Animated Gif (Definition,Image bank,Work diary, Straight images)

Definition-

An animated GIF is an image encoded in graphics interchange format (GIF),which contains a number of images or frames in a single file and is described by its own graphic control extension. The frames are presented in a specific order in order to convey animation. An animated GIF can loop endlessly or stop after a few sequences. Animated GIFs are a quick-and-easy way to present dynamic content, especially in Web pages.

Animated GIF is an extension of the GIF standard, which allows animated images to be created by cramming a set of frames into a single file for sequential playback. Even with multiple images on the same file, the file size can still be made small because of the way GIF is encoded and because of a limited colour palette. This means that the resulting image lacks detail and is of lower visual quality compared to other image formats.
*insert gif*

Instructions on how to make a GIF-

1. Resize your images to a smaller size. e.g. 72 dpi, 900 x 600 pixels. Import the images into the Photoshop file, and organise the layers as the sequence that you want to animate. 

2.Select Window, Timeline,

3    3.Select Create video time line

4    4.Drag the images into the time line and adjust each clip duration to e.g. 5 frames

·            Order the images in the sequence that you want to show.

5    5.To test the animated gif you need to press the play button

      6.To loop the video you will need to select the “set the playback options button” and then press play.

      7.To save the animation you need to select File, Save for web.

    

    8.At this point you need to ensure the animation is looped see the image below and that you have selected a gif  file option and 128 dithered 

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I took these images for my gifs by going to the same park i did with my friends for the sequencing photos, i decided to use swings for my gif as it was a continues movement so that i could try and produce a smoothly running gif. I took around 20 photos for the gif with my Nikon D3100 DSLR camera by using a tripod to hold up the camera and keep it steady, i correctly adjusted he shutter speed so that i could get enough photos for the gif and i used the burst mode so i could just hold down the clicker and capture the most photos within the couple of seconds.

Image bank-

Work diary- 

This was the first gif that i and ever produced in photoshop.

To produce the animation, i opened up photoshop with the 9 images of my friends swinging on the swings, and i loaded the photos into a stack so that they could be made into separate layers. Once that was completed i opened up a timeline, i then created a layer in the timeline for each layer, then i made a frame for each layer, so that every single layer was now on my timeline. I then individually selected each frame and i changed how long it would appear for which was 0.2 seconds for each frame, before witching to the next frame. I then looped my gif forever o that its continues and doesn't stop. and lastly i save d it for the web so i could upload to my blogger.

Whilst making this gif, firstly i had a total of 18 photos which i had all stacked and made into layers then frames, but when i played all of the images as a gif it just went on for far too long and it too away the smoothness of the flow i deleted 9 of the frames so that i could still have a decent time on the gif, in total the gif lasts just under 2 seconds, where as with the other frames it would have been 4 seconds which could be too long for the viewers. So after i correctly decided how i wanted the gif to be, i did consider changing the gif into black and white, but i thought that having the colours seen would be better as it keeps the innocence to the gif. Because of the gif being of swings in a playground, the colours of the swings and the grass goes with the idea of children, as normally a child would use the swings but in this gif it could be seen that my friends are releasing their inner child by using the swings. To improve this gif i would make the ending of the gif a bit smoother, even though the majority of the gif runs ok, you can still tell when it ends even with the loop. So, i would just make sure that the last frame is similar to the first one so the loop goes goes around without the audience noticing. 

Straight image-

This animated gif was the first i had created in photoshop. I wanted to capture the full movement of my friends on the swings because i though it would be interesting to see the swing movement on a reaped gif. I think that  the overall outcome of this gif was good as the movement was continuous so it allowed me to create a steady flow. My friends are also nearly swinging in sync and it would have looked really good if they had been. I shot the photos from a side view of the swings so that i could show the side of view instead of the front as it wouldn't really of looked as good or have flown so well because of the position. But by me doing that i got the post in the direct centre of the photos, however even though its right in the middle, it doesn't really effect the movement or flow of the god, so i think that the gif  looks better with the pole as it ascots as a barrier between the right and left side. However my framing was off for the photos as the front left post is a bit more left out compared to the right, but i also think thats because the ground waste completely straight, as the post furs test away on the other side of my friends is straight and in the middle.  I think the fact of there being clouds mades the gif better too as you can see them slightly moving and so with a blue sky there wouldn't have been this effect and the only thing moving would have been my friends and the small patch of long grass. Overall i think this gif was a success as i managed to get the positing of the camera right for what i was trying to capture, and i took enough photos to produce a smooth fast flowing gif.

