Finding a way

From this influx of idea's, I am now researching further artists that may have some inspiration on my task and how combinations and alliances can be see through their work. I began looking at Rene Magritte and his surrealist paintings.

This image is slightly more conventional than the others of Magritte's images as it is quite a formal portrait however obviously with the element of the unknown as the blags/material is covering the faces of the subjects.

Further Expansion on Ideas

From my visit to Betty and Dave I have had many ideas that have provoked thoughts on where to go on my road to the exam.
Firstly I had the visit to get the portraits, expanding on this my next idea developed into thinking about how pictures in front of faces can be more effective, also pictures in mirrors.
The mirrors particularly interested me and from this I came up with the idea of; what you see is not what you get- how can a mirror change an image?
From this, if a mirror is only a reflection, then can there be any substance, is it just unreal/surreal?
A picture within a picture?
How does expression change perception and everyday workings- clothing, attitudes, accent, secrets of peoples lives?
How do the senses create feelings, possibly about images? sight, sound, touch, smell, taste.
Pictures- are they secrets? - background and stories, ageing- reflecting on experiences
The truth behind the secrets and how they form and how they change perception?
'All photography is about death-capturing moments that will be gone straight away'?
In a before and after, is there a real difference of is it created in the mind?
Relationships and combinations of people, how are they formed and how are they strengthened and sustained?

Looking at portraits

Portrait photography is my favourite style of photography and something I am very keen to focus on for my exam. I was browsing through some photographers when I came across Nigel Tomm. His work is really interesting and unique and I am considering creating something like his work for some sort of starting point.

Both these images are really fascinating as clearly they are portraits but the distortion makes the eye really work to see within the image. As well as this the use of black and white makes even harder for the viewer to depict the image properly.

I choose 3 images of my own to have a play around with and to see if I could create something like Nigel Tomm's work .

I think these images have worked out well. The second one is particularly distorted and this runs through out all of the features of the face. I like the way the whole face can change with just a couple of simple folds in the paper. Its extraordinary how this happens. Another photographer I have been researching still fitting with this theme of distortion are Thomas Couderc and Clement Vauchez.

These images are from the exhibition 'Beasts of Fashion' models were superimposed to look like beasts of the forest before being put onto display.

The visit

We went back to visit Betty and Dave at their shop and had arranged to revisit to take the portrait shots. the ideas had been bouncing around however I wanted something quirky and a bit different out of the portraits. I decided to try and work with everything they had in the shop, however I was particularly interested in the mirror, pictured in my last post, and how this can show the definition between the front of the shop where Betty works and the back of the shop where Dave works.

This is the image I got from my idea of the mirror shot. I am very happy with this image and it shows exactly what I wanted it to show. It shows the divide between the laces which the both of them work however it still shows their strong bond that has formed between them and this is brought out in the shop. I think the image could do with lighting up slightly as Betty's face is quite dark because I only used available light as I did not want any bounce back flash.

This image is also very quirky. I asked Betty and Dave to pick their favourite image out of all the images they had, which was loads! They both picked their favourite, Bettys being christchurch, near the priory and Daves being the street he used to live down. This image is much more humourous than the rest, however I think it is also very personal.

This image again is quirky, mainly created by the expressions on Betty and Dave's faces. I asked them to use the frames to frame one another, seeing as this was their profession. They both found this very amusing. With both of them looking at one another with the confused expression it adds again their bond into the image.

Finally this image again is very humorous. When first visiting the shop one of the first things I noticed was this mask. Dave had brought it from a rally and kept it in the workshop. Using it in the image added some extra colour and extremity to the image.

Background Research

To begin the exam we have been looking at artistic combinations and alliances with artists and photographers....

Many photographers are influenced by previous photographers and this is shown through the style of their work. Richard Avedon 1923-2004 was a world renown photographer for his portraiture images that were on occasion very explicit or very emotive. His images were very fashion based and he shots the likes of Marylin Monroe many a time. His images are always shown in black and white which defines his images from most.

This image is very stereotypical of Avedon. The image gives the perception of a playboy bunny getting ready to go out, I think. It is quite a fun image and the black and white defines the image.

