Many photographers have explored detail. Using careful control of aperture, focus, lighting and background, Jo Whaley explores the detail in textures of groups of manufactured and natural objects. Henry Troup and Phil Straus have used camera position and control of depth of field to explore detail in close-up views of features in the landscape such as sand, water and the surface of rocks. Research appropriate resources and produce your own work that explores the visual qualities of detail.
I chose the theme detail because I think that it allows for a lot of creative exploration within the boundaries of the theme. I feel as if I am not limited to exploring certain ideas but instead I am able to develop my own ideas and to keep experimenting with different techniques and processes in order to achieve a final piece I am proud of. For this project I want to look at detail as a whole however I'm interested in all its endless niche categories. I do wish to focus on the more fashion/clothing based areas of detail. I am doing this because I'm very interested in the fashion world, from fashion photography to fashion styling and most things in between. Although I may decide a different path.
This is a quick mind map i made of my first impressions on the theme Detail. Once we were given the booklet containing the themes, and had chosen, I made a mind map with a few ideas. Detail could link to a lot of different subjects, I thought of clothes that had special elements of embellishment or when a certain aspect of a garment is played about with and changed to achieve a detail. Details could also mean an intricate pattern on a tile surface or the pattern of fallen leaves in Autumn, being it a very irregular pattern. Architecture also heavily links to the theme details because obviously details are ways to make a building design more interesting and innovative.
Here is the hyperlink to a Pinterest board I have made exploring the theme of detail within fashion, runway or streetwear. When I first heard an theme Option was detail I immediately began to think of details on clothes and outfits, whether it be an intricate pattern or a striking accessory. I tried to include images from different types of styles and fashion in order to broaden my ideas and express my initial research ideas.
Henry Troup
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John Henry Troup (1924-2012) is an american photographer from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. His work is featured in Musee De La Photographie a Charleroi, Charleroi, Belgium as well as the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC, USA. His work pictured to the left are some of his most highly notable photographs. The images are of abstract patterns drawn into sand, this method of photo allowed Troup to freely explore his ideas and create something truly genuine and true to him as an artist. I've noticed he takes most, if not all of his images in black & white. This could be to allow the viewer to commit to their own ideas and the removal of the colour leaves the photograph open to interpretation. Troup plays with tone and light to create abstract photographs.
Troup is highly respected in the photography community and many were left in mourning of his death in 2012. |
Phil Straus
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but Phil Straus is an american photographer, who uses, and has been using for 25 years, a 4X5 view camera in order to capture his entrapping images. His photographs remind me of illusions designed to trick the eyes. His images are very distorted and abstract a lot of them appear to be etchings in a sort of sand, similar to Henry Troup.
Strauss' images are in black and white, this means, without the use of colour, he must rely a bit more on showing clear contrasts between the black and white tone in his images in order to create a look of texture. I think the use of sand limits him to one aesthetic. Although his images appear similar, it shows consistency as him as an artist. i think his images are good in the way they're abstract and show details in the sand but they lack something that makes me want to see more. |
Karl Lagerfeld
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Karl Lagerfeld is most famously known for being the current creative director of Chanel, however he is a fashion designer, artist and photographer. I would call Lagerfeld a perfectionist, he photographs all advertising campaigns for the brands under his direction (Chanel & Fendi) This shows he has very specific ideas on how the clothes should be presented and an amazing eye for detail . I find he takes beautiful images which really boast a sort of ideal view on fashion at the time they are taken. He likes to focus on classicality and timelessness however, as shown in more recent collections, he is taking a more modern, streamlined approach to fashion and photography.