After creating this gif it has given me some inspiration to try and make a gif for my project, maybe of a bird flying or landing. Or some leafs falling or moving in the wind. To do this i would need a tripod which i don't have so i may not be able to do a gif, but i could try a sequenced photo instead.

Sequencing technique (Definition,Image bank,Work diary,Straight images)

Definition-

A sequence is a serial arrangement in which things follow in logical order or a recurrent pattern. Photo sequencing is actually stitching multiple images together and its a form of time-lapse photography. A change in an objects position over time is being displayed and it only works when the object moves across a static background. When you’re creating a sequence photo make sure you get all the action you need. This can be done by choosing shooting a moving. Make sure you have a camera that able to do high shutter speeds. A DSLR that can shoot 3-5fps can get you great results. Then set the camera up on a sturdy tripod so displacement between frames. Then determine the exposure and multiply by the quantity of frames you are going to shoot. Another way would be to quickly shoot a series of separate frames and merged them all together later with the help of Photoshop. 

Description of the technique( camera settings, lighting setup, equipment used and theory)-

1. Tripod is needed to keep camera still for a steady and consistent background in every photo
2. Fast shutter speed(burst mode) to capture the most movement of subject over short period of time
3. Manual camera settings so the settings are consistent for all of the photos
4. Manual focus to keep a consistent focus in stead of auto focus changing every time the subject moves
5. No camera shake( Be careful when pressing the button)
6. Direct the shoot (composition/framing and where the moving elements will move from and to are important)
7. Photo editing software to put all of the photos together to make the sequence

Image bank-

I choose this photo for my image bank because I liked how the camera is taking the photo from a side view of the subject which is in the distance, so the photo has quite a deep depth of field, but the front of the photo is still in focus at the same time. Also, as its taken from the side of the hurdles, the hurdles act as a leading line to the child jumping and because of the lowness of the cameras position it also shows a couple of the lane lines also leading up to child. The photo is also over exposed in the sky so its really bright instead of there being a vibrant blue colour, this then lets the child jumping seen more as the blues would be similar colours and the over exposure ends just above the child's head. I really like this photo because its vey summery as the colours in the photo are all bright and vibrant so the photo gives off a happy and innocent effect too as there's a child in it as well. The sequence of the child isn't too clustered or too sparse and it shows the perfect amount of the sequence as its short and shows the steps instead of the photo just being full of every single movement the child did, which would have ended up in the photo being overly clustered. To improve the photo I just probably would not have included the person in the white top as it take away the attention from the child, but it makes the photo look more natural instead of set-up. 

I added this photo to my image bank because I liked the fact that instead of just having the sequence of the airplanes flying, it also has the people looking up at the plane from below. I also think that this sequence was done every well because of the lamp posts that are near the plane would have made it harder when editing the photos together. This sequence is also different to the others as each of the plans are quite far away from each other instead of overlapping each other which would have shown the whole sequence. I think that this way was better suited for the sequence of planes as it allows the viewers to see how the plane is gradually increasing in size, whereas if it was quite a clustered sequence with a lot of photos this effect wouldn't have been as easy to see, as it would be more of a continuous line. The photo also has a sepia type effect on it that's getting gradually brighter in colour towards the inside of the photo, so it makes the edges darker which increases the attention on the centre of the photo. T o improve this photo I would put a black and white effect on the photo instead of sepia just so it looks more classic and then the viewers really focus on the plane, I still would keep the darker edges too. 

I choose to include this photo sequence in the image bank because I thought that the way the sequence of the skier looked really good because its formed as s line in the centre of the photo, with slightly visible ski tracks also making lines around the skier. This photo was taken from an elevated angle so that the whole manoeuvre/S shape could actually be visible, if the photo was taken from a normal point of view the shape wouldn't be seen as well because the previous photos in front would get in the way of the later photos so it would end up looking quite messy. Also because of the elevated angle its made the other ski tracks visible giving a natural unstaged effect to the photograph and its allowed the photo to have a clear white background, whereas from a normal view the background could have had other skiers in it or trees, taking the attention away from this skier. To improve this photo I would just edit the photo so that the contrast is a bit higher and so the shadows from the skier are more visible, just so that there's a bit more to look at in the photo. 

