Artist Statement.
I am interested in Fashion photography initially but mainly abstract fashion photography because I would like to capture art that doesn't represent are external reality which sometimes could be about are physically appearance but I would however will like to capture its effects by using colour, texture and movement to create interesting photograph.
Growing up in Cameroon I was surrounded by my mother and sisters who were all into dressing up and looking as colourful as they could. Diverse fabrics with lots of colour and different textures surrounded me. It was always hot in Cameroon and we wore minimal clothing with light layers. This love of clothing naturally influenced me and I am a great lover of fashion. I love to express myself through fashion-I express myself through colour and I find that there is no restriction within fashion. It was natural therefore for me to be interested in fashion photography. I am also interested in movement and dance for similar reasons, as I love the way the body is able to move without restriction. My main influences therefore are photographers such as Viviane Sassen, whose work is known for her use of geometric shapes often abstraction of bodies; her love for vibrant colours come from the time she lived in Africa. Africa has definitely been an influence especially the light, as she loves to work with very good quality light, which creates the very crispy and strong shadows in her work.
Growing up in Cameroon I was surrounded by my mother and sisters who were all into dressing up and looking as colourful as they could. Diverse fabrics with lots of colour and different textures surrounded me. It was always hot in Cameroon and we wore minimal clothing with light layers. This love of clothing naturally influenced me and I am a great lover of fashion. I love to express myself through fashion-I express myself through colour and I find that there is no restriction within fashion. It was natural therefore for me to be interested in fashion photography. I am also interested in movement and dance for similar reasons, as I love the way the body is able to move without restriction. My main influences therefore are photographers such as Viviane Sassen, whose work is known for her use of geometric shapes often abstraction of bodies; her love for vibrant colours come from the time she lived in Africa. Africa has definitely been an influence especially the light, as she loves to work with very good quality light, which creates the very crispy and strong shadows in her work.
Viviane Sassen
Viviane Sassen is a Dutch artist living in Amsterdam. She is a photographer who works in both the fashion and fine art world. She is known for her use of geometric shapes, often abstractions of bodies. She moved to Africa to live in a small village in Kenya and it from there that she got most won her inspirations from. Africa has defiantly been an influence especially the light, as she loves to work with very good quality light, which creates the very crispy and strong shadows in her work. The very vibrant colours in Africa that were surrounding her however when she moved to Holland, she lost that vibrancy also inspire her.
Viviane believes that it’s very important to have a certain level of quality in the picture and edit them down to get the best result. It was never really her ambition to become a professional photographer, as she just really loves photography. After she started fashion, she realised that its more fascinating in making images than actual clothes. Fashion has always been a playground for her to experiment with shapes, colours and structure.
Viviane likes the idea of objectifying the human body and making it into a shape or sculpture as she sometimes see her self more as this sculpter than a photographer, her main concern when she does fashion photography is not just fashion but making an interesting image as a photographer. She loves this very graphical images and she's really interested in the black sin of people as she thinks it’s the most stunning skin tone.
I really like her work because it suggests a cognizance for fashion but you can still see the abstractions in it. Her work to me isn't like most fashion photography that is very commercial and it’s about a very superficial kind of beauty.
Viviane believes that it’s very important to have a certain level of quality in the picture and edit them down to get the best result. It was never really her ambition to become a professional photographer, as she just really loves photography. After she started fashion, she realised that its more fascinating in making images than actual clothes. Fashion has always been a playground for her to experiment with shapes, colours and structure.
Viviane likes the idea of objectifying the human body and making it into a shape or sculpture as she sometimes see her self more as this sculpter than a photographer, her main concern when she does fashion photography is not just fashion but making an interesting image as a photographer. She loves this very graphical images and she's really interested in the black sin of people as she thinks it’s the most stunning skin tone.
I really like her work because it suggests a cognizance for fashion but you can still see the abstractions in it. Her work to me isn't like most fashion photography that is very commercial and it’s about a very superficial kind of beauty.
Responds To Viviane Sassen Work.
After researching, documenting and analysing the work of Viviane Sassen, I was very inspired by her photographs and wanted to therefore experiment with colour, movement and the shapes the body creates while in motion. I decided to go to central London to the most colourful places and take some images of a model posing in front of them. I wasn't very sure going into this shoot what the overall outcome will be because I wasn't trying to copy her work but instead be inspired be it and use that to create something unique and different. My focus was to experiment with light and how the body moves with it. Going into this shoot, I pacifically asked my model not to wear any vibrant clothes because I didn't want the contrast between what he was wearing and the background to be very shallow; instead I wanted the black to stand out, almost creating the illusion of a silhouette.
