Reflection
Why I choose reflection
After looking through all the possible themes on Pinterest, I felt that by choosing reflections I would be able to create many images that would be unique but would still be related to reflection. I also felt that by choosing Reflection I am able to be experimental. The artist that inspired me the most to pick the theme 'Reflection' is Antonio Gutiérrez Pereira. I really like his images as even though the images are made with a simple object,a mirror, |
My Plan
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Cody William Smith
“A Moment’s Reflection”
Cody William Smith has a collection of images named "A Moment's Reflection", which takes a different view on some natural settings by placing mirrors to create amazing reflections. This series is a study of nature, light and photography, showing a unique perspective view on landscape photography.
This is my favourite image form Cody William Smith. Even though the image is quite simple, as there is not much in the image, there are a lot of the formal elements in the image, For example lines are created from the geometric shapes of the rocks making the image look busy and full. The lines in the image also crates a lot of texture in the image, the rough texture of the rocks created by the lines are in contrast with the smooth water/sand next to the rocks. We also see contrast with light in the mirror, the reflection of the sky, and the dark colours of the rocks. This then makes the mirror in the image stand out as the light stands out against the dark colours of the rocks. |
Naoya Hatakeyama
This is my favourite image from Naoya Hatakeyama. I really like this image because I feel that this is the image that shows a reflection really clearly. As in the water you can clearly see the reflection of a building. The ripples in the water gives the image a lot of texture, which makes the image more interesting to look at, as it does not seem like a normal picture. The ripples in the water also make the reflection of the building distorted and blurry, further making the image seem interesting as you would have to look at the image for a longer period of time to make it out as a building. I think that this image was taken due to the fact that the building had lights on it as it looks very bright on the waters surface, making it stand out even though it is blurry. The bright reflection also creates a contrast against the darkness of the water and the fact that this images seems to been have taken during the night.
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Antonio Gutiérrez Pereira.
This image really inspired me to create my first set of images. In this image the main subject of the image is in the centre making it the main focus of the image. The image also follows the rule of thirds which is a composition guide where the image is split into thirds, and in this image the subject is in the middle of the rule of thirds, making it stand out. This image also has lines within it, which comes from the pattern on the table cloth. This then creates somewhat a pathway for the eyes, looking directly at the person and the glasses. Furthermore the lines create a shadow effect upon the elements within the image. The lines are also seen on the wall behind the the subject in the image, this then continues the pathway for the eyes, going over the subject in the image. Which also empathises the fact that the subject in the image is the main focus. This image is in black and white, which creates contrast in the image. For example in the image there are many tones of of black and white.
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Antonio Gutiérrez Pereira: My response
Here is my first response on Antonio Gutiérrez Pereira. Overall I feel that these images didn't turn out well because, I felt that while taking these images I wasn't prepared enough as I didn't have a clear plan to follow. So to make these images better I think that I should have a clear plan of what I want to take images of. However even though I felt that overall these images didn't work out well, I think that some of the images that I have taken represent reflections well. For example the images which has a close up of the glass and the subject behind it worked out the best; whereas the images where you can see more of the background doesn't look as well because the image looks more busy diverting the attention that should be on the subject and glass. The image that I think worked well is the 6th image, which has been captioned as 'Most Successful'. I think that this image worked out the best because this image was the only image that was a full close up on the glass, which means that none of the background was in the image; making the image look less busy. Because the photo is so zoomed in it makes the subject in the image the main focus, as that is all you can see. Also there isn't any space in the image because it is so zoomed in, making the image look full. However one way to improve this image would be to make sure that the subject in the image is in focus and making sure that the glass that I am using is crystal clear so that you can see a clear reflection. The image that I feel that didn't work as well would be the 9th image, which has been captioned as 'Least Successful' . I think that this image didn't work out well because this was the image that the background was shown a lot in the image, which makes the image looks very busy and crowded.
