Week One: WHO AM I?

What I Included in my Research:

INFLUENCES:

For my research, I found a photographer who specialises in 'Still Life' imagery which gave me the idea to do my shoot using the technique of Still Life. 

Anatoly Che is a ‘Still Life photographer who takes images of ordinary objects in creative ways. He uses normal and almost everyday objects but uses creative lighting and tones to give his images a distinct look. He has a creative use of shadows and light and contrast between these two ideas. 

This images was taken in the studio, as the studio light is visible on the centre of the backdrop. The objects have all been strategically placed in order to get the best out of them.

There is a studio light pointing directly at the objects, as seen on the backdrop and the shadowing around the edges tells us that there are not light sources coming from the sides. The lighting is also soft and not harsh at all. If the lighting was harsh, it would have reflected off of the shell and the skull as they are white as well. The shutter speed would be at a normal speed (roughly 1/60) as it is inside and there are no moving objects. There is a shallow depth of field in this image as the camera is quite close to the set and they are all pretty much in the same area and nothing is really far away or really close to the camera.

I think that there is a dark tone to the image, mostly communicated through the dark colours; the reds, blacks and whites, which also contrast with one another and compliment the other colours around it. There is a central composition and each object has been placed in a way that they each get looked on in turn even though the skull in the middle is the main focal point to the image. There is an almost gothic sense to the photo, again, made through the colours. The shadowing around the edges of the image helps to draw the eye to the main focal point of the image. I think that the photographer is trying to communicate that life is dark and that many shadows hide within the world but at the same time, there is a sense of beauty and light hidden but you just need to find it, so to speak. There may be some connotations of death in there as well, as there is the skull in the centre and that is the first thing that we really see so it may be drawing our attention to the idea of death being close by. 

I like the connotation of this image, the sense of light hidden within the dark, and how there is just one circular shape of light on the backdrop and how it's surrounded by shadow and darkness. I like the central composition and the way that the objects have been laid out in turn. I will use this image to influence me in the way that the objects have been positioned, the use of colours and lighting techniques.

PLAN: For my shoot, I will take images using the idea of 'Still Life'. I am thinking that I will get together a load of objects that represent me such as some of my favourite books, photos of my dogs and other things that can be used to interpret myself as a person.