Not Completely Old 16.5 x 16.5 cm [Square Photo] September 24th, 2020 In a way, this photograph is intended to show a metaphorical perspective of what a person may see when they reach the park this picture was taken. They might think its running down, getting old, while in reality its still a reliable place that's being taken care of and can still provide notable memories for many people. |
Artist Inspiration
While I was searching for an artist inspiration, I primarily wanted to focus on the photography that had a certain repetition that stood out and caught the viewers eyes. This brought my attention towards Ansel Adams. He was an American photographer whose photos often stood out through the transition of light that was present, often seen encasing different areas of his photos in varying amounts making them distinctive in value. Also, the limitation of color can also be seen as an inspiration of itself, as though he relied on the lighting to show the strength of what would be color if it was actually possible to include it.
In a way, I also considered the lack of color a limitation an inspiration as Adams had no way to truly include color in his work. While cameras including color did release during the course of his lifetime, he managed to use the power of lighting in order to represent the depth and value of his colors instead. Over the large landscapes, sunlight was the source of all the light and value within his photos. If most of the photos were lacking light, you would see merely shade that covered an entire area, making the areas in the photo less distinctive from other parts. I attempted to recreate this for the final, by adjusting both the saturation and the lightness of the photo.
While I was searching for an artist inspiration, I primarily wanted to focus on the photography that had a certain repetition that stood out and caught the viewers eyes. This brought my attention towards Ansel Adams. He was an American photographer whose photos often stood out through the transition of light that was present, often seen encasing different areas of his photos in varying amounts making them distinctive in value. Also, the limitation of color can also be seen as an inspiration of itself, as though he relied on the lighting to show the strength of what would be color if it was actually possible to include it.
In a way, I also considered the lack of color a limitation an inspiration as Adams had no way to truly include color in his work. While cameras including color did release during the course of his lifetime, he managed to use the power of lighting in order to represent the depth and value of his colors instead. Over the large landscapes, sunlight was the source of all the light and value within his photos. If most of the photos were lacking light, you would see merely shade that covered an entire area, making the areas in the photo less distinctive from other parts. I attempted to recreate this for the final, by adjusting both the saturation and the lightness of the photo.
Planning Sketches
I wanted to primarily emphasize the way the lighting would impact the photos throughout the sketches. The sketches would show scenarios between objects in front of one another, blocking light, as well as wide open areas that welcome light. The sketches were somewhat similar, and it avoided trying to represent the area at night, which was a considerable oversight on my part. Instead, the sketches mostly detail how the light would flow in at certain angles, as well as referencing how weather and time of day would impact how much light would be included in the pictures. The sketches focused less on the change in value within the backgrounds, and rather continued to specify the change of value on the objects in the center of attention. Looking back on these planning sketches, I primarily wish that I focused more on the shadows that can appear when taking photos of plants and trees. Since they were my primary targets, having examples of what I expected from them would of been beneficial, and would of made my reflection more straightforward. Instead of relying on explanation to show my expectations, I would of had examples to compare and contrast my expectations and results. |
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Experimentation and Process
When starting this project I knew I wanted to approach something that, while not particularly uncommon or unique, was different than simply taking an unedited photograph of a scene. I wanted the pictures to represent the value of light in our world, and how light can keep the world somewhat vibrant, even without the use of color. The photos I used for both the final and for the experimentation were taken several blocks away from my home, most if not all being within 4 square miles of it. The pictures were taken with an old IPod touch that wasn't really used, but had a decent camera. I primarily focused on plant life such as trees, as they were the most distinctive objects nearby when it came to lighting. Trees especially were great for experimentation, as they often blocked the value of light underneath their leaves, while the background remained vibrantly bright. The photos that I took were often taken due to the large contrast in color around the picture, or the absence of vibrant light. When they were edited with less saturation or different hues, they would be much more visible in the photo itself.
When starting this project I knew I wanted to approach something that, while not particularly uncommon or unique, was different than simply taking an unedited photograph of a scene. I wanted the pictures to represent the value of light in our world, and how light can keep the world somewhat vibrant, even without the use of color. The photos I used for both the final and for the experimentation were taken several blocks away from my home, most if not all being within 4 square miles of it. The pictures were taken with an old IPod touch that wasn't really used, but had a decent camera. I primarily focused on plant life such as trees, as they were the most distinctive objects nearby when it came to lighting. Trees especially were great for experimentation, as they often blocked the value of light underneath their leaves, while the background remained vibrantly bright. The photos that I took were often taken due to the large contrast in color around the picture, or the absence of vibrant light. When they were edited with less saturation or different hues, they would be much more visible in the photo itself.
The photos on the left are the original versions.
The photos on the right feature examples of some editing with the photoshop program that was used (Photopea).
Hue
The first two photos presented are examples of changing the value of Hue within the images. The scale of hue for the Photopea program was between -100 to 100. The first set of images is a result of changing the value of about -50. The color of the images shifted to a reddish tint that became stronger the larger the negative value. The second set of photos is a result of a hue value around 50, which made the photo take on a bluish tint. The hue can be changed to add color into the overall photo, and not in a way that results in glaring red spots on the entirety of the photo. Saturation was also used in conjunctions with these photos, and lower saturation led to weaker colors that covered the photo.
