Assignment Five - Structure of narrative and reflections

Please see here for the final narrative that I produced for Assignment 5.

Structure

In this section I will explain how it is structured (following the structure recommended by Freeman):

Keyshot:

Image 1

This was my dream shot that I had planned and desperately hoped for: a puffin portrait with sand eels in its beak.  I was so pleased to have captured it and was thrilled with the detail of the fish, the almost transparent lighting in the fish tails and the texture of the puffin's feathers.  Unfortunately the light was behind the puffin, so I didn't catch a glint in the eye; the picture would have looked strange if I had added one later, so I have to live with that.  I used this shot to form the cover for the magazine, as I think this has the most impact of all the shots I took and would make someone want to read further.  Although I had originally cropped the photo I wanted to square format, I ended up extending it in the document I made for the narrative.  This image (the square version) is getting printed, framed and hung on my wall!

Openers:

Image 2

I had several opening shots to chose from, ranging from meeting Andy to being on the boat, but I had to be restrained due to the limit on 12 images.  I really needed something to get the narrative going so wanted to include the start of the journey.  The lighting in this shot isn't great - it's pretty flat - but I liked the composition of the image with the curved queue of people approaching the boat and the curve of the boats behind.  I cropped this to square format to exclude some divers on the beach that were a distraction in the photograph.  I retained the rocks in the top right corner as this is the corner of Marloes Bay so it adds a bit of context to the scene.  

Image 3

The next two pictures are a logical progression.  For Image 3 I wanted to show the "Welcome to the Island" moment.  I like this image, although again, the light is a bit flat, but there is a good triangle with the three people listening in the foreground and a further triangle between the listeners and the trust person.  In addition, the photo also shows a map of the island so setting the scene of what is about to follow.  Although I like the composition of both Image 2 and Image 3, these are the weakest photographs because of the flatness of the light.

Image 4

There were several stops for workshop activities during the morning.  Again, due to the restriction on 12 images, I had to limit this to one photograph.  I chose this one that was taken during the "landscape" part of the tuition, as it shows a clear fore, mid and background to the landscape in sufficient detail.  Andy the tutor is demonstrating the correct way to hold a camera, and the scene overall gives a good picture of what Skomer Island looks like, which becomes lost in the close up images of the puffins.  I also liked this because of the good colour contrast between pink and green.  By this point the light was very good and clear shadows are starting to appear in the images.


Body:

The body of my narrative is all about the puffins.  This was a challenge, picking photos!  I tried really hard to be objective about the quality of the photo itself; a hard task with such an endearing subject!

Image 5

Image 5 was a natural choice. I wanted to set the scene of the cliffs where the puffins nest, an area known as "The Wick".  This photograph is therefore the opener to the body, introducing both the location, the puffins and the fact that the puffins are comical.  The light is good in this image, with a strong shadow formed by the bird's stretching wings.

Image 6

Having introduced where the puffins nest, I found that for image 6, I was able to provide some natural progression and show a puffin in its nest. I took a few shots like this, but this was by far the best showing the full face of the bird.  I ended up cropping this to square format for the narrative document, but I do prefer the landscape format which shows a bit of green around the burrow.

Image 7

Having introduced the burrow, this gave me an opportunity to position image 7.  This wasn't a shot that I'd planned; I was watching the puffin with the fish in its beak snapping it as it went to its burrow, and I didn't notice the other two until later when I looked at them on my laptop.  There are two implied lines in this image - one from each of the watching puffins to the fish.  You can image this to be about puffin "food envy"!  Again, the contrast between light and shade is good in this shot.

Image 8

Image 8 was a more deliberate attempt at composition. Having had the reminder from Andy, I took this opportunity to capture a puffin stretching its wings, positioning the puffin on the left third.  This also gave me a chance to capture the horizontal lines of the pink campion, which I blurred in order to isolate the puffin.  The lighting in this image is quite harsh, but I think the blurring helps soften it.

Image 9

Having commented on the colour of the flowers, I was then able to comment further on colour relating to the puffin bills and their seasonal colour (like flowers), and also bring in some puffin behaviour as a point of interest.  I had to underexpose this shot to avoid burn out on the white feathers.  I had to crop this to square format for the narrative document, which I think works quite well as it really narrows in on the beaks, but I also like the landscape format of the original


Closers:

Very reluctant to leave the puffins behind at the Wick, I was pleased to find more resting on the cliffs back by the boat jetty at the end of the day.

Image 10

Image 10 provides a clear "two points" image.  Again, hard to photograph because of the harsh light, I am pleased with this shot.  The birds have adopted virtually the same pose, but are slightly, misaligned.

Image 11

Having brought the narrative back to the location of the jetty, I needed a shot to show leaving the island and thus closing the narrative.  I shot this because I was interested in the geology, but in the end I found it quite useful to show as a looking back to the island from the boat leaving.  It is also an example of horizontal and vertical lines in the frame.  In the Photographer's Story on pages 22-25, Freeman suggests that many narratives tail off, but remember the skeleton he shot for the Stonehenge article, and how the closer he wanted introduced a new subject, I thought this would be good to mention the end of my narrative, but introduce a further subject for a possible new one.  It also gave me the opportunity to refer back to the flowers, making the point that I'd gone in search of puffins, but actually found plenty more.