For me Lagerfeld's images present the epitome of glamour and style, as shown in the images above. Each image is displaying a different take on style and dressing, whilst keeping a consistent look throughout. Lagerfeld is really good at displaying different emotions and tones through photography, I can't recall looking at one of his images and feeling confused as to what the image could be trying to present. |
Jo Whaley
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Jo Whaley has been present in the San Francisco Bay area art scene as long as anyone can remember. She graduated from the University of California by 1980, with advanced degrees in art & photography. She originally intended on being a painter, creating the scenic settings for The San Francisco Opera among other theatre companies
. This is reflected in her work, she picks a setting, adorns it with props then uses dramatic lighting to give a certain tone or effect to the image. This can change the photo's mood instantly e.g. a bright, yellow tone lighting makes a photograph appear happier and lighter whereas a darker more sinister tone light gives mystery and heaviness. I find Whaley's images to be fun yet tasteful. They're abstract but not to the point where the image is not recognisable and I find this a refreshing break from the images produced by Troup and Strauss, only because they're images are similar.. A way I'd be able to create images inspired by Whaley is to lay natural objects infront of an image in a scanner. This way the image would still be seen but with the natural objects in front creating an interesting contrast |
Saul Leiter |
Ernst Haas |
I think both these images represent detail in a different yet elegant way. Leiter focus' on the details with in outfit or the raindrops on the car window whereas Haas focus' on patterns with in the water and the was the rippling creates dancing effects. They both incorporate the use of water, indicating the water is closely linked to the theme of detail. This could be because it can have so many different looks raindrops, oceans or even glasses of water.
But when I think of it what sets a detail from a non detail. If everything is in fact a feature then everything in a way is a detail counteracting the meaning and making it useless. But I feel that it looking at it too much and questioning too much. I like to stick the the simple idea that a detail is something individual, unique. Both these images represent something unique and they both relate to details.
But when I think of it what sets a detail from a non detail. If everything is in fact a feature then everything in a way is a detail counteracting the meaning and making it useless. But I feel that it looking at it too much and questioning too much. I like to stick the the simple idea that a detail is something individual, unique. Both these images represent something unique and they both relate to details.
This is a video in which american photographer Christopher Anderson is asked about his experience's in Haiti , especially when he was aboard a Haitian refugee boat that sank in the Caribbean. Then they follow him around New York City whilst he photographs his junglistic surroundings
Experimenting with Texture
The Images above are ones that I have taken of various phone cases and wallets. I realise at first thought a phone case does not seem to be worthy of a photoshoot however I was more interested in the array of different textures they displayed. Each piece is made from light reflecting material to give a duo chrome effect. I wanted to see if i could capture the way the light reflect on the material and alters the colour as it does in real life. However I found that it was hard to fully show the lights reflections.
At first glance some images were seen as write offs but when i uploaded therm and had a proper observation of the images I found that most of the images were actually useable
At first glance some images were seen as write offs but when i uploaded therm and had a proper observation of the images I found that most of the images were actually useable
Photo Fanzines
Here I made a photo fanzine. Its a sort of conceptualised version of a typical magazine, instead of articles and photos of celebrities it is filled with small pieces of art work. They are entirely hand made and each page tells a different story throughout the book. I wanted to created "windows" peering into the piece on the first page as a ploy to intrigue the viewer to open and have a look inside. I liked the idea because it beckons people to open as well as adding a more modern look with the transparent circles, I added the pink triangles because i used the colour pink throughout the fanzine and I wanted to keep it consistant.
I used various types of tape, recycled card, magazine cut-outs and photos from in and around Tate Modern to create this mess of photography mixed with arts & crafts. However I do think the overall look is effective, I feel it reflects the theme of details because each page has a noticeable detail, or repeated detail.
I used various types of tape, recycled card, magazine cut-outs and photos from in and around Tate Modern to create this mess of photography mixed with arts & crafts. However I do think the overall look is effective, I feel it reflects the theme of details because each page has a noticeable detail, or repeated detail.
Darkroom Developtment
In order to create these images I ventured into the darkroom to explore different techniques and process's, I did not want to limit myself to just using a camera and editing it digitally, I wanted to show I could use a range of different mediums to showcase my ideas and to further explore & expand on my thoughts.
