Photography -My planets

After looking back at my tunnel vision idea for my photography portfolio,  I wondered how I could expand on that idea.  Instead of using my Nikon camera,  I decided to see what quality of photographs I could achieve with my Sony Xperia smart phone. I looked through my camera effects but was disappointed when I discovered there was no timeshift burst. I must admit, I am not keen on using timeshift burst when taking photos,  I would like to think that I could take the 'perfect' shot without the use of an app. Anyway,  slightly straying away from the point of this blog.... I came across a circular viewpoint in my creative effects app. It chances the camera view to that of a circle,  similar to looking through a telescope or kitchen roll tube. This is exactly what I was looking for to expand my tunnel vision idea.  Now,  by this point,  I had already made the decision to use LED lights as part of my effects. I then thought about shining the lights onto a bath full of bubbles.  I feel very pleased with the results and I have named this set of photographs, 'my planets '. The last point I want to make is that,  now looking at them,  aware of the technique, it may seem more obvious how it was done.  If I displayed these photos in a different context without an explanation,  I think it would gain more interest and curiosity but here are my results,  feel free to comment as it is always good to get other opinions.

Photography - behind bars

Another set of photographs I took, were done using the same technique as 'the moon.' I took 4 photographs using Different items behind a wire wall. I wanted to create a harsh, trapped,  prison feel.

The person at the top left has his arms towards the wire,  this was to give the feeling of being trapped.  The key is my favourite part, the key represents freedom but the wire is in the way of reaching it.  If you look close enough,  there is a really nice effect to the key,  it almost has a bit of trickery between the wire and the key at the top,  giving the sense that it is within reach. The flowers were to just show beauty and life ruined by something horrible.  The final image is to represent a loving couple hopeless and admitting defeat.  I wanted to provide a sense of innocence, destroyed by the couple being held against their will. Overall I wanted to create a feeling of intimidation and pain,  I have hopefully been able to do this.  The wire bars were part of an electric racket /bug zapper. I think this was effective.

Photography - different view points - the moon

I was thinking about how I could create an interesting image,  or set of images using different view points.  I wanted to design a collage of 4 images using the same technique. My aim is to make people look close at the images and study them. I would not like it to be obvious what I have used to create each technique.

This is my first collection of images. My idea was to create a view with the using the idea of tunnel vision. I wanted to 'block' out the surroundings and focus on one viewpoint.  I like this set of images as I feel that it resembles the moon.  All I did, was positioned my camera carefully at the end of a kitchen roll, looking at a white wall.  I am very pleased with the result and I found it interesting to use this to play a trick on the mind.

border Reivers Banner - finished design

For a class project,  I was to design a banner for the Border Reivers festival.  After experimenting with a variety of household paint,  batik dye, Acrylic paint and pens , I produced a banner which I am very pleased with.  Similar to my last banner design, I used blue Batik fabric dye to create a sky for the background. I started with a large piece of cotton and soaked water over the top half. I then added turquoise Batik dye using a variety of thicknesses then covered some of the sky with more water to create an uneven realistic effect. I then drew out the images I wanted on my banner, onto the material. I had already experimented with composition on some samples done previously so I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
 After drawing a battlefield scene, consisting of a man on a horse and 3 people of the opposition standing at the front, I mixed Dulux wall paint with different amounts of water to make the green fields. My aim was to make the furthest away field darker than the front to add  a more 3 dimensional effect to the banner.
I then used a mixture of wall paint and acrylic paints for the people, and added detail with sharpie pens .
I felt that the banner was still unfinished so I decided to take an extract from a poem in 'the reivers, story of the border reivers' book by Alistair Moffat. I decided to use a separate piece of fabric and used black pen to do the lettering. Still I felt I could have added something else to finish it off.
 I used a lighter to burn the edges of the fabric and glued it to the banner. This was to add effect to show burning, fire, destruction and devastation. I hope it worked, I am quite pleased with the result. To finish off I attached my banner to a curtain wire so it can be hung up-like a banner should be.
I really enjoyed making the banner and I felt the household paint worked very well and dried perfectly. the only fault I have, is with using water mixed with the paint , it did make quite a mess. Overall I am very pleased with what I have produced and would like to do something similar in the future.     

Self portrait inspired by Frida Kahlo

This last week I have been trying to make a collection of work inspired by different movements.  I searched for the well-known Frida Kahlo, and noticed that she was mostly known for her self portraits.  I have not had much experience doing self portraits,  so I thought this would be a good opportunity to try one.
I came across 'The broken column' 1944, and was fixated on the painting.  I was curious about what it meant,  I discovered the painting was created after a horrific accident involving a bus when Kahlo was just a teenager. Kahlo had a real talent for creating a sense of pain and dispair throughout her work.  Within this piece of work there is a broken column where her spine should be and nails imbedded in her face and body.  I read that originally she painted herself naked for this portrait but at last minute decided to cover her body up with a sheet to resemble a hospital bed sheet.
I wanted to create a self portrait in the style of this painting,  I didn't want to copy, but recreate the feeling of pain and hopelessness.  I used oil paint to keep in with the feel of Kahlo's work.  I covered myself in scars to show a reminder of horrible things still visible and existing.  I also attached chains to my wrists and shown them secured to the ground,  this is to give the feeling of trapped,  weighted down and unable to escape.  The last thing I done was make a black tear in the cente of my body,  where my heart should be.  The idea behind this was to show that the heart was not visible to anyone but a dark,  tainted depth was in its place.  I felt very inspired by Freda Kahlo and was able to find a way of recreating a piece of art that reflected the inspiration I took from this incredible work of art.

Menu design - finished

Now that I have finished my menu designs,  I wanted to use them with complimentary tableware.  I experimented about with colours  and decided to use my butterfly and flower design that I made for my design craft, with the menu using the theme of the flowers around the Haining.  I think they compliment each other well and with the red tablecloth,  it looks great.  I had a similar idea for the black and gold pillar design.  This time I used a black tablecloth with complimentary crockery.  I like this set up the best.

My final menu design

After exploring different ways of presenting a menu,  I decided that I wanted to use the pillars as part of the design. I also looked at what pattern I could add for colour.  I decided to use black acetate for 2 of the side panels for use with a light for the evening and go for a nice sophisticated look.  Although this menu is not movable,  I think this is my favourite. This may be because of the style, or the fact that I didn't get worked up about the design and I just went for it. The pillars were part of my first idea so hopefully it works well.