criticise it.



The photograph that I found most interesting from all the photos in the Gallery was By the photographer Irving Penn, of the then 22 year old gentleman designer, Yves Saint Laurent, he was appointed the head designer at Chryston Dior in 1957, following the death of the fashion houses founder. Irving Penn took this picture of Yves saint Laurent at this first collection in Paris.
Image - taken from Google images - Yves Saint Laurent, at the age of 22.  I like the image because of how the lighting has only lit up onside of his face , and the other is in the shadow, quite mysterious


Another picture that caught my eye was of the young David Bowie, taken by Lord Snowden in September 1978 (Unpublished version) on a Vintage bromide print. Bowie was coming out of this Thin White duke faze and was having a photo shoot for the release of his new album Berlin Trilogy of albums.


Image 2 - David Bowie - Taken by Lord Snowden. I wanted to re create this image with my son on a wall in the park, but time got the better of me, but again I can always come back to this.



The 3rd picture I liked the look of was the screen print on gold foil of Kate Moss by the photographer Nick Knight. This was a photograph that had been printed on to gold foil. It looks very impressive close up.





Image 3 - Model Kate Moss - Gold Kate - taken and created by Nick Knight.


When I was in Manchester I was also taking portrait images of people for the week 3 Photograph assignment, ( see planning a picture project )
I also took a few pictures of Manchester City Centre, of buildings, and when I was travelling on the top of the bus home.

Image 1 - ISO 100 42 mm F5.6 1/50 sec - China Town street lighting
Image 2 - ISO 100 48 mm F5.6 1/30 sec - Wet Shadow - I like the reflection of me taking the picture through the glass.
Image 3 - ISO 100 34 mm F5.6 1/160 sec - Back end of a bus.
Image 4 - ISO 400 25 mm F4.5 1/200 sec - I like the moody lighting and the church clock just about peeping through the trees in this image.
Image 5 -ISO 400 24mm F4.5 1/200 sec - The day was a day where the sun was out and then there was showers, you can see the wet areas and shading in this image of the building. very moody
Image 6 - ISO 400 42 mm F5.0 1/100 sec - There are some very beautiful Victorian buildings in Manchester, that still have retained there features.


Image 7 - ISO 400 34 mm F4.5 1/50 sec - The lone walk.
Image 8- ISO 400 34 mm F5.6 1/100 sec - Autumn Leaves.
Image 9 - ISO 400 25 mm F5.6 1/250 sec - Climbing High

Image 10 - ISO 400 55 mm F5.6 1/320 sec - When your cleaning windows.
Image 11 - ISO 400 18 mm F4.5 1/250 sec . Manchester street.
Image 12 - ISO 400 42 mm F5.0 1/80 sec - This image made me laugh, a Town Hall back street public house, hidden behind the rubbish bins.
Image 13 - ISO 400 55 mm F5.6 1/100 sec - North style - Albert Square.
Image 14 - ISO 400 34 mm F4.5 1/60 sec - Lights down the tunnel.
These next set of images where taken from the top deck of the bus, looking out of the window and taking images from a different view point.

Image 1 - ISO 400 55 mm F5.6 1/320 sec - Contemporise glass windows. 
Image 2 - ISO 400 55 mm F5.6 1/200 sec - Deansgate.
Image 3 - ISO 400 55 mm F5.6 1/200 sec - Large House.
Image 4 - ISO 400 55 mm F5.6 1/30 sec - Hungry
Image 5  - ISO 400 52 mm F5.6 1/200 sec - Reflection of Time.
Image 6 - ISO 400 52 mm F5.6 1/125 sec - Canal Street.
Image 7 - ISO 400 55 mm F5.6 1/250 sec - Reflection behind bars.



College Student Photography Challenge - 06/12/16


 Out in Blackburn Town Centre with Students who had interest  in coming to University from the college photography group. we was given a couple of college students to take some photographs in a limited time, them come back into the University, edit their images, put them on a pen drive and discuss them in the classroom after. The college students tasks where to take 4 images , shallow depth of field, portrait, Still life, and landscape.

I wanted to get involved while I was in the town, because I wanted more practise, so here are a couple of my examples.



People Portraits



 Image 1 - ISO 100 36 mm F11 1/13 sec - Aperture Priority - college student in the grounds of the University.


Image 2 - ISO 100 55mm F11 1/8 sec - Aperture Priority - 2 year photography student in the grounds of the university.


 Image 3 - ISO 100 55mm F5.6 1/5 sec - Aperture Priority - lady serving in Oddies bakery in Blackburn town centre


Image 4 - ISO 100 55mm F5.6 1/8 sec - Aperture Priority- manager of the bakery, there is a little bit of camera shake on this image, but I love the colour of his eye brows.


 Image 5 - ISO 400 50mm F5.6 1/100 sec - Aperture Priority - This lady was sat on a bench, she had no money but was happy for us to take her photograph, we gave her a couple of pounds to buy her a hot meal.

Image 6 - ISO 400 45mm F5 1/125 sec - Aperture Priority - This young lad stopped us and said " I'm Britain's next top model, you can take my picture if you like".

 Shallow depth of field



 Image 1 - ISO 100 55mm F5.6 1/50 sec - Aperture Priority _ Trevor's new toy - Ukulele.



Image 2 - ISO 100 55mm F5.6 1/50 sec - Aperture Priority _ Trevor's new toy - Ukulele.



Image 3 - ISO 100 55mm F5.6 1/60 sec - Aperture Priority - Pigeon's in Blackburn Town centre.

 Landscape/Urbanscape



 Image 1 - ISO 100 26mm F5.6 1/100 sec - Aperture Priority _ Stair well/clock Blackburn town centre. 
Image 2 - ISO 400 48 mm F5.3 1/50 sec - Aperture Priority _  Blackburn bus station - I was drawn to the reflection on the glass and the structure or form inside the bus station, that is why I wanted to take this image.
Image 3 - ISO 400 48 mm F5.3 1/640 sec - Aperture Priority _  Blackburn bus station - reflection's.
 Image 4 - ISO 400 48 mm F5.3 1/640 sec - Aperture Priority  - Blackburn Bus station.
Image 5 - ISO 400 48 mm F5.3 1/400 sec - Aperture Priority _ Blackburn Bus station - town centre.
 Image 6 - ISO 400 42 mm F5 1/320 sec - Aperture Priority - Pavements Blackburn town centre.
Image 7 - ISO 400 42 mm F5 1/250 sec - Aperture Priority - Pavements Blackburn town centre.
Image 8 - ISO 100 50 mm F5.6 1/20 sec - Aperture Priority - Glass Barrier a round the plants in Blackburn town centre

Image 9 - ISO 400 55mm F5.6 1/80 sec - Aperture Priority - Bee Hive brain - this image caught my eye in Blackburn town centre, I thought the tree looked like a Bee hive hair style.



