Shoot Ideas
In my previous shoot as St. James' Park I took several images of the nature within the park but also the landscapes that surrounded the park, this shoot has inspired me to go to Lea Valley and photograph the landscapes there. This shoot will link to British culture and identity because it will show the different landscapes that we associate with Britain, e.g I will photograph the boats that people live in on the river which has a symbolic element to Britain. The beauty around this location will link to my shoots before because I have shown the beautiful view of Britain so far and would like to continue with this.
Research
My work will relate closely to Simon Roberts images because they will mainly be of landscapes in this area. However, the images will not contain people which distances the resemblance to his images and the images I am going to take.
This image links to the images that I am planning on taking because it doesn't include people but it includes wildlife and a landscape. In this image we can see a canal/river with swans swimming down the middle, this type of wildlife are associated with Britain. This can link into this shoot because these are the views that I am most likely going to come across when I am taking images in Lea Valley. Simon Roberts expresses British identity in his shoot titled We English, the pictures within this shoot link to my work and this image links to my current shoot. I hope to capture I landscape like this with nature and wildlife in the foreground and a building in the background.
AO1: You must ensure that several of the visual ideas/inspirations within the image bank are pursued
Contact Sheet
The images within the contact sheet highlighted in red are images that need improvements and images that I didn't particularly like.
Best Images
I have chosen to include this image in my best images because it shows the nature in this area which can relate to the British identity associated with the area. This runs alongside the River Lea which is a well-known river in Essex. I chose to take this landscape image because the fencing is associated with and entrance and it adds more to the image rather than just looking at trees and bushes. This image shows that I have improved on my composition throughout the my shoots as the two main features of the image are not central showing that I have broadened my ideas and thought about the composition of the image. This image links in with my other shoots because it shows the nature side of British identity which also links with my previous shoot in St. James' Park.
Within my shoot ideas I wanted to document the boats on the River Lea which I have done here to an extent. I wanted to take this image because it contains different features that symbolise Britain and it's identity. The boats running along the path of the river link to British identity because we associate canals with these boats as there is often many of them running alongside canals. Also, in the image we can see a swan swimming through the middle of the canal which is also a symbol of British identity as we associate swans with these canals and the existence of a swan is important in Britain as they are seen as the 'Queens Birds'. The telephone pole in the background of the image also displays British identity as wherever you go in Britain there are always telephone poles which is associated with ruining the nature values in Britain as they are built in the fields which takes away the beauty of the landscapes.
I chose to take this image because it shows the different elements that are present around an area like Lea Valley. This doesn't have many features that show British identity but it does express the nature values that exist in Britain, the bushes and trees that surround the bridge show this. The main feature in this image is the bridge because it shows an access across the river, although it is beneficial to the residents it is a negative effect on the scenery because it isn't appealing to the eye. Within the image we can see the graffiti on the bridge which could enlighten us about the types of people who come here, the younger generation, who don't appreciate these features. The composition of my image here has also improved because it shows the main feature, the bridge but there are also boats and the pathway present which gives us a wider view of the scene.
This image also contains elements of the boats in the distance which is a symbol of British identity like I have explained in previous images. This is taken from a bridge above the lock where boats travel in an out of the river. This image tells a story because the boats alongside the canal travel through here, it puts an image in our heads that the boats will travel through here when they move. The nature on either side of the canal also adds to the British identity because it adds to the nature values of Britain. To an extent I have centred this image but it is composed well because it gives a wider view of what can be seen either side of the canal. The depth of field within this image is shown well because we are able to make out how long the river is. In the distance there is also an element of mist/fog which alerts us to the weather and shows how early it was.
Images That Require Improvement
This image needs improvement because it doesn't show the actual colours of the trees and the nature. This image was taken from behind the sun so the trees appear darker because there was no light reflecting on them. To improve this image I could've allowed more light into the image using a lower f stop because I shot at f22 to capture the landscapes better. Also, this image doesn't capture attention because it purely just shows the path and the side of the canal which doesn't strongly express British identity.
The same applies to this image, it was taken away from the sun so there was no light expressed in the image, the buildings look dark and no details are showing in the image. I was trying to give another view of the canal in a way where there wasn't a great deal of nature and where there were cars and buildings. I wanted to capture the cars going across the bridge but with no light in the image they are not visible. I took these images with landscape settings, f 22, this did not work with this image, I could've allowed more light into this image and lowered the f stop to f 8 or one similar but this wouldn't have achieved a great depth of field.
AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress.
I think I have explored British culture and identity well within this shoot because I have expressed the nature values and other symbolic elements of Britain around this area. This shoot links to my previous shoot where I explore St. James' Park, they relate because both show an element of nature. Simon Roberts has influenced this shoot because his work shows different landscapes around Britain, I have looked at these different landscapes and am able to relate them to my work. He includes people within his shoot which is something I lack within this shoot but there isn't always going to be people in the areas I visit.
With reference to my best images...
The images that I have taken all represent British identity but in different ways, each image shows different symbols of British identity. The nature values are present in all of my images as the area that I visited includes a lot of nature elements. The main focus of my shoot was the canal and features that were around it. I chose to focus on the canal to because it relates to British identity as the boars and wildlife link to this topic. To improve these images further I could've taken the images at a different time to capture people in the landscapes to give the images more relation to Simon Roberts.
AO2: Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.
To document these images I used a Nikon D3300 with a tripod. I used a tripod because this is the best way to capture a landscape image and this was the main focus that I had. The camera settings that I used were 1/10 shutter speed, f/18 and ISO at 200. I think these were the best settings to use for the landscape photography as it made a wide depth of field and also took the image at a reasonable speed. To improve these settings I could've used a quicker shutter speed to capture the images faster. However, the settings I chose were perfect at capturing the landscape shots.
Next I took some of the images in photoshop...
To edit this image I chose to use the levels and curves settings to brighten the image. I then used the hue/saturation setting to decrease the colour within the image to relate it to Simon Roberts. In the curves layer I used the paintbrush tool to darken the top and left areas of the image and then used the paintbrush to lighten the pathway within the image and the archway created by the tress in the centre of the image. This adds more emphasis to the middle of the image and makes the pathway become more visible.
In this image I have edited it similar to the way I edited the image before by using the levels and curves settings to lighten the image as it is very dark. I also decreased the hue and saturation to make it more similar to Simon Roberts work. Then using the curve layers mask I darkened the areas with the trees and the sky but brightened the middle parts of the image and the areas that needed more detail to be present.
I used the levels and curves layers to darken the image, then using the paintbrush tool I lightened the areas that needed more detail such as the sky and the trees in along the canal. I also, like the other images, decreased the hue/saturation to make the image look like a Simon Roberts image.
AO4: Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.
I have presented these images in this way because they all tell a story of walking along the canal, there are very different scenes that can be seen around the canal. It links to British Culture because Britain is associated with canals and the boats we can find alongside them. I think by exploring this area it has given as different feel to my work but it can still be linked in with my previous shoots in Waltham Abbey and London.
