Critical Evaluation OF Submitted Shots

Critical Evaluation OF Submitted Shots

The Submitted shots were all taken on Armistice day 2019. These images are depicting the power of the medals and who they are. 

I believe that these shots stand out because of the theme that they all follow with them being to show power and pride. The Images have got the subject the same distance away from the camera allowing the work to show consistency when looking at them so the viewer can get to see them up close. The shots were chosen after listening to the feedback from the critiques. I felt that this justified to everything that they were telling me to produce and submit these shots.

Even though the background does not look the same due to the lighting issues, I do not believe that this subtracts from the work. This is highlighted when some of the shots are featuring the cathedral and other shots are featuring bushes. Even though I was recommended to get the background looking perfect I am pleased that it is slightly of as it is meant to show what the subjects are all about and not what the area is about. 

With all of these images, they are all wearing medals which are important to the end outcome as the viewer will look at the first due to the location of shooting this. The medals are designed to capture the viewer's attention and to show they have all got power and that they are recognised for serving in the war.

With some of these images, they do not have the same lighting, this is because the light is off when it comes to looking at the images due to the way the sun is being shone on the subjects with some of them having a higher saturation than others due to this.  This does not take away the immense pride shown by some of the subjects as they can see they have severed this country and they are rewarded.

Out of the eight images that have been Submitted half of them feature the flag of the regiment in as the ones that have come out perfect were flag bearers, this made be interested and I want to highlight what regiment that they have served in.

The work has been done to be shown a portrait of Kent by the way they are shot and the location. This shows the best of the county of Kent and this is important when reading understanding it all.

How does this submitted Shots link to Pieter Hugo?

The submitted shots link with the way that Pieter Hugo Photographs because I have shown the link between the Hyena Men images and here. This shown by the use of power and pride that I have in the image because of the way that I have shot them. The links are shown by the way that it has been presented with my images having the medal and Pieter Hugo images having the animals this important to show the close links. The other link is with Nollywood with the word power and posing with the way they have been positioned to make them all look similar. My work has been done by Following Pieter Hugo and not directly copying him and this has done it justice.

Idea 3

Idea 3 Contact Sheets

This series was taken on Armistice day 2019 when one of the guys were asked me to document what went on there. This shoot was challenging in different ways, the main challenge that I found in the service is the poor noise reduction on my camera which meant the shots looked terrible. The Work highlights the services that I was at, most of the contact sheets apart from the last page are in order of them being shot in. The work highlight the brave servicemen and women who fought for our country to keep us safe. As without them, we would not be alive today. The Work has been successful with the way I have lit before and afterwards capturing the day in true colour in order to document the real that is happening before us. The Contact sheets do not do all the images justice as they are better when they are printed by a Professional as they stand out even more. The work is designed to denote the ceremony with the meaning of pride for the people who gave the greatest sacrifice to keep us safe. I am pleased with the outcome. This work also features in the book Portrait of Kent Volume 1, for ICP.

How does this idea link to Pieter Hugo?

This work links with Pieter Hugo’s work as it has got a similar theme to the Hyena men because I am to show power in the work. This has been done by showing that we are people of Kent. The Work takes the meaning as the end result have similar backgrounds and they all have got the same theme of power and pride which Hugo had when he did his work. This idea will be done for the end outcome to be submitted with the close links to Hyena men and Hood By air with the same message showing throughout.

ICP: Why I choose the Selected Images

ICP: Why I choose the Selected Images

The reason why I choose the selected Images is to get all the shots to look similar enabling them all to stand out when looking at them. The Shots are done with Niall Mcdrimand and Hans Eijkelboom style of inspiration for this with the idea of typology flowing through this work. The images all have got a tender feel to them by the way that I have framed them with them all having been shown for a set distance. The selected images are of people who look old and people who just have retired which is what I had planned when linking the work to people who are past the midpoint of life. The images are designed to affect the viewer emotionally when they come around to think about age. This has been done by showing some of the names and ages to put a human feel on the work.