I started by cutting a piece of card into curl shaped pieces. Then i cut pieces of photographic paper down to A5, so that the page didn't seem to empty, I feel if I had cut the paper, smaller the images would be too busy and be un-appealing to the eye. I strategically arranged the pieces onto the paper and turned on the light. When the light shone I realised the paper was not inline with the light so I moved it during exposure and it created an interesting over lapping effect. I find this effective because it gives off a more abstract look to the image. and the negative images would be fun to play around with due to the clear contrast, however this only happened clearly in the first image made. This would be fun to play around with adding different textures into the background. But I do think with the other images the lack of contrast will create an appealing over lapping look adding mystery to the images, a certain fogginess around the borders.
I do think I should've tried to make the contrasts clearer I could've have done this by allowing the paper to get more exposure and by ensuring the developer spread evenly across the paper because I think thats what happened. Despite that I'm still happy with the outcomes and look forward to exploring my ideas.
I started by cutting a piece of card into curl shaped pieces. Then i cut pieces of photographic paper down to A5, so that the page didn't seem to empty, I feel if I had cut the paper, smaller the images would be too busy and be un-appealing to the eye. I strategically arranged the pieces onto the paper and turned on the light. When the light shone I realised the paper was not inline with the light so I moved it during exposure and it created an interesting over lapping effect. I find this effective because it gives off a more abstract look to the image. and the negative images would be fun to play around with due to the clear contrast, however this only happened clearly in the first image made. This would be fun to play around with adding different textures into the background. But I do think with the other images the lack of contrast will create an appealing over lapping look adding mystery to the images, a certain fogginess around the borders.
I do think I should've tried to make the contrasts clearer I could've have done this by allowing the paper to get more exposure and by ensuring the developer spread evenly across the paper because I think thats what happened. Despite that I'm still happy with the outcomes and look forward to exploring my ideas.
Inspired by Jo Whaley
After looking at Jo Whaley and her image I wanted to produce my own interpretation of her work as I felt it made an impression on me. It filled my head with ideas as to how I could explore with different techniques to create images.I'm sure Whaley used a more sophisticated method but I first placed a piece of transparent acetate onto the scanner , in order to not smear the surface. Then I used photograms I created as the back grounds and then I placed natural items such as various flowers, leaves and pieces of grass. Whaley featured butterflies in her work, however I did not have any but I wanted to keep within the theme of nature in order to create a piece of my work, yet inspired by her work.
I could've had the image more similar to hers by using brighter, more appealing flowers but I think the look of the worn, dying flowers adds a nice effect and reflects some of her other work that uses darker tones and more romantic era themes. Whaley also writes on her website
"The inability to control what human manipulation of nature unleashes is wonderfully described in popular culture. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein continues to captivate."
I kept this in mind whilst producing my work, I wanted to explore the " Human manipulation of nature'. But in a less sinister tone than written by Whaley. I feel the use of flowers gave a softer interpretation of Whaley's work. It gave effect but one not to do with the death and decay of butterflies, which in reality is quite morbid. Instead the faint appearance of the flowers still provides a gothic mood, but with a more feminine affect.
I could've had the image more similar to hers by using brighter, more appealing flowers but I think the look of the worn, dying flowers adds a nice effect and reflects some of her other work that uses darker tones and more romantic era themes. Whaley also writes on her website
"The inability to control what human manipulation of nature unleashes is wonderfully described in popular culture. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein continues to captivate."
I kept this in mind whilst producing my work, I wanted to explore the " Human manipulation of nature'. But in a less sinister tone than written by Whaley. I feel the use of flowers gave a softer interpretation of Whaley's work. It gave effect but one not to do with the death and decay of butterflies, which in reality is quite morbid. Instead the faint appearance of the flowers still provides a gothic mood, but with a more feminine affect.
I created this image by uploading the foreground and background images into photoshop. Then, using the "select" menu, I went onto colour range and clicked the type of colour I wanted to select. White. Then I went onto the textured imaged and pressed command + A to select the image, then command + C to copy the image. After doing this I went back onto the photogram and went to " Edit", "Paste Special" then "Paste Into".
This filled the selected areas with the second image. If I found the image didn't fit I'd have to press command + T to select the image then use the resizing box in the top right hand corner to resize the image but to alter the pixls as not to damped the clarity of the image.