Here is my second response on Antonio Gutiérrez Pereira. Using the same idea from the last set of images that I have taken 18 images based on reflections. I think that this set of images that I have taken represents reflection well. In most of theses images I was trying to get the framing of the images right, making sure to think about whats in the background. The first four images I think worked well because I haven managed to take the images against a white background, making the background plain with nothing in it. Which then makes the image look less busy and full, creating space in the image. However most of the space in the image is filled up by the subject, which makes the subject of the image the main focus. After the four images with the white background, the rest of the images have a somewhat busy background, as I haven't framed the images well, not thinking abut whats in the background. For example I think that the image with the busiest background would be the 5th image. This is because in the background of the image you can clearly see a figure of a person and on the glass bottle you can see the figure reflected onto the glass. However I also think that this image represents reflection well because through the glass you can clearly see two reflections. Overall in these images there are not that many formal elements in the images, the main formal elements in the images would be focus and lines. Another formal element that I think is present in my images is texture. I think that texture is created by the glass, as on the glass you can clearly see that there are marks from paint. When there is water in the glass it create a somewhat soft texture that is not as noticeable.
Here is my third response on Antonio Gutiérrez Pereira. Trying to develop my images from the last set of images, I made this set of 14 images with a glass bowl filled with water. However even though I was trying to develop my last images I think thats this set of image didn't work out as well, as I found out that by using a tall glass bottle rather that a glass bowl works better as in a glass bottle you can see more of the reflections and makes more absurd images. I think that all these images didn't work put well because I didn't frame the image well, this meant that the composition of the background was really messy, causing the focus to move away from the main subject of the image. This is the main thing that I should improve and develop on would be to focus more on arranging the background of the image, to make it look less busy. This can be done by thinking more about the composition of the background. Or I could take the image over a white background, which then makes the subject of the image the main focus as there is nothing in the background.
Following the same ideas from my second response on Antonio Gutiérrez Pereira, I created my fourth response. Due to the fact that my digital camera was set on a higher aperture my images came out really dark, so to fix this problem I edited all my images to make them brighter. Making sure to take in all the improvement ideas from my last set of images, I made sure that I was thinking more about the background of the image. So in these images I made sure that I was taking the image against a plain background, to that the image would look less busy and making the subject of the image would be the main focus of the image. In these images there is not much space in the image as the subject of the image is in the centre of the image, making it the main focus of the image. Within this set of images, have finally achieved what I really wanted to achieve. This is when the refection in the glass bottle creates a reversed reflection. Another thing that I did within this set of images is stop motion; moving the glass closer each time.
Down below I have separated some the images into groups: reversed reflections and stop motion.
Down below I have separated some the images into groups: reversed reflections and stop motion.
Here is my first attempt at stop motion. I did this because I felt that by doing this would create some unique reflections. This was true as every time I moved the glass closer to the camera the reflection in the glass got bigger, however this then made the reflection more blurry. To do stop motion, I made sure that the subject of the image was really still and is always in the right position, Every time I was moving the glass I made sure that it was moving towards the same direction. However one thing that I should have done would be to use a tripod, as I was finding it hard to hold the camera still and in the same position.
After 4 sets of images, I have finally managed to take images where the reflection in the glass is reversed. This was the first time that I haven taken reflection images with the reflection reversed. To make this happen I had to make sure that the camera was at the right angle. I think that these images worked out really well as despite the reflection being inverted, it is still very clear and in focus, making it the main thing that you see when you first look at the images.
This was also another image that I took from the fourth set of images. This image didn't fit in with the other images as there was no use of the mirror, but I was still using the glass bottle filled with water. In this image you can clearly see that it was take through a window as you can slightly see some light reflected on to the surface. The main formal element in this image is focus, as the only thing that is in focus in the image is the glass bottle. This then makes the rest of the image really blurry, which in turn makes the glass bottle the main focus of the images as it is the only thing that is in focus. Also in the glass bottle you can slightly see the reflection of the figure behind the glass bottle. But because there is the also the light reflected onto the surface, it makes the faces reflection really hard to see. This is something that I would improve on next time, if I were to take some similar images. So the improvements that I could make next time would be to make sure that the light is not reflected onto the glass, so that the reflection from the figure can be seen thorough the glass bottle.