Still life Objects



 Image 1 - ISO 100 26 mm F5.6 1/250 sec - Aperture Priority - My Tin on a wall.
Image 2 - ISO 100 52 mm F5.6 1/250 sec - Aperture Priority - My Tin on a wall, but closer.
Garden Practise at Home 


Image 1 - ISO 400 40mm F4.5 1/60 sec - Autumn dew drops the colours in Autumn are beautiful at this time of year, the oranges and reds of the leafs are magnificent.
Image 2 - ISO 200 40mm F4.5 1/60 sec - Hidden World - is there a secret world hiding in our gardens ?
Image 3 - ISO 100 34mm F5.0 1/8 sec - Closed for Web - I like the rain drops on the web, over the closed gate on this image, it is my garden gate.
Image 4 - ISO 100 34mm F5.0 1/15 sec - I like the Shallow depth of field in this image, how the dew drops are clear and the background blends and melts out of focus.
Image 5 - ISO 100 25mm F5.0 1/25 sec- Poppy drops - This was my favourite image that I had taken in the garden, I love the black background, how the front of the Poppy is in focus, which draws your eyes in to this area first, and how you then move your eyes to the blurred out images of the poppy.
Image 6 - ISO 100 34mm F5.0 1/8 sec - Sea of dew - I like how the light reflects on the water droplets in this image.
Image 7 - ISO 100 25mm F5.0 1/40 sec - This image is not as crisp, or as sharp as I would have liked it to be, I had a bit of camera shake due to the settings of the shutter speed
Image 8 - ISO 100 25mm F5.0 1/6 sec - Dewdrop skirt


I took these photographs in my garden today, I love when the rain is slow and you can see the raindrops on the plants, flowers and bushes. it has been a damp kind of day, when there has been no bright light, which enhances the reflection in the water droplets. Its quite a magical experience. I feel this is where I am most happy and content, outside, close to the object and nature.


 Pecha Kucha Presentation.
We have been asked to show a Pecha Kucha presentation on why I want to study Photography. we had 20 images to show with 20 seconds spent on each image to describe the image, or to in corporate it into the slide show. We could either present it on our own or split the images with another student. I was asked by another student if we could share, so I did 10 images. I was very nervous and I rushed the speaking side a little bit, I have never used power point or done a presentation before. here are my 10 images with a little bit more of a brief description with each image.


Image/slide 1 - Once Upon a Time .
This was one of the first images that got me back into photography. I had a fall and received a bang to the head. I had a hairline fracture just behind my nose, which caused me to have a CSF leak ( Cerebral spinal fluid). I was off work for 2 month, and I was getting board, so I decided to try re fashioning furniture. This is one of the first pieces I did, I tried to take photographs but they wasn't very good, so I asked my brother, Michael to take some for me. I wanted to take my own.


Image/slide 2 - My Siblings, My younger brother Michael, on the left and my younger sister Julie on the right. My brother Michael had been to study photography, at the university first, he passed the degree course and got a BA Honour 1st. We used to hear about all kinds of projects and ideas. The a couple of years later My sister went to the same University, she is in year 2 at this present time, they did try to get me to go but I was too busy with my own life, how ever I did ask a lot of questions.




Image/slide 3 - Family outings - Because I was the only one who has a car, and can drive, I was like the taxi driver, we used to go out on shoots as a family. I had my own little Olympus camera. I would follow them about, and snap at anything, and everything. They used to say" slow down, think about the images you are taking," "look at things from a different angle" they talked about F stops, ISO settings and Apertures..... I thought an Aperture was a something you get in a restaurant as a starter !!! only kidding. So in a way I wanted to know more, game more knowledge, These outings " re- lit my fire " so to speak.






 Image/slide 4 - Paul Hill, Photographer and Faye Godwin, Photographer - Friends in the Field of photography.

My siblings used to talk about these photographers, as well as others. I didn't know who they where or what their genera's where. My brothers used to say that some of my images had the look or style to Faye Godwin, or that they was a bit Paul Hill looking, or feel to them. I did go and look them up and did a bit of research via the internet.








Image/slide 5 - Compare and comparison - The image on the left is an image I took at Inglebrorough lake in Clapham. On a family outing. I didn't know at the time of Faye Godwin. I loved the reflection of the bare trees in the water, I loved how the shadows cascaded over the waters surface, you could still see the rocks under the water. After a bit of research I spotted this image by Faye Godwin, and thought it looked similar in form to my image, I like how she portrait's her images, how the reflection of the skeletal like tree branches fall on the waters surface.




Image/slide 6 - The Eye - A lot of people used to say I had "The Eye" for photography, and that I should study it a bit. My Siblings, especially my sister used to say "Come to Uni with me" but I thought I was too old and that I had a full time job, where would I find the time, and so on. I did take this image myself, and it is my own eye, with the reflection of the camera, and my bathroom captured within the eye.



Image/slide 7 - " Crisp enough" I used to get frustrated and felt that my photographs were not good, or blurred not as crisp as my siblings, again they talked about what settings I was using, I didn't really understand the technical side of it, so I used to practise taking images around the house. This image shows my Shallow depth of field practise.
Image/slide 8 - Blackburn University- This image I took out side the university building. When I turned 50 I had decided to change my life and live for the moment, I wanted to focus more on my images, to understand what I was doing. I made a decision,  that will hopefully change my life. I still didn't think I was good enough so went for an interview, with my portfolio  images on my note book, sucked in a very deep breath and went to see the tutors about coming on to the university degree course.
Image/slide 9 - Fun guys - My sister and brother had said that the tutors where fun guys, great teachers, full of photography skills and knowledge, and that this was the place to gain knowledge and understanding. I also thought well anything they can do, I can do better, and if I couldn't beat them at least I could join them, and learn.


Image/slide 10 - Educating Andrea - So here I am, Now at Blackburn university, on a 3 year FDA/BA honours degree course, educating myself in Photography, or should I say the tutors are educating me, giving me their skills, knowledge and technics, filling my brains ( The image on the left, is one that caught my eye in Blackburn Town centre) to the full, of F stops, ISOs and Apertures, shallow depths of field, Hyperfocal distance and much more.  I'm a keen learner, yes, it may take me a little longer than some of the other students, Yes, I do forget things quicker than I used too, and I do have a lot to learn.... but I will get there, I am determined.

I hope you have enjoyed my 10 images and discussion on why I wanted to study Photography.


Moon Practise Pictures

 Image 1 - ISO  200 300mm F5.6 1/125 Manual - I have a thing about the moon, I would like to capture the moon with a clear, crisp image, I do practise this and have added a few of my most recent pictures I have taken.
Image 2 - ISO  1600 300mm F5.6 1/50 AP - I love the Haunting image of the moon in this photograph, its not quite in focus but I think this adds to the "mood"
 Image 3 - ISO  100 300mm F14 1/125 - manual - I like this image, you can see what I see that's a guy with sun glasses on holding a lion cub :)
Image 4 - Image 3 - ISO  200 300mm F5.6 1/200 - manual - this is not as clear as I wanted it to be.

Image 5 - Image 3 - ISO  200 300mm F5.6 1/125 sec - manual  I put a coloured filter on my camera for this image to see what it would look like

Experimenting with light and shadows

These next set of images was taken in my front room, the light was coming in from the window and reflecting on to my crystal and casting this shadow with the rainbow light onto my back wall, I wanted to take the picture, to see if it would look the same in camera than it did on the wall. I have edited them slightly for the colour and texture in light room.