This image is again really stylistic and very intricately posed. The fact that the image is in black and white ensures that the skin and the clothing almost completely merges together.
Rankin 1966-present has many images that are much like Avedons. Their styles are very similar which would conclude that much of Rankin's work was influenced by Avedon. Again like Avedon much of Rankin's work is quite explicit yet still very artistic and different from the every day image.

Rankin does photograph many modern day famous celebrities. This one in particular in Rosie Huntington Whiteley. Being an actress and all round celebrity the image had to be one of a flattering image showing her off in her best way. Rankin did a series of images of Rosie and called it '10 times Rosie' this consisted of; 1 model, 1 photographer 1 designer and 10 different shoots. The shots had been published in a book now.

This is one of Rankins commissions. It is a lingerie shoot. The image is very flattering and accentuates all aspects of the body covering all the right places.

This again is another celebrity, singer Robyn. This image is playful and fun with the use of vibrant colours and the progression of these colours hitting the face. Also the change in expression adds dynamic to the image.

It is clear that Rankin is influenced by the images of Avedon and this is seen through his images and the style he keeps. Other photographers have also been influenced by one another.

Edward Hopper and Gregory Crewsdon are two photographers that also seem to have similar styles of images. Hopper 1882-1967 had quite clearly influenced the images of Gregory Crewsdon 1962-present. Their images are often seen as very detached and isolated.

This first image is 'the hotel room'. I think this image seems very uncomfortable as the woman seems very unhinged from the man in the image and the colours are quite bland.

This image is one of Hopper's most famous images; 'Nighthawks' this image shows some people sitting in a bar, however where this bar is and what time the image is set is completely unknown. This adds to the concept of the image and the style of the perception taken by the viewer. The next image are by Gregeory Crewsdon and the comparisons between them are very similar.


This image is very strange. It shows a woman lying on the floor looking completely drenched however there doesn't seem to be any water around. The colours in the image are only vibrant away from the subject, in the corners etc.

This image is quite humorous in that the family are clearly having a meal and there is a naked woman in the doorway. The eye is not instantly attracted to the naked woman either because of the styling of the light, being particularly on the man and the woman seems more into the shadows.

Starter Task

To set us off for the exam we were given a starter task. This task was to photograph portraits of people. We were given 2 names on a piece of paper with a phone number on the bottom to call them with. We were required to call the number, arrange a meeting and take the portraits. I worked with one of my peers and firstly I called the number and found out who we were actually going to be visiting. It turns out that we were going to the local framers in Tuckton, just down the road to meet Betty and Dave. We went on down the next day and had a chat with them about the shop and how long they had been there etc. On that afternoon I took some general pictures of the shop so we could plan our portrait environment. We did not however take the portraits on that afternoon as we felt we needed to think about them first and make some sort of plan of what we were looking for.

This is the workshop where Dave frames the images they take in. He told us that he regularly frames for our school and he has framed everything from signed pictures to boat oars. The workshop had pieces of machinery in it to cut the wood and mounts with and also had much wood and cardboard.

This is an image of the pictures Betty and Dave both collect. They have collect many of these images through the years and sell them in the shop. They are ordered into parts of Dorset and Hampshire.

This is more of a textual image. It is of the different styles of frames available and Betty told us that in the shop you need an eye for colour to know what style of frame suits each image or object to be framed.

I was instantly intrigued by this mirror. The mirror is obviously a security mirror so that Dave and Betty can both keep an eye on whats going on, each side of the shop however the positioning of the mirror means that it actually splits up the two sides almost equally. The back is Dave's part of the shop where he does the framing and cutting. The front is Betty's where she takes in orders and interacts with the customers.

This is a busy image of the utensils used by Dave in the workshop, I think it works well as a stand alone image as it is very busy and have quite a few different colours in it.

The exam begins...

The exam paper has been released and we are now beginning to start researching and developing ideas to create experiments to move forward towards a final piece. The title for this years exam is 'Combinations and Alliances'. I have been given some starting points which I now need to develop such as; themes ie, cars/drivers, fashion and advertising, seagulls/rubbish, cogs/gears, fish/chips, relationships, religions, boats/water. 'Throughout history certain combinations and alliances have created extremely powerful and occasionally dangerous alliances, these include great art movements but also many individual examples. Concepts to research and develop are ideas such as; visual documentations of personal experience, candid shots and photo-journalism, sports and gaming with the idea of sequences, two dimensional and three dimensional art.