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Developing the image from the last set, I have taken a fifth set of images based on that image. But this time instead of taking the image looking in form the glass, in this set of images I took the images looking out of the window. In all of these images I had made sure that the focus was focused on the glass jar rather than the background. This then made sure that the glass jar was most in focus and therefore it looked the sharpest and most clear in the image, making it the centre of attention. Another thing that made sure that the glass jar was the centre of attention was that fact that the glass jar was placed on the foreground of the image making it the first thing you see when you look at the images. The reflection in these images are very subtle, as they can only be seen when you look very closely at the glass jar. In some of the images you can clearly see the reflections, whereas in some other images the reflections are harder to see. For example the image that the reflections can clearly be seen is the 6th image. In this image you can clearly see the reflections of the people behind the glass in the glass jar. The reflection is doubled and flipped over making it more unique to look at. The same flipped reflection also happened in the 7th image, however in this image the focus on the glass jar wasn't right, making the glass jar very blurry.
I was considering to put this set as one of my final pieces but taking a further look at it, I figured that the images look too similar with each other.
I was considering to put this set as one of my final pieces but taking a further look at it, I figured that the images look too similar with each other.
Using the same image as inspiration from the last set of images, I have taken more images similar to the original image. To create this image I had to make sure that the aperture of the camera is fairly high so that there less light can be let in. I made sure to do this because if I didn't I think that the light from the other side of the window would be too much and would make the image look very light. When taking these images the aperture was at 125. However I think that I should have made the aperture lower so that more light can be let in, as these images are a little too dark. In all of these images, they give more than one reflection. The reflection that is most distinguished from all the images would be the the white reflection from the window behind the camera. This reflection is the most distinguished because of how lightly coloured it is, making it stand out against its dark backgrounds. which in turn makes it the first thing you see when you look at the images. The second reflection would be the reflection from the glass bottle of the subject behind it. However in some images this reflection is less noticeable, which is why I have decided to edit some of the images to make them brighter. (As shown below). Picking out a selective few of the images, I have made a set that I thought would go well together (as shown below), and will be considering whether or not to put it as a final piece.
Original version
Edited version (brightened)
Lee Friedlander: 'America By Car'
An American photographer who used the wing mirror of a car to create a reflection image. Using these side mirrors would also mean that the image would be taken outside of a window, witch then gave a great view of its landscapes. These images inspired me to create my own set of images based on Lee Friedlander.
Here is my favourite image from Lee Friedlander. Because this image is in black and white, it create a lot of contrast within the image. Which then makes the sky which is a light grey colour stand out against the car because the car is a dark grey almost a black colour. This the makes the sky stand out more in the image. In the image the car window frames somewhat create individual segments. For example the wing mirror has a reflection of the landscape behind the car. Another contrast within the image is that the reflection in the wind mirror is in contrast with the foreground of the image. This then makes the reflection in the wing mirror stand out in the image as it is showing a different landscape from the main landscape that is shown in the image. |
Lee Friedlander: My Response
Here is my first set of images that I have taken based on Lee Friedlader's series 'America By Car'. To differentiate from the original series from Lee Friedlander I took my images in colour but overall I used the idea of using the mirrors in cars to take reflection images. Because this is my first attempt at taking these image I feel that these images didn't really go well because I didn't really have a plan to follow, as I was just randomly taking images. However I think that some of the images turned out well because I have managed to get the focus just right so that the main thing that was in focus was either the reflection or the raindrops that was on the window. Another thing that made these images hard to take was the fact that the car was moving, which some times made some of my images very blurry. Some of these image are very are blurry or is focused on the rain drops on the window, making the image look abstract, making it look more interesting to look at.
To improve I could: take more images but this time making sure that the image has the reflection in focus making it the main subject in the image. And instead of taking images of car wing mirrors I should try taking images of reflections in windows, where the reflection is less noticeable.
To improve I could: take more images but this time making sure that the image has the reflection in focus making it the main subject in the image. And instead of taking images of car wing mirrors I should try taking images of reflections in windows, where the reflection is less noticeable.