Image 1 - ISO 6400 55mm F18 1/25 Sec AP - no flash.

Image 2 - ISO 6400 55mm F18 1/30 Sec AP - no flash.

Image 3 - ISO 6400 38mm F18 1/20 Sec AP - no flash. I realised that my shadow was caught in the reflection, so I used my hand in these next set of images.
Image 4 - ISO 6400 38mm F18 1/25 Sec AP - no flash.
Image 5 - ISO 6400 38mm F18 1/20 Sec AP - no flash.

Image 6 - ISO 6400 38mm F18 1/20 Sec AP - no flash.


Nature

I like being outside in the open and taking photographs, I feel I don't have a specific genre of images that I like taking the most pictures of. I like to take images of what catches my eye and what I feel I am drawn to. This appears to be nature, not always landscapes but items or bits and bobs of things like leaves, water drops, reflections, mushrooms, and the list goes on. The next set of images are a collect of what has caught my eye when I have been on a photograph outing.

Image 1 - ISO 800 40mm F5 1/ 100 Sec Manual - no flash. This image was taken in my garden, it was a dullish day.

Image 2 - ISO 640 55mm F5.6 1/80 Sec Aperture Priority  - no flash. This image was taken in the park in Burnley, I liked the colours and textures of the leaf.

Image 3 - ISO 400 52mm F5.6 1/ 113 Sec Aperture Priority  - no flash. This mushrooms was growing on a tree, they remind me of a mouse's ears.

Image 4 - ISO 800 36mm F5.6  1/10 Sec Aperture Priority  - no flash. This leave was in my garden, I loved the cure of the leave and how it was just lying there in the bush.

Image 5 - ISO 1600 36mm F5  1/5 Sec Aperture Priority This ivy is growing on my fence, I took this image looking down the I've as I thought the leave flowed better this way.

Image 6 - ISO 800 40mm F3.3  1/100 Sec Manual No flash. These water droplets was caught in a spiders web, what caught my eye was the large water droplet, it looked like there was an eye in the centre looking at me.

Image 7 - ISO 100 40mm F5. 1/100 Sec manual No Flash . This is a reflection of a plant in a plant pot dish full of water, I have taken this image in the summer, but wanted to re visit it in the winter.

Image 8 - ISO 800 40mm F5. 1/100 Sec Manual No Flash . I wanted to get close with this image to show the contrast mixed with the tiny leaves and water droplets.
Image 9 - ISO 200 40mm F6.3. 1/100 Sec Manual No Flash . I took several images of this flower, but I loved how the water droplet stand out alone on the top of the flowers petal.

Image 10  - ISO 200 40mm F6.3. 1/100 Sec Manual No Flash . This is an unusual image it was a curled up root with a bud on the end, hidden in my hanging basket.


Matt Savage - Flower Photography Exercise

Today in class, Matt gave us a photography exercise, he came in with 2 bunches of flowers, and stated that we had 1 hour to go and make images using the flowers, we could go outside and use natural light, the studio, with ambient, and flash lights. The brief was to go and make as many images as we wanted, then to be back in the class within 1 hour, where we had then another half an hour to choose , edit and submit 1 image.

I picked a couple of flowers from the bunch and decided to use natural light in the students rest room. There was a student using a soft box, so my images have captured a little bit of light from that.

below are a couple of my images.

Image 1 - This was the image I choose to submit to Matt after editing in Light room. I choose Black and white because I felt the image made you question for a few seconds as to what it was.

 Below are some more images that I made during the session.

Image 2 - ISO 800 40mm F4.5 1/100 sec manual - I arranged a couple of the flowers on the table, then decided I wanted to add a bit of water to them.

Image 3 - - ISO 800 40mm F4.5 1/100 sec manual - As I like reflections, I added more water so I could influence a mirror image on the table top.

Image 4 - ISO 800 40mm F4.5 1/100 sec manual - I wanted to keep the rich colour in this image, and the reflection on the table.

Image 5 - - ISO 800 40mm F4.5 1/100 sec manual - I just used the leaves in this image, I also love the shallow depth of field and the glint of the water.

Image 6 - - ISO 800 40mm F4.5 1/100 sec manual - I added the red flowers back onto the leaves, and got in really close, and focused on the centre of the flowers.

Image 7 - - ISO 800 40mm F4.5 1/60 sec Aperture priority - I decided I wanted to change my composition in the next image, so I choose a camera and draped the flowers over the camera.

Image 8 - - ISO 800 40mm F4.5 1/60 sec Aperture priority - This is the same image as I submitted, but I kept this one in colour.

Image 9 - ISO 800 40mm F4.5 1/60 sec Aperture priority. The composition for this images was to use the flowers on dried leaves for the different mix of textures.

Image 10 - ISO 800 40mm F4.5 1/60 sec Aperture priority.


Image 11 - ISO 800 40mm F4.5 1/60 sec Aperture priority


Matt also asked us to research these photographers, to research their work and look at their different styles, lighting effects and subject matter.

Photographer Research

Edward Weston- Photographer


Edward Henry Weston was a 20th-century American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers…" and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." Over the course of his 40-year career Weston photographed an increasingly expansive set of subjects, including landscapes, still lifes, nudes, portraits, genre scenes and even whimsical parodies. It is said that he developed a "quintessentially American, and specially Californian, approach to modern photography" because of his focus on the people and places of the American West. In 1937 Weston was the first photographer to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship, and over the next two years he produced nearly 1,400 negatives using his 8 × 10 view camera. Some of his most famous photographs were taken of the trees and rocks at Point Lobos, California, near where he lived for many years.

en.wikipedia.org · Text under CC-BY-SA license




Edward Henry Weston - Photographer - Pepper No 30 1930 Weston.



Here are 3 of my images of my intake and style of Peppers. I cut a red pepper in half and placed it on a home made light box, with a strobe light underneath.



Image 1 - ISO 100 40mm F5.6 1/200 sec - This is the pepper cut in half


 Image 2 - ISO 800 40mm F4.5 1/60 sec - This is edited to B&W as a contrast image, to get rid of the red and to see the difference in colours, shapes, and shadows.



Image 3 - ISO 800 40mm F4.5 1/60 sec - A close up of the peppers core and seed bank.


Imogen Cunningham - Photographer


Imogen Cunningham occupies a singular position in the history of American art of the twentieth century. For over half the history of photography, she explored- with innovation and a new perspective- all the major traditions associated with the medium as fine art.
Cunningham has been most widely acclaimed for the photographs made during the 1920s and 1930s, particularly close-up images of plants and nudes. She also made portraits which are now considered classics in photography, including images of Alfred Stieglitz, Spencer Tracy, and Martha Graham.
She was a founding member of the West Coast-based Group f.64, which championed an un-manipulated, direct approach with the camera, or “straight” photography. Her photographs are represented in major collections and museums around the world.




"I want everybody to be a self-learner. I don't believe in teaching, I believe in learning."

