The woman in the red dress - Istanbul

Interesting thoughts on visual culture and the protests in Turkey: here

Karl Blossfeldt Whitechapel Gallery Study Tour

I was surprised to find myself looking at photos of plants in an art gallery yesterday morning. I am more of a people person really. But I do love the OCA study tours, especially when they are ten minutes away from home, so this was irresistible.

The Karl Blossfeldt exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery is actually delightful.  It features over 80 silver gelatin prints of plants, which Blossfeldt used in his role as a sculptor tutor in Berlin, until his death in 1932.  The plants have been dramatically magnified with his home-made camera equipment and the result is surreal.  One of the wall texts describes the work as having “an unsuspected horde of analogies” as the result of “bracing enlargement”. These are not just botanical specimens but portrayed as almost tactile, sculptural objects, which forces us to see the plants in completely new ways. This is definitely art and not science.

In the words of Walter Benjamin, from his Little History of Photography:

“Blossfeldt reveals the forms of ancient columns in horse willow, a bishop’s crosier in the ostrich fern, totem poles in tenfold enlargements of chestnut and maple shoots, and gothic tracery in the fuller’s thistle…”

“When photography takes itself out of context, severing the connections illustrated by Sander, Blossfeldt, or Germaine Krull, when it frees itself from physiognomic, political, and scientific interest, it becomes creative.” 

The treatment is minimalist: neutral backgrounds to show the full, magnificent details of the structures with few shadows; diffuse lighting (possible from a window?) from the side to enhance the form; a mix of heavy contrast and low-key images, all printed at the same size.

The mystery is really what exactly were the photographer’s motivations?

There is a clear obsession here. Blossfeldt himself said:  "My botanical documents should contribute to restoring the link with nature. They should reawaken a sense of nature, point to its teeming richness of form, and prompt the viewer to observe for himself the surrounding plant world." 

We have a strong sense of the scientist in the way the plants are methodically documented. And we can see the influences of the photographer’s experience as a modeller in a metal foundry in his early years. Several of the images look like wrought iron or art nouveau jewellery. We also see evidence of heraldry, the German Cross and some examples of abstract patterning.  Some of the seed heads could be templates for alien animations.

The images are displayed in thought-provoking groups, allowing the juxtapositions to create new meanings – three twig stems become a pattern of their own.  Repetition draws the viewer in to consider the uniqueness of every strand and spike and saddle. The horsetail pictures are architectural and monolithic (Tower of Pisa-like) while the irises are soft and feminine. I could imagine these being sold to my wealthier contemporaries in a shop on Columbia Road – aesthetically gorgeous and unchallenging. Perfect for the stairwell wall.

The more I look at the images, the more pleasing they become – a really wonderful set and an inspiration to experiment more with macro and perhaps to detach/isolate objects from their contexts.  In the final room there were a few larger prints (maybe a metre high compared with most of the images being about a third of that size) and I would love to see more of these images at that scale or bigger.

Blossfeldt’s work also looks fantastic viewed en masse:

Some discussion points from the tour:

• Comparisons with Weston’s black and white pepper images (more curvy and sensual) and Georgia O’Keefe’s work (“she wouldn’t have those spikes though!”), as well as Darwin’s bird studies
• Rob (Bloomfield) suggested some of the prints may have been bleached to bring the highlights out
• Observations that some images were very “Paris Metro”; also described as “verging on ugly” and “spare”
• Why the particular image which was used to promote the show was chosen – it looks much more dated than some of the others.  It also has more contrast and a white background on the printed gallery pamphlet; we observed that the images reproduced in Amano’s book had been altered (sharpened and levels changed)
• Glorification of nature/idealism and if there was any religious aspect (eg like Goethe’s connections between observation of nature and the creator/God)?
• Tutor Robert (Enoch) asked us to consider how Blossfeldt achieved what he has and what makes a Blossfeldt so distinctive.   We felt that his skills and experiences (the combination of him being a botanist, sculptor, metal-worker with some Germanic sensibilities and a cultural shift towards Modernism thrown in) created a unique approach at the point of intersection (the ultimate in micro-nicheing!)
• Robert talked about a “cool objectivity” and a “deflective motive” making these images so unique and powerful
• We considered why natural forms interest and inspire us – Robert mentioned Bruce Chatwin being told by his physician “you need to view some distant horizons” in order to correct his eyesight problems
• Appropriation and modernism having “personality attached”
• Was there a sub-conscious sexual element with the curves and textures, phalluses and hollows?  Symbols of fertility and the emergence from dark to light
• We were encouraged to try making some of our own “back garden Blossfeldts” - Robert and Amano had already tried this and suggested it is a lot harder than it looks...

