Objects

                                                       FIRST "OBJECTS" SESSION
         Today we had our first class in "Objects" with Andrew Farrington.We looked over the brief and discussed things that we would find relevant to its execution. First of all we had a quick run through on Kelvins and white balance ie :-
   CANDLE LIGHT = 1500K
   BULB LIGHT = 3700K
   SUNLIGHT = 5500K
   HMI LIGHT = 6000K
 We summed up by generally saying that the lower the number the hotter the light source is to touch.
Then we we given a statement "colour does not exist" which i found really interesting as i had never even thought about it before. This then started a really interesting class discussion and i noted it down so i could look it up online later...which i did and found a really technical explanation on a website which i have noted for reference.
http://everything2.com/title/Color+does+not+exist
 We then went though our assignment details and brief and were given two words to discuss "Pecha Kucha" and "Diorama" respectively. 
 Pecha kucha draws its name from the Japanese term for chit chat which basically boils down to presenting work by showing 20 images and having 20 seconds to discuss each one.                                                                                                                              

Diorama

        Diorama relates to the building of sets that we can use for our photography.... which i looked up online and found some really nice examples of on various websites. One of which was
http://www.stormthecastle.com/
 Which is a really good reference guide to everything diorama.
 We also had a quick look on Flickr at an example of some modern Diorama and was shown work by Balakov who recreates famous imagery in Lego .....web address below for reference
http://www.flickr.com/photos/balakov/sets/72157602602191858/
Clever stuff indeed
This brought up a mini discussion and the name  Robert Doisneau was brought up to reference one of the images so we had a quick look at his work to try and find one of his images and i noted the name down for the future. His name on Google images brings up a fantastic array of his images which i found to be very inspirational. I will research him in greater detail at a later date.

         To conclude we were told to go away and research lighting and creative techniques so that we could implement them in our brief but that we would cover them more in depth at the beginning of next weeks lecture.
  Noted also for the brief was the equipment we would need to fulfill the brief which included a camera, card reader and an external hard drive.
 Look at different forms of advertising for reference in magazines and  on Tv etc.
 Look up the meaning of pack shots in relation to photography.

                                                                BOTTLE BRIEF
    So today we had an hour to choose or use our own bottles, and photograph them under a variety of lighting conditions. These were to include ambient or daylight, fluorescent, tungsten and flash. Then we had to import the images on to our external hard drives and upload them to Flickr. This whole exercise was aimed at lighting and to get us researching lighting and using it to light objects in different ways.

Tungsten Light

Natural/Ambient Light

Fluorescent Light

Flash Light

       I found it a really interesting brief and it was good to make you look at the lighting your shooting in and how different lighting can effect the tone and outcome of your image.
So for next week we need to prepare a presentation on research and experimentation with still-life photography and lighting techniques using the 20/20 template off Moodle.

                                                    HOME LIGHTING TEST SHOTS

 So i have done a couple of test shots today for my lighting brief ready for next weeks presentation. These were flash lighting and then i tweaked them a little in Photoshop. I will try and do some more over the weekend using different types of light.

Today i have took three more photograph's but using natural/ambient lighting techniques

 

                                                         THE 20/20 PRESENTATION 
     For  today's session we are going to be all showing our 20/20 presentations based on research and experimentation with still-life photography and lighting techniques. So below is the final result of a long long week of research and practicing lighting techniques. All of the following photograph's went into my final presentation along with three text based slides that showed my knowledge of lighting that i had researched.

      The 20/20 template was initially difficult for me to get to grips with and i had no knowledge of how to use it or upload images to it. After a bit of internet trawling and asking around i realized that i needed to use either Open office or Microsoft power point to upload the images into the template, as i am a PC user at home. I then downloaded a free trail of Microsoft word and Open office and after that it was all downhill, but the speaking about each image was initially quite nerve-racking.