Finally, to round off the article, I wanted to include one more puffin portrait.  I didn't want the article to tail off...rather... it should end with something striking to show what a fantastic day it had been.

Image 12

Image 12 shows red/orange accents in what is mostly a green, black and white scene.  What is interesting though (which wasn't deliberate - I realised afterwards), is that if you lay out the pages of the narrative document, the image 1 and image 12 are like bookends facing each other (like Professor Yaffle from Bagpuss!).  Having made the bold statement of loving puffins, I needed to end on something stunning.


Reflections

Have I fulfilled the requirements of the Assignment?  Eventually, yes.  It took a while to get there trying different forms of presentation, but finally I did produce an article that could potentially be used in a magazine, with a keyshot to use on the cover, a beginning, middle and end providing the narrative, and an image to end the article on a fanfare.

Would people be interested in or want to read the article?  I think so, but then I'm biased!  Who wouldn't want to see pictures of puffins?  This of course is subjective, but I managed to include some scenery, facts about the puffins, and some shots of their comical behaviour, so I hope I've made it interesting on several levels.

Assessment criteria:

Technical and visual skills - I think I demonstrated quite good technical skills with managing the harsh sunlight (in Wales?) and potential burnout from the white of the puffin, using a wide aperture to make the puffin stand out, and compositions that are simple but effective.  As far as visual skills are concerned, well, I was spoilt for choice.  I tried to keep myself low (getting very dusty in the process) so as to make the puffins bigger in the frame, and I sought elements of composition/colour contrasts previously covered on the course to make the images more striking.  I also tried mostly to take pictures of the puffins doing something.  The harsh lighting was something I had to cope with.  Puffins are very active; they are constantly on the move, or they are sitting in places that are difficult to get to, so I couldn't control the position of the sun.  I had to move with the puffins, rather than move around the light.

Quality and outcome: I think this is my strongest assignment to date, although that may be a subjective view, because I enjoyed doing it so much!  But, all the photos produced are in focus and clear, I hope correctly exposed, and I think the narrative flows quite well as a document in its own right.  Where it is weaker is in the body, where I tried to make a logical sequence out of what were the best puffin shots of the day; these could have been in any order really, but I tried to move from cliffs, to burrows, to composition, to colours in a coherent way in order to construct some progression through the narrative.

Demonstration of creativity: I did hardly any post processing at all - mostly just increasing the exposure, where I had underexposed to avoid burn out, which then needed brightening afterwards.  The cropping to square format is quite creative - I think this worked particularly well with Images 2, 3 and 9.  Otherwise, apart from the use of wide aperture, and trying to get level with the birds, I'm not sure these photos are particularly creative; they are not original - thousands of people have taken images like these; my original inspiration was in fact someone else's photograph of puffins with sand eels in its beak, but this was new to me, and the first time I had done any wildlife photography - and I think I am hooked!  Although accidental, I think Image 7 has turned out the most creative, as you could almost imagine a story around this, about stolen fish may be!

Context: the context for this assignment is clear.  It is a narrative about a wildlife photography day, which also provides factual information about a beautiful location and its inhabitants. 

Mostly, the narrative had progressed as I had imagined it would beforehand; the only element I left out was the reviewing - because we didn't get to do that on the day, this being an activity reserved for rain.

I really enjoyed this exercise, from first thinking about it, to taking the images, to reviewing the images afterwards.  It was a fantastic day out and I would love to repeat this.  I didn't get the hang of capturing puffins in flight - they move very fast - so I would go back to work on this.

Assignment Five - Applying the techniques of illustration and narrative

The Photographer's Story by Michael Freeman

I managed to get a copy of The Photographer's Story by Michael Freeman very fortuitously about two weeks before I was due to take my photographs for TAOP Assignment Five - illustration and narrative (thanks to the author advertising its existence on Facebook!!).

Freeman explains the basic principles of a narrative - 3+1 and also describes different types of narrative.  The 3+1 means opener, body and closer and the 1 refers to the keyshot - the shot with the highest impact.  Essentially, a photo essay is like any other, it has to have a beginning, middle and end, and the beginning has to be sufficiently interesting to encourage the reader to continue.  The keyshot, being the most dramatic, might often be the one used as the cover picture, if relevant to the article.

Freeman describes the various types of narrative, from photojournalism types including travel, location, activities, projects and food.  In addition, he explains how the rhythm of a narrative is important. 

The examples Freeman provides of narratives he has created are extremely useful, and I imagine I'll need to revisit this book throughout my OCA courses.

Assignment Four - Applying Lighting Techniques - Corrections

Following feedback from my tutor and some rethinking about my images, here is my revised selection for Assignment Four:

Colour 1

Colour 1

Shot in the park in strong sunlight; the pink is effectively contrasted against the green with the sun light bringing out the full colour of the geode.