Here I have created a separate group of images that I have taken from the last set, theses images are grouped together because I think that they are abstract images. In these images the main thing that stands out is the fact that they are out of focus making them blurry. In the first two images the main formal element that stands out would be lines, as in the image you can clearly see the the lines that are being made by the passing car. The lines in the image is being made the centre of attention due to the fact that they are brightly coloured, which makes them stand out against the dull coloured background. These images also give a light painting effect, as there is a dark background, with lights passing by, 'drawing' on the image. Making it look like someone had run pst holding lights, when reality it was a bus passing by. The 3rd and 4th images the main thing that is being focused on would be focus. In these images the focus is focused on the rain drops on the window and the wing mirror, which makes them the centre of attention. Despite the fact that the main focus of the image is the rain drops, the reflection in the images can still be seen, which makes the images seem more abstract because the main thing that should be in focus, the reflection, is not. These images give a 'bokeh' effect, making the image look even more interesting to look at, as there is not only the reflection in the wing mirror but there is also the bokeh effect on top of it. The last 3 images, despite being very blurry the reflection in the image can still be seen, even though it is unclear.
This set of images is my second response to Lee Friedlander, inspired by his 'Cars' series. Improved from the last set, I made sure that this set of images are more clear and more focused on reflections. I think that this et of images worked out really well based on the fact that the reflections in the images can clearly be seen, making it the centre of the image. However some of the image could be improved by making the reflection even clearer. Despite this set of images being more clear and focused on reflections, I still think that the last set of images are better. This is because I think that this set of images is very plain and very normal looking, as there are no interesting colours in the images due to that fact that this set of images was taken during the day, which meant that the lights from the different cars couldn't be captured. Where as in the last set the images are more interesting to look at due to the fact that there are different colours in the images due to the fact that it was taken at night, which meant that the cars passing by, their head lights could be captured, giving the image a light painting effect.
Here is my first attempt at taking reflection images from a window. Personally I find it really hard to take reflection images from a window, as I think that you need the right lighting and the right angle to be able to see the reflection in the window. This is why I find that taking an image of reflection on a reflective surface gives a better reflection image than taking it from a window.
Beth Spreadborough
In this image you can clearly see the reflection of the mountains on the water, making the image to somewhat resemble a mirrored image, even though it clearly looks like a natural reflection. In this image there is a lot of negative space, for example the top and bottom part of the image. This then makes the image have an overall calm feeling, as the image doesn't have much in it. The image also has a lot of contrast. The mountains are a dark blue and the sky is a light blue, which makes the mountains stand out a lot because it is against a light background. This then makes the mountains the main subject of the image. |
Original Images
Using these images that I have previously taken, I made them into mirror images, similar to Beth Spreadborough images. To do this I used an app called 'Layout'. (Method shown below)
To makes these mirror images I have decided to mainly use landscape images. Especially sun set images, as I feel that it would give a really good contrast.
To makes these mirror images I have decided to mainly use landscape images. Especially sun set images, as I feel that it would give a really good contrast.
Layout
Step 1: Choose the image that you want to mirror/flip
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Step 2: When on the app choose the 'Flip' option, and keep flipping until you are happy with the result.
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Edited Images
After using the 'Layout' app, I have managed to create images that are inspired by Beth Spreadborough. I think these images worked well, as it clearly shows a reflection of the original image. In most of these images there is a lot of contrast, due to the fact that the sky is so light and that the ground is very dark. This then brings the viewers attention to the sky as it stands out against the dark colours of the ground.
Final Pieces
1st Final Piece
Here I have grouped 3 images together that I thought would look good together. As even though they are of similar images, they are taken at different positions making the subject zoomed in at different points. I have also placed them in this order because, It looks like the subject and the reflections are slowly moving down. Starting from the first images to the last. I have also chosen to use the edited versions because they are bright enough to show all the reflections in the image, making it very clear and the main thing in the images.
2nd Final Piece
After editing the images many times (as shown above), I have finally chosen to choose the red and green version. The reason behind this is because they contrast each other, making each one of the images stand out.