                                                          MINI OBJECTS BRIEF

   With Andrew being off ill today, Katy set us a mini objects brief. There were three stages to this brief.
Stage 1. 
Get a correctly exposed image of your object in sharp focus with a considered composition.
We had to achieve this by making decisions about:
- ISO setting
- Aperture setting (F. stops)
- Shutter speed
- Consider if a tripod is necessary ?
- Check the white balance you have set in relation to the type of light you are working with

  So this is the image i ended up with for this first part of the brief. This image was shot at ISO 400 at F5.6 for 1/8 seconds. I used a tripod as i was shooting at such a low shutter speed and did not want any camera shake. White balance was set to tungsten as i used a small table lamp to light the object from the side which was defused by shooting it inside a small portable studio set up.

Stage 2.
Photograph the same image but change the lighting effect to create a different mood, take at least three variations.
- Consider the position of the camera (you!) the light and the object in relation to each other.
- Try a "backlit" silhouetted image.
- Try an "Underlit" image
- Change the exposure setting to expose for different areas of the image where appropiate.

  These were the three images that i came up with. Of note is the second image as i there was no product tables left for me to work on so i used a mirror to bounce and reflect the light from above back up at the image and also gives off a nice reflection of the object i was really pleased with this shot.

Stage 3 
A hint of narrative.
Consider a narrative context for the object you are working with. What might the object symbolise? If it was used for a book tittle what kind of lighting might be appropriate to set the mood. How would composition influence meaning ?  
How can the photograph have impact.

 I chose this image as i visualized a modern day book cover for murder she wrote by Agatha Christie. The hair grip is something that an older lady would wear and the crossword is something older ladies do. I used fake blood left over from Halloween and just thought that this would be a bit of a fun image to try and achieve.

Extension task.
At home or in the studio select an object to illustrate a book, an album or a film you like. Photograph the object as if it were for the cover, leave compositional space for text and consider orientation and aspect ratio according to the output format. (For example a billboard is "landscape" orientation) if the image fills the frame) use humor , horror, irony, shock, romance or kitsch if you wish or use understated subtlety, simplicity, styling, and good taste. You decide!

 This was my extension image that i shot in the studio and then turned into a parody film poster from the film Beyond The Vally Of The Dolls. This was fun to do and i love the original film as its such a cult classic. The back image of the doll works well with the theme of the film poster and i will put the original poster in bellow so you can see what inspired me. Also i have added the trailer on at the end as a reference to just how kitsch the original film is.

http://vimeo.com/13830910

                                                          LIGHTING SET UPS(45/45)

     Today we looked at different types of lighting set ups but specifically the 45/45 lighting technique.
 This was set up in the studio showing continuous lighting and using two lamps aimed at the product table at 45 degree angles. We went through different positioning of the lamps and what effect they would have on the different items we were lighting. We also looked at what kind of products you could light this way and if we were doing a portrait in the studio we could position one of the lights behind the model.

45/45 Set up with bottle

     This set up is just a variation that we looked at and it shows the lamps with soft boxes aimed diagonally at the product table but we could have put the lights to either side of the table to achieve a different effect. We discussed how trying different lighting set ups is important to try and get the best out of the object you are photographing.

    This shot was taken with the above set up and you can see that it isn't to bad as a starting point. Andrew went on to tell us that an ISO of around 400 was also a good figure to start with when photographing studio lit objects.
    We were told to look up the term "copy lighting" and after i bit of research i found a website regarding this subject. Its main use is for lighting Art or flat objects and it involves using two lights aimed at the object from the front.

                                                                                                                                                                 The website i used for reference of this picture is linked below.
http://www.carlmcmillan.com/lightingforcopying.htm

 We then added under lighting to the mix and was told that this is very good for bringing out the properties of glass and liquid.

45/45 Lighting with under light

  We we also told to look up specular lighting and i have referenced a couple of websites bellow on this .
http://knol.google.com/k/specular-lighting-models#
http://www.rastertek.com/dx11tut10.html
  It seems to be used for lighting 3 dimensional objects and it is used in film and game design a lot.