Colour 2

Colour 2

A mixed media shot, using a previously taken photograph as a background scene.  The pink colours on the mountains from the setting sun support the colour of the back of the geode.









Form 1

Form 1

Shot overhead using side lighting from a table lamp to enhance the curved shape of the back of geode.

















Texture 1

Texture 1

Shot using side lighting and black background paper, this image clearly emphasizes the texture of the back of the geode.















Texture 2

Texture 2

Taken in side-lighting from natural window light; this image emphasizes the shiny surface of the flat plane of the geode, helped by the reflections of the lighting that fell on the paper.















Texture 3

Texture 3

Macro shot of the interior of the geode showing the inner crystalline texture; this was achieved using a macro lens and shining a table lamp and a little LED head lamp right into the centre, to bring out the crystals all the way into the back.







Shape 1

Shape 1

Taken using side-lighting from a table lamp, which has picked out the shape of the flat plane of the geode with the side shadow further supporting the concept of shape.









Shape 2

Shape 2

The second shape shot was taken by trying to catch strong rays of natural light coming in through a bedroom window.  This shot was underexposed by four stops and used a very narrow aperture so that only the shape of the tip of the geode was picked out.

A narrative picture essay

Set yourself an assignment and produce 5-15 photographs to illustrate the narrative.  Well, I was BLESSED with the opportunity to participate in and photograph a helicopter expedition with some National Trust rangers transporting rocks and boulders in the Lake District for some Fix the Fells path repair work.  This event was actually for the purposes of producing two of the photographs for my sequence for Assignment Five, however I was also able to capture this mini narrative in the process.  My focus in this sequence is around the helicopter itself (obviously there were two runs, so I was able to photograph the helicopter both inside and out).  The people in the red jackets are the NT rangers. The photography on this day was very hard, the helicopter was very dark and the light was changing constantly.  I took around 2000 pictures for the two that I needed for the Assignment.... I also used this as a gratuitous opportunity to practice with my fish eye lens :-)

My original selection was 28 photos long, showing the journey there, the journey back, and a bit of helicopter doing its job.  It was quite hard to narrow this down and decide what wasn't really necessary to the narrative, or what had already been conveyed in a different photograph.  In the end I cut back on some of the shots of the helicopter getting up and down as once it was off the ground, it was obvious it was off the ground!  I ended up with a few more than specified, but I think these are all essential.

BIG BIG THANK YOU to Tanya Oliver and the National Trust for letting me join them on the two days of helicopter drops!

Here is my sequence:

 

Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition in illustration is described in the learning text as the putting together of two objects so as to suggest a relationship.  The exercise required making a book cover illustration using two or three relevant elements showing a connection or relationship.  I elected for the viewpoint option maximising my wide-angled lens with perspective.

Meet "The Woodsman"!  The juxtaposition of the wooden sculpture with the focus on the axehead with the trees in the background shows a connection between what could very well be a mythical character, his environment and his tool in hand. 

Symbols

The idea of this exercise was to think of symbols for concepts and explain how you would use them in a photograph.  The brief was not to specifically take photos, although you could if you wanted, however, I wanted to find photos I had already taken to see if I could apply some context to them.

Growth

Growth can be viewed positively or negatively - for instance the growth of a new shoot is a positive symbol - the growth of an urban city might be viewed negatively, for example.  Which symbol you used would depend on whether that the context you were trying to illustrate was beneficial or detrimental.  Thinking back to recent photos I have taken, I found this which I think illustrates growth from a positive perspective, being the new shoots of spring:

Excess

Excess generally has negative implications.  It is used to describe a situation where too much of something has happened, beyond the point of being beneficial.  A situation I was in recently was a traffic jam on the M25 caused by an excessive number of people trying to get past the Heathrow junctions:

Crime

I imagine that crime will always conjure up a negative image - I can't think of any situations where crime is beneficial.  I certainly don't have any photos of crimes being committed and not sure I want to take any either.  Because of the very nature of crime - i.e. not wanting to get caught, a deliberate crime photograph would probably take place after the event - i.e. evidence of action.  I'm not sure I've got any of those either, but imagine such images might be a crime scene photographer for the police photographing a victim, or a burgled house for example.  But you could also take this one stage further and think about crimes against society, e.g. Banking scandals, or crimes against humanity, e.g. despotic acts and terrorist acts.  One photo that I took recently was during the Margaret Thatcher funeral at St. Paul's showing a protester; it's not a classic view crime, but this chap obviously has a problem with the way Thatcher ran her government:

Silence

Silence for me immediately conjures up scenes of tranquility, calm, peacefulness.  Silence could also have a negative connotation, e.g. if you were in solitary confinement, but I have happy memories of silence, and particularly think about landscapes with negative space:

Poverty

Symbols of poverty could be all kinds of things and will usually be unpleasant e.g. hungry children, people begging in the street, squalid living conditions and so on.  My symbol of poverty is the Big Issue building, juxtaposed against lavish living conditions - creating a contrast between rich and poor: