S'all about the Subtext...

As I have expressed, I strive to capture emotion in photos, I think it gives more depth and intrigue. I took these shots of a friend one day and as a group I feel they have quite strong subtext.

As we Sit and Gaze...

Whilst on certain explorations with a certain group of Photographers we came across many chairs, some of them in places they wouldn't normally be found - a carpark for instance. I think a chair is a seriously interesting item to photograph because it almost looks as though something is missing (most probably a person to sit on the chair..) and so a photo of just a chair appears quite empty and somewhat lost. I felt these photos worked better in a group than standing alone and they seem to come in 3 pairs; the chairs being taken over by nature around them, the chairs spaced neatly in places they really shouldn't be and the lone wooden chairs left to gather dust.

A friend of a friend is a keen photographer and as I was browsing through his website I came across this photo which caught my eye because it reminded me of these shots. His photo is simply entitled 'Nothing.'
http://samrizzo.daportfolio.com/gallery/184264#8

How some Roll...

A skate park, I have discovered, is a very interesting place to take photos and somewhere which also links to my theme of Identity. People go there and leave their marks for others, almost instigating their territory. A skate park with no graffiti just wouldn't seem right, it creates a sort of subtextual power.

A photographer who isn't very well known is Christopher Kern. A friend of mine came across his work and showed it to me. His portraits of skateboarders really appealled to me because the style and subject is what I've been trying to aim for. Eyes are engaging with the camera intensely, hints about their identities from the art on boards along with the simplicity of the images I think make some great photos.

Dan, a guy who was blading whilst we were photographing seemed so at ease and happy for us to snap away. I like the simplicity of the top half of the right hand photo contrasting with the bottom half and also the way his 'pose' and the graffiti lines break up the solid lines of the railings.

Here the slopes of the ramps lead your eye up and over then up again to meet with the figure skating, this capture of movement I think sits well with how still the three boys on the left look and the symmetry of the two photos together and positioning of people.

Those with 'Steeze'..

Studio Portraits of students found to have special talents or hobbies some may be aware of, some may not. Finding ways of incorporating what they do in the photos I feel inhances their identities and makes them somewhat more interesting than if they stood alone with just a title.

Some welcomed the opportunity whilst others looked akward and expressionless similar to photos from James Pogson. These I am not keen on: I like the eyes of the subject to speak to the viewer and not just stare blankly.

Here, on the street where you live...

9 Photos:
3 People
3 Night Time
3 'Something and Nothing'
1 Street.

'Family Member' - My dad, his car is his pride and joy and so many people identify him by it. I was trying to get the refection of the water tower in the glass but failed miserably although the trees are a good contrast to the simple white of the car.

'Neighbour' - 'Uncle Tom and Aunty Pauline', I was trying to recreate a famous shot I've seen somewhere of a solemn couple, washed out and expressionless but trust the one time I need this couple's usual glumness to be one time they find their cheesy grins... I desaturated it slightly in Photoshop to get the effect I wanted.

'Unknown' - Walked to the garage in my road and intruded on the men on their break. There was only one woman working and wherever I asked them to stand the males would form a little group leaving the woman often standing alone but staying cheery, this photo I feel captured that. The lighting was bad in the dim garage and I used my shutter speeds to compensate.

I chose not to use my flash in these shots because it screams amature and I wanted practise with the shutter speeds. I seriously was in need of a tripod doing these but improvised with resting the camera on the floor or a tree..

I didn't have a clue what to do for 'Something and Nothing' so just took random snaps and picked three I liked, things that you may pass by and not really consider but think about them and they are actually something important to one or many people. I liked the layering of the second two with foreground and background objects and the different textures.

Avedon an experiment....!

Chipmunk

Gravesy

Belch

Guy

I looked at the works of Richard Avedon because he relys on expression rather than props or complicated compositions. I put people infront of the camera and simply asked them to be themselves, we chatted away and I snapped and chose photos which instinctively caught my eye, mostly because they've captured a moment. I wrote the focus' nicknames because I feel it added to the depth of the image: these are real people, not just images. I put them in the style of Avedon - and similar to that of Robery Mapplethorpe - with high contrast black and white. I touched them up so parts like their eyes and expressions were more the focus.

Vintage Balloonage..

A Vintage Fayre I attended; when looking through the photos I took there seemed to be a reoccurring theme of balloons and I liked these selection of photos as a group...