Shoot 4

Shoot 4

Plans for Shoot

Artist Influence - Mike Golding

For this shoot I have been inspired by Mike Golding's incorporation of escalators within his photos. I like the way that in a train station so many people are rushing around however when they are on the escalator they stay still for just a few minutes. I feel as though these photos represent some peace in a chaotic world and the idea that people need to slow down and take time during their day. I also like the perspective that Mike Golding takes his photos from because he takes photos from a range of angles but focuses on specific aspects of the image. I also like the effect of the first image because he has used a fisheye lens to make the photo look slightly distorted. I would like to try and incorporate some distortion within my photos relating to movement in some way. I would also like to take inspiration from the pops of colour that Mike Golding has got within his photos. I feel as though in the first image he has made the red banner in the foreground of the image stand out and likewise for the blue sign in the second image. I like the idea of isolating colours and emphasising them within the image.

Contact Sheet

This shoot was completed at St Johns Wood station and Baker Street station. I think that this shoot has been successful in many ways because I captured images from many different perspectives. I also attempted to incorporate some movement within the shoot which is something that I would like to expand upon within further shoots. An element of the shoot that I feel was not as successful was the use of camera settings within some of the photos that I have taken. I feel as though when taking some photos I used a shutter speed that was slightly too long and some of my images were slightly blurry.

My Best Images

f/5     1/125    ISO 400

I have chosen this as one of my best images because I like the pop of purple within the image. I feel as though the typical colours of the underground are yellow and red therefore I like the fact that there are different elements of colour within this photo. I also like the perspective this photo has been taken from because I feel as though it makes the platform look slightly distorted which reflects Mike Golding's photography when using a fisheye lens.

F/4.5     1/10      ISO 400

I have chosen the image above as one of my best images because I like the way this is not just a typical tube station photo. I had not seen this sign previous to visiting this station therefore I like the idea of this being unique to my project and the stations that I have visited throughout. I also like the use of the saturated colours red and yellow within the image.

F/4     1/400    ISO 400

I have chosen this as one of my best images because I like the way that the person has been framed within the door of the train station. I do think that the outer areas of this photo are slightly too dark however this is something that I would like to fix in photo shop using the burn and dodge technique.

F/5.6     1/15     ISO 400

I have chosen this as one of my best images because I like the incorporation of movement within the photo. I think that this is interesting because it could have connotations of people rushing around. I would like to further explore this within my project as I like the connotations that it has.

F/3.5     1/10     ISO 400

I have chosen this as one of my best images because I like the incorporation of movement within this photo. When taking this photo I used a shutter speed of f/10 but slightly moved the camera when taking the photo. This allowed me to capture a slight blur. I really like the idea of incorporating motion within my images and this is something I would like to explore more within my project.

F/3.5    1/10    ISO 400

I have chosen this as one of my best images due to the composition. When taking this photo I placed the camera on the flat surface in front of the stop sign. I like the way this is taken from a different perspective to many of the other photos that I have captured within this shoot.

Images that require improvement

F/4    1/60    ISO 400
This photo requires improvement due to me using the flash. When the flash fired it focused on the metal in the foreground and drowned out the rest of the image.

 F/4    1/10    ISO 400

This photo requires improvement due to the camera settings used. When shooting I used Av mode on the camera. This meant that the aperture was set at f/4 and the camera automatically set the shutter speed to 1/10. As I was not using a tripod to take this photo 1/10 seconds was too long for me to hold the camera completely still. This meant that due to me moving the camera slightly there was a slur to the image. In the future I will improve upon this by using a tripod to shoot.

Camera Settings and Equipment

In order to complete this shoot I used a canon eos 400d. I shot in Av mode which meant that I manually adjusted the aperture and the shutter speed was automatically set by the camera in order to capture an even exposure. This did create some problems when shooting, for example the aperture I was using required a slightly longer shutter speed in order to get an even exposure therefore  had some issues with blur within my photos. Throughout the shoot I used an aperture range of f/3 to f/5.6. The reason I was using a fairly low aperture was because a lot of my photos were taken inside train stations meaning there was not a lot of natural lighting. This meant that I needed to use a wide shutter opening in order to let enough light into the camera. I used a shutter speed ranging from 1/400 to 1/10. The reason this ranged so much is because I used the camera in manual mode and in Av mode. This meant that when I was using manual I altered the shutter speed and made it quicker in order to prevent blur in the photo. This did result in some of the photos being slightly underexposed however I will use the dodge and burn techniques in photo shop to alter this and brighten the photo. Throughout the shoot I used ISO 400. I was not able to lower this due to the lighting conditions in train stations and I also did not want to increase it. This is because the higher the ISO, the worse the quality.

A03

My main inspiration for this shoot came from Mike Golding. One of his photos in particular inspired me to complete this shoot, the photo is located below (1). I really liked the composition of this image and I thought it was very interesting how your eyes are immediately drawn to something that may seem so unimportant when on the underground. I aimed to use the idea of escalators and stairs to create my own images in response to this photographer. I was also very inspired by another image located below (2). I liked the way the photographer is looking down the platform. I feel as though it gives an illusion that the tunnel never ends, adding an element of mystery to the photo.

(1)

 (2)

Edits

First Experimental Edit

 Firstly I clicked 'filter' then 'filter gallery'. This allowed me to choose from a wide range of filters that each gave unique effects to the photo. I used this editing techniques with my best images that incorporated movement within them and due to this I decided to use a filter that would distort the image. This is because having movement within the photo slightly distorts it anyway and then I wanted to enhance this. I selected the 'glass' filter under the 'distort' subheading. I then slightly altered the amount of distortion and smoothness. I lowered the distortion quite a lot because I still wanted it to be visible what the photo was.

I then altered the photo to black and white and used the properties panel to adjust the contrast within each of the colours throughout the image.

Second Experimental Edit

In order to edit these images I change the photos to black and white and altered the brightness and contrast of each of the images. I mainly increased the contrast slightly and for some of the images I slightly lowered the brightness. This was because I felt as though some of the images were slightly too light. Although they were not overexposed I wanted to make them slightly darker. I then adjusted the curves which allowed me to further deepen the contrast. I then selected the 'darker colour' filter. This brings out certain colours within the photo.

Third Edit - dodge and burn

Firstly I altered the photo to black and white and created a layer mask.

I then used the curves tool and dragged it down towards the bottom right corner in order to overexpose the entire image.

I then selected 'edit' then 'fill'. Once 'fill' had been selected I ensured that the contents was set to black. I then clicked 'ok' and the image was back to its original state.

I then ensured that the pen tool was selected and made sure that the primary colour was set to white.

I lowered the opacity of the brush to about 25%. I then drew on the photo. This lightened up parts of the photo that I felt were slightly too dark however it is more specific than using the  brightness tool or the curves tool because you can choose the exact parts of the photo that you want to be brighter.

My Final Images

 

Progression

When considering my next shoot I would like to focus on movement within large train stations. I would like to use a tripod and capture movement in a number of large stations in London. In order to do this I will need to use a long shutter speed and also increase the aperture.