   So if we go back to out last bottle image we can see that the black top of the bottle now needs to be brought out more as it looks flat. This can be achieved by adding some top lighting into our set up or by using a mirror or reflector to bounce some of the under lighting back onto the bottle top. We also tried placing some black card around the sides of our objects as this helps to bring the white or glass out more, it adds depth.
   We used another bottle and photographed it using some of the methods described above ie using top lighting and black card to see what different type of effects could be achieved.

  Lastly in this studio set up we all photographed our keys. All of us had different key rings and keys so everyone's photographs looked different in this respect due to composition.

  We also were given a good tip for the product tables in that we should always wipe them down before use as its far easier to do that than having  to edit out blotches and marks later.
  That was the first part of the session and then we moved over to the other studio and looked at lighting ratios and using flash heads in conjunction with objects and portraits.

Lighting Ratio's

Common Lighting Ratios
Ratio	Stops Difference	Description
1:1	No Difference	Flat lighting
1:2	1 Stop	General color photography
1:3	1 1/2 Stops	General black & white photography
1:4	2 Stops	Dramatic lighting, low key
1:8	4 Stops	Very dramatic, low key

Chart above referenced from the below website.

http://www.vividlight.com/articles/1916.htm
Also to note is the inverse Square law.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/vision/isql.html
   I have some images that need inserting into the next part as i was the model (I know don't laugh) and couldn't take any of myself, so i have permission off Andrew to copy someones and Julia said i could use her photographs for this next part.
Next we looked at shutter speed in conjunction with flash an what can go wrong.
500/f22

250/f22

125/f22

 As we can see the last image is the correct one for sync speed.
And below are four images showing different lighting ratios and what effect they can have on lighting in the studio on a live model.

                                                            LIGHTING MODIFIER'S

 We use different modifier's on our lighting set ups so that we can control light more to suit what we need. Sometime we need harsh light and others we might need soft diffused light and knowing what kind of modifier to use is very important to studio lighting.
Bellow are a few examples of different types of modifier's, what they do and why we would use them.

Soft box.

  Soft boxes are used to diffuse light and consist of black sides with soft opaque material at the front. There are variations on this but all mainly do the same thing. We would use these in the studio to soften light on product tables and to soften features and light in portrait photography.

Reflectors.

 Reflectors can also include umbrellas and are used to reflect light back at the subject. These can be used almost anywhere and not just in the studio. They come in different colours like white, silver, gold and black and can be used to add different tones to skin ie warm it up and to help eliminate shadows by reflecting light onto the shadow area.

Snoot.

 Snoots can be used to channel or direct light into a more specific area. As with all modifiers the placing of these can really effect the light outcome. Snoots have various uses and are good for product or pact shot studio work.

Barn Doors.

 These are metal shutters attached to a light source and are good for controlling the direction of light. They have various uses especially in indoor studio work.

Beauty Dish.

 Beauty dishes diffuse light in a unique way in that the light is round or donnut shaped. As the name suggests they are used for fashion and portrait photography as they can help to bring out bone structure and skin texture amongst other things.

Honey Comb Grid.

 These soften light so it not as harsh, and can be used by tilting them to make a graduated light effect. They are useful in all types of studio work.

 Even just using one of the above mentioned modifiers we can achieve different light outcomes simply by moving the light source closer or further away. Also of note but mainly used in the film industry is cinefoil  

 This is great stuff as it is basically black tinfoil and can be bent around hot lights as it is heat resistant.

  Andrew then went through low and high key images and how to light them and what they were. Both high and low key images work on intense levels of contrast but in a very different way.
High key.

Low key.

