Laura McDiarmid

For this project, I did a bit of island hopping. Mainly on Skye and Islay. I had a mixture of weather but managed to get some cracking shots regardless with the help of a tripod and some waterproofs.

This image was taken on the Isle of Skye. Even although I didn't get the best weather I still did as much as I could to achieve a moody and mysterious atmosphere. I like the way that the cloud kisses the top of the mountain and the curve of the shoreline make this image feel whole and draws your eye around it. All of the tones are similar and therefore work well together to create this moody atmosphere. I used a wide aperture lens for this image to try and get the nice leading curve round the image and to make sure I didn't cut any of the landscape out by accident. 

2. This image was taken on Islay. I was really lucky with the weather when I went across and managed to capture the sunset and the gorgeous warm tones in the sky just after the sun went down. The different shades of pinks, purples and oranges really capture the eye of the viewer. I really liked the fact that there is a streak of orange running through the shoreline, matching the sky and that's why I feel that it all ties in well and becomes a successful image. I did use a slight zoom lease for this image to capture some of the detail on the hills in the distance however not so much that it becomes blurry.

3. This image was also taken on Skye. This was a cloudy morning with some bright spells and I managed to capture a small break in the clouds where the sun dappled onto the green of a gold course. My boyfriend wanted to play a round of golf and I though this was the perfect opportunity to capture some landscape images of the beautiful mountains. The shades of greens and blues from the grass and Skye work well against the darker mountain. I used a wide aperture lens for this image to try and get some distance between myself and the frame. 

4. 

Edward Steichen

“Edward Steichen was a key figure of twentieth-century photography, directing its development as a prominent photographer and influential curator. Steichen came to the United States in 1881. He painted and worked in lithography, before undertaking photography in 1896, and first exhibited photographs at the Philadelphia Salon in 1899.

During World War I, he directed aerial photography for the Army Expeditionary Forces. “

Source - https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/edward-steichen?all/all/all/all/0

I really love this image as it captures a really moody atmosphere. I also find the symmetry and refections very aesthetically pleasing. I would like to ry something similar within my own landscape work. 

This image captures just a hint of light coming from behind the tress and make the viewer really think about what is behind them. This adds to the success of the image due to the fact it draws the eye in. 

Ansel Adams

“At one with the power of the American landscape, and renowned for the patient skill and timeless beauty of his work (see Ansel Adams Yosemite black & white photographs & original prints), photographer Ansel Adams has been a visionary in his efforts to preserve this country’s wild and scenic areas, both on film and on Earth. Drawn to the beauty of nature’s monuments, he is regarded by environmentalists as a monument himself, and by photographers as a national institution. It is through his foresight and fortitude that so much of America has been saved for future Americans.”

source - 

https://www.anseladams.com/gallery/welcome/about-ansel-adams/

I am immediately drawn to this image as there are so many ways in which it draws the eye in and leads it around the image. Firstly, you are looking at the waterfall, following it down to what seems to be a rainbow at the bottom, following that across the image down to the bottom of the tree and then up the tree back to the centre of the image. 

Again, I really love the reflection of the tree and its branches in the water. the straight spike branches that reflect onto the water almost make it look whole again. 

Michael Shainblum

“Michael Shainblum is a landscape, timelapse and aerial photographer based in San Francisco, California. He has been working professionally as a photographer and filmmaker for 11 years since the age of 16. Michael first made a name for himself through his unique creativity and the ability to capture scenes and moments in his distinct style of surreal, visual story telling. A dedication to challenging the boundaries of creativity, as well as a flair for coming up with unique ideas, has since resulted in this dynamic visual artist being commissioned by large clients including Nike, Samsung, Facebook, LG, Apple and Google. You will also be able to find Michael's work published widely by media outlets such as National Geographic, Wired Magazine and The Weather Channel.”

Source - 

https://www.shainblumphoto.com/about/

I adore the dappled light spread throughout this image. It almost looks as if the sky is lifting up the sand from this desert. The softness and warmth of the sand dunes compared to the jaggy cold toned mountains in the background give the viewer a sense of ‘safety’ and want to be in the foreground of the image. This adds to the success of the image as it gives the viewer a sense of emotion. 

I am attracted to the smoothness in this image from the top third of the photograph. It has bright and inviting colours which make this image easy on the eye. 

Dustin LeFevre

“Fine art photographer based in Utah, Dustin LeFevre has been named one of the best landscape photographers in the world.