I wasn't completely pleased with the overall outcome of this images because I didn't achieve the movement of the body and how light can affect it, I wasn't trying to create shapes with the body but was instead drawn to the very colourful background. However, I am impressed with some of the images but would like to archive more next time during my second shoot
I wasn't completely pleased with the overall outcome of this images because I didn't achieve the movement of the body and how light can affect it, I wasn't trying to create shapes with the body but was instead drawn to the very colourful background. However, I am impressed with some of the images but would like to archive more next time during my second shoot
Second responds.
Not being very pleased with the first outcome, I then decided to do another Photoshoot; but instead of focusing on the colour of the background in the pictures, I wanted to capture the movement and shapes his body creates. I used the same camera that I used for the first photo shoot because I wanted the same quality of photos as I was still experimenting with it. however after this photo shoot,I have decided to use a film camera for my next shoot as I would love to see how the quality if the pictures affect the overall image.
After documenting my images and putting them on my website, I wasn't really pleased with how they looked and was thinking of how to make look more interesting. So I took inspiration from an activity that we did during lessons where we had to chose from the images that we were given and arrange them in a straight line; in which we took pictures of them again but this time just the conners in which they connect. So I used the same technique. After using this technique, I then experimented further by photocopying the images that I took on different types of paper to try and create different type of textures. I was really intrigued by one of the mistakes that I made which was photocopying the same image twice. So I decided to do that on all the images more than one time on the same paper. Overall, I am really impressed with how this images came out because it doesn't look like the initial pictures I took which was what I was trying to go for from the start.
Tim Walker.
-fashion photography
Timothy Walker is a British fashion photographer, who started taking pictures at he age of twelve. There was a technique of the camera that scared him because he wasn't very technically motivated and wasn't concerned, but he was more interested in what is in-front of him. it was the technicality of the camera, the apertures and the F stop that scared him from believing that he could become a photographer. Walker always wanted to become a stylist because he loves clothes but he was very much interested in the whole arrangement of the shoot, especially the set design. I can relate to his photographs because of my love of fashion.
Walkers work can be quiet childish, playful; his work could be a return to his childhood to capture the naivety and honesty of a kid. However, he thinks people are the hardest thing to photograph because the capture of someone correctly and genuinely is the hardest thing to capture, because we all are human and when we see a picture of a person we are so critical of it because we are so aware of what is meant to be a person.
Walkers work can be quiet childish, playful; his work could be a return to his childhood to capture the naivety and honesty of a kid. However, he thinks people are the hardest thing to photograph because the capture of someone correctly and genuinely is the hardest thing to capture, because we all are human and when we see a picture of a person we are so critical of it because we are so aware of what is meant to be a person.
These set of images are a response to the work of Tim Walker. After researching and analysing his work, I then decided to visually respond to it as I was drawn to his more simple portraits and not his very dramatic and over the top photos.
Chance project.
-An Activity
These are some of the images that I talk during an activity that we had in lesson which was a chance. We had to choose between three different ways in which we could respond to this activity one was taking the pictures without looking at them and having a particular sequence throughout the picture, and the other one was changing the position of the camera which time you capture an image. With this particular images, I decided to take the pictures and without looking, but by also capturing a particular moment which was the reflection of the sunlight. With this particular images I was just trying to experiment with different ways in which I could make the image look more abstract; So I decided to use this little crack on the window as my view point. I think this experiment was very successful because I achieved what I was looking for by managing to make the main focus of the image distorted.
After doing my first experiment, I decided to try different ways in which I could improve my idea on making the Image look more abstract. So I decided to experiment with the very strong shadow that was created due to the very heavy sunshine. I was very fascinated by the way the sun made some shadows so dark and also managed to make some of the objects very white, giving the objects a very solid silhouette.
I was really pleased with this outcome because it gave me an idea on how to make my project more unique which was exactly what I was looking for going into this experiment. However I would like to take more pictures like this but this time,playing around with the Human body and trying to get the same outcome but with different body shapes and angles. |
With this series of images, I was trying to capture the reflection of the sunlight and my main focus Was trying to manipulate the way in which it reflects by pointing the camera directly at the sun light. By doing that I realised that the object that were facing the light looked like silhouettes which was an amazing discovery because it linked all my other experiments together.
My overall Impression of all the experiments, is that we can manipulate the camera in any way possible and although it might sound cliché, but we are responsible for making all the unknown things around us known. now that I have done these chance experiments, I would like to use the same idea and take more conscious images of people but change the settings each time I take a photo.
My overall Impression of all the experiments, is that we can manipulate the camera in any way possible and although it might sound cliché, but we are responsible for making all the unknown things around us known. now that I have done these chance experiments, I would like to use the same idea and take more conscious images of people but change the settings each time I take a photo.
Gallery Vist.
