Looking at the world from unusual viewpoints can reveal unexpected perspectives. Ed Ruscha's photographs of car parks, Alexander Rodchenko's observations of city streets and Bill Brandt's high-contrast images are all taken from unconventional viewpoints. Make reference to appropriate contextual material and produce your own work.
I have chose this question as I have a real passion for going out and taken photographs and as I live in a city, it allows me to capture some really impressive architecture and landmarks. I chose this question as it allows me to follow my passion but also allows me to show my creativity by looking for different angles and perspectives.
Mind Map
Here is a mind map showing the many ideas I came up with to do with unexpected perspectives and the ways a may take this question.
Initial Research
Here are the initial research images that I have collected and these show a range of different styles of unexpected perspective images and different ways I could take this question. The styles that I think are the most eye catching and I'm wanting to do are the black and white images which include lines and the photographs looking up. Also I find the photograph that has been taken from the floor is interesting and unusual.
Ed Ruscha
One of the three photographers listed in the question is Ed Ruscha and here is a collection of his work. His work links to unexpected perspectives as the way takes his photos and where he takes them from is unusual and like to take photos of suburban areas.
Here is one of Ed Ruscha images. This images is unexpected as it is an unusual and unexpected area to take a photos as it is a run down gas station and many people will see this as being boring and uninteresting, unlike Ed who sees the potential in the gas station. Ed has reduced the whites in the images so that they appear grey. There is also very little black in the images and Ed likes to turn his images into a grey scale.
Alexander Rodchenko
Another photographer that is listed in the question is Alexander Rodchenko. I like his work as he uses lines in his work to make it stand out. He uses the lines to make his images look odd and unusual. This works well and would be easy to replicate work like this using lines as many things have lines that I am able to photography.
Here is an example of Alexander Rodchenko work and it is easy to see that Alexander like using lines and unusual angles to create his images. Those techniques also allow his work to fall into the category of unexpected perspectives. Again similar with Ed's work, Alexander turns his whites into greys and making the images more monotone. It's an interesting technique and seems to be very popular with the photographs that do unexpected perspectives photography. Alexander also uses people in his images which makes the images have a form of identity in and means that theres more to observe in the image.
Bill Brandt
The final photographer mentioned in the question is Bill Brandt. Bill's work confirms to the idea of unexpected perspectives as he styles body parts to make them look similar to objects like stones. He does this by playing with the angles and light of the image.
In this image, Bill works with the brightness and contrast in the images to make the objects in the image look similar. This is due to Bill reducing his white to greys like the other photographers. This makes the fingers have a similar tone to the stones in the image making them look very similar. The unexpected aspect to the image is that the photo is taken from an unusual angle and that its unexpected to be able to try and see the difference between the fingers and stones.
Ideas gained from research
From my research, I have noticed that a lot if not all unexpected perspective photographs turn the whites in their images to grey. I will try and follow this trend in my work as it will show the link between my work and the research. I have also gained my ideas in which I can use unexpected perspectives in my work as I can just take photos of abandoned or unusual buildings as these and unexpected things to view in an image, I learned this from the research of Ed Ruscha. From Alexander Rodchenko, I learned that you can use lines and take photos from unusual angles such as from high and low. Capturing photos from high and low give and weird perspective of viewing the world and certain images. From Bill Brandt I learned that using body parts to make the image unexpected is an easy and successful technique. Bill again takes photos close up and from very low to the ground.
Where I will go
Here is the area of Liverpool that I will start my investigation into unexpected perspectives as I believe that Albert Dock and the waterfront is a really good place to start.
What I will do
The camera that I will be using is a Sony DSC-H400. I will be using this camera in the settings of 4.3 F number and a exopsure number of 1/100 of a second.
My Photographic Work
Here is the first set of images that I took photo from the exam and these where taken near the water front by the Albert dock and Hilton hotel.