Saturation
All of the featured images have been edited in the value of their saturations. Similar to hue and lightness, this value scales from anywhere to -100 to 100. Scaling the saturation to a positive value causes the photo to become much more pale, with 100 making the picture nearly completely white. Changing the value in a negative direction causes the photos to dull in color, and appear slightly darker, as shown with the example photos. The colors were dimmed down to bring attention to the surrounding light, and to make the visible color less blaring. Without the saturation level changing, it became slightly more difficult to differentiate the change in light, and colors were much too vibrant to compare to my inspiration. Changing saturation to -100 doesn't cause the photo to become completely black, but removes all traces of color from the photo.
Lightness
The third set of images is the primary example of a change in lightness. Similar to saturation, it dims the amount of light in the photo, but to a much greater extent. The original photo was taken at night, near a streetlight to provide some level of light into the image. Along with saturation, the lightness of the photo was reduced by a mere -25, and the sky in the background became significantly darker than what it was. In a way, it helped differentiate the amount of light in an area, especially if that area was very bright. When lightness was increased, the photo became way more bright, which essentially made it harder to tell shade and light apart. However, when used in conjunction with hue, the photos obtain a much darker or lighter shade of that color, that would take up most of the photo. When lightness was set to -100 or 100, the pictures were essentially completely black or white respectively.
The photos on the right feature examples of some editing with the photoshop program that was used (Photopea).
Hue
The first two photos presented are examples of changing the value of Hue within the images. The scale of hue for the Photopea program was between -100 to 100. The first set of images is a result of changing the value of about -50. The color of the images shifted to a reddish tint that became stronger the larger the negative value. The second set of photos is a result of a hue value around 50, which made the photo take on a bluish tint. The hue can be changed to add color into the overall photo, and not in a way that results in glaring red spots on the entirety of the photo. Saturation was also used in conjunctions with these photos, and lower saturation led to weaker colors that covered the photo.
Saturation
All of the featured images have been edited in the value of their saturations. Similar to hue and lightness, this value scales from anywhere to -100 to 100. Scaling the saturation to a positive value causes the photo to become much more pale, with 100 making the picture nearly completely white. Changing the value in a negative direction causes the photos to dull in color, and appear slightly darker, as shown with the example photos. The colors were dimmed down to bring attention to the surrounding light, and to make the visible color less blaring. Without the saturation level changing, it became slightly more difficult to differentiate the change in light, and colors were much too vibrant to compare to my inspiration. Changing saturation to -100 doesn't cause the photo to become completely black, but removes all traces of color from the photo.
Lightness
The third set of images is the primary example of a change in lightness. Similar to saturation, it dims the amount of light in the photo, but to a much greater extent. The original photo was taken at night, near a streetlight to provide some level of light into the image. Along with saturation, the lightness of the photo was reduced by a mere -25, and the sky in the background became significantly darker than what it was. In a way, it helped differentiate the amount of light in an area, especially if that area was very bright. When lightness was increased, the photo became way more bright, which essentially made it harder to tell shade and light apart. However, when used in conjunction with hue, the photos obtain a much darker or lighter shade of that color, that would take up most of the photo. When lightness was set to -100 or 100, the pictures were essentially completely black or white respectively.
Reflection
Overall, with this project, I think I've could of done a little better. My experimentation was rather bland, and only really included minor changes to the base color of the photo, as well as how strong colors were present in general. I also seemed to struggle with recording with vocabulary terms regarding the elements of art. The only element I often mentioned was value, and that point was constantly repeated throughout my journals. I could of attempted to expand further in detail about other elements, such as line, shape, and texture of the objects within the picture, and how they can change the perspective of the viewer. As I mentioned prior in my planning sketches, I wish I had taken more into account how trees and plants would impact the lighting of an area, as I would of been able to see key differences between my hypothetical examples and my results. With that in mind, I may have been able to further expand upon my final by further emphasizing the points where shade is present manually. The final presents visible shade, but its not necessarily a valuable point of the piece.
As a side note, I wish I was more efficient when it came to using aspects mentioned in experimentation more, especially hue. Lightness was used in the final, but not to a very noticeable degree (-25%). Hue would of been an interesting contrast between the artist inspiration, while not deriving too far from the lack of saturation shown in Ansel's photographs.
Overall, with this project, I think I've could of done a little better. My experimentation was rather bland, and only really included minor changes to the base color of the photo, as well as how strong colors were present in general. I also seemed to struggle with recording with vocabulary terms regarding the elements of art. The only element I often mentioned was value, and that point was constantly repeated throughout my journals. I could of attempted to expand further in detail about other elements, such as line, shape, and texture of the objects within the picture, and how they can change the perspective of the viewer. As I mentioned prior in my planning sketches, I wish I had taken more into account how trees and plants would impact the lighting of an area, as I would of been able to see key differences between my hypothetical examples and my results. With that in mind, I may have been able to further expand upon my final by further emphasizing the points where shade is present manually. The final presents visible shade, but its not necessarily a valuable point of the piece.
