Statement

Each photograph reflects my creative ability and one I have spent a lot of time and effort producing. They have been carefully selected to present the best of my photographic abilities and showcase the work I enjoy producing. The images I have chosen are from a range of course assignments and personal projects. During my course I have completed many interesting and challenging assignments and have included some of the final images in my submission. 

Through my present studies I have been taught a broad range of photographic skills and I am constantly learning and developing new ways of approaching subject matters and mediums of photography. I enjoy many aspects of photography, in particular documentary work, portraiture and shooting on location. I also enjoy experimenting with both film and digital formats. Many photographers influence my work and inspire me to pursue a career in photography. A few I particularly admire include; Jessica Hilltout, Richard Avedon, Annie Leibovitz, Tim Walker, Sally Mann and Anton Corbijn, each for their unique style and imagery. 

In my spare time I enjoy shooting new personal projects at every available opportunity, developing my skills using both digital editing software and processing rolls of film. I also spend my time searching through charity shops for new and unusual bargains – often the best places for finding photography books and old cameras - and planning new travels. Travel is one of my other passions and often leads to new projects and photographs I can create. In the future I am hoping to combine the skills I will learn through photography with new places I hope to travel to, exploring and creating documentary work.

Over the past few years, I feel my knowledge and skills have been enhanced a great deal and I look forward to continuing to explore my passion for photography at degree level.

Studio Still life - Rusty Cog

I took this image using a large format film camera and Velvia 5x4 transparency slide film.  This photograph was completed as part of a studio assignment concentrating solely on this object. I was set the task of producing eight completely different images of this one object. I found this  project challenging as it encouraged me to develop my creative ideas and thought processes  to create new and original  photographs of one subject matter. The brief also pushed my boundaries of working with studio equipment and within a studio environment. I developed further skills in assembling new sets for still life and exposures for capturing this interesting object at it’s potential. This  photograph was  captured high key using soft box flash lighting and a studio  shooting table and the film was developed using E6 chemicals.

Portrait - Simone

This portrait was taken when I was experimenting with angles and focus using my Pentax ME 35mm film camera. The image isn’t completely in focus and this results in the soft blurred effect the portrait has. I feel  this gave the image a stronger overall finish and the angle makes the composition of the picture quite striking. I caught my subject off guard during a quiet natural moment. I prefer these  candid photographs in some ways as they are truly natural and can be the most powerful and personal portraits.  The film was  cross processed in E6 chemicals instead of C41 which gives the image warm colours and rich tones.

Documentary - Balcony, Italy

This photograph was taken as part of a series for a location project. I used my Pentax ME 35mm film camera and Fujifilm colour negative film. I feel the image is simple yet effective. I enjoy photographing the relatively ordinary or normally overlooked subjects. At first I used the picture as part of my developmental work, but recently found I was drawn to it again, I think mainly for it’s strong compositional quality and colour tones. It is part of a larger set of images I produced documenting items and rooms in and around the home of some of my Italian friends.  As with most apartment style homes the balconies contain some form of washing hanging – scenes I enjoy photographing.

Documentary - Cross and Rosary, Italy.

This photograph was taken using my Pentax ME 35mm film camera and Fuji chrome colour transparency film. I also cross processed the film at the developing stage, using C41 chemicals instead of E6 chemicals usually used for transparency film. This created the unusual and interesting colour tones and green effect to the finished photograph. I chose this subject matter after researching a lesser well known photographer called Jessica Hilltout who photographs documentary, travel and portraiture mainly. She travels to Africa frequently and after studying one of her projects I was influenced to complete my own documentary work and was inspired to produce this photograph.

Documentary - Graffiti Wall

This photograph was captured using my Pentax ME 35mm film camera and Ilford XP2 Super black and white film. This image is from one of the first rolls of film I used and I instantly found a connection with film and using film cameras. It has become one of my favourite mediums of photography and  I enjoy loading my film camera and being excited about the prospects of the images I will capture. There is a quality to film that I really like, in particular black and white film. It feels like getting back to basics, slowing things down photographically and creating each photograph before actually physically taking it. I shot this image in a small town in Italy I frequently visit. I used this work as part of a series of documentary images from the town, sand I feel this showcases one of the many places I found which where interesting and striking.