This filled the selected areas with the second image. If I found the image didn't fit I'd have to press command + T to select the image then use the resizing box in the top right hand corner to resize the image but to alter the pixls as not to damped the clarity of the image.
In order to selects the pink blocks I had to use to magic wand tool with the tolerance set at 35 whilst holding the shift key to keep previously selected chunks selected, then I had to set the tolerance to 5 and zoom in the fix the little pieces that weren't selected and get rid of blips within a shape. Whilst moving around I had the keep the space bar held otherwise i would've just selected the wrong spot and lost current selections.
Then I went onto the glitter image, leaving the blocks selected, I pressed command + A, to select the image, then command+ C to copy the image.
After this I used paste special , then fill to insert the glitter behind the red to replace the pink, if the image was too small i.e it didn't cover all the pink I pressed command+T to select the back ground image and resize accordingly.
Then I went onto the glitter image, leaving the blocks selected, I pressed command + A, to select the image, then command+ C to copy the image.
After this I used paste special , then fill to insert the glitter behind the red to replace the pink, if the image was too small i.e it didn't cover all the pink I pressed command+T to select the back ground image and resize accordingly.
Final Outcomes
When given the booklet of themes, I was immediately drawn to the theme of detail. I thought that it would be a very broad theme and would give me plenty of room to research and explore my ideas. When I first thought of the theme of detail my mind instantly began to think of details linking to clothes e.g.. accessories and details on a garment. I began to delve into looking at fashion photography/photographers but I decided to follow a different niche within the theme.
I decided upon focusing on different textures and how they photograph as well as how they can be digitally manipulated. I own an expansive collection of phone cases, varying in texture. I thought that close up images of textures such as glitter and snakeskin would appear interesting when the phone case form is disguised. I wanted to incorporate different techniques and process's in order to further explore my ideas and broaden the horizons of what I could create for my final piece. I looked at the work of Jo Whaley and found her images fun and modern yet showcasing classic techniques. I was inspired by the way she layered butterflies over typically mundane images to give them a more youthful feel. I wanted to interpret her images, not copy. I created photograms in the dark room using cut out swirl shapes that could resemble waves. Then I layered a piece of acetate over the scanner and placed flowers, petals leaves and grass on top. Next I layered the photogram and scanned it into the computer. I found these reflected some of Whaley's work in the way natural objects were layered over an image, making it more appeal and interesting. However I didn't feel these properly conveyed my feeling about the theme so I decided to leave it at that.
Next I thought of using Photoshop to create my final outcome. I wanted insert texture into a blank space within an image to give it a more abstract look. I found using Photoshop to be an efficient use of time, although it was a bit confusing to use, I finally got the hang of it and began blasting out images. A few images didn't get onto my Website because I felt they were too basic as i only altered them by using the filter tool on Photoshop, these in fact looked quite childish and unprofessional. When I first made the photograms I was slightly concerned about the un consistent contrast between the black and white. However during the Photoshop process I found the unclear border to create a cloudy effect, blurring the lines between the texture and the photogram. Giving off a more whimsical effect, but still in a masculine way with the black space. The negative acts as a shield from the more feminine, outlandish textures from behind, such as glitter and sparkles. This made the texture a detail within the images. An aspect changed to create a unique look, setting it apart from the rest.
Once I reached a number of images I was pleased with, I decided to have good look and select a final few to display and the rest to document as development. However when I began the selection process I found I was really fascinated by the all the outcomes, I really liked the way the textures looked replacing the blank space. It breathed a new life into the images, making them more interesting to look at. The light reflecting look dazzling amongst the plainness of the negative space. It creates an almost outer space, Barbarella sci-fi look. I decided to display my images by putting each one into a frame and show them as a collection but keeping in mind they are different, hence the individual frames. Promoting individuality as a collective. Because if there weren't other images to compare something to it wouldn't be unique.
