Connecting Essay Five

This image was produced by Lee Jeffries. It portrays a young subject with highlighted features, such as the hair and the eyes. This has been done deliberately in order to focus the viewer on the subject's face and prevent them from paying attention to the background. This is further done by blurring the subject's neck and clothing, to bring it out of focus and unclear to the viewer. By restricting their view, Jeffries is able to evoke feelings of curiosity and allows the viewer to wonder and dive in deeper into the image, exploring the context and trying to figure out ho this subject is. The use of shadows further helps to achieve this mysterious atmosphere from this image. Moreover, Lee Jeffries has chosen to add the element of contrast between the subject's hair and the pitch black background to add diversity to his picture. By doing this, he is also able to add colour as the subject's skin is quite pale, which reduces the amount of colour used. The angle used has been picked carefully, where the subject is able to be seen clearly without any distractions - the angle also creates a stronger bond with the subject and the viewer as the child is looking straight at the camera. This gives the effect of the child being right in front of the viewer's face due to the close-up technique that has been used. The facial expression on the subject is a negative one, although it looks neutral, the child's mouth is frowning. For the viewer to notice this, they must pay more attention to the picture, especially the facial features. This is why Jeffries has chosen to highlight the facial features, 

This is one of my images, which I produced whilst completing a shoot inspired by Lee Jeffries. I attempted to use his techniques and include elements like he does in order to come out with a similar image. I have decided to do this as it relates to my subjects, and concentrates on identity and individuals in society. The techniques I've used portrays my subject in a rough manner and is very sharp on her facial features, showing them off and highlighting them. By manipulating the light, I created shadows on one side of her face - this is so that the viewer focuses on the side that's well lit and picks out her distinguishing features, such as her bright blue eyes and pink lips. This is to highlight her beauty although I have also emphasised some flaws on her skin. I have chosen a subject with bright clothing so that she can show a huge contrast between herself and the background so that the attention is only on the subject and nothing else.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

In conclusion, these two images have more similarities than differences. For example, the techniques used in both images are extremely similar, such as the use of shadows and angles. Although Jeffries' image is closer to the subject's face, mine is still at an intimate angle so that the viewer can be connected to the subject. Furthermore, both images consist of a black background so that the contrast in each image is highlighted and prevents the viewer from concentrating their attention anywhere other than on the subjects. On the other hand, my image is brighter than the one from Jeffries. This is because I wanted my subject's facial features to be emphasised and take up most of the image. The facial expression I have used is not so much neutral, but more arrogant. The subject is looking straight at the camera with this look, making the viewer uncomfortable. Similarly with Jeffries' image, he makes the subject make the viewer feel uncomfortable.

Connecting Essay Four

The images below are from a photographer based in London, James Russell Cant. He worked on a project where he wanted to portray teenagers in London and raise questions on the portrayal of the subject and the dangers of the subject positions that are presented to children. He does this by capturing an innocent looking subject with a happy facial expression but also capturing another picture of the same subject with a neutral expression, and editing the image to take it look as if they have been caught on CCTV for committing a crime. By doing this, his work illustrates a theme of youth and identity, showing how easily young people can be stereotyped or even influenced by other around them in their own society. He has achieved this by producing a bright, attractive image of a subject, by using an appealing background such as the one below, he is able to add the element of colour to his work, however, the portraits have blurry background. This is done deliberately so that the viewer focuses more on the actual subject rather than the scenery; although the background is essential in giving out a happy and innocent impression of the subject, the photographer wanted minimal attention to be payed on the scene from the viewer - this has been achieved through wide aperture settings, such as F3/4 and longer focal lengths. Cant then photographed another portrait of the same subject but at a higher angle to give it a CCTV footage feel - the image was then editing in order to look as if the camera was a low quality and to make the scene look rough and more dangerous. The clothing of the subjects say the same, this is so that the viewer can see that the subjects are exactly the same in both image but yet, have completely different identities. 

This is my picture from my shoot, which was inspired by James Russell Cant. I followed his technique by photographing my subject with a decent background, using low aperture, which was F3. This allowed my photograph to look bright and show off the expression on my subject's face. For my second image, I found a rougher scene, which would reflect my subject's personalty and make him look rough and give out a bad impression to the viewer. Once on Photoshop, I added clouds in order to make the picture look as if it was taken with CCTV, I also added scanning lines by adding a pattern so that I can put emphasis on the whole idea that this was caught on CCTV - this is so the viewer can see a big difference between the two images and understand the stereotypes on young people in society. The angle in which I took the photographs also changed so that I can give out different impressions. For example, for the first image, I used an angle where the viewer will be ale to see my subject's face clearly and this allowed me to make use of his facial features in order to make him look innocent and adorable. I then used a less attractive angle for the second image, where half of my subject's face is hidden, disconnecting the viewer with my subject and creating a whole new personality for him.