This sequence is slightly different to the other photos I have here, except the plane, as there's only a small amount of sequence so the photo isn't too clustered. For this one there's only 4 sequences in total, I prefer it this way with this particular photograph because it allows the viewers to see each sequence n great detail, you can see all of the different movements that the bird is showing.  This photo is somewhat of a close up with a shallow depth of field, which allows all of the bird to be seen in good detail, while the background is out of focus as there's nothing going on in the background. The photo also gives the illusion of there being two birds, one sitting on the feeder and the other one preying on it, as the second to last bird appears as if its preying on another bird. Also both of the last birds almost make the shape of a heart, which could be a deeper meaning of how peaceful and loving birds are. To improve this photo, I would've tried to have captured more of a colourful bird so that the photo would be more eye-catching, as I find the photo quite dull in colour. Or I would just edit it to black and white so that all of the attention is on the bird.

I choose this photo because it reminded me of the paramount pictures logo of the stars over the mountain. This photo was shot from quite far away and has quite a wide angle too so that the whole manoeuvre of the snowboarder could be captured. This photo is more about the sequence that the snowboarder makes and the background in comparison to the photo of the birds, as that was close up so you could see the detail in the photo. With this photo it shows every single move that the snowboarder made as the shutter would've have been on a continuous shutter and the shutter speed would have been fast. The lighting in this photo is quite interesting as well because certain sequences of the snowboarder  is high lighted and others are in shadows, but the floor is consistently a shadow. To improve this photo I wouldn't have inserted or used as many of the sequences as this photographer has, as the right side of the photo is quite clustered. However because of there being so many sequences in the photo, it has produced a good steady line throughout the whole photo, and if there wasn't so many sequences in it then the line wouldn't be so steady it would be a lot more sparse, and so the photo wouldn't have the same effect.

Work diary-

To create my sequenced photos, first i needed a tripod to keep the camera still so that the background will be consistent throughout the photo, and my camera. For this shoot i used my nikon D3100 and i used the standard 18-55mm lens that came with it, as i would just be shooting normal angles, no macro or wide angles for this shoot. I then went to a park near my college with some friends who are the models in my photo, because a park would be a great place to create a sequence as theres objects at the park to use and put into a sequence, like the slide. I then took the images and opened up each photo in photoshop, and then layered them onto one single document. The next stage was to then add masks to the images, and I began to mask the parts of the image that didn't need to be seen so the subjects in each photograph would be seen as clearly as possible.

 

This sequence was the second one i did. For this sequence i had more than enough photos and a lot the photos overlapped each other but not in a good way, so it looked very crowded when i did the sequence with the majority of the photos, as my friend turned in the middle but it never really flowed well so i couldn't have that in or my friend getting off the bench either. For some of the photos i had originally i couldn't put them into the sequence because whilst i was taking the photos even though i used a tripod, somehow the photos got tilted so i couldn't line up the layers correctly, i think it was from when i was clicking the shutter. To improve this sequence i did want to have quite a few sections of the sequence so thats why i took a lot of photos, but as my friend dint really just walk across the flow was too stop start so i never bothered. However i could just go back and do it agin to try and get a nice steady flow for when I'm editing them together into a whole sequence.

Straight images-

This was the first sequence that i had done of my sequencing technique photography. For this sequence i asked my friend to go down the slide, whist i use a tripod to take the photographs, i had my camera in quick burst mode, so that within the couple of seconds i could easily take a few photos just by holding down the clicker. However when i did this i got a lot of photos of my friend at the top and then a lot of her at the bottom of the slide, so annoyingly i could only have a sequence of two different positions, however this didn't stop me from producing the sequence because, i still think its good in the way that it gives off the illusion of another person pushing themselves down the slide, whereas its still the same friend. so if you dint know it was a sequence photograph the audience could just misperceive it for a photo with two people in it. However whilst i was in the process of making this sequence, because of the shadow of my friend sitting at the bottom its made the photo quite hard to line up on top of each other, so i spent a while trying to fix the jagged slide at the bottom but it wouldn't line up so i left it. To improve this sequence i would try to get rid of the jagged section on the slide either by using the eraser tool or by merging the ground closer to the slide. Or i would go back to the park and re-take the sequence and try to get every spilt second by having a fast shutter speed,and i would sequence the photos in a way that the all kind of morphed together so that it shows the speed and creates a line. Almost like the photo of the skier or the snowboarded photo in my image bank, as this sequence was a continuous fast movement like both of those photos. 

This photo was my second sequence, the objective of this photo was to get the smooth transition of someone walking across a bench, so all of the sequence photos were quite close together, showing the flow of the person walking. However my friend walked across the bench a bit too fast and not so smoothly as she turned around for a couple of seconds are changed directions. The outcome i anted to achieve was showing all of the manoeuvres as if it was taken in slow-motion. However this photo sequence still come out quite well, however i do prefer the above sequence. The framing of the photo isn't how it should be either because i think that its too small and the framing needed to be larger and maybe if had the tripod slightly lower so that some grass was shown and not so much cloud because the clouds look quite ugly and as a background it draws quite a lot of attention away from the foreground. I should have had a shallow depth of field so that the background could be slightly out of focus, however my friend would have had to stay in quite a straight line so she wouldn't end up going out of focus depending on how shallow the depth is. Overall i think that the sequence is still okay for my second time, i do wish to use this technique in my project so i will improve on the timing of taking my photos and position of the camera on the tripod.

Macro close up photography (Definition,Image bank,Straight images)

Definition-

A form of photography in which the subject of the photograph is usually very small or is a very small detail of a larger object. The resultant Photograph is larger than life size.

Macro photographs are taken from extreme close-up range. This allows the image on the sensor plane to be equal to life size or greater. Normally this is achieved with special photographic lenses called macro lenses. However, there are a range of other ways to achieve the same end, for example:

• Close-up lenses (close-up rings)
• Reversed lens mounted on the camera using a “reverse ring mount adapter”
• Extension tubes: Extend the lens’ focal length enabling it to enlarge
• Bellows: Extend the lens’ focal length enabling it to enlarge

Even though macro photography produces wonderful photographs, working in extreme close-up range with a subject creates problems as the depth of field is very shallow when focussing so close. Typically you may have only a few millimetres in the sharp zone of your image. As a result a small aperture is often required to maintain as much sharpness as possible. This tends to require long exposures which makes photographing moving objects difficult. Stronger lighting is often needed to for good results when using a macro lens.

Image Bank-

I choose this photo because its quite interesting, as normal macro photos of flowers would just be of plan flowers and obviously as close up macro photography doesn't really give a broad depth of field so only certain parts of the photo in focus but the whole flower is the same so the bit that has focus on it doesn't really show anything going on, but in this photo the section of the shallow field shows the water droplets in great detail, whilst the rest of the flower is blurred into the background. Because this photo was taken with a macro lens its not only allowed the viewers to see water droplets on the flower but the really small droplets are visible and by looking at the leaf you can almost feel the softness of the leaf. I would love to re-create this photon one of my shoots but i find it quite hard to capture water droplets and i would have to wait until its rained to give the photo a more natural water droplet look, instead of just pouring on mater myself, because i feel like that will spoil the photo and make it harder to get the little drops. 

Straight Images-

All of the objects for this series of macro photos were found in a potpourri bowl, a mixture of flowers sticks and numerous other things. I was searching around my house for the perfect items to take some macro photography on, firstly i took photo of some of the plants in my room but then i realised this bowl had all these different small items with different textures and colours and it would turn out really nice. So I used the bowl of potpourri and picked out the individual time stat i had used, i tried to use the items with the most texture and shape to them so that i could capture the most interesting photos. For some of the items i left hone in their place, like the bottom two of the wood. But for all of the others i had to move them to certain positions still within the bowl so that i could capture them in the best way without other items getting in the way. So like the first photo in the top left hand corner, i had t place it onto of soothing so that the light from the window, which is directly behind this, would shine through the object because its quite thin, and because of me using a macro lens i managed to just capture the object in the centre of the frame, without showing the window behind it. For the majority of the photos, i managed to capture them in the central section of the frame allowing them to mostly be in focus, as i found it a bit difficult because it was my first time using a macro lens. out of all of the images, i find the left side more appealing aesthetically and just i find the images in general are of better quality because what i wanted to capture is in focus, especially the orange, as i tried quite had to get a god images of the orange, but every photo i took, the whole thing was out of focus. From doing this technique, i did enjoy experimenting with it because it really captures objects in their best light and shows of the detail within them. So I think that i will use this technique within further work. Probably to capture more objects like this, so trees, as i think tees a lot of detail in things like these objects that a person would overlook on first glance. But by photographing these objects with a macro lens i can show people the real detail within these objects.

Illustrated project proposal

My personal investigation-

To create a visual record of the effects that humans have had on nature and rural landscapes, then photograph urban landscapes so that i can compare them to each other in terms of what man-kind has done to the earth, and if humans have had a good effect on earns natural beauty. Instead of just plainly photographing rural and urban landscapes I plan to use macro photography to get close and capture details of different elements in the landscapes too. So for example, within rural landscapes i would focus on the texture of trees and flowers. Within in my urban shoots will focus closely on the flaws within infrastructure, like cracks.This allows me to capture the whole landscape and also zoom in on certain details of the landscapes that interest me. Landscape has always interested me so I'm using this project to try and show my best work photographing rural vs urban landscapes and so that I can experiment with macro photography.