Portraiture at its absolute best.....

http://www.briandavidstevens.com/project/they-that-are-left/

A ten year project

War Veterans

All pictures taken on armistice day 2002 - 2012

"...They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them..."
September 1914)

from Laurence Binyon's 'The Fallen' (first published in The Times, 21st 

"They that are left..." : 'Remembrance' portraits

© Brian David Stevens 2002-2012

Waits/Corbijn '77-'11 - Schirmer/Mosel

We have, today, taken delivery of a cardboard box containing the most expensive book I have ever purchased. It is the result of a long term collaboration between my favourite photographer and my favourite singer/songwriter/musician.  I am afraid to open the box.

Here though is a wonderful article in Interview magazine by Alexandria Symonds:

http://goo.gl/zTGNC

Tom says of Corbijn: 

"We are very different men. He's, like, 6'5", Dutch, quiet, studious, controlled—almost like a doctor—and I'm jerky, impatient, corny, curious, spraying in all directions. But we are both trying to discover something we have not seen before. Anton pulls hats out of rabbits. He will draw all the color from your face, put you against a gray sky, and presto: you look like a gravedigger. We are no longer in Miami. We are in Siberia."

ON THE MOOD OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS: When I'm out making pictures with Anton, we look for places that look mythic, filmic, tragic, operatic, and places that, if you frame out that new car dealership, could feel like a place from an old-fashioned book or a battlefield, a dying town . . . or an alley that could be hiding the Boston Strangler. Or we look for long shadows and dead trees, so you feel like you are in Odd Man Out or The Ox-Bow Incident.

ON OIL STAINS: The thing about oil stains is that if you go back in the next few days and try to find them, they will be gone. So the photos, for me, are profound because they have such short lives. They are more like fingerprints, dead leaves, rain puddles, or the corpses of flies.

I will open the box but not just yet.

Old People Wearing Vegetation

I am SO in love with these photographs:

Created by:

http://eyesasbigasplates.wordpress.com/

An ongoing collaborative venture between Riitta Ikonen from Finland and Karoline Hjorth from Norway.

Project: How to learn

The brief for Project 5 is to look back at a piece of work I have produced, including any notes and blog entries.  I will concentrate on my Alcoholic – objective POV sequence. 

I have already included some reflections in the Exercise 7 post:

http://helendigitalfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/exercise-7-alcoholic-from-objective-pov.html

Feedback from other students and friends

“I really like this. Love the way you focus in on the bottle and then Matt's face, then back, in time with his thinking. It all looks too clean for an alcoholics flat, dirty bed clothes and unshaven would be more effective.”

“Lovely construction and framing. Whilst I don't know if Matt or his surroundings do really have to be slovenly, whatever Matt is drinking looks like it's coming from a pretty posh brand (!). However it could be argued that both his choice of tipple and his pleasant surroundings, show that alcoholism doesn't always conform to a 'type'.”

“I like the framing and composition. The depth of field used here, a little bit extremely in some shots, created alcoholic’s blurriness world to me, especially when the focus is shifting from the bottle on his face, very well done. For me the distraction point is too long, I mean as he is looking and listening to the sound of the phone.”

