Shoot Ideas
To explore British Culture I have been photographing in London and Waltham Abbey. I want to explore London further within this, I have established the path I want to follow so by going back to London I will be able to document the British Culture relating to the images I have taken in previous shoots. I am planning to walk down the Thames and photograph the different landmarks and the different scenes that are related to British Culture.
Research
Similar to my previous shoots I have decided to base my work off of Simon Roberts. I am inspired by his images and the way he documents Britain with landscape photography, he doesn't necessarily document places in London but he does express British culture through his images which is the approach that I have taken.
In this image we can see a Men's marathon taking place on Westminster Bridge, the Big Ben and Houses of Parliament are in the background which symbolise Britain and London within the image. The people within the image link to Simon Roberts' idea of using people as features rather than attempting to capture a shot with no people. In my shoot I will not be able to capture an image like this because it was taken during the olympics which isn't currently taking place but I chose to use this within my research because it symbolises British culture with sport and the landmark. This image is important within British culture as British people took pride when hosting the London 2012 Olympics so this can influence me to take an image that shows the pride within the British culture.
AO1: You must ensure that several of the visual ideas/inspirations within the image bank are pursued
Contact Sheet
These are the contact sheets from my shoot walking down the River Thames, I started at the London Eye and worked my way down the Thames. I thought this would be a good approach to take because this way I would be able to capture all of the landmarks that we associate with British Culture and British identity.
Best Images
In this image we can see the Westminster bridge and Big Ben. This displays British Culture because we associate these two landmarks with Britain. There is also some sections of symbolism of Britain because along the bridge we can see red buses. This image relates to Simon Roberts because of the landscape and the display of British Culture, there are no people within this image but there are cars across the bridge which can link to his idea of including small features within the picture. Big Ben is currently under construction and this does affect the image slightly because the significance of Big Ben is not as prominent with scaffolding. However, this can display the building and work ethic in London and the changes that are always happening in London which can link to the British Culture.
This is an image of the London Eye which similar to the last image shows symbolism of Britain and British identity because these landmarks are famously associated with London. I chose to photograph the London Eye from this angle because it was away from the mad rush and it seemed peaceful with the park in the foreground. This image also relates to Simon Roberts because I have included members of the public within the image like he does, this tells the story of the picture. The story of the picture is associated with the people because the activities that are taking place show the type of area it is, there are children playing on the grass, people walking along the pavement and people sitting on the walls, without the people in the image there would be no connotations of what the area is like. I think the composition of this image is good because it isn't exactly centred but there is no desire to see what is on the other sides within the location.
I took this image of the skyline to show British Culture within this location, in the background we can see the St. Pauls Cathedral which is a famous landmark within London which expresses British identity. The road in the foreground of the image can also relate to British Identity because we can see the bike symbol and London is associated with bike riding as it is a popular way for people to commute round London. Also, we can see cars going past which also relates to how people use other ways to commute around London. I have also included the newly placed barriers along side the road. I believe that this is a significant piece to document because it shows how we have had to change the way of lives because of the terrorism going on around the world, these barriers have been put in place so no cars mow people down on the bridge. This image shows the positive and negative aspects of British culture and identity with a famous landmark but also the effects that terrorism is having on the country.
In this image again we can see St. Pauls Cathedral, it is the main focus of the image because it is central and the sun light is shining on it which gives it significance. I chose to take the image at the angle because it shows the landmark with more significance and shows how much it stands out compared to the other buildings it is next to. The image also links to Simon Roberts because it includes people within the image but I have included these people as features. The people show how popular this landmark is because there are many people walking towards it with phones in the sky taking pictures of it, it shows how the tourists are attracted to the landmarks. British culture and identity is expressed within this image because it shows how significant the landmarks are within London and also shows how the tourists are drawn to these landmarks.
Images that require improvement
The following images are from my contact sheet that I am not happy with and think need improving.
I think the main issue with this image is the way I have composed it, there isn't much to offer other than the actual building itself which does express British culture and identity to an extent but it is not as aesthetically pleasing as some of the other images I have taken. If I had taken this image from a different angle it may have worked better but the lack of detail of the building itself ruins the image, I should have got closer to the building to make sure that the image I took linked with the rest of my shoots. It includes a famous landmark and a boat which can be considered as symbols of Britain but I generally don't like the image and think I could've produced a much better response by using a different angle.
