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Unit 2 - Identity
Safa Cabdillahi
Erwin Blumenfeld is an American photography, originally from Germany. He was born in berlin and in 1941, he emigrated to the US where he soon became a successful photography in collages, black and white etc. He was born on the 26th January in 1897 and died on the 4th of July in 1969.
This is one of my favourite images as I really admire how he used black and white to create captivating photo, he used shadows and double exposure to place the lines across the woman's face. Furthermore he increased the contrast to make his images really vivid , which is a key factor I should consider when editing my images. Erwin really explores the art of patterns , as he used this throughout the whole photo. The woman he has captured has a fixed facial expression possible to convey a dark moment in is life where he was dealing with hardship as she is also not smiling. This really contrasts the concept of patterns as it usually uplifts the viewers and intrigues them however this completely different concept. In addition to this the woman hair is really grey which insinuates that she is old , and possibly experienced grief ,therefore this could symbolise her reflecting on the most eventful moments in her life such as the war and I would title this photograph ,'lived and learned' from the woman facial expressions and how Erwin used used black and white to coney this This photograph in particular is different from his other images asErwin usually as a humorous theme to his work due to the random props he would use such as ;cars and windows. What i have noticed about some of his work is that he uses double exposure of his own face and edits these to create a reflection with a technique called mirroring. This image was not so much how the woman looked but how he perceives her as social beings.His iconic work in the forties and fifties was not so much what an era looked like but about how an entire generation perceived the way it was portrayed.The darkroom were where his ideas were born , where his images were edited into these captivating sculptures. However what was most significant about blumenfelds technique was that he took pictorial tricks many of which himself invented, into a space that went beyond glimmeckry and were used as bold tools of commercial expression
Erwin Blumenfeld, while a resident in Germany, France and the netherlands , has been called "one of the most innovative and influential photographers of the 20th century.'' His images consists of black and white' and almost have a strange theme to them as he uses random props to intrigue his viewers. Erwin uses a range of techniques such as double exposure; his fourth image has scrunched up paper on top of his face. He brought art and audacity to the fashion photography , in a way that seemed so captivating and never been seen before in the history of the medium. Most of his images also consists of intricate patterns such as poka dots and straight lines. In addition to this Erwin captures face images while using a range of camera angles. When I begin my photoshoot I would like to experiment with a range of techniques such as image blending , long exposure and also simple black and white as this is his the usual theme of his work."I was an amateur - I am an amateur - and I intend to stay an amateur. To me an amateur photographer is one who is in love with taking pictures, a free soul who can photograph what he likes and who likes what he photographs."
The darkroom were where his ideas were born , where his images were edited into these captivating sculptures.
However what was most significant about blumenfelds technique was that he took pictorial tricks many of which himself invented, into a space that went beyond glimmeckry and were used as bold tools of commercial expression . Erwin acquired his own studio at age 222. central park south in 1943 and there was when he become one of the most successful , and best paid fashion photographer. He unfortunately died on the 4th of July due to a heart attack in Rome.“Photography is so easy a medium to use, the box camera, a roll of film, a snap – a picture! Photography, the art, is so immensely difficult because it is so easy to get a picture of sorts. One must work hard to smuggle anything into a photograph other than record keeping.”
PHOTOSHOOT PLAN
IDEAS:
I would like to take portrait images however some of them would have a curtain or fabric around me. Furthermore i could take seperate images of line or stripes to double expose on to my work for the further developments.
SETTING /LOCATION
My setting would just be in my classroom however i would make sure I have a white background , this is because my artists takes black and white images and i would therefore like to edit stripes or patterns onto the background
WHO HAS INSPIRED ME
Erwin Blumenfeld has inspired me to do this photoshoot because i admire how he refelects his fifties style onto his images , he does this by using black and white and also intricate details such as poka dots, stripes etc
CAMERA ANGLE:
My camera angle would be a range of different ones , like zoomed in , zoomed out portrait angle. Furthermore i would use long exposure for some images and for the ones that are not i would make them more focused
LIGHTING
For this photoshoot i would use a natural lighting however turn on the normal light in the room to make the images really clear and vivid for the viewers to see
CHALLENGES
For this photoshoot I believe
the main challenges were....
CONTACT SHEET:
This is my contact sheet of my images in the style of Erwin Blumenfeld. I used a range of camera techniques such as long exposure , zoomed in and zoomed out .Furthermore I have used curtains and fabrics to create this strange and gothic theme to my work in the style of Erwin Blumenfeld. When I begin editing these images , I will use mainly double exposure this is because the artist will use this technique when for example covering his face with poke dots or random patterns like the his image above. In addition to this I will also use black and white to represent when he started photography in the fifties. There is a certain aspect of ambiguity in his work hence I. have coveredmy face and hid behind the curtains.I will split these images into different developments :black and white, double exposure and lastly mirroring. I have taken
70 images in the style of Erwin Blumenfeld's work. II used high key lighting to make my images more vibrant making it captivating for my viewersI used high key lighting to make my images more vibrant making it captivating for my viewers. In addition to this, i have captured a range of image of my face, fabric covering my face this is to represent Erwin Blumenfelds random style. I used a low ISO inside of the classroom compared to the high ISO outside to prevent overexposure of the images and to ensure that it does not just have a bright light sitting onto the images. I had my subject wear all black so the photos are not colourful , this reflects Erwin passion for photography in the fifties and how there were no colour when he captured images and everything was just black and white.
