#9 - 12 Days of Christmas

Posted 27/12/14

#8 - 12 Days of Christmas

Posted 27/12/14

#7 - 12 Days of Christmas

Posted 25/12/14

Link to video

#6 - 12 Days of Christmas

Posted 23/12/15

#5 - 12 Days of Christmas

Posted 22/12/14

[XMAS] - Film #1

Shots from film #1 - Caroline Wong, Dec 2014

As mentioned in my final post before the holidays, I knew I was aiming to get back into the swing of things regarding film photography. Whilst it's tricky for me to experiment with darkroom techniques in the same way as I did at my secondary school (as we had access to a number of different chemicals etc), I still wanted to at least take a break from the digital side and refresh my eyes.

Above are two shots from the roll, both very different in subject but these are the subjects I enjoy photographing most. As with my work for briefs, I always enjoy working when there's a personal element present and above is a photo of a friend taken on the night of another friend's birthday celebration. The first photo is another interest of mine- architecture and landscape. With architecture, I've always been interested in seeing the things that others wouldn't see. I consider myself to be observant of my surrounding more so than others and I like to capture scenes that usually get walked past. Through my fine art pieces and external photography, this is a theme that I've always indulged in exploring.

Shooting with film after such a long time was turbulent however. I am extremely happy with the results of the first roll as there was a lot of work put into it. My camera of choice is the Konica Minolta C35 AF which is known to be the first autofocus camera. Whilst I have a lot less control over the camera given it's autofocus feature, I've unfortunately not been able to get my hands on a Canon AE-1 which I'd love the opportunity to shoot with. The Konica I have is rather old and the battery compartment has the tendency to corrode easily meaning that whenever I retire the camera for a few months, I have to do a clean up before using it when I next pick it up. On top of this, being rusty with the process of film photography, I managed to forget to press the release button on the camera before rewinding the film. This resulted in the film inside the camera snagging and ripping through a good ten or so shots. Because of this, a chunk of the mini shoot I shot was lost but I plan on reshooting it at a later date. I wasn't able to rescue the film there and then as I was without a changing bag and a canister but took it to a photo shop who were kind enough to help me out, distraught and all.

The fiasco with my first roll has been helpful though, I now know that the world will not end if the film rips and that not pressing the film release button on a camera is simply asking for trouble. I'm looking forward to the next roll's results!

#4 - 12 Days Of Christmas

Posted 21/12/14

#3 - 12 Days Of Christmas

Posted 20/12/14

#2 - 12 Days Of Christmas

Posted 14/12/14

#1 - 12 Days Of Christmas

Posted 07/12/14

09/12/14 - GUY BOURDIN PROJ. (Final Editorial)

One of the final images - Caroline Wong

During the shoot, we had to work rather quickly as although the weather was sunny, the air was still cold and my models were required to dress in summer attire (as the shoot is for SS15). We had few problems thankfully during the shooting process but there were a number of tasks needed to be done in post-production editing. 

Firstly in the shot above, in order to capture the shoe, I had my model hold a piece of string with the shoe attached to it. This was done because whenever I tried to capture the shoe falling in momentum, the images always came out blurred due to the weight of the shoe. The speed of the shoe falling was too fast for my camera to accurately capture and so I remedied this by using string and then later photoshopping it out.

Another problem faced was that the shoe I used for the shoot was white and therefore didn't stand out well against the white windows. Whilst I was extremely happy with the composition of the shot, there was little vibrancy in the photo and so I ended up choosing a mint green colour that had been forecast in WGSN's colour palette and photoshopping the shoe to be this colour. The end result was much more preferable and as I'd done the research into the predicted colour trends, I was able to accurately make a decision as to which colour to pick.

I was happy with my series of four images that showed a trainer flying out of a window and whilst Ian preferred the shots to not have a hand it them, I decided to stick by my decision and chose not to photoshop them out. In our final critique, the other tutors also agreed with me and said that they too liked the hand so I am happy I decided to stand my ground. Since all forms of art is subjective anyway, I figured that it was each to their own and I was essentially staying true to my own style of photography.