Here is a contact sheet that I have annotated stating what I liked about the images, what I disliked and how I could improve the images or use them in my exam work. Overall I really liked the water reflection work but wasn't pleased with the rest of my work here.
Here is another set of images that are taken by the waterfront but with these photos, I choose to focus on the apartment buildings as the architecture of the is very unusual and allows me to capture some good angles.
Here is another collection of images of buildings at different angles and perspectives.
This set of images shows me again exploring different angles and technique to create high quality standard images.
Here is a contact sheet that I have annotated saying what I like, don't like and how I could use these photos for my exam work for unexpected perspectives. Overall I was really pleased with this set of image as they match the theme unexpected perspectives perfectly and I wouldn't need to edit the images much if at all as the initial images are to such a high standard.
These images here have been inspired by Bill Brandt due to the black and white with the high contrast. Bill Brandt uses people to make them look similar to objects. Instead I have using people, I used buildings from different angles to fit the criteria of unexpected perspectives.
Fisheye Response
Here is my fish eye response where I used a 7mm fish eye lens to capture the essence of unexpected perspectives. The fish eye lens distorts the image by creating it into a ball like shape. This ball like shape to the image creates a style that reflects a unexpected view. I will use this set of images to recreate images that have been inspired by Bill Brandt and therefore turn the images black and white.
Here is my first attempt of Bill Brandt style work which has went very well but I still feel as I can get my work closer to Bill Brandt's as in Bill's photos, the whites aren't really white, they are more like greys and I will try and replaces the whites in my photos with greys. Here I also used the fisheye lens to enhance the unexpected perspectives view.
Here is my second response the Bill Brandt's work as I have turned the white to greys and I believe that this turned out very successful and is very Bill Brandt esc. I think the fisheye lens makes these set of images fit the idea of unexpected perspectives and have created some striking images.
Centre Library Response
Here is another response to the question of Unexpected Perspectives where I took to the Liverpool central library to explore is amazing architecture as there are many stairs crossing each other. This creates great composition and the either from high or low, this makes unexpected angles which is very impressive. The angles from low looking up show the dramatic atmosphere of the building with its history along with its modern interior.
Liverpool 1 Carpark Response
Here is another response to the question of Unexpected Perspectives where I went to in Liverpool 1 shopping centre car park stair wheel. I went here as the stair wheel structure is very unusual and unique which along with the lighten captures very pleasant images.
Liverpool 1 carpark Black and White
Here is some of the photos I took at the Liverpool 1 carpark and turned them black and white. This links back to my artist research as each of the artist that I researched used black and white images and they worked very well for them and therefore would work well for me.
Liverpool 1 carpark filtered
This is the same set of image from above but this is more of my own style as I put a coloured filter that makes the images look warmer with the reds and oranges.
Central Liverpool Library Response
With this Library response I took more images of the bridge like stair structure and the crossing stairs create an unusual pattern. From the ground floor looking up in the library, the architechture of the open crossing stairs and floors is just stunning and combined with the lighten from, it adds a mesmerising effect which captures the theme of unexpected perspectives.
Here is some of the collection of images I took at the central Liverpool library. I have applied a filter so make the photos look more appealing.
This image is a combination of two photographs and blended together using the overlay blending option. The overlay blending option lightens the image whilst blending the two images together which makes the creation look a lot more pleasing.
Here is the same photos used in the collection above but here I have used a black and white filter to make the images look more gothic. This creates an unusual way to look at the photos.
Here is the same image from above but again with the same monochromatic gothic look. The black and white works well with this images and the light and dark in the image are in such contrast that the photograph look more unusual than the same image with the coloured filter.
City Front Response
Here is my first edited image and here I simply turned the photograph black and white and also adjusted the brightness and contrast of the image. This image here shows unexpected perspectives as it is unexpected to look at buildings in such darkness that they look like silhouettes. You can also look at the buildings by looking at them through the reflection on the water.
With this image I used the same style as I turned the image black and white and used the reflections of the water to show a different perspective to looking at the maritime museum. I also added a vignette to make the image look a bit gloomy. The shimmering water disguises the reflection to an extent as the reflection does not show straight lines.