Macro photography ideas within rural landscapes-Tree branches, Water droplets, Grass, Spider webs, Flowers, leafs, water droplet with flower, bark off trees, soil, bugs, birds, wild animals (foxes).

Macro photography ideas within urban landscapes- Broken glass/windows, cracks in pavements, paint cracking, holes in walls.

Background-

In summary the aim of this project is to show that even though both rural and urban landscapes have their beauty, they both do have downsides to them equally. So thats why i intend to spilt the ten shows and have five for each. All of these photos will equally have the same intention in what I'm focusing on. So for example on my rural shoots, i will take photos of the wholes landscape and then take more zoomed photos on different aspects of the environment I'm in that i find interesting. And so in urban landscapes i would take a couple of bulging in one photo, then i may zoom in on one particular aspect of a building that fascinates me, e.g a broken window. So as I'm taking photos on urban and rural, i don't want to go off on a tangent and not have a consistent body of work, so i will try to connect the different types of shoots together, by the wholes macro aspect on each environment and taking the environment as a whole and then zooming in on interesting parts.

I have decided to focus on landscapes, both urban and rural landscapes. By rural i mean the countryside, forests/woodland and just nature in general. And by urban i mean cityscapes and small towns/ built up areas (housing). I find landscape photography interesting as landscapes, both rural and urban can look beautiful  if you take a photo well. Also its very interesting to just go to these different type of environments and just take photos, as everything is already set up and within rural landscapes you can find a number of things to photograph from various different angles to achieve different effects by using different techniques. And I will also use my macro lens to further look into the environment/landscape i'm in. For example if I took a photo of a rural landscape that had a tree in it, I would use my macro lens to capture the small detail on the tree branches and bark or the leafs. Within urban landscapes i could photograph small cracks within the pavement to show that even though the is wholes artificial environment has been built up and can be beautiful its still flawed and will eventually be destroyed if not taken crd of properly by humans. On the other side, with rural landscapes naturally without humans, they don't actually need to be taken care of. So its like I'm taking photographs inside of photographs. 

As its autumn I would like to capture the landscapes during different types of weather and times of day. Right now the weather is very unpredictable so i will have to try and plan my shoots according to the wether, as overcast days are obviously very dark. So for example, if I'm capturing woodland it would be very dark if it were an overcast day and my photos wouldn't came out as well as they would on a brighter day. I would prefer to do my shoots on urban environments during overcast and maybe even rainy days, as I will be editing them blank and white so it would just add more to the effect of there being no colour. And i would capture rural landscapes on the brightest days. Then I would go back to the same place on a day when its raining or of a different time and cloudiness and take photos again but see the difference in the lighting and how the photos turn out, If they look better bright or better in dimmer, grey lighting. And to see how some macro photographs look with water droplets or dampness on the subject of the photos. For the shoots I would mainly travel around Harlow looking for different types of rural landscapes or woodland. And for urban i would just going into the main town centre. I would also travel to nature reserves and to London or north London (the river lee) to try and capture different urban and rural environments there. I would probably encounter more wild life near the river too, giving me a variety of subjects to photograph. 

I also plan to do a shoot where humans have tried to save the environment so that it isn't destroyed by human activities. For example there is a nature reserve by where i live, pardon wood nature reserve.  At this reserve they have wildlife that roam around the ares so they have rules that visits have to follow when they are there, like sticking to the path. So by doing this shoot, it will then conflict with the argument that I'm making saying that humans are destructive towards the rural environment, as a nature reserve is preserving that surrounding area so that it can be there for a long time.

My first shoot on rural landscapes, out of five would be typical woodland landscapes. So for this shoot i would go to this wood near my house which has quite high trees, the floor is just covered in leaves and has quite a few squirrels. I think that this wood would be appropriate for my firsts shoot as I know the area so I know what will be there, which is quite a variety or leaves and acorns for my macro and I, and as the trees are quite high, if I went at the right time when the suns above i could capture the suns rays coming through the tree canopy, For the second shoot I would do this when I'm back at college so I would have to plan it in a forest/wood type area near the college. So for my second shoot I would go to this wood land about 10 minuets walk away that has a small river, this would then allow me to capture a similar type of environment but it has different trees, a river and different wildlife.