Final Evaluation
The theme that I chose to focus on for unit 2 is Reflections. The reason to why I have chosen this theme is because I felt that I was able to create many unique images, still focusing on the theme of Reflections. I also felt that by choosing reflections I would have a lot of freedom within my images, as there are many things that have reflections, therefore creating a possible image. For example by using a normal everyday glass bottle with water inside it and creating a reflection image, like I have done above. By choosing the theme of reflections I was also able to use different apps and photoshop to enhance the reflections in the image or to create the reflection in the image.
At first the two initial artist that I have researched are Cody William Smith and Naoya Hatakeyama. For each one of the artist I have put a gallery of their work and have evaluated my favourite image from their images. By evaluating their work it gave me the chance to look closely at what they are doing in their images, for example I had noticed that in Cody William Smith's images there are a lot of geometric shapes, which can make the image look more busy and full. This then gives me a better idea on what reflection images could look like, as there are many ways to represent the word reflections. For example Naoya Hatakeyama has a different way to represent reflections than Cody William Smith, as Cody William Smith uses mirrors to show reflections whereas Naoya Hatakeyama uses water and light to show reflections. By doing research on different artists and evaluating their work showed me that reflections can be represented in many different ways.
The third artist that I had done research on would be Antonio Gutierrez Pereira. This artist inspired me to take my first set of images and from this research and evaluation of one of his images I managed to take some images that I thought represented reflections well, because this was my first experiment there was many thing that I could have improved on.Taking these improvement into mind I took my second set of images, hoping that they would be better than the last set of images. After taking these images I had evaluated my work in search for more improvements that I could make. From evaluating the 2nd set of images, I wanted to experiment with a different glass bottle/bowl shape,to see of the image would turn out in a similar way. Following from the plan of using a different shape of bottle/bowl, I created my 3rd set of images. In this set of images I used a glass bowl instead of a glass bottle, and I found out that the final outcome wasn't as good as if i were to use a glass bottle.
After evaluating these images, I decided that it would be better to take reflection images with a glass bottle rather than a glass bowl. Following on from the little experiment, I took another set of images but this time making sure to use the same glass bottle. Taking more images using the same glass bottle, I was able to create another successful set of images that represent reflections. I felt that this set of images was better than the first experiment with the glass bottle, as I feel that I was focusing more on the composition on the image and making sure that the background was somewhat plain, making the subject of the image stand out really well therefore making it the center of attention. The next set of image that I have taken are based on a image that I have previously taken, still using the same glass bottle but with a different view. This time instead of focusing on one person through the glass bottle, it was focused on a certain area with people coming in and out. By focusing on the glass bottle rather than the surroundings, it made the background of the image blurry and the glass bottle in focus, making it the main subject in the whole image. After evaluating this set of images, I took another set of images based on the same idea but instead with a person behind the glass bottle and window. After evaluating these images, I was deciding whether it would be on of my final pieces or not, but in the end I had decided that it would be better if it was not a final piece as the images all look similar.
I then took another set of images using the same glass bottle, but this time with someone behind the glass bottle and the widow. After taking these images I evaluated them and selected a few that I thought would look good together as a final piece. After putting these images together in a group I realized that the images were too dark, so I decided that I should brighten them up by editing them. This then became one of my final pieces.
Another artist that I have done research on and have created a set of images inspired by would be Beth Spreadborough. After researching about her and evaluating her work, I used some images that I have previously taken and put them into an app which made the images reflected, creating a reflection image similar to Beth Spreadboroughs images. However I didn't use any of these images as a final piece because I felt that it wasn't developed enough, as I only did an experiment on it.
The final artist that inspired me to create my last final piece would be Lee Friedlander, after researching about him and evaluating some of his work, similar to what I have done with all the other artist research, I took a set of images inspired by him. After evaluating these images I selected a few images out that I thought looked abstracted. From this separate group of images I had found my 2nd final piece. However I also thought that the images looked a little too plain so I decided to edit the images on photoshop. At first I slightly increased the saturation on both images to make the colours stand out more. I had the decided that the 2nd images would look better a different colour, so I decided to change the whole image into a green colour with the saturation sill high bringing out the colours. The reason behind one image being green and one image being red is that fact that they both contrast each other, making each one stand out.