Again, like each of these images, I used the technique of turning the image black and white whilst also adjusting the brightness and contrast of the image. This allows the image to be both light and dark. Each of the images here show a pattern that I developed from my research as all my research photographers used black and white with their unexpected perspective work and as it worked so well for them, I thought I’d do it myself. I also included a vignette in my work to increase the contrast on light even more for this collection of images.
Here I took a photograph of a building with unusual design and angles and saw this as a good photo opportunity for unexpected perspectives as this design along with the low-down camera angle creates a tall shard of glass. Again, here I used a black and white filter along with a vignette.
This image uses the same photograph as the one previous but this image uses different techniques to make it look darker and more mysterious. These techniques are the use of the black and white tool along with levels and the brightness contrast tool. I also added a vignette to give it that bit more gothic feel.
These images here use a different form of unexpected perspectives as the first two use the contrast in and also use the reflections from the water as another perspectives. The third image uses the odd angles and shape of the buildings and the high contrast in light and colour as the blackness of the building is so different to the colour in the rest of the image.
Liverpool 1 Car Park Response
Here I went for a slightly different look as the lighten works well enough not to use the black and white tool. The colour of the stairs is a nice shade and compliments he light and whites in the photograph well. Also, the second set of stairs below creates a pattern that works well. I also enjoy all the lines that create and really creative pattern.
Here is a photo of the set of images taken at the Liverpool 1 carpark. The photos here that are taken of the stairs are an effort to replicate work done by Rodchenko, one of the photographers that I researched as I used stairs and the lines that are involved with stair to make unexpected images. Rodchenko also uses black and grey as he never tends to use whites in his image which is similar to some other photographers that follow the theme of unexpected perspectives. The other images here were taken at the very bottom of the Liverpool 1 carpark stairs and I looked up the glass window ceiling. To make the image look how it does now I first turned the image black and white and then adjusted the brightness using the brightness and contrast tool. I turned the brightness down so that the areas where light is not coming from a black. This worked really well due to the weird structure of the set of stairs. I move and took more photos to create different angles and perspectives.
Liverpool Central Library Response
These images were taken at the Liverpool central library. This building is very unusual as it has small stair bridges allowing you to get to the next floor but these bridges cross the middle space of the building and with the use of different angles and perspectives can create to impressive pieces of work such as this image. This response includes a collection of colour and black and white images. In the images that I used black and white, this is to again reinforce the inspiration took from Rodchenko. With the colour images, I used the levels tool to adjust lighten, darkness and shadows. I also adjusted the vibrance of the image to make it more and pleasing to the eye. This is to show my own work and not my interpretation of a photographer’s I have researched.
Experimental Response
In this section, I used images I had already edited or similar images to do experimental edits to see if they worked. Some edits brought out the theme of unexpected perspectives more but they are quite extreme edits.
Duotone
With these set of images, I used a technique called duotone. Duotone is well the image only consists of two colours. This is similar to the black and white tool but you can use whatever colour combination you want. You can also use more colours but I find it best only using two. To create a duotone image, you simply need to open an image in Photoshop, and select gradient map. Click on the drop-down menu on the layer or double click it. This will now allow you to select what colours you want to use.
Duplication Reflection Response
With this image here, I created a weird effect by duplicating the image. First, I opened the image in Photoshop. I then opened a new tab in Photoshop which was of a black piece of paper. I then move the image onto the blank piece of paper. I then duplicated the layer. With the copy of the image I inverted it. I then moved the image do so that they meet. I then rotated the whole image landscape. This create the unusual image that is above now and kind of makes it seem like you’re looking down which wasn’t what was happening with the original image.
With this image, I used a similar technique to the one above as I place the original image onto a blank piece of paper in Photoshop and turn the paper so that it was landscape. I then duplicate the image three time. With each layer, I either inverted the image in the horizontal, vertical or both. I then placed each image in a corner therefore making the images look like they blend together. This works really well due to the reflection of the water.
With the use of extreme editing, I was able to produce this work. I used the same technique as before by opening a new window in Photoshop and placing four of the same image onto this layer. Then inverting them and placing them in the corners. This creates and odd-looking image that reveals an unexpected perspective.
Again, the same technique is applied and creates a really striking photograph which combined with the reflections produced by the water create a really successful photo. All of these photos have a gloomy feel to them which adds to the composition of the image.
These two images are similar ones done previously, however with these, I used to different images for each. A black and white image and an image in colour. I then repeated previously steps so were I duplicated then layers and places each in a corner. The use of a colour image creates an even more eye-catching image. For the two images here, I changed the layout of the black and white photos and the coloured ones to create a pattern.
Polar Coordinates
This is the first of a set of images which uses images already been shown in the duplication collection. But here I used the polar coordinates tool which turns the image round and almost like a little planet in some cases.
The polar coordinates tool creates really weird and different patterns depending on what the initial image looked like. This tool does not work with every image as it might make some images just look poor and just not work. However, the images that I have used this tool on have worked in my opinion.
Water Colour Change Response
With this collection of images, I used the same image and turn it black and white. I then used the mask tool the mask out the water so that it would be in colour. I then changed the colour of the water using the Hue/Saturation tool. With each colour I changed the water to, I saved that image. I made five of these images and thought that I could try and experiment and combine the colour used which made the final image of this collection.
Panoramic Response
I created these photos using the photo merge tool puts multiple images together into one images, normally creating a panoramic image.
These two images are very similar but are slightly different as the top one can see a bit more to the right where the bottom images can see a bit more to the left. Also, I have added a filter to the bottom images to give the filter that the sun is setting soon in the image. It just gives the whole image a nice colour which works well with the brickwork of Albert dock.
This is the same image as the top image but I wanted to try and give it more of a gothic theme and see whether it would work. To do this I simply, turned the image black and white, adjusted the levels to change the composition and added a vignette round the image. I believe that this image was successful, however, I still prefer the image with the colour image as it is just a more pleasant photo.
As I liked the bottom image so much, I wanted to experiment a bit with it and see what it would look like if I duplicated the image and inverted to so I can place it below it. This adds a reflection to the reflection made from the water and creates an impressive effect.
Presentation
The images used in the presentation are the best of the images that I have created in the exam and to show them off I have placed them in a frame. The frame helps to centre the images and make them look more presentable and more professional.
Final Outcome
I have chosen these photographs to be part of my final outcome as the all share a similar style and link back to my research photographs. My work links back to … because in his work, he took photographs of just buildings. The buildings he normally takes photographs of look abandoned, however, I thought I could give his work a new look. My work links back to … as he uses lines to create unexpected perspectives. I do not use lines from stairs like him but I do use the lines from the buildings to create unexpected perspectives. Also, both photographers use black and white photographs which is used in my work as well, extending the link back to their work.
Conclusion
Since the start of the exam, I have embarked on a journey to show photography with the nature of unexpected perspectives and used photographers and my own style to produce the work needed for the exam. As the duration of the exam went on, my understanding of Unexpected Perspectives increased as a saw many ways in which this theme could be portrayed and how different techniques complimented this theme such as the use of black and grey. This was an idea a developed from looking at research photographers work and I used it in my own work as it worked well and to show the inspiration I was given by the research photographers. I also used different techniques to show my own style and to show that I am my own photographer and don’t just rely on the ideas of others. I also developed a craving for creativity and experiments as the exam went on as I believed that I had used all of the basic techniques and that there are other ways in which I could show Unexpected Perspectives through editing in Photoshop. I believe that my exam for Unexpected Perspectives has been a successful one as I have created my images that have captured the idea of Unexpected Perspectives very well and show a huge amount of creativity and imagination which as granted me with an impressive amount of work both in quality and quantity.