Both of these images were taken from an interesting website that i found and i have linked the website below for my research.
http://www.diyphotography.net/lighting-high-key-and-low-key

Then we looked at F stops and there relation to lighting.
F2, F2.8, F4, F5.6, F8, F11, F16, F22, F32, F64, F128, F256.
If we look at the last four numbers on this chart we can see that from the last number to the number that preceeds it, is half of its value.
 Then we were told to take one good picture of an object and one bad picture of the same object using the lighting techniques that we had gone through in today's lesson.

Andrew setting up the lights for today's studio brief.

This first shot is my bad picture as the lighting is not very flattering to the object at all.

This next shot is my good picture as you can see the lighting is far more flattering and works as a nice low key image.
                                                
                                                              OBJECTS ASSESSMENT 

  Today Andrew went through our objects brief and when our deadlines were and what we had to submit at the final grading stage. To be honest this was a good thing as time is moving on and it clarified everything that was outlined at the start of the course. We were all given a 10 to 15 minute one to one assessment, this proved to be very inspirational for me and my head went pop. It was like a light bulb was switched on and ideas on what i needed to do started to flood in. Its clarified for me, which route i would like to take my objects photograph's.
 The deadline is the 9th of January 2012 so that's not to long off now as i write this. We have to produce a paper based portfolio of 6 objects photographs. We don't have to follow any strict instructions and this has left this brief quite open to interpretation. There are however 5 points that we should respond to and these are :-
1. Close-up and macro
2. Mini set build
3. Commercial Product
4. Highly reflective subjects (chrome, glass etc)
5. Historical objects and their narrative (with Blackburn Museum)
So taking into account the above 5 points i think that there is plenty of scope to breath and be creative in achieving the brief.
In the time that other students were having their assessments, we were told we could set up the studio and have a play around with different lighting set ups if we wanted to.

Studio Lighting Test 1

Studio Lighting Test 2

  I took these two photographs amongst others today in our studio time. I found this a helpful play around in the studio, as we set up the lights on our own and it will help for the future when we have the lighting test. From next week onwards i am going to start booking out the studio so that i can start to get on with taking test shots for set ups for my final 6 images.

                                                     IDEA FOR THE FINAL 6 IMAGES

      I have had this idea buzzing around my head for a long time and as i am so heavily into films, i would like to base my images around a film theme. Films inspire, fascinate and surprise me at every turn and this is an area that i have been passionate about since i was a child. The original idea for this came from a set build i wanted to do using the famous image from the film the Exorcist. (see bellow)

The Exorcist

I love this shot and think that it is such an iconic image. When we were told we were to be doing a Diorama this is what instantly sprang to mind for me. There is also a few other ideas that i have for this film based idea, based on the Exorcist but i don't know if i could get it to fit into an "object" brief, i will have to discuss this more with Andrew. These other ideas are based on face images and i have put the original shots that have inspired me bellow.

Face idea 1

 This face flashes onscreen in the film very briefly in a kind of flashback montage sequence. It does this while a pocket watch is falling down the screen and i remember when i first saw the film it scared the hell out of me and this image just stuck in my head. Now as an idea based on this if i could find an old pocket watch and have this image reflected in it then that would suit the object brief.

Face Idea 2

 This second image is near the end of the film and you could use mirrors or projections to achieve this shot. At the start of the Bjork video for her song Hyperballad is the idea that demonstrates the effect that i would like to achieve and i will link that here bellow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CSiU0j_lFA

Face Idea 3

 This last image could just be a reflection in an object. Its from the original book cover and again this is a strong image that has stuck with me since i was a teenager.

  All of these ideas are just from one film and i could probably make all 6 of my images from this but now it has got me thinking about film related images and how easy they could be brought into this brief. For instance i could use a bar of soap and base it on the film Fight Club and this could be used as an object image if done correctly. I would not obviously just copy the image below, but i could use this as a starting point.

