“My own eyes are no more than scouts on a preliminary search, for the camera’s eye may entirely change my idea.” – Edward Weston
Fashion photographer Horst P. Horst used rotational symmetry to create new patterns. His book, Patterns from Nature (1946), has inspired me to create my own series of rotational symmetry patterns using my work so far. Here are some of my examples:
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Nature educates us into beauty and inwardness and is a source of the most noble pleasure- Karl Blossfeldt Why this quote?
I have chosen this quote because I think it show Karl Blossfeldt passion toward his work capturing the many forms of nature. The quote shows his appreciation for nature and how wonderful it can be if you just take a step back and admire it. |
Why this artist?
The reason I have chose Karl Blossfeldt because of his work. I love how there are natural tones throughout then the background and there is normally a dark object in the centre which contrasts with the lighter background. Throughout his work, he uses the high key process which adds to his images. Who is he? Karl Blossfeldt was a German photographer and sculptor. He was born in 1865 and passed in 1932. He is best known for his close-up photographs of plants and living things, published in 1929 as Urformen der Kunst. He was inspired, as was his father, by nature and the ways in which plants grow. Why this video? I have chosen this video because it demonstrates the work of Karl Blossfeldt and showcases his best pieces. It also clearly explains his work and his journey of growing as an artist. the video shows examples of his work from his book that is made up of his most famous and inspiring images. |
This shoot was inspired by Karl Blossfeldt as I have been studying the way he creates abstracted forms from nature and I was very keen to emulate his style.
This shoot will be taken in the classroom so then I can control the lighting and get the best results. I will set u three shoots and will experiment with them all and try to emulate Blossfeldts work using the High-key photography technique. The props I will be using is natural forms. I'm using these as this will get my photos to fully emulate Blossfeldts work as this is what he commonly used. Using these, it will give me a good range of textures, lines and forms throughout my images. For all of my shoots, I will be using a white background. I will shoot I High-key for my images and use a combination of soft boxes, remote flashes, Perspex diffusers and natural ambient light. During all my shoots, I will need to control the lighting to avoid any shadows and distance my subject matter away from the back drop. I will use the school camera (DLSR 400D) with a prime lens 50mm, a macro lens and my own Canon 400D camera. I intend to shoot in sepia (picture style setting) to give an aged look on the photoshoot. In all of my three shoots, I will aim to use a slow shutter speed. This means it will let more light into the camera lens. I will also stabilise the camera using a tripod or books so the finer details can be captured. |
Subject
My chosen photographer is Karl Blossfeldt who is a German photographer and sculptor. He is best know for his close-up photographs of plants and living things, published in 1929 as Unformen der Kunst. Growing up, his biggest inspiration was his father- August Blossfeldt. He enjoyed nature and liked looking into the way plants grow. The title of the image i have selected is Saxifraga Wilkommiana. He enjoys getting his final product exactly how he images it. To achieve this, he enlarged the image 10 times. This particular image is still life which means it can capture fine details within the plant. Furthermore, this image was photographed in portrait which means that it will appear longer instead of wider. The props that Blossfeldt has uses is very minimal. He has used a pale back ground and a harsher colour of the plant to see the contrast between the two of them. It has been placed directly in the centre so that becomes the focal point of the image. Elements Blossfeldt uses the 7 visual elements of art in his work to create this photography. In my opinion, the two strongest elements within this image are tone and shape. Within this image, there is a contrast between the darkness of the plant and the pale back ground. The main element in this photograph is shape. I think this because different people could have different options of with the object is as it is very abstract and looks quite unusual. Blossfeldt mainly uses the monochromatic tonal range as they were the only options available at this time. Media The main focal pint of this image if the plant in the image. I know this because it is centred in the middle of the image. The plant has been placed in the foreground. This means the image is evenly proportional so there is an equal space around the object. I believe this photo has taken in natural light and he may of potentially angled an LED/UV light at it to brighten it up. I think the light has mostly come from above as the image is lightened up all evenly, there are no parts of the image that are brightened up/ darkened down which means the light must have not come from any certain side. To emulate Blossfeldts work I would use my DSLR 400D Canon camera and put it into monochromatic mode. I would then stand up a Perspex sheet with my subject placed in front of it. Intent I feel this image gives the mood of sadness as the image is quite cool toned and no outstanding points so the image comes across as lifeless and has nothing to it. When I emulate this image, I will use a dimmer light to create the darker image. This will capture the feeling of sadness within the image. The image is showing the dark leaves and roots to contrast between the beige background. This may be to contrast between happiness and sadness. |
1: To begin editing my image, I crop the image down the make sure that the object is directly in the middle so it follows the rule of thirds throughout the whole image. I achieved this by selecting the crop tool over on the left, chancing it to rotate mode then positioning git in the middle.
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2: Secondly, I use the wand select and outline the object to create a lighter background than i already have. I chose to do this as it then emulates Blossfeldts work much more.
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3: Then I adjust the level in the picture to lighten up the lest side of the image but darken the right side. As a result of this, they contrast between each other and emulates Karl Blossfeldts work.
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4: Finally, I adjust the image one last time using the curves tool. This makes the image a bit lighter on the lest side.
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I use a Canon EOS 90D camera with a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM fixed lens. The only reason I even know about the technology is because my colleague told me that's what I needed and would be the biggest bang for the buck. The rest of it is all by feel. I have absolutely no photo training. For me that suffices because I'm not hung up on technical stuff. Just looking for ways to capture information for my paintings Why this artist?
The reason I have chosen to explore the work of Dennis Wojtkiewicz is because I feel like i will be able to emulate his work and achieve some good end results of these image. Wojtkiewicz is modern photographer who pains his work after he photographs them. He uses macro and still- life photography to create his work. Who is he? Dennis Wojtkiewicz was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, he is most famously known for his large-scale paintings of fruit and flowers, transfixed by his augmented angling on realism. Why this video? This video is inspirational to me because it showcases the artist's use of intensified chroma. This is something I would like to emulate in the editing of my own images inspired by Wojkievicz's work. Why this quote? The quote is from a direct email response from Dennis Wojtkiewicz. From the email, I was able to gain an incite into his photographic processes, when approaching making a reference image. I feel like I can emulate his work to my full potential. |
Step 1: Slice the fruit (a kiwi or strawberry), ensuring the slices area even and thin, so the colours will be bright but not over-exposed.
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Step 2: Lay the slice on the glass set-up, with the light source placed directly under the fruit.
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Step 3: Adjust camera
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Step 4: Take image
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Editing step 1: In this clip, I used the adjustment tool to enhance the colour, saturation and contrast within my image. This help me as I was able to amend my exposure and bring the finer details out of my image.
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Editing step 2: Within this screenshot, I used the lasso select tool to draw around my image. This made sure I was able to cut of any of my image I didn't want in my final result like the background. I then filled it in with the solid white colour leaving me with just my image in the centre.
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Editing step 3: Using Pixlr E, I duplicated my image and began to position my image all over the image to create this look. Throughout this, I decided to rotate some of my images so they all looked slightly different throughout and some of the stood out more than others.
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Editing step 4: Finally, I adjusted some of the fruits colour by using the auto pop, auto B&W tool, darkened a few of then and then left the rest. This made the fruit all look different.
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