I thought about this assignment for a while, as I wanted to photograph a subject that would convey all the above requirements. As I have said before, I am a big fan of black and white photography and am interested in the techniques used shooting in black and white to embrace the subject.
I decided to focus on shooting fruit or vegetables, funnily enough because this has a vast range of colour. And I mean in the sense that , there are a lot of tones open to black and white interpretation. Added together with the fact that this subject would have a lot of shape and form to emphasize as well as a range of textures to enhance.
I took a variety of images for this exercise, choosing to alter focal length, camera angle and lighting to find the best outcome. I then chose the image I felt worked the most. Then during editing I was careful to make any adjustments needed, paying particular attention to contrast and the channel sliders. These were a necessary part of my editing. Using the sliders to was an important feature to alter the tones of the different colours of the fruit and also to create my own personal interpretation. I did experiment with key but found this was an effect that was not relevant to the outcome I was looking to achieve.
The main outcome that I wanted for this series of images was to show the fruit behind the colourful exterior. I wanted to emphasize the textures and for the viewer to be able to 'feel' the texture of the food through the image that they see. Secondly, I wanted the viewer to be able to see the difference in colour through the tones of the black and white photograph, and to be able to notice that different colours were present in the image without seeing the colours. Finally, I wanted to try and make the subjects appear more realistic through shape and form. I wanted to make sure that the subject didn't look too flat and the form of the subject was heightened and not lost.
These are my final images:
Updated images to reflect on tutor Feedback:
I altered the images of the mushrooms and created a new 'fully lit' image as suggested. Taking on what my tutor has said I used a homemade reflector to elminate some of the shadow and to create more form. To amend the mushrooms image, I used smaller mushrooms and used a longer focal range. There I tried to capture the pattern and texture of the mushroom with out the need to create a 'macro' effect image.
I did not re take the nectarine image with full lighting but I did use a baby tomato in a light box as well as a homemade reflector to create minimal shadow in the image and to highlight the form of the tomato this way.
Prints: I have just received my prints back and the main thing I've noticed is that the prints appear darker than the images do on screen. I used a different printer this time on the advice of my tutor because the prints for assignment 2 were not as clear in print as they were on screen. I am happy with the prints overall and there's only one image that I'm concerned about but I will await my tutor feedback and see if she shares that concern.
Tutor Feedback:
Overall Comments
Thank you for submitting Assignment 3, Amanda. You are working at a good pace and making speedy progress.
Again I am concerned that the quality of print that you are submitting is not matching the quality that I am seeing on screen. I note that you have switched print companies for this, but it maybe that you need to upgrade a little from the local Tesco etc service. Perhaps finding a company in your area that works with professional photographers may be the answer or trying an online service, such as ProAm where they are used to working with capable photographers.
In the meantime, it may be worth sending your work through to me electronically to avoid additional expense.
Feedback on the assignment
Elements to consider with your assignments:
This assignment is about the creative effects of working in monochrome. To achieve high quality images you should consider form, tonal contrast and texture.
Your assignment in connection with the above points
You have chosen some great subject matter to work with for this assignment. The fruit and vegetables have really given you scope to work on your compositions, giving consideration to angle of view and filling the frame appropriately. You have made some good choices through the work, producing interesting pictures. Light and shade have been used very effectively to give a strong impression of texture in a number of the shots. The detail on the fruit shots for instance really helps the success of the shot. The shiny pepper pictures are particularly lovely: Very ‘Edward Weston’ in style.
For the mushroom shot you have got a little too close to your subject and this has resulted in a lack of clarity. You could strengthen this work by re-taking this shot, using much smaller mushrooms and working at showing a pattern from a greater distance. You could also think about using a reflector for this kind of work, reflecting light back in to areas of deep shadow. A simple home-made reflector would be enough to build on the range of tones visible across the frame. This would have helped with your picture of three peppers, where there is an area of black shadow in the centre of the frame.
Think back to the work that you did on the Art of Photography course, where you looked at the setting up lighting to achieve the ‘form’ or three dimensional aspect of your subject. The peach (?) picture is starting to show evidence of form and it may be nice to build on this further and show one of the items lit to full effect.
However, you have some nice work in this selection of images and I can really see an improvement in your photography.
Summary
Suggested reading/viewing
Have a look at Edward Weston and Imogen Cunningham images and add examples to your log.
Learning Logs
You could include a little more technical information on the individual shots in your supporting notes.
Please refer to my notes on the previous assignment with regards to increasing the research side of your blog.
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