Overall I feel that I have created final pieces that I am happy with.
At first the two initial artist that I have researched are Cody William Smith and Naoya Hatakeyama. For each one of the artist I have put a gallery of their work and have evaluated my favourite image from their images. By evaluating their work it gave me the chance to look closely at what they are doing in their images, for example I had noticed that in Cody William Smith's images there are a lot of geometric shapes, which can make the image look more busy and full. This then gives me a better idea on what reflection images could look like, as there are many ways to represent the word reflections. For example Naoya Hatakeyama has a different way to represent reflections than Cody William Smith, as Cody William Smith uses mirrors to show reflections whereas Naoya Hatakeyama uses water and light to show reflections. By doing research on different artists and evaluating their work showed me that reflections can be represented in many different ways.
The third artist that I had done research on would be Antonio Gutierrez Pereira. This artist inspired me to take my first set of images and from this research and evaluation of one of his images I managed to take some images that I thought represented reflections well, because this was my first experiment there was many thing that I could have improved on.Taking these improvement into mind I took my second set of images, hoping that they would be better than the last set of images. After taking these images I had evaluated my work in search for more improvements that I could make. From evaluating the 2nd set of images, I wanted to experiment with a different glass bottle/bowl shape,to see of the image would turn out in a similar way. Following from the plan of using a different shape of bottle/bowl, I created my 3rd set of images. In this set of images I used a glass bowl instead of a glass bottle, and I found out that the final outcome wasn't as good as if i were to use a glass bottle.
After evaluating these images, I decided that it would be better to take reflection images with a glass bottle rather than a glass bowl. Following on from the little experiment, I took another set of images but this time making sure to use the same glass bottle. Taking more images using the same glass bottle, I was able to create another successful set of images that represent reflections. I felt that this set of images was better than the first experiment with the glass bottle, as I feel that I was focusing more on the composition on the image and making sure that the background was somewhat plain, making the subject of the image stand out really well therefore making it the center of attention. The next set of image that I have taken are based on a image that I have previously taken, still using the same glass bottle but with a different view. This time instead of focusing on one person through the glass bottle, it was focused on a certain area with people coming in and out. By focusing on the glass bottle rather than the surroundings, it made the background of the image blurry and the glass bottle in focus, making it the main subject in the whole image. After evaluating this set of images, I took another set of images based on the same idea but instead with a person behind the glass bottle and window. After evaluating these images, I was deciding whether it would be on of my final pieces or not, but in the end I had decided that it would be better if it was not a final piece as the images all look similar.
I then took another set of images using the same glass bottle, but this time with someone behind the glass bottle and the widow. After taking these images I evaluated them and selected a few that I thought would look good together as a final piece. After putting these images together in a group I realized that the images were too dark, so I decided that I should brighten them up by editing them. This then became one of my final pieces.
Another artist that I have done research on and have created a set of images inspired by would be Beth Spreadborough. After researching about her and evaluating her work, I used some images that I have previously taken and put them into an app which made the images reflected, creating a reflection image similar to Beth Spreadboroughs images. However I didn't use any of these images as a final piece because I felt that it wasn't developed enough, as I only did an experiment on it.
The final artist that inspired me to create my last final piece would be Lee Friedlander, after researching about him and evaluating some of his work, similar to what I have done with all the other artist research, I took a set of images inspired by him. After evaluating these images I selected a few images out that I thought looked abstracted. From this separate group of images I had found my 2nd final piece. However I also thought that the images looked a little too plain so I decided to edit the images on photoshop. At first I slightly increased the saturation on both images to make the colours stand out more. I had the decided that the 2nd images would look better a different colour, so I decided to change the whole image into a green colour with the saturation sill high bringing out the colours. The reason behind one image being green and one image being red is that fact that they both contrast each other, making each one stand out.
Overall I feel that I have created final pieces that I am happy with.