Nature, light, and color are all reoccurring themes in his work. Dustin covers much of the American West Coast. Furthermore, he has expanded his passion for capturing landscape photos into workshops.”

source - 

https://photographycourse.net/19-best-landscape-photographers/

Outcome 1

Research exhibitions,

♦ Layout Design

♦ Publicity materials

♦ Exhibition design

* exhibition review forms on my city*

Outcome 2

Produce images for an exhibition.

♦ Technical and aesthetic competence

Technical competence - they all have to have the same measurements to make sure they are printed to a high quality standard, making sure you make the image fit big or small enough to match the size of the physical image so there is no blurriness. 

Aesthetic competence - all images have to follow a specific colour scheme, have similar tones, have similar shapes / edges and or people. Has to follow a specific theme. I have chosen to do my exhibition images based on my love of portrait photography. 

♦ Digital and traditional printing techniques

Digital techniques - downloading apps / going onto websites and ordering the size of photo you want and waiting for it to be pointed away from home and then be delivered to your door via mail. 

Traditional - taking your SD card/ memory card to a printing shop or factory and plugging it in to a computer to select the images you would like to print and then waiting for them to be printed, collect later in the day and pay at the shop. 

♦ Visual communication

The images all have to connect with each other whether that be through colour, tone, composition and or mood. 

♦ Composition

The all have to align aesthetically. For example, if you have three images of a person and they all have the person standing a different way, you ideally would want the two outside images to be of the person facing in towards the centre of the line of images to draw the eye in towards the bang on face forward portrait in the middle. It makes the series of images flow nicely. 

Evidence Requirements

♦ A minimum of three images where the following points must be achieved:

— creativity in connection with the negotiated brief

— appropriate output for the exhibition

Saved at 300ppi (A3) to be displayed as a high quality image for the exhibition.

— finish at least 3 images to a traditional exhibition standard for online show

- Print, mount and frame 1 image for exhbition

Outcome 3

Exhibit and evaluate finished images

♦ Presentation Media

♦ Creative print techniques

♦ Retouching

♦ Planning and organising

♦ Exhibition skills

♦ Evaluative skills

Evidence Requirements

Below are examples of how I would potentially be advertising the Victoria Park Development scheme:

Including Flyers, T-shits, Mugs and social media posts 

My Zine Inspiration 

2.

1. 

“A zine (pronounced zeen) is an independently or self-published booklet, often created by physically cutting and gluing text and images together onto a master flat for photocopying, but it is also common to produce the master by typing and formatting pages on a computer. The publication is usually folded and stapled.

Historically, zines have been around since 1776 when Thomas Paine self-published Common Sense and used it as an instrument in promoting the ideas that contributed to the U.S. War for Independence. Just a perfect example to demonstrate the free spirit of zine culture.

Zines are in no way, mainstream. This type of publication is nonconformist, just like their authors. There are a lot of ways to create a zine and there are no written rules. You can go wild with your content and images as zines have more of a DIY inspired look.

Also, when it comes to publishing zines, things are a lot different than publishing magazines. And this is because zines are not mainstream, as I said. While magazines are often produced by publishing companies, zines are self-published for a small circulation, distributed through mail order and word of mouth. Magazines may be focusing on selling advertising space and making a profit, whilst zines are mainly created for spreading bold, strong, revolutionary ideas.”

Zine is a type of publication made for a smaller circulation but ever since more and more publications shifted towards digital publishing, a lot of zines publishers did the same. We, here at Flipsnack, have a lot of ‘zinesters’ who are sharing their work with the entire world.  You can either select to make your own ezine with one of our many templates or upload your own pdf.

Zines are the fastest way for writers to produce self-published work. If you’re really passionate about something and want to make your voice heard, creating a zine is the right way to start sharing your ideas with the entire world. So, now that you know what a zine is you should spread your ideas and create one.”

https://blog.flipsnack.com/what-is-a-zine/

Valerie Jardin

“Photography changed my life. The day I picked up a camera I became a storyteller. I learned to see the extraordinary in everyday life. And my passion for documenting humankind has led me to find beauty in the most unlikely of places. As a visual storyteller, photographic images are how I tell these stories. Chasing light is my desire, my obsession, my addiction.

Chasing Light. 