I decided to visit the photographer’s gallery in which I saw artist work such as Terence Donovan and Dandy black masculinity.I appreciate Terence Donovan’s love for the body of his subject, although his women were portrayed as elegant and empowering, I would have loved to see more diversity in his choice of women, as they were mostly white upper east women. However the idea shown in the photos like they are in control of the photo shoot. His photos are more abstract in its form, not like an architect photographer. Terence Donovan's first major retrospective since his death. Donovan's photos graphically capture the energy, dynamics and artistry of the 1960's. He references artists such as Bridget Riley and designers Barbara Hulanicki of Biba Fame. In Donovan's work there are clear parallels with David Bailey's images. His photographs of iconic celebrities of the the 1960's and 70's seem to in many ways compete directly with those of David Bailey, elevating them to a higher level of art than simple paparazzi.
EXPERIMENTS
Photo Selection Experiment.
These images are the result of a class in which in pairs we were asked to choose 5 images from a collection that has some sort of relation to an idea, motif or theme we could choose. We then layed these in an order. These orders were then stuck to a wall, each pair's images having to lead on to the following pair's so that a tracking film could be made from them.
These are some images taken from those images on the walls, some combining two different photos into abstraction, producing interesting shapes and resulting interactions. I think that even ignoring the images themselves, the nature of the task is intriguing concerning processes in forming project ideas, such as cropping, using found imagery, curation, and the curated images' order and relation to one another. These are all things that need to be thought of within the project and are essential in many ways to its success when finished.
These are some images taken from those images on the walls, some combining two different photos into abstraction, producing interesting shapes and resulting interactions. I think that even ignoring the images themselves, the nature of the task is intriguing concerning processes in forming project ideas, such as cropping, using found imagery, curation, and the curated images' order and relation to one another. These are all things that need to be thought of within the project and are essential in many ways to its success when finished.
Abstraction.
We had a task to create a 3D abstract sculpture by using a variety of different materials which include vinyl, glue, paper, card etc. We had to cut out shapes from the paper so that when light is reflected onto it, there will be creation of very interesting shadows and shapes. i was trying to use different texture of the paper so i could get very interesting reflection of them. After cutting out the shapes on the paper and adding all the other elements, i them started playing around with light by taking the photos in different angles, trying to manipulate the overall form and the look of the initial sculpture. I took my sculpture into the darkroom to create those very high contrast shadows that you see on the bottom roll of the gallery.
This activity has showed me how lighting and shadows can ultimately manipulate the images outcome as a whole. It also made me think about whether it would be beneficial to me by shooting more in black and white or in colour. My abstraction form can be made into moving images by placing my piece over photographed images. It also gave me a different outlook about how visually I could present my work and that I don't have to rely largely on just photo taking. I could maybe consider creating 3D forms for my personal project.
This activity has showed me how lighting and shadows can ultimately manipulate the images outcome as a whole. It also made me think about whether it would be beneficial to me by shooting more in black and white or in colour. My abstraction form can be made into moving images by placing my piece over photographed images. It also gave me a different outlook about how visually I could present my work and that I don't have to rely largely on just photo taking. I could maybe consider creating 3D forms for my personal project.
ZINE
The purpose of this task was to take portraits shots of different parts of the body. These could have been shots of other people or yourself. I chose to take mainly close up shots of people and myself using a canon 100D camera. I felt as though doing this task was much easier to approach than doing full portraiture shots of other people's faces as I thought it would be a cliche. However, after watching the video, I thought of doing self portraits instead as I really got inspired by some of the scenes in the video. I chose to take all of the images in black and white as I feel as though it highlights the lines on the skin and any freckles, spots etc. I also used a tripod so I could be able to take the images using the auto timer on the camera; to crop and frame the images in a particular way so that the only key thing in the pictures is what I wanted the audience to focus on.
Some of the pictures are by chance and then some are images where I have posed in a certain way not make the whole image more abstract. I felt as though the mix would work really well together. I chose to combination of images that I thought fit the brief and worked really well with each other. These are pictures that I precisely chose that I thought worked well collaboratively enough to be able to create a successful set of images to put into a zine.
Some of the pictures are by chance and then some are images where I have posed in a certain way not make the whole image more abstract. I felt as though the mix would work really well together. I chose to combination of images that I thought fit the brief and worked really well with each other. These are pictures that I precisely chose that I thought worked well collaboratively enough to be able to create a successful set of images to put into a zine.
Body movement photo-shoot.
Moving further into my investigation, one of the things that I decided to investigate was the movement of the body. Motion of all or part of the body, especially at a joint or joints. I wasn't really trying to capture just any movement that the body makes but instead the shapes that it creates. This photo shoot was inspired by my love for music and dance so I got a model to dance to her favourite song and while doing that I photographed it.
