This shoot was very eye opening for me for many reasons and thoroughly found it interesting. I decided to shoot at night after thinking out the statement 'the city that never sleeps' in regards to London. Despite the difference in time of day I believe the only thing that changes is the light. However the atmosphere in some places at night comes more dingy and eerie. After taking some photos in an arcade at Brighton I really liked the effect that artificial lighting had on the outcome. So therefore in this shoot I wanted to specifically explore lighting from street lights and shops and the surroundings and the effects they have on the image. In the shoot I still encorperated the candid style by photographing people on the streets and specifically in shops, cafes and restaurants. Also I experimented with Dryden Goodwin's technique of photographing people at night and also on transport, and ultimately forming a connection and sense of intimacy with the subject. In this shoot I used the same 55-200mm lenses as well as keeping the f stop at its lowest setting in order to gain a shallow depth of field. However I faced a problem with this shoot as a few of my photographs have turned out particularly grainy and some of the quality is lost. I later identified and realised that this is due to having my ISO levels were too high as I was trying to enlighten the image whilst keeping the f stop low in order to keep the shallow depth of field. This was a learning curve for me as I now understand camera settings better specifically in low lighting scenarios. Overall I feel that this shoot was very effective through the connections and intimacy made with the subjects as well as the street photography and dramatic lighting gaining a similar effect to Brassai. I Specifically like the neon light from shops.
I feel that this photograph is one of the most successful outcomes from the shoot. I regard it as a very meaningful and intense piece through the identity of the subject. He is in fact a homeless man who was on the streets of London begging for help and I feel that this photo depicts his desperation very well. In order to ensure that he stands out I used a low f stop to create a shallow depth of field. The way the camera singles him out creates a strong intense connection with him on an emotional level due to the recognition of the standard of his living. When coming across this man I felt that the way that the white shop light fell on his face had connotations of positivity and hope for the man. And the way that he is looking slightly up seems as if he is on the up and seen the light at the end of the tunnel. This interpretation is very positive and turns the scenario into a good situation. However his desperation is still noticeable, and the way I edited the photo creates a dark gritty atmosphere. I increased the curves and contrast of the piece whilst lowering the saturation levels in order to make the colour scheme duller. It could be considered that the green in his hoody can contain connotations of jealousy but this is a minor relevance to the piece. I also feel that the contrast between the wealth behind the branding and logo on the hat of the conglomerate Adidas with the poor state of the man is very deep and works very well.
I also deem this photo as effective for a variety of reasons. First of all I really like the feel of mystery and loneliness created through the darkness and style of lighting produced through the street lights. I ensured to have a higher f stop in order to have a longer depth of field which allows for more things to be in focus in the composition. Line is a very dominant formal element here, specifically through the lamp posts and light which also imply perspective with the way they get closer together as they get further away. This piece can be related to the work of Hungarian photographer Brassai as I intended to use a similar approach of photographing streets during the night, using the natural dark lighting in order to create very mysterious and intense pieces. In order to create a stronger connection to his work I could of made the photo black and white.
Progression
In my next shoot I am going to do another night shoot and attempt to make the photographs less grainy by experimenting with the camera settings. Also I will attempt to show more of an influence of Brassai's work by photographing dramatic lighting and streets.
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