Home research

Cia De Foto

I’ve found these photographs on flickr and although this may not be considered a very authentic photographer, I think they match my home photography quite well. They’re all dark images taken in homely environments which kind of shows a sadder side to home. However they are not explicitly depressing photos, so they’re not a sad representation of home. In the first image especially it shows a person standing in a rainy doorway which looks quite lonely and sad, which could be a way of describing how you feel when you’re away from home. I’ve also featured rain in my final images. In the second photograph it is of a women sitting on her own at a table in the dark, this is also quite lonely and secluded but I still think can represent home.

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Jon Conforth

As I knew I wanted to include photos/ a photo of my dog, looking into a animal/wildlife photographer. I think these photos are beautiful and give the animals a personality and look like characters. Although these are all wild animals and therefore aren’t as relatable to photographing my dog, they’re still animals who have their own minds and own ways of thinking. Photographing an animal is different to a person and can be less corporative, or sometimes more.

I also liked his landscape photography and included this forest one as theres lots of trees where I live and therefore I think I could use this as inspiration. This photograph cuts out the top of the trees which although I think can work I prefer to have a bit of negative space too, so I may use this as a way of changing the composition to make it my own. I find it uncomfortable that he’s filled the entire film with the tree lines.

USA, Alaska, Frederick Sound, Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) breaching potd-polar-bear_3484981k14_JonCornforth_HH_SeaLion Japan, Hokkaido, Tsurui, Trees covered in early morning frost at sunrise

Jim Dratfield

A pet photographer who i’ve also looked at to see how to professionally photograph your pet without it just to make them look cute. I wanted to concentrate on composition and focus. Although my dog moves around a lot so I think capturing him in a still and content mood would be an interesting juxtaposition to who he is. These images look like they’re in their own environment and are happy to be there and are engaging with their owners, which is a nice way to represent the animals. I especially like how in the second one the colour is drained and the way the pattern behind him is complicated but Dratfield has photographed him in a way to still make him stand out. He is the focus of the image which is important when photographing a representative of my home. However I’m not sure I would focus my final 6 all on my dog as this may become repetitive and not be a full representative of different areas of my home.

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Flickr (unknown) Cia De Foto. Unknown: Flickr. Available from https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciadefoto/ [accessed 1 April 2016]

Jim Dratfields (unknown) Jim Dratfields pet photography. Unknown: http://www.petography.com/dog-photographic-portraits [accessed 1 April 2016]

Jon Conforth (Unknown) Jon Conforth Wilderness photography. Unknown: Jon Conforth. Available from http://cornforthimages.com/ [accessed 1 April 2016]

 

Home: Final images

I decided to use photographs that I just casually took, for the brief ‘Home’, I don’t think I could have planned what I feel is home. Even those my 6 final images seem quite dark and depressing, the meaning behind them isn’t. I focused on composition and meaning for these photographs.

pylonPylon: For my first image I took a photo of a pylon near my house in Kent. I like near the London to Paris train line and all around the tracks in the fields are dozens of pylons. I drove on this road everyday to school, town and to get anywhere really so when I see them I feel like I’m home. Even though the background is cloudy and miserable, I don’t think this matters as I live in England and thats a natural occurrence for the weather, so it sums up my life. rain dropsPhone box: Within British culture and stereotypes, red phone boxes, buses and post boxes are iconic and I think as I am British I wanted to include something that subtly showed this. This picture is focused on the rain drops on the car window which is also another British stereotype. In the bottom left of the image in a slight part of the car interior, which isn’t ideal for framing wise but to tell the story shows I was in my mums car and adds to me being with my family.

sunset

Sunset: This photo really wasn’t planned but I thought I’d just take a picture of the trees that I’ve grown up with and the sunset behind them. I like the silhouette of the trees and house and think it can be seen as quite an abstract image because of all the lines and shapes.  tree The Secret Passageway : I’m pleased with this photo as I like the depth of field, colours and framing. This location is a passage way in my garden and me and my brother used to play here all the time when we were younger and called it ‘the secret passageway’. I also like how the sun comes through the tress but doesn’t swallow the image and overexpose it.

twitch23Twitch: Although I planned on choosing 6 images of my dog, Twitch, for my final photos I decided against this as he isn’t the only representative of my home, however I had to include him somehow. I like the composition of this photo and how I took it through a wheel which gave it a border. These tires also remind me of when I go on walks with two of my best friends across the fields at the back of our houses. From these fields we can see dartford and essex from it which are also part of my life.  windshield

Windshield: This is the windshield to my mums car, and my mum is a very important person in my life and her car is quite poignant to her and our relationship. She has always driven me and my brother around all our lives and has been our protector. Even though it is raining, this is again just another part of living in this country. This image could be seen as quite abstract also as it may be unclear as to what is actually is to someone who doesn’t know.

Because the 6 images had to link into each other/have a style between them I decided to focus on subtle lighting. All the photos have a subtle light source, whether it’s a reflection, the clouds or the sun. The way theres a focus of light on each of my images reminds me of James Turrell’s photography, and although his is artificial lighting, I think as he focuses on light and creates a light source for the viewer to use looks good and is original to the photographer and his photography.

Life’s a Twitch: My dog

My dog, Twitch, is very special to me and is probably featured most on my phone camera roll. He makes myself and everyone around him very happy and is the focus wherever he is. Over the 2 weeks I was home I took hundreds of photos of him and found it difficult to whittle these down to just 6 I could use for my home photos. I made a contact sheet of my favourites as shown here-

TwitchContactSheet

Home: Initial thoughts

My first thoughts for the brief home were ‘happy’, ‘safe’, and photos that would make me smile on reflection. I didn’t want to plan specific photos as I think as things that feel like home to me, aren’t forced, they are natural and raw. Whenever I felt there would be a good representation of home I would take my camera with me to try to represent this. However as this was at my original home I didn’t have the canon cameras so used my Sony DSLR instead. I enjoyed using the micro lense on this as I like photos that are close up and include lots of detail. The first thing I did was take my camera to a family event, as this is the stereotypical and classic idea of home. Looking back on my photos I realise most of them are of my dog, Twitch, which I thought is what would happen as he is very photogenic and my favourite. When I think home and being safe and happy, I think of Twitch so I think this could be a focus for my home project. However over the two weeks at easter I was taking pictures of anything I liked and made me feel good. So I have categorised all these photos into different themes for editing and to decide on which ones to use to represent how I see home.