Overall, my image is extremely similar to the one from James Russell Cant as I replicated his images for my shoot. However, there are some differences, such as the use of facial expressions - in my first picture, my subject is smiling and he has rougher facial expression in the second picture; I've done this on purpose to show the difference between personalities and emotions between the two images, in order to emphasis on the theme of identity on society. On the other hand, Cant has kept his subject with the same facial expression in both pictures; this is because he wanted to keep his subject as similar as possible, even in the exact posture so that he can really highlight the way viewers can develop two different impressions but for the exact same subject. The lighting used also differs as the photographer has used a warmer, brighter light so that a happy and calm atmosphere is given out. In my picture, the lighting is not as warm or as bright, this is because I did not want the lighting to interfere with my subject and make some of his facial features less noticeable.

Connecting Essay Three

This is a picture I found on the internet, which was taken in Camden, where the markets are. The element of colour has been exaggerated by editing the image on Photoshop - by doing this, the photographer creates a vibrant and attractive picture for his viewers. A low F-stop, such as F3.5, in order to achieve this bright and colourful image. This has allowed him to highlight specific parts of the photograph, for example, the fast food restaurants hidden by the market stalls. The bright signs with the titles attract the viewer's attention but their view is immediately restricted as they cannot see the actual food places. This represents the consumption of fast food in society, symbolising how individuals are constantly eating fast food, the restaurants just blend into the picture, showing this. The bright colours have also enabled the photographer to symbolise diversity and tradition, portraying the different aspects of culture that can be found in that area - this is further highlighted by including a range of subjects, who all have quite different styles from each other, adding to this diversity he is trying to show. The framing of the picture has been thought of very carefully beforehand; the photographer has chosen exactly what to include and to omit in this scene, allowing him to show off the culture and diversity that is present in Camden. It is also a very full frame, with no wasted space, giving out the impression that this is a very busy place with something always going on; further illustrating the numerous cultures that can be found in that specific area - this would have been different if the framing was different and had some wasted space, which would have implied that Camden was a fairly empty place. 

This is my picture, taken on my one of my culture shoots in Camden. I used a high aperture, around F19 as I was aiming to make this scene look dodgy so that I can show a rougher side to Camden, rather than the colourful, bright image that is associate with the area. I included the security guard to help me achieve this by making the area look unsafe - I also made sure that his jacket was bright and clear so the viewer can automatically pick up on him and pay attention to that part of the picture. This was successful because everything around the guard is fairly dark so he stands out a lot. When framing the picture, I ensured that I included everything and made the scene look quite empty for two reasons; so that more attention is payed on the security guard rather than other subjects and so that I can put further emphasis on the guard. This has allowed me to achieve what I was trying to from the beginning. There is also a lot of black in this picture, such as the ground and the roof; this diverts the viewer's attention away from those parts and more towards the colourful parts of the photograph, this helped me to manipulate the viewer and ensure that they are focusing on exactly what I want them to in the photograph.

These pictures have both similarities and differences; for example, both pictures have made use of the element of colour, however, the picture from the internet exaggerated this, whereas my picture has a limited use. This varied due to the fact that we had different aims and so used slightly different techniques in order to achieve them. Despite this, both images were taken in Camden and show the market stalls, showing culture through the scene, even though they have been shown in different ways - for example, in the picture from the internet, culture is shown through the subjects and the food restaurants in the background, on the other hand, in my picture from my shoot, culture is shown through the clothing being sold, even though the view is restricted. Additionally, both pictures used similar framing, not including empty spaces, ensuring the whole frame is full and show activity, emphasising the busy routine that takes place daily in this area, 

Connecting Essay Two

This image was take-in Chinatown by a street photographer named James Maher - he is very good at capturing people on the street and expressing their feelings through facial expressions. An example is this photograph, which focuses on two subjects. Maher explains that he was trying to highlight the green clothes and accessories found in the image, as this colour was claimed to be fashionable at the time the picture was taken. By doing this, James Maher draws a line between the generations found in society and separates them, whilst showing the theme of culture at the same time. He separates the generations through the use of green, which is considered fashionable - the fact that the man hasn't got any green items on him but the woman does suggests that he is from an older generation and perhaps, doesn't care for fashion, whereas the woman does. This technique has allowed the photographer to show symbolise the difference between generations and portray how they exist in our society. Culture is also shown through the background in the picture; the shop has Chinese writing on it, emphasising the different traditions and beliefs present in this image. The use of the element of colour is also remarkable in this picture; as the photographer was trying to put emphasis on the colour green and ensure that his viewers are focusing on it, he decided to use a bright red background in order to show a high level of contrast and further show off the green. This not only adds colour to the image, making it more attractive as it compliments the green colour, but also shows connotations of the Chinese culture as green and red are colours that are normally used by them - this is shown in the shop as the window display are in bright green and red.