For my first shoot on urban landscapes i would travel to Enfield town. This shoot would be more focused on the 'uglier' side of urban landscapes. So i would focus my photos on aspects like construction or the pollution within urban cites and then on the sides that i find interesting and beauty. I have some family that live in Enfiled/ ponders end, and right now ponders end is having quite a lot of re-construstion. Where my nan lives they are demolishing 4 tall flats so she's had to move around within these four flats whilst they take down every flat. The project had been going on for a couple of years now, but they have only just starting taking down the first one. So the last time i was there which was last week, i noticed that the first flat had been gutted out and this was visible through the white sheet. So hopefully yhid flat will still be there and in that state so that i could capture the demolishing of that flat as i do have some context on these flats because my grandma has lived there for around 20 years and this will allow me to convey a story around those photos. Also nearby my Grandma has an allotment plot and so i could go there with her to then show how even though Enfield is a very built up urban town, it still does have small areas of rural inside.

Photographer research-

Heather Angel

Heather Angel originally had a career in marine biology before she decided to become a freelance wildlife photographer. So far she has founded her own image library, Natural Visions, for marketing images of the natural world, and teaches seminars, workshops and gives lectures on photography. Heather has a passion for photographing animals, plants and macro subjects. So i found Heather through looking up macro landscape photographers, and once i had seen her work on macro photography i wanted to use it as an influence for some of my rural shoots, as i plan to take macro photos within the whole landscape. Also from looking at photos from Heathers seminar (in my glossary post) i then got an idea for one of my shoots, which was taking these elements from the environment and taking macro photos of them in a studio, so its soley just that object in the photo on a blank background. I found the photos that she had taken as quite abstract and so reminded of a previous artist i have searched, Imogen Cunningham.  In recent years, she has invested a lot of time working at Kew Gardens documenting the wildlife there for her book and exhibition Wild Kew and is currently working on a big project about floral structure. Major solo exhibitions of Heather’s work have been on show in London, India, China, Malaysia, and Egypt. Heather has been popular within wildlife photography in Britain for several decades, with her images appearing in magazines and books all over the world. As Heather photos are popular and consistent on wildlife photography, i chose her as an inspiration because her work has given me quite a few different ideas for my shoots. Her work has also been recognised by many awards in Britain and overseas.  Heather Angel was the first photographer that i had researched before i changed my project proposal to being about both the beauty and flawed side of nature and urban environments, so her work is more on the obvious beauty side to nature, compared to Ansel who shows nature in a slightly different way because his is more intensified and unrealistic, because if the audience was actually viewing what he had taken a photo of in real life, it wouldn't look anywhere near what it does in his photographs, where as in Heathers photos how she conveys the subjects of her photos its more natural and obvious. With exceptions to her macro photographs because those are more abstract and does take some time for the beauty to hit the audience.

Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams was a photographer, writer, lecturer and environmentalist, born in California 1902. As a child he didn't really fit in at school and so he was eventually tutored at home by his dad and aunt. However he did find a joy in nature. When he was 12 he taught himself to play piano, which then became his primary occupation until 1920. He then gave up music for photography, his parents gave him his first camera, a kodak no.1 box brownie. He then joined Sierra club which was vital to his early success as a photographer, as his first published photographers appeared in their 1922 bulletin. In 1927 he met photographer Edward Weston, whom i have researched for this project too, because i found their work a little bit similar in terms of what I'm doing for my project i chose to use Ansel Adams as one of my main inspirations because i found more relevance in his work to mine, as opposed to Edwards. After meeting the Group f/46 was founded in 1932, even though the grip was short lived, it brought the west coast vision of straight photography to national attention and influence. Adam started to struggle finically and so he was compelled to spend a lot of his time as a commercial photographer. Soon after he developed the famous 'zone system' of controlling and relating exposure and development, which allowed photographers to to visualise an image and produce a photo that matched and expressed that same visualisation. He has also produced some of the most influential books on photography. Because of Ansel's great interest in the environment and wilderness, his images were seen as symbols and veritable icons of wild America. Even though his black and white images were not truly realistic documents of nature, he tended to intensify  the psychological experience of natural beauty. The reason why i choose Ansel as one of my main influence for this project is because his work is what i intend to display within my rural shoots, because he conveyed the natural beauty within the environment but in a very invested way too. So when i do my shoots i will have Ansel's style of photography in my head for when I'm photography the beauty side to rural environments. However Ansel has been criticised for failing to include any sign of humanity within his work. For example Henri Cartier-Bresson commented that " the world is falling to pieces and all Adams and Weston photograph is rocks and trees". So he was seen as a photographer of an idealised wilderness that no longer exists. Because of this i then decided to change my project proposal slightly, from being just about the beauty of nature, just like Ansel's photographs. To showing both sides of nature, the beauty and the "downside" which is mostly because of humanity. Out of all of the photographers that i have researched so far, i believe that Ansel Adams will be the influential of all of them for my rural shoots. I plan to edit my photographs black and white like Ansel's photographs because i think that the photos being in black and white gives of a more meaningful effect and the audience then focuses more on the deeper meanings of the photos.