Fight Club

 I decided now to Make a list of my top ten films of all time and to pick out 6 of them that i could easily turn into inspiration for an objects photograph.
So in no order they are:-
Rosemary's Baby
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogfqfnt2Aaw
The Exorcist
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDGw1MTEe9k
Dancer In The Dark
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6Oc3Oe_LpQ
Magnolia
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwXDHSrNFbQ
Amelie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEFrLnS5sQY&feature=related
Mamma Roma
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icpmx0q70jc
The Haunting (original)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeAzGxWlEcg
Funny Games
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Wv9nJHBVCA
Breathless (original)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djvLjkHQDQw
Fargo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpdOXSEkvO8
I added the trailers for a bit of fun and to give a general idea of what each film is about. So out of these 10 films i can easy pick out 6 straight away that i could use and have instant ideas for.They are :-
1.The Exorcist and the ideas i have described earlier.
2.Funny Games and the idea is for a set of golf clubs and a pair of white gloves covered in blood.
3.Fargo could be an easy Diorama using a toy car white fake snow and a figurine of some sort i will put in a picture below to show this idea. Or just using the figure and suitcase and using depth of field.

 4. Breathless and i could use an old camera for this, or something inspired from the time period it was made. This could be a classy black and white image. Maybe a hat and a smouldering cigarette or i could even construct a bed (though this would be hard work).

 

5. Amelie is quite a good one as i could use old photographs from photo booths or an old tin box filled with different stuff like the one found in the film. I could even use or make a photograph album slightly open showing other photographs etc. This last idea on this could be fun but time consuming.

6. Lastly i would use Magnolia as this could be hard but there are just so many ideas that i could use for this.

 I will run all this by Andrew and see what he thinks but i like the overall concept for these 6 images.


                                                     BLACKBURN MUSEUM VISIT 

  Today we went on a uni trip along to Blackburn Museum. This was in relation to our Objects brief as we could use it for one of our final 6 images if we wanted. It was a very educational trip and we learned we could go along and arrange to use some of the objects there to photograph. It has a fantastic space out the back that has a huge skylight that is diffused with bubble wrap. I managed to grab a shot of some light-bulbs on the desk in the room to see what the lighting was like and it wasn't to bad.

 

The different exhibitions were very good and the guide told us that only about 15 to 20 percent of what the museum actually owned was on display at any one time. They have fixed displays and two rooms that change every now and again. One of the fixed rooms contains all the weaving equipment and old looms. It was nice to see this as i didn't know a lot about this part of Blackburn's heritage before.

  The best room for me was the book room and they even had an original copy of "The Canterbury Tales" which is the first book ever to be printed in English. They also had a wall full of really beautiful religious Icons. I love Icons and religious imagery and this gave me a few ideas for photography projects. These  i would make using mixed media by smudging hot silver over printed photographs and scratching over it in lettering or stenciling lettering onto the print.

  Overall my experience at the museum was a good, it gave me lots of ideas for future images and i found the imagery within the museum to be very inspiring. Its also good that we can use objects from the museum and that the uni has a good working relationship with the museum.

                     TEST SHOTS AND OBJECT FINDING FOR THE 6 FINAL PICTURES


AMELIE.
     Today i booked out the studio at uni to try and find some decent ideas to shoot some of my objects,  so first of all i looked at three of the objects that i wanted to try out.
The first film based object was for the film Amelie and the object that i was at first going to use was the box from the film. This would have been a really good starting point but the objects within the box were hard to find. Then i decided to go with my second idea which is of a garden gnome. The garden gnome features prominently in the film and it could be used to create an interesting still life.
Shot one is just of a normal plastic garden gnome and was terrible.

Just A Boring Gnome

  I really didn't like this gnome at all and it looked really cheap and nasty. I have searched all over for a gnome and could not find one suitable at all until a trip to the garden center today. I had previously tried a couple of garden centers but most places have removed a lot of their stock ready for all of their Christmas stuff. I had looked online but also couldn't find a gnome i liked and all the local pound shops also had none in stock.