Imogen Cunningham

https://www.imogencunningham.com/about-imogen/


I have not had the pleasure of taking nude photographs at this stage in the course, however I do like getting in close with plants and trees. I also like shadows and have experimented with these.

Here are 2 of my images.

Image 1 -  ISO 2540  40mm F3.2 1/20 sec This was taken in my kitchen looking out, there was no lights on the background light outside on the path.
Image 2 - ISO 6400 40mm F3 1/3 sec - This image is the shadows from the garden on my front room door, I think this looks a like an alien creeping into the room.


Karl Blossfeldt - Photographer

Karl Blossfeldt (1865–1932) is recognised for his extensive and unique collection of photographic plant portraits that reveal the tactile qualities, intricate forms and uncanny aspects of flora. His fusion of scientific observation, sculptural form and surreal composition pioneered an artistic style that forged new approaches to modern art and photography.
Working at the junction of Art Nouveau and Modernism, Blossfeldt developed a series of homemade cameras that allowed him to photograph plant surfaces in  unprecedented magnified detail. Working as a tutor in Berlin from the late nineteenth century until his death, Blossfeldt’s works were primarily used as teaching tools and were brought to public attention in 1928 by his first publication Urformen der Kunst (Art Forms in Nature). Swiftly regarded as a seminal book on photography, Blossfeldt’s factual yet finely detailed imagery was praised by Walter Benjamin, adopted by the Surrealists and mass produced in magazines and books.

Here are a couple of my comparison images.

Image 1 - ISO 200 32mm F4.5 1/2000 sec - Bugs life.
Image 2 -ISO 200 18mm F5.6 1/640 sec  - Thistle twins.


Experimenting with Photographs and other Mediums

This is an image I had made from one of my studio shoots (shoot 7). I wanted to give a copy to the girl who sat for me, I printed a copy off onto a plain piece of  A4 paper. The idea was to see how the image looked then I could print a copy off onto glossy photographic paper.

However in the process I was distracted by the plain paper and the image that was transparent on the reverse of the paper, this gave me an idea to mix mediums, and I had used this method when I was creating an aged look for some materials that I was using to design a wooden cabinet at the time.

I used a used Teabag to distress the paper and see how the ink reacted to the water from the Teabag, this intrigued me to then light up the paper and re photograph the results.


Image 1 - ISO 100  55mm  F14  1/200 sec Manual - The original image, shot in the studio with 1 soft box light.

The next set of images are a progression of how the final images evolved and progressed. I liked the texture on the reverse side of the photograph, I had also taken some self portraits which I had named RAW, I started by doing this, by taking sections of the face and photographing them. I do like eyes, so most of the images are around the eye area.



 Image 1 -  ISO 2500  40mm  F8  1/4000 sec No flash - Aperture Priority.


 Image 2 -  ISO 2500  40mm  F8  1/4000 sec No flash - Aperture Priority.

Image 3 -  ISO 2500  40mm  F8  1/4000 sec No flash - Aperture Priority.

There are more images taken at this stage, but I am only giving you a small sample of images at each stage or progression.

Image 1 -  ISO 3200  40mm  F5.6  1/60 sec No flash - Manual.

 These next 2 images are examples of colour and Black and white, I wanted to see the different contrast of tonality, and shades of where the light would sit in different mediums. I had also placed the photograph paper on a plastic home made light box (see image 3)

Image 2 -  ISO  1250  40mm  F5.6  1/60 sec No flash - Manual

Image 3 - My home made light up box - a white plastic square light shade with a LED torch underneath. As you can see in this image I had used a Teabag effect on the photograph paper, which made the image distort because of the wetness and stain in the Teabag.

The next set of images, are samples of this procedure, and how it has effected the image on the photograph paper. I moved the paper around the light box, to light up different area to see how in some images the veins of the girl appear more prominent, how the stain darkens the areas where it has wet the paper, also when the paper is lit up from different view points. It was a process of experimentation, just to see what the effect was that was created.










I have also used different colours again to compare the textures produced in different mediums. Some images have been taken from different angles, so appear to have been cropped. Some of the images re mind me of Andy Warhol style of  paintings, with the block colours and how the images is recognisable, but distorted.

In the next set of images I introduced another light source, still on the torch theme but I lit up the photograph from the side, some close to the images, some from a distance, covering the image as well as the light source coming from under the image. this dramatically changed the contrast, and texture appearance of the photograph.









I then wondered how the images would look if I added another medium, or material to the photograph, I  wanted to see how it would effect how the image looked, give it another feel.
the next set of images are with different textured materials over the image, mostly from the eye area, photographed from different angles with just the light from the light box, underneath.







This was my set up in the kitchen, and some of the materials that I was using.


The last set of images I used a crystal egg as I wanted to see how the light reflected if I took a photograph with the egg places on the eye.

 Image 1 -  ISO 140  40mm  F5  1/40 sec flash, auto, strobe .

 Image 2  -  ISO 800  40mm  F5  1/125sec No flash -  manual

Image 3  -  ISO 800  40mm  F5  1/125sec No flash -  manual
As you can see from the original photograph, how many different images you can made with experimenting with the texture, form, look, lighting and style of an image.
I am learning all the time of where I should be using my lighting, by experimenting, using different lighting, lighting different areas, I do not always get this correct, but if I don't play how can I come to a conclusion that I actually want my image to look a certain way.
 I can expand my learning and knowledge of where I should place my lights and why I should place them in a certain area. Will I have shadows, shape, contrast, ?? will the image look better or more appealing to ones eye, ?? will you understand what I am trying to create??
I can ask myself how did I come to conclude that image A or image B was the best it could be at the time of the thought process??

Trees and Reflections

I love how the light reflects onto water, and the images you can see reflecting back.  When the wind kisses the water, how the images waves and change slightly, giving it an almost ghostly feel to it. the next set of images are from a day out to the canal in Burnley, the day was quite bright, there was not a lot of wind , so the water is quite still, but with a small gust, you can see how the images change giving you a different composition.

Image 1 - ISO 400 55mm F5.6 1/60 sec Aperture Priority no flash. This image was a puddle of water on the grass with the reflection of the trees, I like the skeletal feel of the trees at this time of year.

Image 2 - Image 1 - ISO 400 34mm F5.6 1/20 sec Aperture Priority no flash. This image is just the reflection of the tree on the water, there was a slight gust of wind which has caused the ripple effect.

Image 3 - ISO 400 55mm F5.6 1/200 sec Aperture Priority no flash. I have edited this image and changed it to Black & White, I feel in this picture the black and white look better, with how the light and shadows sit.

Image 4 - ISO 400 34mm F5.6 1/125 sec Aperture Priority no flash. I was experimenting with filters and different edits, so in this image I wanted to try a sepia exposure, I feel this gives the image an aged feel to it.

Image 5 - ISO 400 55mm F5.6 1/60 sec Aperture Priority no flash. In this image I cropped the picture quite a bit to give the whole image a ripple effect, I love how the light reflections are set out in this image, its quite haunting and it draws your eyes into the picture.

