What is mobile photography?Mobile photography is a way of capturing images through mobile devices such as Ipods, Ipads and phones. Additionally, you can add sophisticated effects to these photos through low-price apps for instance instagram or hipstamatic, both of which we have worked with in class. It is a great way of taking photos on the move, now instead of having to carry around a huge camera you can merely whip out your mobile phone when you see a picture which needs to be taken. It has also been used recently by professional photographers. Perhaps in the not so distant future we may begin seeing photography exhibitions on the subject of mobile photography.
Please click the link on the right to see a series of mobile images off of my pinterest. The picture below describes what kind of mobile photography we have been doing in class. |
Who is Oliver Lang?
Oliver Lang is a professional mobile photographer, who has exhibited his work all over the world including Berlin, Paris and New York however he exhibits his work mostly on Instagram (which, in itself, can reach a world wide audience). He is based in London after moving from Australia in 2013 and has been photographing and sharing his photos since 2007.
On the right are a selection of my favourite photographs of Oliver Langs in his recent selection of Instagram photos. |
I really admire the photograph on the left which Lang took when visiting Auschwitz. What I like so much about this photo is that it captures the emotions one would visit when visiting a place such as Auschwitz, it is gloomy and dark which reflects the photographers emotions. It is very similar to Minimalism photography (which I studied in the second half of my abstraction work), as it only contains one object in the whole photo. That, combined with the grey background, create an extremely effective photo.
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For our first task in mobile photography; we walked around the school taking photos with a partner, (Huck and myself.) We would then take a series of photos then use the ipad to edit the image using the photography software which is downloaded. Below is an analysis of my work with Huck.
Evaluation of my first work with mobile photography.
What worked well?The photos on the left were taken at Thomas Tallis school. I love how, on each photo, the Ipad has its own editing software. Which Huck (my photography partner) and myself perfectly utilised. We created photos with a 35mm lens feel to them, much like the William Klein and Daido Moriyama photography exhibition I saw at the Tate gallery. Moreover when taking the photos we both considered texture, pattern and colour. I especially admire the good use of colour in the series of photos with grass and woodland in them. With a lovely bold green attacking the photo.
What didn't work well?
Firstly, on many of the photos there are trees and other obstacles which cover the subject of the photo. Such as the tree covering the river in the fourth photo. It was also hard to use the sunlight in our photo and to use it at our own disposal. This is a challenge we came across. I think I could of taken more photos, when we went on the school trip to London I took just under 100 photos, in this photography session I took only 8, which is a shame because the lighting on that day was really good and was a great opportunity to get some great photos.
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Texture photography homework.
For my photography homework I worked with textures. I charged around Charlton and every time I saw a rough or smooth texture I would take a photo of it. I used many different objects for my use of texture such as walls, buildings, trees and a few other examples. I enjoyed doing this homework because it was fairly easy and it allowed us to get creative with Ipods. However a challenge I came across, was finding a mobile camera, since I do not have an Ipod touch or Ipad and my current phone does not have a very effective camera. Therefore my dad kindly allowed me to use his Ipod camera.
What worked well?
I like the different patterns which come with the cost of taking pictures of different textures. I also like the lighting in each photo, I took the pictures towards the late afternoon, which meant the sun was at a peaceful sun-set. Which add a nice feel to the photos. I also think that the fact I took the pictures of quite an urban area, add to the atmosphere of the rough textures. I did not want to take the pictures in a woodland area such as a park because I thought I wouldn't find that many interesting textures apart from perhaps the occasional tree. So I took my photography skills to the streets and utilised the what was based there. Personally, my favorite photo which I took was photo number eight.
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What didn't work well?
With the cost of working in the late afternoon, I was working against time because there would be no light from the sun, when the evening came. Unfortunately many mobile cameras do not have a flash option therefore it is difficult working during the nighttime. Therefore I had to slightly work against the clock. For some strange reason, the zoom option on the camera was not working properly consequently photo number nine was not as effective as I thought it may be. Which is a shame since it is a lovely view. In addition photo number five, too much light was applied to the photo and most of picture is blocked out by the light because there is too much of it. I also did not have any fancy photography apps like Instagram on my dads Ipod so I had to use the normal, boring camera app on the Ipod.
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Tim walker - story teller
In this exhibition, the curator has also provided the model structures which were used in each photo, I found it surprising to see what the models look like when outside of the photo, there was a large baby doll at the end of the exhibition, which looks harmless in the photo, and yet terrifying in real life. Tim walker, when taking photos, fills a room with different objects and characters to create a scene. This therefore allows him to create a fluent supply of creativity and imagination when taking photos. He creates an eerie atmosphere in his photos, with both scary and comical accents throughout his photos: for instance when he used the monty pythons in his photos. When looking at the images you are distracted from the fashion by the strange objects and creatures which are in most photos; when looking at a beautiful model in a stunning dress, you are distracted by a scary white spider sitting in the corner of the room. It is different from other photos because of how unique the photos are, and how imaginative they are.