The One

  That was until i saw this guy and he was perfect for what i wanted. Again the above shot is just a normal shot just really to show what he looks like so now i need to experiment with him in various settings and lighting set ups.
  In the film he goes around the world so i need to put him into context with the story of the film some how. Maybe i could look at taking some fake holiday photo's or use a world map behind him with pins in it to show were he has been on his travels. I have a globe lamp at home so i might start there and see what that looks like first of all.

Gnome With World Globe Light

 The shot above was an experiment to see how much light the globe gave off. It wasn't to bad but its far from perfect. Though i do like his green shadow on the wall as the film has a green tint to it that runs throughout the film. This shot was taken with the globe, a home lamp and a pen torch shinning on him. I like the effect of the torch as it acts like a soft spot light but i don't think its enough i will try and add a stronger spot light in the studio next week. I am also going to fake a couple of holiday snaps of him and maybe put them into an album and have this behind him so it looks like he is looking at them. Possibly i could try out a couple of shots using green lighting gels. I need to start making a list of what to take to uni next week in conjunction with my next studio shoot.
  So for the gnome shot alone i will need :-
* Wooden slats for the base.
* Background wall paper.
* The world globe
* The album with the photos in it.
* A torch and the studio lights from uni.
* Green gels.

So after reworking the shot and changing and experimenting i ended up with the shot bellow. I used the idea of the gnome traveling around the world form the film and Photoshopped the gnome into a variety of different locations. I then made a photograph album and stuck these images into it and finally photographed him looking at the album. This is my favorite shot from all the ones that i had taken so this is going to be what my final image will look like.

Final Image Idea 1

I retook the shot as the lighting wasn't quite right for what i wanted and bellow is possibly the final image that i am going to use. The lighting is much better in this last shot as it has the soft spotlight look that i wanted. The only problem is that his feet are still a little dark.

Final Image Idea 2

THE EXORCIST.
  The second film based object would be from the film the Exorcist. This is an easy idea but the final image could look really dramatic if executed properly. I have a very strong idea for this shot and the final image would incorporate the highly reflective surface requirement set down in the brief outline.
Bellow i have taken the first shot just to show what my initial idea is as it is pretty self explanatory.

The Exorcist Concept

  This shot was taken in the studio and again was just a concept photograph to see if i liked the idea.  I think if done correct that this could look really good, but now its just a matter of refining the image and working through a couple of possibilities. 

Black Test Shot

I like this shot better in black and white and against a black backdrop, so i think that this is the way to go for this shot. I used a mini studio for this at home but my mirror base was just a bit to shiny and i didn't like the way you can see the studio in the base of the mirror. Also the stand at the bottom is hardly visible so i think the mirror at uni would be a better option to use. This shot is just what i would like though, so this i will keep trying this week to get this image correct at home, but if not i will take the equipment into uni and try it there again.
  For this shot i would need to bring :-
* Mirror
* The book
* Black velvet (they have this at uni)

FUNNY GAMES.
 For the third film, Funny Games, i wanted to use a set of golf clubs and taken out of context of the film that is exactly what they are.

Set Of Golf Clubs

So the first shot really means nothing as it is not something that would explain the object in the context that they are used within the film. I have a couple of ideas for shots of these so i will have to try them out this week. I do not think that the golf club shots could be taken in the studio, so i am going to have to take these at home. I will try out these this weekend and post them on here after the weekend. Another possibility for the film funny games could be to use a TV remote control, so if the golf clubs do not work out then i will try out a couple of shots of those instead.

Test Shot 1

Test Shot 2

Test Shot 3

I have taken a few test shot images of close ups as this works better than showing all of the clubs. Ignoring the lighting as i was only looking at composition here and how close i could get to them to try and see how i could relate then to the film. The first test was just to see if i could reflect a face into them and i could so that's one possibility. The second shot didn't do anything at all and was not worth perusing. The third shot i liked the best as it stands out very bold against the black background and if i added some fake blood to it i could make it relate to the film funny games.