Image 6 - ISO 400 55mm F5.6 1/40 sec Aperture Priority no flash. This made me laugh, this is why you cannot get a trolley in the supermarkets, they are all in the streets or canals.

Image 7 - ISO 640 30mm F5.6 1/25 sec Aperture Priority no flash. In this image you can see the reflection in the water, and just below the surface you can see the mud at the bottom of the canal floor.

Image 8 - ISO 640 18mm F5.6 1/30 sec Aperture Priority no flash. This is a similar image to image 7, but if you look at the bottom left hand corner, you can see that a small bird has flown across the water creating a ghostly image.

Image 9 - ISO 640 52mm F5.6 1/60 sec Aperture Priority no flash. I just love the composition of this tree and the reflection in the water, and the empty seat inviting you to sit and have a quite moment by the water.

Image 10 - ISO 640 55mm F5.6 1/50 sec Aperture Priority no flash. I love the reflection of the barge in this image, it is like the barge has a 3D effect, and with the tree just coming out beneath the barge.

Image 11 - ISO 640 18mm F5.6 1/30 sec Aperture Priority no flash. I like the composition in this image, it is all most like a mirrored effect like the picture has been cut in half.

Image 12 - ISO 640 18mm F5.6 1/25 sec Aperture Priority no flash. This is another reflected image, of the other side of the path in image 11.


Planning a Photography Project
Blackburn Project

 Deadline for submission
11.am to 12.Noon
15th May 2017

Brief : As stated, the theme for the practical assignment for this module is "Blackburn".

You are encouraged to investigate and plan a first location shoot that has an intense or significant interest to you. This may include  an aspect of cultural or ' day to day' life that is part of the towns identity and character.
The genre or theme of your photographs is your choice and can reflect your interests in terms of photographic practise.
The practical core of this assignment involves repeated visits and shoots that should be shared in progress seminars with your peers and staff.
A portfolio of 10 prints is required for submission along with an in-depth blog section detailing the evolution of your work.

Submission instructions

* Final practical outcomes adhering to individual briefs guidelines.
* 10 A4 prints approx. in an A4 print box
* Blog section detailing all module work, notes and materials from your main project in Semester A and the weekly picture projects in semester B.


Research photographs of Blackburn

 1st location outing Blackburn Town centre

16/01/17

I was not really sure of what I wanted to photograph on my first outing, so I though I would have a wander around the Blackburn area and see if anything would have caught my eye. I am not from Blackburn and I do not really know the area very well except for catching the bus, train or car to the shopping centre. It is sometimes good to have a walk around to see what you can see.


Image 1 - ISO 400 55m  F8 1/125 Sec - This image was taken in Blackburn, where all the solicitor offices are.

Image 2 - ISO 800 55m  F9 1/1000 Sec . This is the next street (I will have to revisit and find the name of the streets.

Image 3 - ISO 400 48m  F6.3 1/1600 Sec . Reflection of the training centre outside the Thwaite's brewery, near the old market and bus station.

Image 4 - ISO 400 25mm  F6.3 1/1600 Sec The old bus station road sign, erased
Image 5- ISO 1600 55mm  F6.3 1/1250 Sec - The car park across from the new bus station in Blackburn Town centre.

 Image 6 - ISO 800 20mm  F6.3 1/1600 Sec - One of the sculptures in the town centre of Blackburn.
Image 7 - ISO 1600 52mm  F6.3 1/320 Sec - The entrance to the Arndale market in Blackburn town centre.



Image 8 - ISO 1600 55mm  F6.3 1/320 Sec - The old building Campbell's Amusements and café.

Image 9 - ISO 1600 36mm  F6.3 1/1400 Sec - A sculpture in Blackburn Town centre.

 Image 10 - ISO 1600 55mm  F6.3 1/500 Sec - Blackburn Bus Station
Image 11 - ISO 1600 36mm  F6.3 1/1250 Sec - The sculptures in Blackburn town centre.


After walking round Blackburn town centre, I wandered into the area called Whalley Range, this area is full of culture, and intrigue, it also had some fantastic images. The images that I found most appealing to me as a viewer was the items in the shops and windows, as it shows different cultures have different goods to sell and we each have an understanding of how we show or try to sell these items.
 The next set of images are from the local shop windows in this area of Whalley Range.

2nd location outing

In side Shop windows
Image 1 - ISO 1000 55mm  F5.6 1/500 Sec - Ladies Dress shop.

Image 2 - ISO 1000 55mm  F5.6 1/1600 Sec - Sign above a shop door way.

 Image 3 - ISO 1000 28mm  F5.6 16400 Sec - Material hanging up in the shop window.

 Image 4 - ISO 1000 28mm  F5.6 1/60 Sec - The Barbers shop.

 Image 5 - ISO 1000 28mm  F5.6 1/400 Sec - Dummy's head in a shop window.

 Image 6 - ISO 1000 38mm  F5.6 1/160 Sec - Display in a hairdressers shop window

Image 7 - ISO 1000 48mm  F5.6 1/125 Sec - Image and reflection inside and out.

Image 8 - ISO 1000 55mm  F5.6 1/500 Sec - Money Pile image in a shop window (not real money)

Image 9 - ISO 1000 55mm  F5.6 1/320 Sec - The heads  - selling head scarfs and clothes.

Image 10 - ISO 1000 55mm  F5.6 1/800 Sec - Sign outside the International language Centre, in Blackburn.


Image 11 - ISO 800 55mm  F9 1/60 Sec - This was in a hairdressers shop window.

Image 12 - ISO 1000 55mm  F5.6 1/1600 Sec _ Street life in Whalley range , Blackburn.


Image 13 - ISO 1000 38mm  F5.6 1/800 Sec - Back street of Whalley range Blackburn.

 I found this outing very enjoyable, I was with another student from the university, called kirk, we had a good talk about our projects and what we wanted to achieve from these shoots, this is a good way if your new to an area you are unsure about, is to go in pairs, until the local community get used to you being there. I could imagine in some areas, in different circumstance's, you could end up feeling intimidated.

3rd location outing

Blackburn Canal - reflections

I was doing a studio portrait photo shoot in Blackburn, and decided I would have a walk along the canal after the shoot, as research and inspiration for my Blackburn Module,  as i was still unsure what i was going to use. I have a very big liking for reflections in water, trees and  some images that catch my eye.

These next set of images are what I took on my voyage.

 Image 1 - ISO 1000 46mm F5.6 1/200 sec - Canal banking - Daisy field
Image 2 - ISO 800 42 mm F5.6 1/80 sec - Canal banking - Daisy field

 Image 3 - ISO 800 18mm F5.6 1/80 sec - Canal banking - Daisy field mill

 Image 4 - ISO 800 18mm F5.6 1/80 sec - Canal banking building reflections - Daisy field
 Image 5 - ISO 1600 18mm F5.6 1/80 sec - Canal banking building reflections - Daisy field

Image 6 - ISO 1600 35mm F5.6 1/80 sec - Canal banking building reflections - Daisy field

 Image 7 - ISO 2000 27mm F5.6 1/80 sec - Canal banking sign post - Daisy field

Image 8 - ISO 2500 48 mm F5.6 1/80 sec - Canal banking building reflections - Daisy field

 Image 9 - ISO 6400 20 mm F3.5 1/60 sec - Canal banking - Under the bridge reflections - Daisy field

Image 10 - ISO 5000 26 mm F5.6 1/80 sec - Canal banking building reflections - Graham & Browns wall paper factory- Daisy field.