ICP: Book Changes Recommend By the Tutor

ICP: Book Changes Recommend By the Tutor

I have Produced three books on InDesign and showed them to Ron to get his Opinion. One of the items I Have changed from the beginning to the end product is changing the cover and renaming it to a portrait of Kent without starting the age does not define us. I was also recommended to remove the image on the front of the David and replace it as it was not the strongest image so I replaced it with a Labour election teller, which at now is cruel and tender as Labour has lost the election :-). I was also recommended to add more about the book page on page 3 and remove the small description of what it is about and what it is dedicated to. I was also recommended that I make all the images have a uniformed sizing so that the book follows smoothly by removing the landscape images and replacing with the portrait counterparts which made it look a lot nicer.

I was recommended to add more images to the book to make them stand out to the viewer so I decided to use more of the images that I got from Visual research with some of the end outcomes being similar, due to having an idea to work on a Portrait of Kent. Other changes that I have made is removing the text relating to age as it did not work when trying to get the book to follow smoothly. 

ICP: Experiments

Full Image in Black and White,  Full Image in Colour 

Experiments Subject In Contact Sheets

ICP: Experiments

The idea behind the experiments is to see what effect that I can have when working on the subjects to see if I can create a Cruel and Tender theme. The outcome of the experiments is interesting as you can understand the subject more with the subject only being in colour as they are more connected to the viewer as they stand out like a saw thumb which works as they bring them all together. The experiments I Believe are a success with making them look like they are part of the theme of being cruel and tender. The idea with this is that they come together. The Outcome for the version with the subject in colour is not the strongest because it does not allow the viewer to get a full understanding of what is going. I think if I am to go with this in another book I will just keep the subject in colour and the background in grey-scale setup.

Experiments, Process

The Process on creating the experiment was done by making sure the exposure was edited to the correct level in Lightroom and then by creating a snap-shop so if there are errors I can go back to the snapshot. To Create the outcome where the subject is in colour I made sure that I checked the colours are not similar if they and select the mask and reduce the saturation and making sure invert the settings so the area is in greyscale. This is also done in reverse to make the subject in Black and white. Shown in the contact sheets are the settings that I had the master saturation on to make the work stand out to come together.

Influential Art: End Image

Influential Art: End Image

End Outcome

The end outcome is done to look similar to the painting by keeping the train in the image to make sure they look together to make them stronger. I decided to take the outcome of this being a landscape image and convert this to a portrait image. I have changed the way people will read the image and keep the focus on the subject by making some of the images have a strong negative space. The image is important to show the links to the beginning and the end of mental health journey. As I have mentioned in the statement of intent, “The end images are going to be done with the inspiration of jasper James, with the subject becoming hidden because of the reliance in the phone.” This has been shown by placing the subject in the mobile phone to show the links to mental health. The way I wanted people to be affected by viewing is that it is an advert for Calm because of the use of branding in the work. I have also shown that we are all consumed by looking at our mobile phone so I decided to do it twice with the subject having it in there hand in front of the train and with it bigger with the viewer looking into the mobile phone. The image speaks of mental health with the use of the colour blue can mean feelings of calmness or serenity or it can mean being sad, alone as also known in the music genre the blues (Cherry, 2019).

When comparing the end outcome with the painting I have made sure there are similar themes underlying the work and complete contrast. The similarity between the painting and the outcome is that they both have leading lines going down to the edge of the picture, this shown in the platform and the train in my end image while with Turner he has used the viaduct and the train to draw the viewers attention down the end of the section and back again for greater effect. Both the Painting and the outcome have both got trains in them as this the main effect that I was recommended to bring across in a group criticism, to make sure they look similar, I have used an electric British rail class 375 while turner has a used a steam train to make sure they are not directly copying each other.

The differences is that I have made is that I have turned it into a portrait and made this stand out to the public. While the other difference is that I have used the subject and placed into the mobile phone. Overall I am pleased how the image in the phone links to what I had set out to do.

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Nat Lowden

By Nat Lowden Photography