Final Idea Test 1

Final Idea Test 2

Final Idea Test 3

So the adding of the blood really works for the tone i want to create with this image but the test shots above were not dramatic enough and the lighting wasn't used to bring about the tone i wanted. These shots just looked flat and not very dramatic.

Final Idea

The above shot really works and is perfect for the look i want to achieve. The lighting on this image is still not right as the end of the golf club looks too washed out and bland. I liked the highlights on the dripping blood though so i will take another couple of images until i get the lighting and look that i finally want.

Final Image

The shot above is my final image and i am really pleased with this shot as it has taken ages to get the lighting just right.

FARGO.

This set up was always going to be one of my favorite images to try and make as it involved the building of a mini set.  I have been gathering the materials to build this set for ages and it turned out that the model suitcase was the hardest part to find. This was always going ton be a one off photographic opportunity as the set cannot  be moved around a lot as it has lots of delicate parts to it, like the fence.

Image For Set Build

The above shot is the image that i am going to base my set build on. If you break it down it has really only four components. The snow floor, the fence, the man and the suitcase. I built the set and then started taking some initial test shots trying out different lighting.

Test 1

Test 2

Test 3

Test 4

Test 5

Test 6

The composition of the set build is good, i really like it but i need to get the lighting just right. If you look at the original image the lighting has a slight blue tinge to it. Out of all the test shots i like the ones where the figure i have used is more of a silhouette or blurred out. The suitcase also needs to be blacked out, like in the final test image so that you can not see the logo on the front of it.

I think that i will possibly convert the image to black and white and add a slight blue tint to it after to get the effect that i want.


BREATHLESS.

Originally i wanted this shot to be of a smouldering cigarette in an ashtray next to a hat but unfortunately health and safety at uni stops me from using a lit cigarette, so i have changed the image to that of an old camera. In the film there is a scene where they use an old camera to shoot a fashion shoot so i thought that i could isolate the camera and use that. Again i will try out some test shots to see what they look like.

Test 1

Test 2

Test 3

Test 4

I didn't want to isolate the camera on a plain white background and i didn't want to light this shot so it looked modern. The final test shot is the look i wanted to achieve and after sepia toning it i like the finished look. I might just add a touch more grain to it when i Finnish off the final image.


 MAGNOLIA.
As much as this is possibly in my top three films of all time, this has been the hardest shot to take out of all the films. I new the look i wanted but i didn't know how i could take the shot to fulfill the brief. The shot must contain a frog as the scene were it rains frogs is the image that i wanted to portray the film. The only frog big enough for what i wanted was a rubbish plastic one that i had at home, again i looked everywhere for one more suitable but haven't seen one to buy.
I took lots and lots of test shots trying out all different ways of making the frog a silhouette first of all,
this was just to see how it looked.

Test 1

Test 2

Test 3

Test 4

Test 5

Test 6

Test 7

Falling Frog Into Water Test 1

Falling Frog Into Water Test 2

I tried out many different ideas with this photograph even dropping the plastic frog into a bucket of water but the original idea that i had was still going to be the strongest image and also one that is very much in the tone of the scene from the movie. The frog had to look like it was falling past a linen curtain. I had some linen at home so i photographed that to see  what that looked like with natural light behind it and it looked liked i had imaged it. The only thing that bothered me about this image was that it was going to have to be Photoshopped to get the look that i wanted. I had a word with a couple of the tutors and they said it was fine to explore that avenue. The finished image is taken from two photographs. One of the frog in silhouette and then darkened down with the burn tool, which i then selected and copied onto a new layer. I did this three times, each time altering the size and angle of the frogs. Then i made a new layer and inserted the linen with the natural light behind it.

Falling Frog Montage Test

 The shot above was just an experiment to see how a montage could look but it was very overboard and far to fussy. The shot below is exactly what i had in mind from the start of the project and is more subtle but far more convincing in the long run. The slight motion blur that i have added have given the effect that the frogs are falling past a window.

Final Image