John Davies

Davies was born in Sedgefield, County Durham, in 1949. He grew up in coal mining and farming communities, and this combination of open space and industry was to become a persistent motif in his creative work. His early life was spent living in industrial landscapes in County Durham and Nottinghamshire.

He studied photography, first attending Mansfield School of Art to complete a foundation course, then studying at Trent Polytechnic (now Nottingham Trent University), graduating in 1974. Following this, he began working on long-term projects, seeking commissions and arts funding to support his work. He has worked closely with Amber/Side Collective on a number of commissions.

In 1981, Davies won a one-year photography fellowship at Sheffield Polytechnic, and he became senior research fellow at the Art School of University of Wales Cardiff (UWIC) in 1995.

He is known for producing large photographic prints of images produced from high vantage points, using traditional darkroom techniques. His work in the 1980s primarily used medium format cameras, and work from the 1990s a large format camera, although in recent years he has begun using dSLR and digital medium format cameras in his work as well. While his career began by producing traditional, but masterful, landscape images he quickly progressed to composition where the natural environment was juxtaposed against industrial elements impinging on it. This theme of industrialisation has become more prominent with The British Landscape his best-known body of work, and recent work in Mount Fuji, Japan (Fuji City), a meditation on the balance between nature and industry. He has also become involved in local politics, as his interest in the use of public space has been both personal and professional. The shift in subject matter also developed into a fascination with urban regeneration and work on this includes his Metropoli Project, City State, and Cities on the Edge, the latter of which he curated, in addition to contributing images of his own.

Davies' style was a major influence on the practice of noted art photographer Andreas Gursky.

Paul Grogan

Paul's photographic journey started in 1993 when he bought his first SLR camera and used it throughout his Design and Art Direction degree at Manchester Metropolitan University, learning all about film and darkroom printing. He eventually went onto photograph, develop and printed all of his  photographs used within his degree show. After graduation and carving a career out in the graphic design industry He found himself behind the camera again, but from an art direction perspective. This reignited his passion for capturing anything from fine art photos to wedding photography. He loved working with people so working as a Manchester wedding photographer was a joy for him, but also on commercial shoots. Especially trying to get people to relax in front of the camera. He always had a laugh with his customers and couple and build a rapport with them, as he believed you get the best photos when theirs trust and relaxation. As he's based in Manchester, it provides him with plenty of work, but he travels all over the country shooting weddings and or commercial projects. He uses the  fact that he's surrounded by an incredible range of geologically diverse landscape and spectacular cities and architecture. His favourite areas to photograph are  areas such as Manchester, Liverpool, the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales, Ribble Valley, Lake District Lancashire, east coast, and north Wales.

Illustrations-

All of those photos are illustrations that will hopefully be similar photographs to my shoots on rural environments and landscapes. I choose the first two photos because they go along with the idea of macro photography, that i would to use a technique in my shoots, especially my rural shoots. To me this photo aren't just normal macro photos on items of nature, because the way the photographer has captured these photos are different to how i would normally see a flower capture in macro style. The photographer has taken these photos in an abnormal angle for flowers. For example the first photo is taken from a ground view looking up to the flowers, this is something that i think would be very hard to achieve as these flowers are normally short and so for the camera that i would use, i wouldn't be able to fit it underneath the flowers and take a photo. So because of the difficulty that the photographer has put into the photo, it has interested me because i would like to take photos like this one however i don't think i would be able to. However i will try it if  come cross some taller flowers within a rural environment. The photo of the leaves in a shallow depth of field intrigued me because the leaves are in complete natural light from a dun ray tat has come through the canopy level and directly onto these leave. Which is in contrast to the background of the photo, which is a lot darker and less visible because of being out of the depth of field and being in the dark. I would like to try and recreate this photo because i like how its symbolising the light showing the natural beauty of the leaves making them stand out so that the viewers can really see the beauty. I included the bottom photo because i thought that it would be similar some of the photos that i would be taking whist I'm doing shoots within forest areas. This photo too has a bit of a shallow depth of field even though a lot of the photo is visible because of the even share of light throughout the whole photo, the foreground of the photo is till more in focus than the background, showing all of the detail on the trees in the front. At first this photo had a bit of a dark tone to me because the forest looks never ending like you would get lost within it. However because of the bright yellow flowers that are visible behind the second line of trees, it adds more of a happier tone and it looks like theres an opening behind the flowers because they don't really suit the rest of the area so there must be more flowers near this flower bush. All of these photos have inspired me in terms of the techniques that i am going to use within my multiple shoots, as i already have an idea of the places I'm going to shoot, i just need to have more of an idea of how to convey what I'm trying photograph but in an artistic way using different techniques to show how my work has been inspired by numerous artists, instead of me just going around taking photos and not taking into account who has inspired me to take theses photos in a certain way.