The camera is an extension of my vision. It captures what I see. Images help me tell the story of the light I chase in the urban landscapes I visit. Every time I make an image, I capture a moment in time that will never occur again. Each frame I shoot becomes extraordinary in its uniqueness. The people. The architecture. The light. The shadows. When they come together, they form the stories of the cities that I want to show my students.  

Telling Stories. 

My love of humankind drives me to wander the city streets tirelessly to capture the candid moments of daily life. These are the everyday moments most people would not see. These are the moments I want to find and tell.

I thrive on searching and waiting for just the right moment when a story unfolds in a single frame; where context and subject intersect with me there, honored to tell its story to the world. And I am happiest when I get lost on purpose, and let the city reveal its magic to me. The urban landscape is always surprising me with the new stories that unfold throughout the day and into the night.

With this, photography continues to change my life.

~

Since 1998, Valérie Jardin helps clients find their creative vision through the photographic arts. Valérie is a visual storyteller recognized internationally for her street photography. She leads workshops worldwide, writes books, produced a weekly podcast for many years, and is an official X Photographer for Fujifilm USA. Valérie’s work can be found through the galleries on this website and on social media. Contact Valérie.”

https://valeriejardinphotography.com/behind-the-lens

Valerie has a similar style and approach to the type of photograph I was trying to create when I shot my editorial brief. She captures people as they are and has an authentic approach. 

I looked at several images that Valerie captured for inspiration before starting this brief and tried to recreate a similar style. 

Sebastian Manoury 

“Sebastien Manoury began to take pictures of people in the streets in 2010.

With a spontaneous approach and a snapshot aesthetic, he’s looking for ordinary events, trying to deal with the banality of the daily life. The purpose is to transform that banality into something more interesting, to create a new world, to play with the emotion of the viewer.

Although his work focuses on telling stories, it can’t be defined as documentary photography: Sebastien is not interested in capturing the truth, or to chronicle historic events and daily life. He’s more concerned about stimulate imagination, letting the spectator create his own story, sometimes different from the reality.

“I am a man of few words; always have, always will. My pictures are better than my words. With photography I can show my mood, my humor, my sadness, my wonder…  a wide range of emotion I feel wandering the sidewalks.”

With a film camera in hand, Sebastien spends most of his spare time wandering the streets.”

https://www.sebastienmanoury.com/about

Sebastian Manoury has taken some photographs that I found on Pinterest that I saved to my inspiration folder for this brief. He has a similar style to Valerie Jardin however, he is more of streetstyle/lifestyle photographer than editorial. 

He actually has a whole album on his website dedicated to walking through the streets of Paris, again, the theme to my brief, and capturing people as they are on the streets, in cafes etc and it is exactly the type of style that I was going for with my brief. 

The album is called “Out of Time, Paris”

My Mood Board / Inspiration 

Series of images showing the effects and results of my climate action group.

1. Artificial man-made ponds have been built to attract more ducks, birds and swans as well as other on land wildlife. 

2. More bins have been put in place around the park encouraging less littering and a cleaner, more attractive outdoor space. (less pollution)

3. Fresh flowers, bushes and fruit trees have been planted in the raised beds around the park hoping to attract more insects such as bees, wasps, butterflies and other small creatures to contribute to a healthy ecosystem.

4. Picnic benches have been placed more and more around the park encouraging more people and families to get outdoors and it means there is a place to sit and rest or have a picnic if the weather is nice rather than sitting indoors, this results in less mental health issues and also allows for more people together out for a walk, decrees in obesity. 

5. More Ducks have settled and are happy now in their man made ponds.

Evaluation 

I feel as though this image of my Grandad portrays exactly what I envisioned for this project as I have managed to capture him in an authentic way which looks as though I have walked past and captured him laughing out of the blue. 

The way that he is dressed resembled exactly what I had planned and researched along with the accessories and props (newspaper, glasses). I had permission to shoot at Wee Paree which made my vision really come to life and create that realistic ‘Parisian’ look. 

I used my 35mm Portrait Lens to capture precise detail in the facial expression. For this brief I felt that natural lighting would be the most complimentary to the atmosphere I wanted to create. The dappled shadows and patters that the olive tree leaves created, gave this photograph more depth and detail and I feel as though the sunlight illuminated my subject in all the right places adding to the success of the image. 

I put all of the best images into an album and then imported them into Lightroom where I began editing. It was quite a bright and sunny day so I made sure to tone down the highlights so there is no over exposure and adjusted the tone in the images to best suit the environment that we were in.

The outcome:

Contact Sheets