As a side note, I wish I was more efficient when it came to using aspects mentioned in experimentation more, especially hue. Lightness was used in the final, but not to a very noticeable degree (-25%). Hue would of been an interesting contrast between the artist inspiration, while not deriving too far from the lack of saturation shown in Ansel's photographs.
Compare and Contrast
Compare
- The photos attempt to capture the transition of light throughout the piece. The value of light can be seen primarily on one side of the picture, and slowly dims towards the opposite side.
- The light is often used by representing natural light, and the photos are often taken outdoors.
- The angle is slightly diagonal, pointing downwards to focus on the objects in the center more, while still allowing for the background to be seen
- (Mostly) colorless photos, both lack extremely vibrant colors, but darker colors can still be told apart through the darker shades of grey.
Contrast
- Photos have varying levels of saturation, mine being at -80, while his work is most likely -100 due to the lack of color in the cameras at that time.
- Adam's work was taken over a large span of land, being able to see miles upon miles. My work however, focused on an area about half a size of a block at most.
- Not taken with an actual camera, but an older Ipod model.
Compare
- The photos attempt to capture the transition of light throughout the piece. The value of light can be seen primarily on one side of the picture, and slowly dims towards the opposite side.
- The light is often used by representing natural light, and the photos are often taken outdoors.
- The angle is slightly diagonal, pointing downwards to focus on the objects in the center more, while still allowing for the background to be seen
- (Mostly) colorless photos, both lack extremely vibrant colors, but darker colors can still be told apart through the darker shades of grey.
Contrast
- Photos have varying levels of saturation, mine being at -80, while his work is most likely -100 due to the lack of color in the cameras at that time.
- Adam's work was taken over a large span of land, being able to see miles upon miles. My work however, focused on an area about half a size of a block at most.
- Not taken with an actual camera, but an older Ipod model.
ACT Responses
1) Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
The primary feature of my inspirations work was the alignment of light in the pictures. They capture the viewer's attention and provide a sense of movement using the transition of light throughout the photos. I attempted to do the same, having most of the light on one side, while the rest of the photo has significantly less or slowly dulled.
2) What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The artist had mostly used sunlight to cover a vast majority of their pictures. They often depended on the weather, angle, and environment in order to determine the course of light, and where it would be perfect to take the shots.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Commonly found aspects of art don't necessarily have to be there for the sake of convenience or remaining standard. The inspiration stood out due to the limitation that was placed onto him (both willingly and not), as well as the use of value in order to replicate some of the appealing vibrant nature that color provides.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The theme was approaching that of old objects, and how photos can be used to represent this both metaphorically, and sometimes physically depending on the objects being used.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I had reached the conclusion that the principles of art are not essential to have altogether, but are also important and can be used in their own unique ways. One principle may be better at representing an object compared to that of another principle. Sometimes, multiple principles can be used, sometimes singular principles can be used to represent the theme that the artist is attempting to replicate to the viewers.
1) Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
The primary feature of my inspirations work was the alignment of light in the pictures. They capture the viewer's attention and provide a sense of movement using the transition of light throughout the photos. I attempted to do the same, having most of the light on one side, while the rest of the photo has significantly less or slowly dulled.
2) What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The artist had mostly used sunlight to cover a vast majority of their pictures. They often depended on the weather, angle, and environment in order to determine the course of light, and where it would be perfect to take the shots.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Commonly found aspects of art don't necessarily have to be there for the sake of convenience or remaining standard. The inspiration stood out due to the limitation that was placed onto him (both willingly and not), as well as the use of value in order to replicate some of the appealing vibrant nature that color provides.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The theme was approaching that of old objects, and how photos can be used to represent this both metaphorically, and sometimes physically depending on the objects being used.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I had reached the conclusion that the principles of art are not essential to have altogether, but are also important and can be used in their own unique ways. One principle may be better at representing an object compared to that of another principle. Sometimes, multiple principles can be used, sometimes singular principles can be used to represent the theme that the artist is attempting to replicate to the viewers.
Bibliography
[Image Sources]
Arnold, Billy. “Ansel Adams' 'Tetons and the Snake River' Has a Story.” Jackson Hole News&Guide, 31 July 2019, www.jhnewsandguide.com/scene/arts/ansel-adams-tetons-and-the-snake-river-has-a-story/article_e468afee-dc09-5ab3-85f3-9649896124f4.html.
“Ansel Adams - Gravel Bars, American River.” Invaluable.com, www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/ansel-adams-gravel-bars-american-river-199-c-61e4f6da55.
[Image Sources]
Arnold, Billy. “Ansel Adams' 'Tetons and the Snake River' Has a Story.” Jackson Hole News&Guide, 31 July 2019, www.jhnewsandguide.com/scene/arts/ansel-adams-tetons-and-the-snake-river-has-a-story/article_e468afee-dc09-5ab3-85f3-9649896124f4.html.
“Ansel Adams - Gravel Bars, American River.” Invaluable.com, www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/ansel-adams-gravel-bars-american-river-199-c-61e4f6da55.