From Matt, the actor:

“I really like how this turned out. It was a pleasure to participate. I think the two clips with the phone ringing could have been spliced together a little more seamlessly, but that's more than compensated for by how well the clip from the front, where The Alcoholic picks up the empty bottle and the clip from behind tie together.

I like the lighting in the scenes from behind much better than the scene from the front. Much more depth.

I would have liked a very subtle soundtrack, but you would run into copyright issues, and it would be very hard to find something that added to the piece without being heavy-handed.

Overall, I give it a 7/10. Very well done, especially for your first effort at directing an actor.”

From Stuart:

“I noticed these two questions in your blog:

  Does anyone know if I can isolate some sounds (i.e the noise from manually focussing the lens) and fade them out in Final Cut Pro X?

  What exactly does this mean (from the course notes): "Where are the borders of perception drawn in each shot?"

1. That's the poor mic built into the 5D (I also use a 5D). You should be able to open the audio track in Final Cut and then cut out that section where you move the focus ring or, alternatively, just cut that audio segment so that it's still part of the audio track but can be edited separately without effecting the rest of the audio track. You can then lower the sound just for that segment. You can see examples of what I mean in the two attachments. In 2.tiff, I've cut out the segment I want to edit separately, but it's still part of the audio track. 

Personally, I'd remove the bad section completely and then add an atmosphere track over the top of everything so that the audience wouldn't notice where I'd cut that small segment. You'll work with atmosphere sound later in the course.

The mic on the 5D is omnidirectional so it picks up everything, as you can hear by your hand movements in the film. Buying something like a Rode VideoMic will help with this. You can also add it to a boom pole and still connect it to your camera. You can also record audio separately and then sync it with the film - that's when you start having some real fun and involve other 'crew'. :)

2. Which page is this question on? I can probably get a better idea of the questions then.

About your film… Although the editing felt a little jumpy, I actually though tit added to the atmosphere. It left me a with a bit of an uneasy feeling, which I think suited the film. I liked the way you also often balanced the frame by putting the actor on one side and the bottle on the other.

The focus jumps quite a bit, but that just takes practice. You could make life easier for you by increasing your ISO level. That will allow you close down your aperture and give you a slightly larger depth of field. By doubling your ISO level, you let yourself double your depth of field (because you close down your aperture to compensate for the extra exposure created by the higher ISO level). “

From Margaret:

“I think you've done really well with this sequence. I like what you said about the lens giving intimacy - it does.  The light is very good but it may help to tell your story of doom and gloom if it was a bit less saturated - not sure whether you can do this in final cut.  Re the camera sounds - my camera and lenses have a silent option which means you can't hear focusing etc but generally it is one thing you need to watch.  Sound is something you'll come on to later in the course and I find it can make or break a film and have spent loads of time learning how to make it better.  Back to your film though, I think you've created a good film.  It's a bit of an ice breaker to complete this one I think and now you're well on your way to the next!”

From Elisa Paloschi, FilmMaker Extraordinaire:

“I love it! Matt is hilarious, such a great actor, and I love your shots and sequence. You used your 5D, good for you!! I think the out of focus works really well here, where Matt is first rolling over. Super!

The only thing I can think of is that I'd like a bit more mystery early on. It could seem like matt is just sleeping and maybe sick. I really like how he picks up the first bottle and throws it down. I may have tried to find a way to introduce the bottle earlier, without really knowing what it was...

PS - just read now your comments of the film process, great points you make. You are a natural.

AS for this: does anyone know if I can isolate some sounds (i.e the noise from manually focussing the lens) and fade them out in Final Cut Pro X?

The short answer is NO. This is one of the biggest issues with the 5d, or most dslrs in general. The only way to isolate the sound is to use an external recording device. You could also try an external shotgun mic as well, attached to the camera. This will isolate the sound a bit - but the problem is you still can't change the levels and such.