All of theses photos show the destruction the man made urban environment and the destruction and impact's it has had on the environment. These photos link to the other half of my project, which contrasts to the natural beauty of rural environments and landscapes because these man made infrastructures have been damaged by humans, they may have been built to look nice at some point but overtime that has decreased from various human activities, e.g vandalism. The top photograph is of a power plant, emitting air pollution directly into the environment, effecting carbon dioxide levels and the ozone layer. In addition to the pollution, all of that land that has been used to hold these power plants have been destroyed when they could've been used for faming or just stayed as natural untouched land. in my view i think that the whole subject of the photo is ugly as the power plant just doesn't look like it fits in view the surrounding environment of grass and trees. I choose the second photo because it shows how that small bit of the environment. the water, is left and all of the surrounding area has been taken up with infrastructure like block flat buildings and a train line bridge. this shows that because of the growing population we have had to resort to using as much land as we can just to fit houses for people to live in. The bottom photos show how if left and untended to, the majority of the infustructure that humans build will eventually start to root and become unappealing. Where as within the rural environment objects can naturally be fine for a long period of time without any help e.g a willow tree. By all of theses photos being in black and white, i think that it adds more of a serious tone to the photos and the meanings behind them, as this type of photography isn't focusing on the beauty of the subject, its focusing on the deeper meaning ad what the photographer is trying to show their audiences. So by having the photo in black and white, it makes the true meaning of the photo stand out more, as opposed to the audience foxing on something in the photo that looks appealing by its colour or vibrance. So from these photos they have inspired me on how I'm going to be taking my photos, and making me realise what i will actually be trying to convey. And that i will probably do the majority, if not all of my shoots in black and white, so that  can get the same effect of the seriousness of these photos.

Techniques-

Some of techniques that I intend to explore within this project are:

• Macro- close up photography that captures a high amount of detail so that I can show/capture further detail within the whole landscapes e.g. flowers, pavements.

• Aperture-depth of field- I would change from having shallow or deep depth of field depending on what I'm photographing and from what type of angle too. e.g. for a flower close up id have a shallow depth. If I needed to focus on something within the background or foreground of an city photo.

• Wide angle close up- I would use this technique for photographing things close to the floor that I e.g. a bug that I would have to capture up close but I still want a good wide angle for the background and it would also change how the bug appears in the photo. For urban i would use this type of angle to try and capture a wide street or again get a wide angle from being close to the street floor.

• Telephoto- A longer focal length than standard, and so gives a narrow field of view and a magnified image- I could use this to show the difference of an object that is far away but I could make it appear closer and magnified, my 70mm t0 300mm lens would help me with this.

• Ants eye view- Photographs from a low level, typically the ground. This angle would be used alongside wide angle close-up, but it can just be used alone without having to be wide angled, but again as its ant view it means the view from the floor upwards, so I could use this angle to look up from a forest floor up to the tree canopy's.

• Birds-eye view- This angle is the opposite of ants eye view, its looking down from high above the ground so that whatever is lower or on the floor would appear to be quite small, I could use this technique for looking down from the trees if there's a collection of trees together so I could get leading lines of trees to the floor.

• Sequencing- A series of images where the subject is captured in a successive motion-I would use the technique of sequencing if I saw a bird moving or a squirrel. Within a city i would try to capture a car sequence and the exhaust fumes going into the air.

• Silhouette-i would use silhouettes within the rural environment she I'm taking photos of trees or the canopy level of them, so looking up. As the sun would then make the photo brighter it will make it easy to contrast the darkness of the tree and its leaves wit the sky, which would then give me a silhouette effect. Or i could use it to show the outlines of buildings contrasting with the sky.  

For my edits I will also explore a variation of computer experiments and some physical images. For example, I would use a lot of colour splash and changing/editing multiple sections of the same photo in different ways, mostly for rural landscapes e.g on flowers. I would also use some black and white in some of my edits so that the photos look classic and that there's nothing like bright, vibrant colours distracting the viewers from the main subject of the photo. I would use blank and white for all of my full urban landscape photographs, as i think that for the viewers i makes it easier to see the most important things within the photograph.