In this photography exhibition I learned ways I could take advantage of a photo through colour. Tim Walker used strong; bold colours to catch the attention of the viewer. As well as this, he taught me how putting an abstract theme on a photograph is a great way of creating original content. In his photography he also created new worlds, instead of documenting what is happening in this world.
In this photography exhibition I learned ways I could take advantage of a photo through colour. Tim Walker used strong; bold colours to catch the attention of the viewer. As well as this, he taught me how putting an abstract theme on a photograph is a great way of creating original content. In his photography he also created new worlds, instead of documenting what is happening in this world.
Henri Cartire-Bresson: A question of colour
This was my favourite exhibition out of the two gallerys we saw on Wednesday, I prefer this one because I like the idea of documenting photos through street photography. The decisive moment; originated through Cartier-Bresson, it is when a photographer takes a picture at the right place at the right time, to create a naturalistic atmosphere. This is used a lot in street photography. He believed the role of the photographer was to take pictures but as realistic as possible to make sure the photo has truth in it, the photographer should not at all affect the scene. His exhibition is laid out as a series of rooms, with numerous door and hallways linking each room, it has a strange lay-out since there is a door you have to walk through unlike most galleys where there is lots of space to move around. The problem with colour at the time of Cartire-Bressons time of photography was the fact that using colour would not be printed out in detail, especially in street photography, detail is a huge aspect and can really affect a picture. There were numerous approaches taken by the artists at the exhibition; most of them used the decisise moment, using lots of colour in the photo and using the grid design in their photos. My favourite photo, was a man delivering the post, however in the background 9/11 was taking place. The aspect that I loved most was the expert usage of the decisive moment to choreograph a hectic yet passive scene.
In this photography exhibition it really emphasised how using a mobile piece of equipment, can be used to quickly take a picture at the right moment at the right time. I also learned what the decisive moment, which will be useful in the future because using the decisive moment technique, can make a photography look really professional. It is also great for mobile photography. I also learned in the exhibition that taking a photograph with a mobile camera, is a good way of documenting everyday life because you can take a photo at any time and in any place.
In this photography exhibition it really emphasised how using a mobile piece of equipment, can be used to quickly take a picture at the right moment at the right time. I also learned what the decisive moment, which will be useful in the future because using the decisive moment technique, can make a photography look really professional. It is also great for mobile photography. I also learned in the exhibition that taking a photograph with a mobile camera, is a good way of documenting everyday life because you can take a photo at any time and in any place.
My favourite image.
This is by far my favourite image. I was very happy when I took it with cross processor. I love the theme of blue which runs through the photo, using the basic editing software on the ipod which I used. I also like the scenery in the picture, the graffiti and the concrete material which is used on the south-bank; where I took the photo on the way home from the Tim Walker and Cartier-Bresson exhibition . In addition, the graffiti in the photo makes the photo look very hectic however because no characters are in the scene, it looks so peaceful, with the puddle in the middle of the photo. Moreover the lighting was perfect. It has a great mix of artificial light, from the lights in the structure and light from the sun, which shined down upon the structure. The reason why I used cross processor on this scene, is because I didn't want all those lovely colours going to waste through a black and white photograph.
My least favourite photo.
This is my least favourite because in the top left corner my finger is slightly covering the lens, so there is a horrible dark shape in the top left corner. In addition when taking this photo I wanted the buildings in the background to stand out in contrast to concrete however the lighting in the background merely blended in with the scenery therefore you can only see a couple windows in the background. Moreover in this photo I would have prefered if nobody was in the photo although Huck and some strangers are loitering in the photo, I would have prefered if no one was in the photo because this would have gave off an atmosphere of isolation, as this concrete structure is left alone, this is the sort of technique Tim Walker would have used in his photography, however Tim Walker was not a street photographer.
My zapd
This is my Zapd, which I have dedicated to my mobile photography work, if you would like to look at it in detail please kick below:
Photography homework - Textures
When I was set this task; I really wanted to go to a specific area of London. I still wanted to, however, maintain the theme of taking photos in a populated city area. The photos i took are a mixture of my train journey to the area (a park in Euston) and the actual park. I started taking photos on the tube. I took some fairly basic photos at first, mostly textures that really stand out on the tube, such as pictures 1. However I found that taking these sort of photos only used basic skills, which didn't demonstrate what I have learned in class and therefore wouldn't have got a very good grade. I used lighting as a detail on these textures to give the feeling of light and shade, which was a previous theme in one of our set homework's. The problem with taking pictures on tubes is that the lighting is terrible and you cannot get very good photos. Which is a shame because the tube is a very densely populated area, you can capture get great scenes of rushing commuters. I then got off the tube and I found a small park just outside Euston station, I thought this was a really nice area to take photos, because it was so small I could fit a lot in a scene, and get some great photos. There was also many great scenens in the photo, including a squirrel chasing a large group of pigeons and it was great using a non-blur feature on my Ipod which showed some great detail. I wanted to research, contribute and generate my own ideas to my texture project, so I also focused on light and shade in each photo as well as texture.