I thought it was overall a successful experiment as my plan is to use this idea to create the same type of movement on another dancer. I choose to put my the most successful images from the shoot in black and white because I loved the overall effect that it added to the mages also wanted the movements and shapes that the body created to be the main focus of the images. However, I am not entirely happy with the outcome of this shoot as the model didn't create the type of shapes that I was looking for. So I have decided to do another shoot out of the studio space and with more dramatic clothing. Ideas for the next shoot:
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Projected images.
Using the images from my body movement experiments, I decided to experiment with the images because I wasn't very pleased with how they came out and I thought I would do something to make it abstract. My first idea was to project them on the wall and take photos of someone dancing in font of them however, I wasn't entirely suer about this idea as it felt a bit incomplete. So I decided to project the images on my face and different parts of the body. Some of the images where taken for me but I directed the photographer, others where taken by me and they are the close up images from the third roll down. I took the images in black and white because I did not want the blue light from the projector to be visible. The high contrasted images really add to the overall effect and makes the photos stand out. I think that these images have a good connection to my work because I of the different parts of the body and the way in which they are photographed.
My First Final Outcome.
Tim. walker
This photo shoot was as a result to one of my ideas which was movement. I wanted to take these images in the park because I thought the overall outcome would look good however the images turned out to look like the work the Tim walker.
This photo shoot was as a result to one of my ideas which was movement. I wanted to take these images in the park because I thought the overall outcome would look good however the images turned out to look like the work the Tim walker.
#1 The Final outcome photo shoot.
(Using a digital camera).
Edited
#2 The Final outcome Photo shoot.
(Using a medium format film camera)
In the photo shoot above I decided to use a film camera instead of a digital camera because
- Camera used - medium format - large negatives - Kodak film 400 - Why etc
- Movement resulting from use of camera as well as movement as the body
- Experience of taking the images using the specific device.
- Digital vs Film
- Viviane Sassen - Colour, abstraction, composition, own cultural references, using women of colour.
- Architectural composition.
In the first image the only part of the image approaching horizontal is the legs. The verticals fan out creating a movement through the picture as if swinging from right to left. This movement is arrested by the alignment and colour of the edge of the skirt. The movement along the legs to the skirt leads to another interruption - of the body as it is cropped by the edge of the image. Even the cropping at the edge of the image is partial as there a hint of action taking place off shot. This rhythm in the composition is emphasised by the repeated and isolated red elements.
In the second picture there are a number of key compositional features at play. The first I am thinking of (1.) is how the space is the image is defined by the blurred nearest edge of the red pillar. The main diagonals (2.) emphasise through perspective this great sense of depth ending at the reflective door. There are no horizontal lines in the imager which sets the whole image off balance stabilised only by this strong diagonal. The depth is further enhanced by the smoothly graded tonal shift behind the models legs (3.) Another aspect of the composition that I like is how beneath the main compositional forces at play that have already been mentioned, there is an whole additional array of compositional features. (4.) In terms of the colour the transition through red to purple to the blue top on the main diagonal (2.) softens the landing on the models face whose posture and limbs complement the other angles in the shot. She is looking diagonally top left where otherwise there is least diagonal features. |
Final Piece.
It has occurred to me during the process of taking these images that I am making many decisions about composition and colour very rapidly. Clearly this has been triggered by my early fascination with Viviane Sassen's work. The architecture of the human form interacted well with the shapes of the buildings and I chose the locations deliberately to enable rapid exploration of formal elements. To examine the meaning behind these decisions is challenging, a bit like analysing abstract art. For example what does it mean to create and inhabit a particular type of space. I think that the type of space I have created in these images is more dynamic because many of the elements are off slightly off balance which was my intention. Sassen's work is more aligned and placed like a Suprematist abstract composition. Sassen work seems to be more about position and mine about movement. I wanted to break away from her more static composition. I wanted to literally use the models body to define and offset the space that they are inhabiting.
I have learnt from this projects the importance and potential of exploiting angles within an image, as well as the significance of the edge of the frame in influencing composition. I have also learnt the importance of choosing the right background for each photograph when using a model, and how this background can interact with subject and even become conjoined formally with the subject. Another feature of this project was how significant choosing the right type of camera could be. I extended my range of experience with cameras and it has really opened my views about using a film camera.
I have learnt from this projects the importance and potential of exploiting angles within an image, as well as the significance of the edge of the frame in influencing composition. I have also learnt the importance of choosing the right background for each photograph when using a model, and how this background can interact with subject and even become conjoined formally with the subject. Another feature of this project was how significant choosing the right type of camera could be. I extended my range of experience with cameras and it has really opened my views about using a film camera.