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I presented my final folio yesterday. If you were there, you would have heard me verbally cover the key questions specified in the unit guide. 

1. I had a lot of difficulty thinking of a creative concept for my folio and began to carry my camera with me wherever I went, hoping to capture a moment of magic and call it a day. I felt rather intimidated taking pictures in public and ventured to the zoo where I could take comfort in the fact that everybody else was taking photos too. The concept of captivity was devised after I had discovered a fascination with monkeys I hadn’t previously known I had. Upon reflection, I figured that I was fascinated with monkeys and the theory of evolution. I’d like my folio to challenge society and create a discussion about the captivity of animals and whether it is wrong to capture monkeys and exploit them in the name of entertainment. It would be wrong to do the same to a human… but aren’t monkeys, in some way, human too?

2. I photographed in RAW which enabled my pictures to maintain 100% of the data of the photograph. I relied on a histogram to determine the information I was capturing. From there, I kept everything quite untouched - to reiterate the point that animals should be exempt from human intervention. I corrected the colour of my images and also employed the skill of burning and dodging. 

Before I had refined the creative concept of my folio, I went to three locations to shoot. These animals were owned and cared for by a friend of a friend. I opted not to use these pictures because:

a) They're not monkeys

4. What hurdles did you experience during the photographic experience?

Just practicing my puppet warping. Unfortunately, this model's 'after' isn't quite as beautiful as her 'before'... that's a first.

Robertson, K 2014, How To Use Puppet Warp, Digital Fine Art Photography ACF3003 Victoria University, delivered 28 August 2014.

(BEFORE) ^

In today's class, we learnt about puppet warping! It's a rather simple process that allows you to manipulate an image. Here's a before and after... Robertson, K 2014, How To Use Puppet Warp, Digital Fine Art Photography ACF3003 Victoria University, delivered 28 August 2014.

(BEFORE) ^

In today's class, we worked on colour correction and adding a layer for burning and dodging. Here's a before and after! x

Robertson, K 2014, How to Colour Correct an Image, Digital Fine Art Photography ACF3003 Victoria University, delivered 14 August 2014.

(BEFORE) ^

Here's the invitation I designed for my folio. The concept of creativity was interesting to explore but challenging to capture. I found that monkeys were most expressive and chose to use a series of monkeys as my subjects.  The theory of evolution depicts that people are derivative of apes. Capturing monkeys and exhibiting them for entertainment correlates (at least in my mind) with Australia's stolen generation. 

Children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent were removed from their families following the arrival of European settlers; who considered these individuals to be primitive. 

I've been practicing colour correction, burning and dodging. Here is an original copy of a photo I took. I ventured into the forbidden building at Victoria University's student village after hearing word of the art within. 

I followed the instructions from class and used the colour sampler tool to select a black point and a white point. I added a curves layer and ensured the near white sample values matched the highest value (which is closest to pure white). I also made sure that the near black sample values matched the lowest value (which is closest to pure black). The image below is a screenshot once my image was free of colour casts.

I wanted to manipulate the highlights and dark tones of my image to ensure that certain features were accentuated. This process involves adding a layer for 'burning' and 'dodging'. Continue scrolling for the finished product.

Alex John Beck

Alex John Beck - 'Both Sides Of'

Alex John Beck - 'Both Sides Of'

A gradual technical evolution has resulted in the efficiency and aptitude of photographic devices used today. Some of the major milestones include (Encyclopedia of Art 2013):

Light-sensitive emulsions in 1839 – enabling cameras to take black and white photographs.

The first subtractive colour print was produced in 1877 – made with a pigment ink process.

Kodak Brownie box roll-film camera was introduced in 1900 – at a cost of one dollar, this camera was affordable and accessible.

Development of additional features in the 1970’s – including TTL, auto-exposure, zoom lenses, winders and motor drive cameras.

Adobe launched version 1.07 of Photoshop in 1990.

Memory cards replaced film in 2000.

Attracting artists across centuries and throughout the world, photography remains to be an integral part of society.  From photojournalism to microscopic photography, there seems to be no end in sight for this medium of artistic expression (Media College 2014)