The darker side of Beautifully Unhinged... 

This lesson was very memorable. For our inspiration we have watched the famous curtain scene from Hitchcocks 1960 "Psycho" movie. Back then, many filmakers could create a very terrifying scene by using only lights and shadows. Nowadays many of these effects are replaced with special effects and cheap tricks, that are too fake to be scary.


During the lesson we could make a good use of some of the provided tools for us. Studio lightning with flash units, were one of the main tools. But this time, I have been also introduced to colour gel filters and a plastic screen.

We asked the model to stand in front of a reflector or plastic screen. Behind the model we set a backlight, which we then covered with one of the colouristic gel filters. Depending on how far the model stood, we could make the shadow apear more or less darker. In some cases we covered the model with a transparent material. See the final outcome of the project below:

Beautifully Unhinged Project - Experimental


This lesson was all about creating experimental photos. We were trying to achive different effects by manipulating with the camera during the capture process.

Here are some of the effects we were able to create:

Panning – its a technique that allows us to catch the a clear picture of a subject, while moving.

Zooming While Shooting- rotate your camera and take a shot mid whirl.

Long Exposure Photography – With a long-duration shutter speed we capture the image of an object. While doing this, we move some lights around the object.

Ghost effect- Ghostly images are created with the use of a slow shutter speed.

Freezing motion picture- A very fast shutter speed is needed (1/250).

Double exposure- the act of exposing the same film, frame, plate, etc., twice.

 

Beautifully Unhinged & Portraits


''Portraits are works of art that record the likenesses of humans or animals that are alive or have been alive.''

During the lesson, we have been talking about the beginnings and the evolution of portraits. We looked at some of the most famous portraits, made by: Edvard Munch's ''The Scream''1893, Vincent Van Gogh's self portrait 1885 or Pablo Piccaso's portraits made in the unique cubist style.

We also had a closer look at some of the abstract expressionist portraits:
- Willem de Koonig ''Woman'' 1944
- Francis Bacon, "Head VI" 1949
- Jenny Saville ''Plan'' 1993

After the research, we've been making portraits in the studio with the help of lights and shadows. Our main task was to show the character of the person in the photo.

   

Another artsy alphabet...

During one of our first photography lessons we got an assignment: to create original letters by taking pictures of landscapes, architecture, objects, or anything else that might resemble a letter. Our main objective was to use photos that we had taken during the class outside the school yard to represent all the letters of the alphabet. Since I was unable to find all the letters at the time (because I was working alone), I have completed the missing letters using snapshots I took in the city and also in my room. 

After completing the whole project, I am able now to notice and see things from a different perspective. I have also got better with my Canon camera, and discovered some more of its functions. This has enabled me to improve my techniques, such as using the shadows as an easy way to fill the gaps in a picture, and to become more open minded to experimentation with the environment.

Most of the students in my class made photos of the same objects or same places. Since everybody had little time to complete the task, it seemed to me that it was better to go somewhere else to have a bigger area of choice. Thanks to this, I took several photos that had an strong impact on me at first sight. For example there was part of a fence that looked precisely like the letter "M" (above) .

                             One of my favourite photos (taken in my room). Thanks Letraset for
                             the inspiration:)

                            The streets have a lot of different variations of letters. However, it is not

                            always a easy task to photograph them. 

                             Jesus showed me the right way to the letter "T". Thanks buddy.

                             This photo of a german gun was taken during my visit in the Warsaw
                             Museum of Uprising. I just wanted something unusual in my alphabet.

                            Another nice find in the city centre of Chichester...