Overall I feel I've created a personal and meaningful response by fully exploring my ideas of creating a response to the theme detail, in my own way; that reflects me as a photographer. It is also personal in the way I either own or created everything used to make the final picture. I didn't just find some objects around the classroom and flashed them under a light in the darkroom. I took initial images, then selected what was successful, left what was not. I created a response to an artist but then ventured on with my own idea.
I thought about what I was going to create for my final piece for a while. Bouncing between ideas, none good enough. None wanted me to take them further. Then, I simply thought of texture. I wanted to play with fun textures that play with pattern, colour and light, to try capture what the eye can see, then switch it up and abstractly present it. I done this by using my phone cases and accessories ( Exploring the theme of clothes within detail.). Then taking the textures I put them into Photoshop and supplemented them into my photograms. Creating, what I would say, A conceptual take on the theme of detail, exploring detail as various different patterns as well as wearable details.
I decided upon focusing on different textures and how they photograph as well as how they can be digitally manipulated. I own an expansive collection of phone cases, varying in texture. I thought that close up images of textures such as glitter and snakeskin would appear interesting when the phone case form is disguised. I wanted to incorporate different techniques and process's in order to further explore my ideas and broaden the horizons of what I could create for my final piece. I looked at the work of Jo Whaley and found her images fun and modern yet showcasing classic techniques. I was inspired by the way she layered butterflies over typically mundane images to give them a more youthful feel. I wanted to interpret her images, not copy. I created photograms in the dark room using cut out swirl shapes that could resemble waves. Then I layered a piece of acetate over the scanner and placed flowers, petals leaves and grass on top. Next I layered the photogram and scanned it into the computer. I found these reflected some of Whaley's work in the way natural objects were layered over an image, making it more appeal and interesting. However I didn't feel these properly conveyed my feeling about the theme so I decided to leave it at that.
Next I thought of using Photoshop to create my final outcome. I wanted insert texture into a blank space within an image to give it a more abstract look. I found using Photoshop to be an efficient use of time, although it was a bit confusing to use, I finally got the hang of it and began blasting out images. A few images didn't get onto my Website because I felt they were too basic as i only altered them by using the filter tool on Photoshop, these in fact looked quite childish and unprofessional. When I first made the photograms I was slightly concerned about the un consistent contrast between the black and white. However during the Photoshop process I found the unclear border to create a cloudy effect, blurring the lines between the texture and the photogram. Giving off a more whimsical effect, but still in a masculine way with the black space. The negative acts as a shield from the more feminine, outlandish textures from behind, such as glitter and sparkles. This made the texture a detail within the images. An aspect changed to create a unique look, setting it apart from the rest.
Once I reached a number of images I was pleased with, I decided to have good look and select a final few to display and the rest to document as development. However when I began the selection process I found I was really fascinated by the all the outcomes, I really liked the way the textures looked replacing the blank space. It breathed a new life into the images, making them more interesting to look at. The light reflecting look dazzling amongst the plainness of the negative space. It creates an almost outer space, Barbarella sci-fi look. I decided to display my images by putting each one into a frame and show them as a collection but keeping in mind they are different, hence the individual frames. Promoting individuality as a collective. Because if there weren't other images to compare something to it wouldn't be unique.
Overall I feel I've created a personal and meaningful response by fully exploring my ideas of creating a response to the theme detail, in my own way; that reflects me as a photographer. It is also personal in the way I either own or created everything used to make the final picture. I didn't just find some objects around the classroom and flashed them under a light in the darkroom. I took initial images, then selected what was successful, left what was not. I created a response to an artist but then ventured on with my own idea.
I thought about what I was going to create for my final piece for a while. Bouncing between ideas, none good enough. None wanted me to take them further. Then, I simply thought of texture. I wanted to play with fun textures that play with pattern, colour and light, to try capture what the eye can see, then switch it up and abstractly present it. I done this by using my phone cases and accessories ( Exploring the theme of clothes within detail.). Then taking the textures I put them into Photoshop and supplemented them into my photograms. Creating, what I would say, A conceptual take on the theme of detail, exploring detail as various different patterns as well as wearable details.