This is my picture from a culture shoot I did also in Chinatown. I took advantage of the colour available in this little alley way and chose an angle in which I could capture the selection of colour. My main aim for this image was to show culture through colour - for example, the colour red, yellow and green are all common in Chinese culture and are found in more of their traditions, such as festivals. Luckily, I was able to find shops painted those colours and photographed them in such a way so culture is shown; such as through the window of the restaurant, where the viewer can see Chinese decorations, which are highlighted as they light up. There are also Chinese writing all around the photograph, but they are not as obvious - this forces the viewer to pay more attention to the picture so that they can understand it fully. I decided to use a slow shutter speed (1/20) for this image as it allowed me to make the subjects slightly blurry. By doing this, I can ensure that the viewer is concentrating mostly on the colours and the buildings rather than the subjects around the image. However, the subjects are clear enough to be able to understand their facial expression and see what they are feeling.

Overall, these two pictures are very alike - they were both taken in the same area with very similar aims, by using the element of colour. They both contain the colours red and green as they are trying to illustrate the same culture, showing off their traditions. The picture from the internet contains subjects just like mine; this was done in order to show life in the picture and not show an empty scene. This also helped to show culture even more as the subjects are Asian, putting further emphasis on the culture being shown. Both pictures also use a similar angle, where depth of field is being shown as an element and shows the length of the street being photographed, this adds structure to the image and shows the viewer that there is more, evoking feelings of curiosity. On the other hand, the picture from Jame Maher contains more elements, such as shadow and repetition, whereas my image does not. This creates diversity in his work, giving it more structure, whereas my picture is rather straight forward.

Connecting Essay One

This is an image I found on the internet from a German photographer named Rut Blees Luxemburg. Her work normally consists of an Urban landscape theme, shot at night. This particular image is very ambiguous; the scene looks almost deserted but this idea is automatically dismissed as the viewer can clearly see the lights from the windows on the residential buildings in the background. This creates confusion in the viewer's mind and makes them wonder what this image is trying to say, engaging them and forcing them to pay attention to the rest of the photograph. The bright, blood red container shows connotations of danger and suggests that this is a dodgy area, with potentially, a lot of crimes. The fact that there is a chair and a cup of coffee in the container further highlights this and adds tension to this picture as the viewer is made aware that there is someone who is meant to be sitting there. Luxemburg has made good use of the lampposts and manipulated them in order to stop the viewer from focusing on irrelevant parts of the picture; the impression that the lights are too bright is given and so the viewer avoids focusing on that particular part of the picture. This technique is a really good one as the photographer can control where the viewer focuses and what they pay the most attention to.

This picture is one I took on my second shoot when I was experimenting with a tripod. Like the picture above, the aim was to make the scene look creepy and unsafe. The flares from either side of the picture guide the viewer and makes them focus on the alleyway more that the apartments on both sides. This shows repetition and some sort of pattern as there are more lights along the alley as it gets smaller - they act as an enhancer for the lines that are shown in this picture, helping guide the viewer through the alleyway from the bottom of the picture to the middle. The fact that the further point of this alley is in the middle of the picture makes it the centre of attention, forcing the viewer to focus on this and pay the most attention to this particular part of the picture. The aperture was adjusted so that the container is the brightest part of the picture, once again, forcing the viewer to immediately pay their attention to that particular part of the image.

Both pictures consist of the same content: a container and residential apartments in the background. The colour of both containers is very bright and bold compared to the rest of the photographs, allowing them to stand out and attract the viewer's attention straight away. Due to the fact that both pictures have been taken at night time, it gives them a similar effect and emphasises on the flares from the light sources, allowing them to take up a considerable amount of the photograph. Although the two pictures are very similar, they do consist of some differences; such as the angle in which each image was taken and the aperture used. For example, in the first picture, a wider aperture was used, round F4.5, in order to achieve a shallow depth of field, making the picture brighter than my one as a used a higher aperture, which was F20, giving my image a full depth of field. Moreover, the angle in my picture is not straight like the one used in the picture from the internet, it is clear that the photographer used a tripod as her picture is framed perfectly. I didn't use a tripod so that my image could look dodgy and dangerous.