 I did like the Canal shoot very much, but felt that there was 2 students who had already chosen tis as their project it was up to me to find another interest.

4th location outing
Lark Hill & Daisyfield -Blackburn 2017

 After stumbling across this area, quite by accident really, Lark Hill and St Albans church, I decided this was going to be my project module for Blackburn. I liked the area, it had a good feel to it, even though in some areas it is a little bit run down, but found it had character, something of interest, like the churches and social club, some history, about how it used to be a very popular area for the Irish cotton pickers, and something I hope you will enjoy in the year 2017.

Lark Hill - St Albans Catholic Church.

The area type is urban, and the local authority is Blackburn and Darwen.



this images shows the area of Blackburn that is called Daisyfield and lark Hill.

I was taking photographs outside in the grounds St Albans Church, when a gentleman called Peter approached me, he said " I hope you don't find any cracks in the wall" we started talking and he asked me my name and what I was doing, I told him that I was a Mature student at Blackburn University and that I was looking for inspirational images to use in my "Blackburn Brief Module" He told me about the Social club that belong to St Albans and why it has closed down, because the roof needed replacing and the club needed to be totally modernised. It is cheaper to re build the building. I asked if I could come back and go inside the social club, he said I would have to speak with father Jude.
I went to Blackburn library in the town centre to do some research on the church. There was a lot of information and news clippings from another church in another area. I did manage to establish that St Albans was the first catholic church in the area and was built in 1773, it has been knocked down and rebuilt several times over the following years, this was mostly due to the rise in the local population and the fact that there was a lot of Irish Catholics moving into the area, to work in the cotton mills, they wanted somewhere to prey, the church was fast becoming to small, so they knocked it down and rebuilt it a lot bigger.
 These images I took inside the church with the permission from father Jude.

 Image 1 - The drawings of the church in 1773-1780 and 1780-1826
Image 2 St Albans church, as you can see there are a row of terraced houses at the side of the church. they are no longer there.
Image 3 - This images shows the side of the church, which is now a car park.
Image 4 - This is some history about the church and how father Parker expanded the church because it had become to small for its congregation.

For more information about St Albans church please follow this link http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/Blackburn/StAlban

I contacted father Jude and arrange a visit to meet up and chat about my project, he said I could go inside and photograph the church and the Social club. He made me laugh as he is an avid Burnley Football club supporter.

These are my images inside and outside of St Albans church and St Albans social club.

5th location outing

St Albans Social Club

 Image 1 - ISO 320 F8 22mm 1/250 sec - This images is from the back of the St Albans social club


 Image 2 - ISO 250 F5.6  40mm 1/160 sec - This is the front entrance of St Albans Social club, that they are going to knock down as the building needs a new roof and a complete re-decoration

This is one of the Images I have chosen for one of my final 10 images, I chose this image because they are going to knock the building down and this will be lost forever, except as a memory in a photograph.

Image 3 - ISO 1000  F3.5 20mm 1/60 sec - This is the main social room inside St Albans.

 This is one of the Images I have chosen for one of my final 10 images, I chose this image because they are going to knock the building down and this will be lost forever, except as a memory in a photograph.
Image 4 - ISO 5000  F4.2  30mm 1/60 sec - This is the main social room inside St Albans.

Image 5 - ISO 3200  F4.2  30mm 1/60 sec - This is the main social room inside St Albans. This board made me chuckle when I saw it, as the room was empty and I wouldn't like to cross June the Manager.


 Image 6 - ISO 2800  F3.5  30mm 1/60 sec - This is the main social room, bar area inside St Albans.


 Image 7 - ISO 250  F8  20mm 1/250 sec - This is the view from an upstairs window, over looking Daisyfield flats from St Albans.

Image 8 - ISO 5000  F4.2  30mm 1/60 sec - This is the main social room inside St Albans.

Image 9 - ISO 5000  F4.2  30mm 1/60 sec - This is the main social room inside St Albans, looking out of the window you can see the church.

Image 10 - ISO 3200  F3.5  20mm 1/60 sec - This is the empty bar inside the St Albans social club.

Image 11 - ISO 450  F4.5  20mm 1/80 sec - This sign was on the door leading into an empty room, I couldn't get in this room as it was locked.
I was lucky to have been inside the social club, they are going to knock it down soon, and rebuild, I did ask father Jude why they are going to do this, he said to me that the roof needs fully fixing and the inside would need a full modernisation, which would cost thousands of pounds, and that it would be cheaper to re build. I asked him if it would be possible to rent the building out to anyone who would be interested, his reply was a surprise but I can see what he means, apart from the cost to make it safe to use, he and his congregation didn't want another take away or taxi office in the town.

Inside St Albans Church

 Image 1- ISO 400  F5  32mm 1/100 sec - The view inside the church looking down the isle from the main Alter.

Image 2 - ISO 800  F4.5  34mm 1/60 sec - This is the view from the main Alter, where the priest would light the candles and read sermons from his bible.

 This is one of my final ten images for the Blackburn Project, I chose this image as I can feel the presence of the congregation that the priest must feel when he stands on the Alter to preach to his flock.


Image 3 - ISO 1600  F4.5  34mm 1/60 sec - This is the view from the main entrance , looking down towards the alter. I like the composition of the 2 men at each side of the alter. The one on the right is a volunteer, he helps out with setting the alter and cleaning, the other I'm not too sure about as the other gentleman was slightly uncomfortable around him, he soon left when I started to walk towards them.

 This image is one of my final ten submission for the Blackburn Project, the reason I chose this image is because sometimes a photograph gives you a "hint" or a "clue to a situation that cannot always be seen.

 Image 4 - ISO 1250  F4.5  34mm 1/60 sec - Margaret Clitheroe - when I have research this Saint this is what I have found please see link below

 http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=515

 St. Margaret Clitherow was born in Middleton, England, in 1555, of protestant parents. Possessed of good looks and full of wit and merriment, she was a charming personality. In 1571, she married John Clitherow, a well-to-do grazier and butcher (to whom she bore two children), and a few years later entered the Catholic Church. Her zeal led her to harbor fugitive priests, for which she was arrested and imprisoned by hostile authorities. Recourse was had to every means in an attempt to make her deny her Faith, but the holy woman stood firm. Finally, she was condemned to be pressed to death on March 25, 1586. She was stretched out on the ground with a sharp rock on her back and crushed under a door over laden with unbearable weights. Her bones were broken and she died within fifteen minutes. The humanity and holiness of this servant of God can be readily glimpsed in her words to a friend when she learned of her condemnation: "The sheriffs have said that I am going to die this coming Friday; and I feel the weakness of my flesh which is troubled at this news, but my spirit rejoices greatly. For the love of God, pray for me and ask all good people to do likewise." Her feast day is March 26th.