This project has been a fun and rather lovely way to end the first term. I'm looking forward to the upcoming projects as well as being let loose with a camera over Christmas. One drawback of how fast-paced everything has been is that I feel I haven't been able to explore and utilise my love of analogue photography. As a self-proclaimed perfectionist, it can often take me up to a year to finish one roll of 36 exposures as I usually wait for the perfect occasion to take photographs on film. Because of this habit of mine, it hasn't been possible to shoot in film as I know I wouldn't be able to finish a roll fast enough. However, to try and curb this habit as well as refresh my photography skills, I've decided to make sure I shoot consistently over the Christmas holidays. 

02/12/14 - GUY BOURDIN PROJ. (Concept Board)

Images from concept board - Caroline Wong

The photograph I chose evoked feelings of summer, be it in California or the south of France. With the blue background and red painted toenails coming into the shot, the atmosphere of the photograph was relaxed and easy, much like one would be on vacation. Because of this summer feel-good vibe, I began coming up with a concept and narrative that would suit such inspiration.

The concept for my shoot has come from looking into 1950's America as the post-war era is known to be the period that birthed the 'teenager'. With kids no longer wanting to be carbon copies of their parents as they hit sixteen, there was a real emphasis on breaking away and having your own individual personality and I decided that I wanted to channel this in my narrative for the editorial.

The images used in my concept board consist of photographs I've found and sought out as well as photographs that I have taken myself. I always try to use some of my own photography in my concept boards as I like to work with a personal aspect to a project. This usually results in a much better and thought out idea.

01/12/14 - GUY BOURDIN PROJ. (Ligature Magazine)

Ligature Magazine

My chosen magazine for this project is Ligature, a publication based in London, and I chose them based on their editorial style and content. With few features, the main bulk of the rather thin A4 magazine is editorial. Images are often soft and slightly grainy, sometimes giving the feeling as though they've been shot with film. They're never overly sharp and crisp like images for fashion titles such as Vogue and W and this style of photography fits my aesthetic well.

The layout of the pages are also to my liking- images are rarely printed to fill an entire page and instead are strategically placed in a sort of minimalist and geometric fashion (much like my sketchbook). More than once has there been a spread where 4 similar cuts of the same pose have been used in a grid and I particularly liked the way this had been laid out on the page. The font used for editorial titles in the magazine isn't my favourite, I would have preferred to see something with capital letters that are sharper to contrast with the soft imagery instead of the rounded script used.

01/12/14 - GUY BOURDIN PROJ. (Exhibition Review + Chosen Image)

Charles Jourdan Spring 1978 - Guy Bourdin 

In order to fully understand Bourdin's work, we went to the exhibition at Somerset House which showed a collection of photographs and films as well as a number of technical drawings and Polaroids that were used in his image-making process. When going around the exhibition, I noticed some common themes within Bourdin's work and whilst I was captivated by a number of his images, a small number of them were also disturbing and uncomfortable, which in itself is not a bad thing.

With a glamorous and sometimes objectifying portrayal of women, Bourdin's work seemed at times a little too risqué, bordering erotic. Whilst I usually wouldn't have a problem with that (especially given the era these photographs were taken in), there was still something uncomfortable about a few of the photographs. 

Aside from that, his images spoke to me mostly for their somewhat abstract and simple nature. As an avid lover of simplicity in everything from the way I dress to the way I lay out my sketchbook, I was drawn to the composition of the photographs and choosing a favourite to use as inspiration for an editorial proved to be a difficult decision. Bourdin's images are often either in black and white or heavily saturated in colour and whilst I liked the use of brights to highlight the product he was endorsing, the high saturation of colour is something that, as a creative myself, I tend not to replicate.

My final chosen image is from the Spring 1978 campaign for Charles Jourdan. The feelings I've gathered from the photograph tie in well for a SS15 editorial and on top of that, I didn't want to produce anything dark in colour similar to my last project. By choosing this photo, I'm able to return to my roots and have fun with my favourite colour palette too- blue.