BLACK AND WHITE DEVELOPMENTS:
This is my first set of black and white developments that I have edited in the style of Erwin Blumenfeld. I used adobe photoshop to make the image black and white and adjusted the contrast and brightness to create really grainy and textured image, to make it seem as is it was captured on a film camera used in the 80's. The black and white developments really join the theme of ambiguity as I covering my face possibly built a sense of curiosity in the viewers. Furthermore, I burnt my hands to make a really big contrast between the figure and the background which produce an eye-catching image. Overall I think that burning the figures in the image really emphasises the contrast.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS (IMAGE BLENDING)
For my further developments I have decided to use image blending to develop these simple pieces and to form something abstract that captivate the viewers.Overall I have aimed to create a humorous however ghostly effect through the use of colour and composition throughout my images.The second set of my images consists of image blending. Firstly I have used photoshop to make it black and white , then I quick select and CTRL- c , CTRL-V and lastly changed the filter to hard light to create a harsh contrast .I really admire how some of the image have a humorous concept such as the last. 2 images almost constructs a person dancing which entertains the viewers and make them feel graceful despite the black and white, therefore I have learned that use of composition and light could completely shift the concept.
PROCESS LOGS:
Firstly , I make the image black an white : I increase the contrast and decrease the curve and slightly increase the brightness is it is vivid
Secondly , I quick select the image and copy and paste using CTRL-C, CTRL-V and then CTRL-T to flip the image.
Lastly, I change the filter to harsh light which create this elegant and captivating image in the style of Erwin Blumenfeld
REDRAFT CONTACT SHEET:
For my redraft contact sheet I have experimented a different technique of capturing my images. Firstly I have used long exposure and also dimmed the lights to create a dark theme compared to the other photoshoot where there was more colour and light. Furthermore I have covered my face in all the images as I wanted to continue the ambiguity. The images that I have not annotated are the ones I like the least. as they came out to bright and therefore does not let the viewers see the images clearly. However I really admire this photoshoot better than the original one because this one was more vivid and the other seemed less captivating however this one is more ghost-like. When I begin editing these images such as simple 'black an white ' developments and for my further developments I would use image blending with a harsh filter to make it vivid. To make it more abstract , I would like to project lines or any Intricate patterns which was inspired by one of Erwin Blumenfelds images. In addition to this, I would also increase the brightness and decrease the curve to make it more bright and clear. What I really admire about the photographers work is that you could experiment with many materials to create an inriguing piece.
REDRAFT BLACK AND WHITE DEVELOPMENTS:
This is my first set of developments which consists of just simple black and white edits . Firstly I made it black and white while increasing the contrast and decreasing the curve to make it vivid and ghostly looking . In addition to this my favourite developments was the black and white long exposure because quite a glitchy effect which really captivates the viewers. What worked really well was that I made sure the background was completely black which made it dark and horrifying. The last development was my least favourite because the flash made the whole image white which kind of blinds the readers .
REDRAFT FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS (IMAGE BLENDING)
This set of developments contains image blending which is my favourite set because of how it has a surreal and horror theme to it. Most of theme looks like there is a shadow in the background which also really captivates the viewers. This technique is similiar with double exposure which also leaves viewers thinking . In addition to this these developments link to man ray because they are very abstract and unreal.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS - INSPIRED BY MAN RAY
This is my fourth set of my developments which consists of black and white holographic images. Firstly i made the curve straight to make it a white colours and then dragged it down to create this x-ray looking image. In addition to this the hand covering my face also creates a sense of ambiguity which really enhances the theme of identity. Tatiana Parcero is a very similiar artists which focuses on ambiguity and uses these techniques to edit her work.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS (IMAGE BLENDING):
This is my fourth and final set of developments which just develops onto the previous gallery. What I really admire is that it is black and white holographic which is really eye-catching and mysterious from the covering of the hands in the images. I edited these using photoshop by selecting the image pressing CTRL-C , CTRL-V , CTRL-T and rotate the image and lastly changing the filter to soft light to create these set of image blending photos.
PROCESS LOG (REDRAFT) - IMAGE BLENDING
Firstly , I make the image black an white : I increase the contrast and decrease the curve and slightly increase the brightness is it is vivid
Secondly , I quick select the image and copy and paste using CTRL-C, CTRL-V and then CTRL-T to flip the image.
Lastly, I change the filter to harsh light which create this elegant and captivating image in the style of Erwin Blumenfeld
HIGHLIGHTING SUCCESS:
annotation
EXPLORING COMPOSITION
This composition shows the transition of my images. I really like how it outlines the use of my colour and how I edited it to make it look so sinister and dark
I also like how these outline my use of colour and composition with my hands to make it look so captivating
This is quite different to the others as it is long exposure however still looks very ghostly and eye-catching. Without the black and white it looks less exciting.
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