   Image 5 - ISO 2500  F4.5  34mm 1/60 sec - The 2 grand chairs on the main Alter, this is where the priest would sit.

  Image 6 - ISO 4500  F4.5  34mm 1/60 sec - Tell me your sins, this is where you go to tell your sins to the priest, he would bless you and give you several hail Marys and you would be repented.


 Image 7 - ISO 800  F5  45mm 1/60 sec - The holy mother and baby Jesus.

 Outside St Albans Church In The Grounds

As well as statues in the church there are a couple that caught my eye in the grounds outside the church, I'm sure these have been Photographed in the past, as they are an Iconic structure of the church and are accessible to any body who would like to take photographs, but I thought they would tie in nicely with my Blackburn project.

 Image 1 - ISO 160  F5.6  55mm 1/125 sec - I liked this statue of  The Holy Mother and baby Jesus, I like how the child appears to be blessing you, and you have the look of a mothers pride, looking at her child. 

  Image 2 - ISO 160  F5  21mm 1/15 sec - This tickled me a bit, as I know I have seen this in University, Richard showed me an image of this, I just thought it was ironic that they had to put a metal barrier behind the lady statue kneeling down, as I think it may have been knocked over as it is in the car park. 

Image 3 - ISO 1600  F6.3  40mm 1/1250 sec - This image is of Jesus holding his hands out, like he is blessing all who approach him.
Image 4 - ISO 100  F5.6  48mm 1/20 sec - This is on the entrance above the side door of the church.

 Tutor Feedback

I have shown Richard some of my images in a tutorial session, he has said that I may be better shooting my images with more back ground. I like to shoot my images close up I feel when I see something I get distracted by the background.
But I took this on board and thought.... I can do this... so I went out again and tried to shoot images from around my area Daisyfield, but with background, more street scenes, and people in the environment..  I did find this a little hard at first but I decided that I would get the hang of it.

here are some of my images.

6th location outing
Image 1 - ISO 250  F8  20mm 1/250 sec - This is the play ground at the back of the trio block of flats in Daisyfield.

 This image is one of my final ten submission for the Blackburn Project, the reason I chose this image is because of the composition of the park contrasted with the empowering block of flats in the back ground.
 Image 2 - ISO 400  F6.3  55mm 1/160 sec. I wanted to show the housing estate, which is a community in its self.

 Image 3 - ISO 400  F8  55mm 1/250 sec - This is another view of houses, you have the flats standing tall over the council estate.

 Image 4 - ISO 1000  F5.6  55mm 1/2000 sec. You have a view from Whalley range here with the 3 blocks of flats towering over the skyline, and roof tops of Blackburn.

 This image is one of my final ten submission for the Blackburn Project, the reason I chose this image is because I liked the imposing tall structures of the blocks of flats towering over the town centre.

Image 5 - ISO 100  F5.6  40mm 1/80 sec - This image shows how close the church, St Albans is to its community, and the 3 block of flats.  St Albans Court, Trinity Court, and Daisyfield Court.

 This image is one of my final ten submission for the Blackburn Project, the reason I chose this image is because of the way the railing draws your eye to the flats and the church in the background.
 Image 6 - ISO 1600  F6.3  48mm 1/800 sec - This image was taken from the top of the hill at lark hill looking down into the town centre of Blackburn.

 This image is one of my final ten submission for the Blackburn Project, the reason I chose this image is because I love the beauty in it, the way your eye comes to blend with the beauty of nature, cascading down the garden path, towards the stone structures of Blackburn town centre

Image 7 - ISO 1600  F6.3  55mm 1/4000 sec - This image was taken from the bottom of lark Hill, it is the church of Holy Trinity.

 This image is one of my final ten submission for the Blackburn Project, the reason I chose this image is because I liked the soul figure walking up towards the church, with the birds flying above.


Daisyfield Train Crossing
Daisyfield railway station was a railway station that served the Daisyfield area of Blackburn, Lancashire.

History
The station was opened by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway in 1872 and closed by British Railways in 1958. When the line was reopened as far as Clitheroe in 1994, Daisyfield remained closed; however the station signal box is still in operation to supervise the adjacent level crossing.
It also acts as a fringe box to Preston power signal box, controlling the line towards Clitheroe and the single line via slotted signals, requiring both the signalman at Preston and Daisyfield, to give a release before a train can use the single line. The disused platforms are still visible from passing trains.

https://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Daisyfield%20railway%20station

Image 1 - ISO 100  F18  40mm 1/50 sec - I was out and about in the area of Daisyfield train station, when a train came past, I like how the train is blurred and you can see the sharpness of the gates light.
Image 2 - ISO 100  F18  40mm 1/50 sec - I took this image while I was waiting for the train to arrive, with the blocks of flats towering in the background.


 Image 3 - ISO 250  F8  20mm 1/250 sec - This is the Daisyfield train crossing.

Image 4 - ISO 280  F8  55mm 1/250 sec - This is the view looking down the train track, through the barriers.


 Image 5 - ISO 280  F8  38mm 1/250 sec - This is the public house, Florence, at the side of the Daisyfield train crossing.


 Image 6 - ISO 400  F7.1  24mm 1/200 sec - This pub sign outside has been edited I thought this was very funny.


Daisyfield and the Cob Wall Social Club.

BLACKBURN’S ‘eyesore’ former Cob Wall Working Men’s Club is to be given a new lease of life as a convenience store and cafe. The premises in Daisy Lane, off Whalley Old Road, are currently ‘vacant and in a dilapidated state’ planning officials told councillors on Thursday night.
They recommended that Salim Patel’s plans to revive the building would be good news for neighbours in Audley.
Seven local residents and businesses disagreed with the council officials and wrote to Blackburn with Darwen planning and highways committee objecting to the scheme. They objected to the smells, traffic and rubbish that the plan would produce.
Tory planning spokesman Alan Cottam told his fellow committee members: “I agree that this in an eyesore and it is a good development but there will be odours. We need to do something to protect the neighbouring flats from smells coming from food preparation in the cafe. Can the scheme go ahead without the cafe?”
Audley ward councillor Yusuf Jan-Virmani strongly supported the proposal.
He said: “This is an eyesore. This is a god way to revive this building and give it a new lease of life.
“The cafe is needed. There are many elderly people who will use not just the shop but the cafe as well.”
Committee chairman Dave Smith said: “This will improve the Daisyfield area. We should support it.”
The committee voted to give the plan the go-ahead provided Mr Patel started the redevelopment within three years.
It also imposed restrictions to prevent deliveries in the early mornings, after 10 pm and on Sundays, bank holidays and public holidays.
Planning officer Gavin Prescott told the committee that the proposals would reduce the blandness of the existing building and ‘provide the character of local convenience store’.
He added: “There are no convenience goods shopping facilities of any significant scale within an easy walking distance of the site."
Mr Prescott said: “In terms of anti-social behaviour it would be better to have the building in use rather than empty and derelict.”

http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/10831440.New_lease_of_life_for_former_Blackburn_working_men_s_club/

The Cob Wall social club I found very interesting to photograph, I liked the derelict look of the building, I was very tempted to climb in through a window that had been exposed or opened, but felt I had better not, so I took images from the outside looking and leaning into the club.