It's hard work to think about sound and use a dslr at the same time. I know you want this to be great, but you are prob better off concentrating on the camera and the story, till you feel more comfortable with the camera and the editing program.

You might even consider working with a sound person. Anyone in your course live nearby and you could collaborate with each other?”

What did I set out to achieve?  

A convincing portrayal of an alcoholic in a few simple frames, carefully choosing the right camera angles to convey information and atmosphere.

How can I identify what I have achieved?

I can try to take an objective look at the film and how closely it matched my stated aims (and maybe some extra magic stuff that I hadn’t expected) and this proves that it is important that my aims are clearly set out in detail before embarking on the project.  

Did I achieve it?

Yes I think so – I kept the frames simple and was very clear about what information needed to be included. The story has been told. I also used specific camera angles and lighting to create the right mood. 

Improvements

The big mistake is that I left too much footage in of Matt looking towards the phone – it just went on too long and seemed unnatural.  Quite a few people have commented that Matt did not look like an authentic alcoholic but I am happy that he was presented like that – less clichéd and therefore hopefully more thought-provoking. I wanted the audience to have some empathy with him (hence my choice of camera angles) so they could really think about what it would be like to wake up and need a drink so desperately.  What has happened to him that his life is like that?  Who is trying to call him repeatedly?

Things I have learnt:

• In order to ensure I have achieved my aims, I need to be very specific about what they are in the first place.  Spell everything out, line by line – avoid being vague, even if that is tempting.
• The planning is essential. I actually thought when I started this course that the storyboards were going to be an annoying waste of time but they are critical to help me visualise and work through the best options and to keep me and the actor(s) on track during the filming.  
• Name problems precisely so I can work out a solution… eg “I need to see more of your head AND the room” so … I will pull back or change my focal length or move the actor … etc
• Continuity is important. I need to study clever devices and plan them in, rather than just getting lucky. I can use my sense of composition for this and make the most of the motion aspect.  Also: I mustn’t let the actors make random changes to the set that you might not notice until editing stage.  Again the storyboards can help with this.
• Directing and anticipating during the shoot is critical. The actors want to be told what to do, how and when. Explain what is required before each segment and be encouraging. I do have these skills – I just need to bring them into this process.

I was really nervous about using the 5D due to the focusing issues. Apart from the sound capture when changing the manual focus, I think this worked well.  I also bit the bullet and bought Final Cut Pro X – so far, so good.  I suddenly feel like a whole world of creative opportunity has just opened up to me.  My skills as a still photographer really will have a bearing on how I make films and I find that to be very exciting. I always struggle with lack of confidence causing inertia so this feels like a really positive moment.

Reflections

Is it better to struggle and improve your weaker areas or should you cut your losses and focus on your strengths?

I think it is essential to always try to improve weaknesses but this can be done in tandem with a focus on strengths. This is all part of the process to find my voice.

How can you ever really know what your strengths and weaknesses are?

By looking at other people’s work and by being ultra-critical of my own. Also by being very detailed in my vision and aims for each project and then critically assessing how closely I have come to achieving those aims and if my vision has been created successfully.

How do you know what you need to know if you don’t know what it is yet?

I know when I am falling short of creating something that I think is exceptional so I need to break down what elements are missing and how I can achieve them.

Who can you ask or where can you find out?

I am right at the beginning of this journey – I need to watch so many films and study like a madwoman.  I have a network of friends and other students to ask, plus my tutor and, of course, the interwebs!

How do you know if you have improved?

I know I have improved by comparing my first Alcoholic (subjective) sequence with this latest version. A lot of the improvement is to do with the camera (last time I used a compact) but I also found myself really using the storyboards as they should be. I now feel that I have a more experienced critical perspective from analysing films and generally learning more about this field.

When is it time to move on?

