Producing Photographs

Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams was an American photographer, he mainly took fine art pictures, ones of landscape and of environmental subjects like plants or buildings. He mainly worked in black and white film but later in his career he did experiment with colour film but the majority of his most famous work was taken in black and white film. Ansel Adams was also known as the ‘master of control’ not only because he wrote books on the right techniques to use, but he also invented the ‘Zone system’ something which helped determine the optimal exposure and development time for a photo. He also introduced the idea of ‘previsualization’, which involved the photographer predetermining what he wanted his final photo to look like before they even took the shot. These concepts and methods allowed for nearly total control of all the potential variables that factor into a final print.

This is a landscape photograph, this image captures and portrays the natural environment and landscape. The shapes in this photo are present as the rocks are round and cast some shapes and movement. These shapes are organic and natural because they have been formed by nature, not my humans, and that includes everything in the photo. It is naturalistic because it is a landscape and can not be modeled and moved, only the photographer can move about and change angle or perspective. The main focus seems to be the rocks, as that is what your eyes are drawn to initially, but then because the depth of field is wide the whole photo shows detail so your eyes start to explore the photo. The lighting in this photo is ambient and natural from the sun, it is more high key because the sun is lighting up all of the picture. In the photo there is a repetition of pattern, the rocks on the floor create similar shapes as each other creating a repeating pattern. The colour of this photo in monochrome, so it is only in black and white, there is no colour apart from black and white. There is a lot of depth from the space in this photo, because it has a lot of different things in the background and the foreground. Because of the rocks on the ground this makes the photo fairly busy and gives the photo a lot of movement. In this photo the balance is fairly even, the amount of rocks on each side almost matches and running down the middle is where two of the mountains meet. The vantage point of this photo is just from straight on.

The subject matter of this photo is of a rose on a piece of wood. The shapes in this picture are all organic, the photo is of a flower so all the shapes that are captured are natural and showing the environment. The posing in this is natural because the photo is of a plant, but the placing and the surroundings its in is purposeful, it has been placed on a piece of textured wood to make the photo more interesting. The depth of field on this photo is quite large so the whole photo is in focus, but the thing that catches your eye first is the flower, because of its light contrast compared to the background. The lighting in this is medium key, it is not high or low it is a mixture of both. The lines in this photo is created by the texture from the wood that the rose is laying on, these lines also create a repeated pattern horizontally across the photo. This photo has been taken in monochrome black and white, there is no colour. There is some slight dynamic range in this photo, regarding the light to dark tones, especially in the background. The vantage point of this photo is looking slightly down on the flower.

This is a landscape photograph, this image captures and portrays the natural environment and landscape. The shapes in this photo are present as the rocks are round and cast some shapes, sihiloettes are also created by the trees in the background. These shapes are organic, because the trees and stones creating the shapes are natural and a part of the environment. The whole photo is candid and natural, it is the environment so it cant be altered or posed. The depth of field on this photo is very wide so the whole photo is sharp and in focus, so your eye is attracted to not just one aspect. The lighting in this photo is natural from the sun, the sun is setting so the lighting is a lot more muted and soft compared to the harsh glare of the midday sun. The lines on this photo cut the photo into thirds, the lines of the sea and sky and the sea and sand, these horizontally cross the page. This picture is in colour, it has been taken on colour film, and a filter over the lens as been used to enhance the colours, to make them look more saturated, this makes the photo eye catching. The space in this photo goes right far back, it has a lot of depth because the background drags out. The dynamic range in this photo is created by the shadows and lighting of the sunset, the greatest contrast is created by the trees and rocks. The balance in the composition is good as each side has a similar amount of things going on each side. The vantage point of this photo is taken from lower down, but not on the floor, a similar perspective as a rock would have.

Mark Power

Mark Power is a English photographer, he started out in fine art photography then diversified out into short film making. Then in 1992 he started on a project for the BBC documenting ‘The Shipping Forecast’, which was published in a book which was all taken in black and white film. Then in 1997 he started another project documenting the millennium dome which was also published as a book in colour film. In 2002 he became a member of Magnum Photographers. And he is now currently a professor of photography at Brighton university.

The subject matter of this photo is of an abandoned chair that has been washed up on shore so the shells and stones have consumed it. This is a fine art piece that will be a part of a project of photos. This is a natural, opportunistic photo where the chair has been found like this and not put their for the purpose of the photography. The main focal point on this photo is the chair because it breaks up the repetitive pattern of the shells and stones. The light in this photo is muted but strong as there are no shadows being cast, so this also makes the lighting high key, the light will also be right above the chair. The lighting is natural created by the sun. The photo has been taken in colour, then the colours look a bit restrained, these could have been restrained in Photoshop. The photo is very busy because of the shells creating different shapes and colours. The vantage point of this photo has been taken from above the chair, like a human looking down on the object.

The subject matter of this photo is of a woods, it is a fine art photo, one of a collection in a project. This is a natural, opportunistic photo, so nothing in this photo is posed, or put in a place on purpose. The main focal point is difficult to pull out because of the wide depth of field as everything is in sharp focus so everything grabs your attention at once. The lighting in this photo is natural from the sun, but it is slightly muted because of the shadowing of the trees in the shaded area. The shapes in this photo are organic as they all made from trees, leaves and rivers. This photo has been taken in colour, the colours look vibrant but not too bright so the vibrancy may have been increased but not the saturation, this may have been restrained. The photo is fairly busy because of the leave and branches crossing over each other and creating movement which may blend together if the photo is viewed from a distance. The vantage point is looking from a human height and the camera is also looking around the corner to take the picture.

The subject matter of this photo is of a abandoned railway station in Kent. This is one photo that is a part of a collection of photos from a project that is a part of a book. This photo is a fine art piece. This is a natural, opportunistic photo, so nothing in this photo is posed, or put in a place on purpose. The main focal point of this photo is the train track, because of the lines that run through the middle of the photo, these catch your eye and lead them across the photo. The depth of field on this photo is very wide as all the photo is in focus and nothing is blurry. The lighting in this photo is natural and ambient, the lighting is from the sun so it lights up the whole of the photo. The photo has been taken in colour, but the colours are not very saturated, they are more restrained and dulled down. The photo isnt very busy, there is still movement in the photo, but nothing is merging into each other, all the lines are clear and stand out at a distance. The vantage point of this photo has been taken from eye level, to give a sense of feeling that you’re there and looking at the train track.