The next set of images are from in and around the club and area of Daisyfield.


Image 1 - ISO 100  F6.3  40mm 1/80 sec - The Cob Wall social club, looking across from Daisyfield court.


Image 2 - ISO 100  F5.6  40mm 1/80 sec - The Cob Wall social club at the side of Daisyfield Court, Blackburn.

 This image is one of my final ten submission for the Blackburn Project, the reason I chose this image is because of the contrast of the derelict building of the Cob Wall social club and the Daisyfield court flats.



Image 3 - ISO 100  F4.5  40mm 1/125 sec - The dismembered Cob wall social club, under going renovations.

 Image 4 - ISO 640  F4.5  40mm 1/125 sec - Inside the Cob wall social club, there's not much roof left on the building, in fact there's not much left full stop.

 This image is one of my final ten submission for the Blackburn Project, the reason I chose this image is because I love reflections and this image I feel reflects the old making way for the new.

 Image 5 - ISO 320  F4.5  40mm 1/125 sec - This is a box of empty jars outside on the floor in the grounds of the Cob wall social club.

Image 6 - ISO 320  F4.5  40mm 1/125 sec - Wooden doors, I'm not sure if this will become fire wood or for recycling.

 Image 7 - ISO 320  F4.5  40mm 1/125 sec - These houses are the view from the Cob wall social clubs car park.

Image 8 - ISO 100  F5.6  40mm 1/80 sec - Keep out warning sign on the wall of the Cob wall social club.

Image 9 - ISO 1250  F5  40mm 1/80 sec - This is a view from the outside looking in to the building, the outside wall has been ripped off exposing the inside of the Cob wall social club.

Image 10 - ISO 250  F5  40mm 1/80 sec - This area is of the bathroom looking in from the outside of the Cob Wall social club.

Image 11 - ISO 250  F5  40mm 1/80 sec - This images shows all the bathroom toilets, as you can see how the wall has been ripped off the side of the building.

Image 12 - ISO 100  F2.8  40mm 1/60 sec - Outside looking in, the bathroom area of the Cob wall social club.

Image 13 - ISO 2000  F3.5  40mm 1/4000 sec - The Daisyfield swimming baths sit along side the Cob Wall social club and Daisyfield court.


Image 14 - ISO 320  F3.5  40mm 1/80 sec - "Cycle park" bins outside the Daisyfield swimming baths.



Lark Hill & Eanam Area

I decided on this visit 7th or 8th outing (I think) to go and explore the Lark Hill area and St Trinity Church, I have tried several times to get a view from a high point, but I haven't had any luck, I did try and get in the flats but I think that would have to be something to work on for a later date.

Here are some of the images from around this area.

 Image 1 - ISO 100  F10  40mm 1/100 sec - You can tell in this image but the door was just opening and it startled the young lady walking past, she was also aware I was taking photographs.

 Image 2 - ISO 100  F10  40mm 1/100 sec - I like this photograph, the 2 ladies was talking and laughing about something and you have lone gentleman looking at me as he was walking up.

Image 3 - ISO 100  F14  40mm 1/100 sec - I'm not sure if I am still in the Lark hill area, as this is near the Eanam canal area, but I loved how the shadows from the concrete balls fall in this picture, also a man was walking past at the time, this is something I have seen several times on my way home and wanted to photograph.

 Image 4 -ISO 100  F14  40mm 1/100 sec - I love the composition in this image looking through the shape of the iron railing, you can see Holy trinity church and the Lark hill flats.

Image 5 - ISO 100  F14  40mm 1/100 sec - I thought this was a good place to capture this image, you have new buildings with the old.

 Image 6 - ISO 100  F5.6  40mm 1/200 sec - This is my car, I had parked it here while I was walking round, it make me chuckle with the sign on the wall, fragile roof.

Image 7 - ISO 100  F5.6  40mm 1/200 sec - This is the view down Birley Street, looking down to wards the flats.

Image 8 - ISO 100  F5.6  40mm 1/200 sec - I like these street signs, I feel this maybe a personal project in the making

 Image 9 - ISO 100  F5.6  40mm 1/200 sec - This is across the road from Birley Street, it the start of the industrial area.

Image 10 - ISO 100  F5.6  40mm 1/200 sec - This building on Birley street has been knocked down, I'm not sure what they are planning to build here, I did ask a man but he didn't know either.

I thought I would do a bit of research on the building, I came across this article in the telegraph website.


A LARGE Blackburn mill left gutted in a huge blaze will be partly demolished, it was confirmed yesterday.
Roads in the area remained closed as council officers met with the owner of the unit, in Birley Street, and insurance officials to discuss its future. Officials from forensic investigators Burgoyne's were also in attendance, as large clouds of dust billowed from the building’s blackened shell as they examined the damage. More than 40 firefighters tackled the blaze overnight on Monday, and managed to stop it from spreading to nearby buildings.
The building, formerly known as the Manner Sutton Street boiler works and foundry, behind Alkron Properties, is thought to be home to both a tyre recycling business and a toilet roll factory.
A council spokeswoman said a multi-agency meeting was held on Tuesday to look into the fire and its cause.
Incident commanders from the fire service, and representatives from the police, Environment Agency, Electricity North West all attended.
The spokeswoman added: “The main building problems are gable walls, which will need reducing in height for safety.
“A high-level roof steel-clad structure belong to an immediately adjoining unit has also been damaged. An existing party wall has also suffered from movement, again causing instability.
“However, this wall is facing an open-air storage yard area, which we understand is under the same ownership and is already perimeter secured with fencing.”
The council’s environmental protection team also attended the site.
An investigation into the cause is under way, with a fire service spokesman saying it was not unusual for the reason for the fire to not be determined so soon after a fire of this magnitude.
Investigators are also scouring social media for tips, and studying footage captured by a police helicopter.






Image 11 - ISO 320  F5.6  40mm 1/200 sec Birley Street Mill.

Image 12 - ISO 100  F5.6  40mm 1/200 sec - While I was in this area a train came passed, if you look closely at the driver, he appears to be on his mobile phone.
I didn't think, if I'm really honest, that I would enjoy this project, being new to an area and not really knowing much about the history, or the people, However after spending several months, walking round, looking at the buildings, talking to the people, and researching the areas of lark Hill and Daisyfield, and taking over a thousand images, to many to show on here,  I can now say I have enjoyed the time and effort I have put into the project, it has made me realise that you can do something you didn't think you could do. Also getting regular feedback from the tutors has helped. After talking to Richard, who suggested that I step back and open up my pictures so I can see more has helped me look again at how I approach the image I want to create. talking to Sean, has helped me to try and devise my own style, I'm not sure if I have mastered this as yet, because I like different styles for different objects or scenes, but I decided that by going down the B&W for this project helped me.

If I was to shoot these images again or complete the whole project I will have more of an understanding of the area, so I would be able to concentrate more on certain tasks. I guess my project is more like a picture journey of the Daisyfield & lark hill  area.

I hope you like and enjoy my journey.



































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