I spent far too long (almost a year) on just one assignment in my last module (People and Place) which I am determined to avoid this time around so I am not going to let myself get caught up on specific projects or exercises unnecessarily.  Once I have identified what I have learnt, and possible improvements, I think it is good to move on.

How to learn?

• Watch others
• Practise
• Share
• Reflect
• Study others
• Copy
• Compare
• Contextualise
• Practise more
• Ask
• Analyse
• Experiment
• Respond
• Be critical
• Improve
• Perfect...

Exercise: Alcoholic from an objective POV

This exercise is to record the same scenario as in the project 3 Alcoholic sequence but this time from an objective rather than subjective POV.

• An alcoholic alone in their home
• They look around an empty room
• Nothing interests them
• They notice a bottle
• They hold the bottle and unscrew the lid
• Something attracts their attention, they look round
• Nothing happens
• They look back at the bottle and pour themselves a drink

What information do I wish to draw attention to? I want the information to be simple: the mans wakes up and almost immediately needs a drink.  He has a lack of interest in anything except for making it through the rest of the day.

How do I want each shot to feel? We need to be close to the man so we feel his fuzzy hangover, his desperation, his annoyance at the phone ringing. It needs to be a bit claustrophobic.

Choice of frame?  Quite close up to ensure we cannot escape from what the man is going through and not too much jumping around, as this is a short sequence.

The storyboards

Close-up of the alcoholic asleep

He is now awake, siting up and looking around the room

View from foot of bed as he looks around

He finds the bottle and unscrews the cap

The phone ringing disturbs him

He decides to ignore the phone and drinks from the bottle

The sequence....

Alcoholic - objective POV from Helen Rosemier on Vimeo.

My reflections

This is the first attempt with my 5D and I decided to try the 50mm f1.4 lens, to add a sense of intimacy and some interest with the shallow depth of field. I know this is not to everyone's taste but I think it worked quite well for this sequence.  This is also the first time I have used Final Cut Pro X so the editing is very basic!

The first frame is a close-up of the face with the camera at the same level. I chose this so we get to know him straight away - a deep gaze at the sleeping man. 

He sits up and looks around the room a bit. I went for an over the shoulder angle so we have some empathy with his POV but not so much that it becomes subjective.  This leads our eye into the room but without us seeing very much as there is nothing that interests him.

We then switch to seeing him from the foot of the bed as he tries to orientate himself and find some stability.

Next he finds a bottle with some booze and the view is over the shoulder again so we can focus on the hands opening the bottle.  We see his profile as he listens to the ringing phone and then he takes a glug.

I wanted to convey the sense of him feeling rough and everything being rather out of control but also the repetitive, mundanity of his life.  Being close in and the hand-held approach fits well with this, I think.  

Matt got frustrated as I wasn't very good at directing him and he said he found it to be a difficult experience without knowing exactly what he was supposed to be doing so I really need to work on that aspect. I used to have a similar problem on still portrait shoots and had to really push myself to tell people how I wanted them to arrange themselves.  Matt suggested that even if I had told him to ad lib that would have been better than nothing.

Possible improvements

• The phone could have been ringing at the start and be the reason he wakes up. This would add some tension - the idea that someone (or lots of people) are trying to get hold of him 
• He could have opened his eyes suddenly and looked straight at the camera
• When he first sits up, I should perhaps have focussed in on the shelf on the other side of the bed with an empty wine bottle on it
• For continuity it may have been better to add in another frame with him in profile when he has first sat up before us going behind with the over shoulder view
• The switch from the POV behind him to in front from the foot of the bed isn't great and the light was a bit too bright for that segment
• I considered a wide angle from high up (top of a ladder) looking down so we could see the whole mess of his bed and he would be quite small in the frame but I thought it might seem a bit gratuitous

Questions

1. Does anyone know if I can isolate some sounds (i.e the noise from manually focussing the lens) and fade them out in Final Cut Pro X?
2. What exactly does this mean (from the course notes): "Where are the borders of perception drawn in each shot?"