Shoot 8 - Work Diary

In this shoot I attempted to improve upon the previous shoot due to the fact that some of my straight images ended up being grainy due to my ISO levels being too high. However this time I tried to keep it as low as possible depending on the lighting in the image, when the area was well lit I could go as low as ISO 200 but at other times where it was darker I needed to increase it to 400-800. After solving the issue in my last shoot I decided to explore and experiment with Brassai's style of photographing at night and specifically dark streets which have an aspect of mystery due to the lighting. Here I travelled to Picadilly Circus and Soho which is are stereotypical for tourists and therefore allowed me to explore culture as well as Brassai's technique. 

I feel that this photograph captures the essence of Brassai's style and shares many similarities with his work. Alike the Hungarian I have photographed a very dark scenario with minimal light. It depicts a dark dingy alley/street where buildings fall either side of the frame. There is light coming through the windows to the left which allow more to be seen in the composition. There are many lines in this photography mainly in windows and architecture but the most obvious line is the one consisting of many floor reflectors which travel up the centre of the composition and comes to a stop in the middle of the frame. This provides a sense of depth but also suggests danger and mystery through the fact that they lead in to the darkness. What lies in the darkness is unknown and creates suspense which is quite unnerving. 

This photograph works very well as it explores class and status. It is set in the back store of a shop where two men are seen to be staring their night shifts. I really like the gritty atmosphere created by the pure white light in the dingy setting. When editing this photo I ensure to lower the saturation levels in order to increase the grittiness of the photo which enhances the class of the subjects and conditions that they're in. The subjects stand out quite well through the fact that they're placed in the centre of the frame as well as they fact that the majority of the composition is colourless whereas they're in green tops which allows them to bye seen. This still isn't considerably bright and is in fact still rather muted, contributing to the overall gloomy and dim feel.

Progression

 In my next shoot I would like to photograph photos in a way that includes multiple images in one, for example I could use a technique I tried earlier on in the project where I photographed  a phone which depicted the surroundings. I could also photograph the mirrors of a car at night and even experiment with longer exposures.