For this exam I have decided to go with the question Unexpected Perspective. It really interested me. Although the question mentions Artists I should look at in order to make this question successful, I will also approach this question in an independent and very unique way. I think this question has the biggest potential out of all the questions and can be interpreted in any way.
Research
By conducting research on each of the subtopics I have came across some very interesting work. To start off my project approach I put most of my focus into object photography, I found some interesting work and I was digging deeper and deeper. I eventually came across some work that really interested me and I thought I could make this work well. I came across Product photography in the area of Toy Figures. Some of the work was fantastic and really creative. I really loved the change of scale, the toys are only small while the world around them seems huge in comparison to them. This led me do more research in this are and I managed to find some great photographers in that area. Below I will present some google results after typing 'Toy Figures Photography' .
The work of other photographers
I found the following photographs on the internet. The images most definitely examine the theme of
unexpected perspectives, whilst at the same time introducing the rather 'quirky' visual approach.
The interplay between the toy figurines and the unusual angles from which the photographs have been taken, I really like.
The playing with scale at a visual level is a creative way of working. It creates visually intriguing images that invite the viewer to examine the photographs a second time
unexpected perspectives, whilst at the same time introducing the rather 'quirky' visual approach.
The interplay between the toy figurines and the unusual angles from which the photographs have been taken, I really like.
The playing with scale at a visual level is a creative way of working. It creates visually intriguing images that invite the viewer to examine the photographs a second time
After looking at these photographs I then decided to focus my research on a particular Artist. His name is Mitchel Wu.
Work of Mitchel Wu
Mitchel Wu's work shows toys being portrayed in live action photographs, he manipulates photographs in such a way that they seem as if they come to life
Mitchel's work really struck me, he uses toys in such a way that they are brought to life by him. The toys and figurines seem Mitchel's work is very quirky and different and I admire it. He has a very creative approach to his work. Some of the photographs seem almost impossible to create, but nothing is impossible with the use of photoshop. His work really inspired me and made me realise that that these photographs are the kind of things I would like to present in my work, in fact I cannot wait to get started to try and recreate some of his incredible work.
My Own Photographic Work
Toys in the Park
Some of my weird childhood toys turned out ot be great subjects for my photographs. I was very pleased with the sillhoutes that I managed to capture. I figured out that a sunny day would be the best for this kind of photography , although I am also planning a simmilar shoot but on a dull day to see the contrast between the photographs. The first set seems darker than the next set of photographs, this is becasue at the time of those photographs, the sun was behind a cloud.
The photographs are very unique becasue of the subjects being toys and because of the way the are lit up. The sun was the only source of light for this photoshoot and it worked very well. It was a sunset coming down onto the park that made the photographs so great. Also the huge space behind the subjects helped a lot as it created great potential for depth of field photography which worked very well in this instance.
I took those photographs in Liverpool. It's a place called deysbrook field which is a part of croxteth park. This place worked very well for the photographs. It was a very sunny day when I took those. What also worked well is the seemingly long backround. This allowed a very effective background blur. I achived the blur through setting my camera to Aperture Priority. I then set the aperture to around 5.6, the lower the aperture the better the blur.
Wrestlers on The Field
(My own Photographic Work)
On the same day I also decided to bring with me my wrestling figures which I had since the age of 11. I found them in a loft of a house I just moved into at the time and the wrestelers stuck with me since. I never found any use for them so I kept them in a shoebox . When the exam question came up 'unexpected perspectives' I straight away thought of toys. The figures came in handy, I decided to go to the field on a sunny day while the sun was setting to capture the sun rays behind the wrestling figures. Some of the photographs look absolutley magnificent. These photographs Particularly fitted in with my research because they are very similar in terms of the light used and the background settings. The only major difference is that instead of using Toy Story toys I decided to use what was available to me which was Wrestling Action Figures.
Timed Exam Section
(My own Photographic work)
Simmilarly to the other two sets of photographs, I once again used toys as a main subject in the photographs. I decided to pack my bag and go towards town in Liverpool in order to capture some photographs that would resamble in some way the city I live in. It was a rainy day, no sunshine at all, just clouds, but the photographs still turned out to be fantastic and also they have greatly contrasted the work I currenlty produced due to the change of mood through light.
I have chosen the question Unexpected Perspective because I believed it was the most diverse of questions and it could be interpreted in any way possible. There were a few photographers mentioned such as Alexander Rodchenko, Ed Ruscha and Bill Brandt. Their work didn’t really inspire me or interested me in any way. I felt like if I went down the path of taking similar photographs to the photographers mentioned I would be repeating last year all over again where I did ‘Available Light’ and the main focus was street photography. This time I really wanted to move away from my comfort zone and take on a very independent and Unique go at the exam but I didn’t quite know where to start and one day it occurred to me. I was looking at my younger Brother’s toys. This led me to research Toy photography and a lot of interesting photographs showed up. The looked very professional and unique. A lot of them were action figures in an appropriate setting so that they seemed realistic. Some of the photographs were unbelievable, the subjects were almost alive. I was particularly inspired by the work of Mitchel Wu. I really loved his use of natural lighting in his photographs and that it initially what I wanted to focus on.
I have chosen the question Unexpected Perspective because I believed it was the most diverse of questions and it could be interpreted in any way possible. There were a few photographers mentioned such as Alexander Rodchenko, Ed Ruscha and Bill Brandt. Their work didn’t really inspire me or interested me in any way. I felt like if I went down the path of taking similar photographs to the photographers mentioned I would be repeating last year all over again where I did ‘Available Light’ and the main focus was street photography. This time I really wanted to move away from my comfort zone and take on a very independent and Unique go at the exam but I didn’t quite know where to start and one day it occurred to me. I was looking at my younger Brother’s toys. This led me to research Toy photography and a lot of interesting photographs showed up. The looked very professional and unique. A lot of them were action figures in an appropriate setting so that they seemed realistic. Some of the photographs were unbelievable, the subjects were almost alive. I was particularly inspired by the work of Mitchel Wu. I really loved his use of natural lighting in his photographs and that it initially what I wanted to focus on.
Unedited Photographs
Photoshopped : Set 1 Hue/saturation and Colour Balance Edits.
Black Fram and Panoramic
Full Frame/Quotes
Final Outcome
In this small section I will display my final presentation of Photographs. I believe this is my best produced work and I would like to make it stand out by placing the photographs in this section. The photographs are of a Storm Trooper. They are particularly good because of the frame I used but also due to the Lighting and the mood.
What makes those photographs truly great is that just like in the work of Mitchel Wu, the subjects in theses photographs look very realistic. The troopers perfectly fit in with the background therefore they look like they truly belong there, rather than it being obvious that these are just toys. The work of Mitchel really inspired me, but I didn't have the resources to recreate the photographs he created, but that didn't put me down, I still managed to improvise and come up with my own photographs with the resources available to me.