This image needs improving because it doesn't show British culture in the way that I wanted it to, I wanted to capture the people alongside me admiring the skyline which to an extent I have achieved but the exposure of the image doesn't match up well enough. I could've used bracket exposure to improve this picture which would've achieved the right exposure for the bright skyline and the darker foreground. I think the composition of the image is good but it can be improved, more of the skyline needs to be involved in the image rather than being taken up by the wooden bridge in the foreground. The idea does represent British culture with people admiring their culture but I wasn't able to document this as well as I could've.
AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress.
My ideas for this shoot was to walk along the Thames and capture the different landmarks within London to express British Culture and identity. I believe that I have achieved this because I was able to document these different landmarks in a way similar to Simon Roberts by including symbols or features that add to the connotations of the images. This shoot carries on from one of the first shoots I completed in London around the London Eye but also from other shoots I have carried out in London like Tower Hill. I chose to document British Culture by taking photos in London as it is a place that everyone thinks of when Britain comes to mind. Within most of the images that I have taken in this shoot there isn't a lot of people but there are features that exist that can link to Simon Roberts idea of keeping these features within the image to tell the story for example in some of my images there are vehicles. There are elements within this shoot that I could've improved on, there was a chance for me to document each landmark along the Thames in great detail but for some of the landmarks I didn't get close enough to document them properly, if I had got closer I may have been able to capture British identity better.
With regards to my best images...
These images are the best images that I took within this shoot and I believe that they all show British culture and identity well even if they aren't in similar ways. British culture is mainly expressed in a positive way within my shoots but when going into London there are some aspects which express it in a negative way like with the barriers that have been put up to prevent terrorist attacks. The landmarks are the main aim when I photograph in London because I believe that they are the main features within London that express British culture and identity. I try to document as many landscapes as I can but sometimes a portrait image is equally as good as it expresses the ideas that I have regarding British culture. I believe that I have expressed the British culture and identity well within this image.
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 camera with a tripod. I used a tripod in this shoot because it helps when documenting the landscapes in an area as it enables me to position the camera better and capture the shot easier. The camera settings I used were f/20 with a shutter speed at 1/80 seconds and an ISO of 200, these settings helped when capturing landscape images as they are more or less the standard settings that are used to capture a landscape image. By shooting at f/20 it gives the image a wider depth of field which helps with landscape photography and by shoots at a low ISO it reduces the noise within the image so a sharp picture is produced. These camera settings enabled my images to turn out well.
Next I took some of the images into Photoshop...
To edit this image I used the levels and curves layers to brighten the image which brought out more details within the buildings, boats and it also brought out more colours like the lighter blue within the sky. Then I used the saturation to increase the vibrance of the colours within the image to make the sky stand out more. Also, within the curves layer I used the black paintbrush tool to burn parts of the image back in, for example there were parts of the sky that became too bright so this paintbrush tool helps to bring these details back. The image now appears brighter and more details are visible within the image which makes the image appear better. By editing it in this way the London Eye begins to stand out more and is shown with more significance which is the atmosphere I was aiming for.
To edit this image I used the levels and curved layers to lighten the image which brought out more details within the centre of the image as it did appear slightly dark originally. I also increased the saturation of the image because it made the colours of the sky and the grass stand out more making the image more vibrant. Also, when lightening the image some parts of the picture were made too bright so to bring them back into detail I used the black paintbrush tool in the curves layer to make certain parts lighter. By editing the image in this way I believe that the London Eye appears more significant.
To edit this image I used the levels and curves layers to brighten the image slightly but still keeping the foreground in darkness to create significance on St. Pauls. I also used the saturation filter to increase the vibrance of the colours slightly, it isn't that obvious but I didn't want to increase the colours dramatically. In the curves filter like all the rest of my edited images I used the black paintbrush tool to darken certain areas so they they were not incredibly bright. By editing this image in the way I have makes sure that all focus in on the famous landmark as this is the feature in the image that expresses British culture and identity.
AO4: Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.
I have chosen these images as my final image because I believe that they express the atmosphere I was hoping and also show British culture and identity. The main focus of this shoot is the famous landmarks that can be seen when walking down the Thames Riverbank, these landmarks are good symbols of British culture and identity but there were other aspects of London that I could've explored that would've expressed this topic further. These images all relate to Simon Roberts as he uses landscape photography to express British culture and identity which I have done to an extent in these images. In a few images I have used portrait images but they still relate to Simon Roberts idea of using features like people within the images. Some of my pictures contain people within them which link to the London rush but also link to how tourists are drawn to these famous landmarks. Overall, I think I have produced a series of images that link to British culture and identity mainly looking at the landmarks within London but also at the people within these landscapes.
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