Personal - Lace Dress

I took this photograph as part of a personal on going project. I have been documenting personal items and places that mean something to me and form part of my identity to continually push my work and develop my skills. It has also allowed me to widen my natural subject matter and perspective. I captured this photograph using my Nikon D40 DSLR camera and produced an interesting, almost ethereal photograph of a soft pink satin and lace dress. The dress was hung on my wardrobe door which is a similar colour to the subject, adding to the soft focus. I used  the manual setting on my camera and due to low light in my bedroom at the time it was taken there was a slight camera shake and blur to the finished photograph. I found this added to the image, rather than ruined it and so using only slight alterations in Photoshop, to adjust the hue and saturation,  I produced this photograph which I feel is quite striking.

Portrait - Francesco

This portrait was taken in Santeramo in Italy. I completed this as a personal portrait of a group of friends that live there. I shot the photograph using my Nikon D40 DSLR camera, manual setting outside on a clear day to ensure the image was as natural as possible. I have both black and white and colour copies of this portrait but decided black and white suited the finished picture and I have always been influenced by portrait photographers such as Richard Avedon, Albert Watson and many others who keep it simple with this style of photography.

Documentary - Fairground Ride

I took this photograph for a personal project. I decided to take a series of photographs of a small fun fair that was visiting my town. I had recently studied the works and styles of social documentary photographers such as Trent Parke, Martin Parr, Nick Waplington and Gavin Watson. I used these influences (although not all had similarities with a project like this) to create my own set of documentary photographs. Martin Parr and Gavin Watson in particular documented movements and typically British scenes. This was  one of the most interesting from the set as I experimented with long exposure times creating the fast paced, blurred effect from the lights of the ride. I will continue projects like this  to develop the images I produce and the  exposures I can create. This photograph was taken using my Nikon D40 DLSR camera.

Portrait - Natasha

This portrait was actually taken using a studio kit at my home. I borrowed a full set of lighting, attachments and backdrops . I photographed my friend for a studio assignment and have decided to create a simple portrait, quite close up and I wanted to create as natural an image as possible. I photographed my model using a white backdrop and a soft box light to create a fairly low key yet evenly exposed portrait. I feel her natural stance reflects  the simple quality without making the portrait seem over staged or uncomfortable. I cropped the portrait slightly to improve composition and adjusted the exposure a little using the ‘curves tool’ in Photoshop. The portrait was taken using my Nikon D40 DSLR camera and studio lighting.

Studio Still life - Wooden Chair

This is another image taken recently as part of a studio assignment. I decided this would be interesting to photograph as I have taken inspiration from novels  written by Jane Austen and the Bronte Sisters. I have always enjoyed reading these books and watching films and dramas from these periods. I felt the chair should be photographed to present its full richness and quality of time and wear. The chair was photographed on a deep brown creased material usually used as a backdrop for portraiture. I used four separate lights to create this exposure. The chair itself is in a pool of light from  lighting with a snoot and small  honeycomb attachments to create the shadow underneath as it shone through the detailing in the seat of the char. The soft light towards the back of the photograph was created by a tungsten flash light with two pieces of card to create a small shaft of light bathing the background, simulating a crack in a door opening. The photograph was taken using my Nikon D40 DSLR camera and studio lighting.

Lanscape - Gravina, Italy

This photograph was taken for a location assignment using my Nikon D40 DSLR camera. I travelled to an area in Italy called Santeramo in Colle to complete a documentary of the area including landscapes, buildings and people. This particular landscape is a photograph of a nearby town called Gravina, which means Ravine in English. It documents the architecture and the way the homes were built onto the landscape. The image was captured around early evening time where the sunlight was low and cast lovely golden tones across the stone buildings creating a warm and relaxing quality to the photograph.

Studio Still life - Pomegranate

This is a photograph I took during my first year of the BTEC National Diploma Photography course I am studying. The brief included a still-life photograph of any chosen piece of fruit. I decided to photograph a pomegranate as I feel the vivid colour and unusual texture of this particular fruit is extremely interesting to study and I enjoyed creating this image. I used a sheet of Perspex to create the detailed reflection of the pomegranate, a tungsten light with a honeycomb attachment to create the soft pool of light and the exposure is low key to add a striking overall effect to the finished photograph. The image was taken using my Nikon D40 DSLR camera and studio lighting.