In today's classes we also walked around the campus to take portraits pictures using natural lights. I personally thought this activity easier than the studio practice. I tried to explore more in depth the settings of the camera such as Aperture, ISO and shutter speed and also composition concepts such as triangles and rule of thirds. Furthermore, I created a contact sheet using Photoshop. On this post I will share the photos and analyse some shots.
F 5 1/100 sec ISO 200 EXP 0
F 5 1/250 sec ISO 200 EXP 0
For this picture I tried to explore the concept of triangles. I tried to make the picture darker using the settings of the camera, so I opted to use a faster shutter speed
F 4.5 1/100 sec ISO 125 EXP 0
On this shot I used a high angle and tried to explore the concept of triangles. The first 2 triangles are formed by the space between my models shoulders and legs. I also tried to explore the rule of thirds to make this shot more harmonious.
On today's practice we spent time on studio training portraits. It was my first time taking pictures on a studio with artificial lights. At the beginning I struggled with the camera settings once the firsts pictures were too dark or too bright. After understanding the relation between Aperture, ISO and Shutter Speed the practice became more productive. On this post I will share the pictures I took and discuss some of them individually. I created also created a contact sheet with all my shots using Photoshop.
F 3.5 1/100 sec ISO 200 0 exp bias
On this shot I really liked the models pose and expression. It's a low key, eye level shot. I tried to make it look very dark as the model was almost disappearing in shadows.
F 3.5 1/100 sec ISO 200 0 exp bias
For this shot I used the same camera settings as the previous ones. I liked the composition and the optical illusion caused by the blend of the model's clothes with the background, resulting in an interesting surrealistic picture.
In today's classes we practice high and low angles portraits and camera settings such as Aperture, ISO and exposure compensation. We walked around in campus in groups and took portraits of each other, when we returned we created contact sheet on photoshop. To do so We open photoshop, clicked on file then automate and contact sheet.
After that I looked at the EXIF details of my images, I will explain in details some of the details and camera settings of the shots
F/ 4.9 Exposure time 1/1000 sec, ISO -80, Exposure compensation: -1.7
For this picture, I used an aperture of 4.9 and exposure time of 1/1000 sec, but to make it darker I used exposure compensation of -1.7. I took the picture in a middle angle. What I liked about this shot is the color palette and the hair covering the model's left eye.
F/3.4 Exposure time 1/10 sec, ISO -400, Exposure compensation -1.3
In this shot I used a 3/4 aperture so that there's a lot of light coming in, to compensate the excess of light, I used a Exposure compensation of -1.3. I used a high angle, and shot between the stair steps. I could have framed the picture better, but I liked the idea and the spontaneity of the models.
F/3.4 Exposure time 1/500 sec, ISO -80 Exposure compensation 0
|For this shot I used an aperture of F/3.4, so that there is a lot of light coming in, and there is no exposure compensation. what I liked about this shot is the sunbeam on the right and the shadows inside the building. The models pose and the his black clothe create a great contrast with the rest of the picture which is very bright and light.
During this term break had the opportunity to travel to Belgium and visit the Royal Museum of Fine Arts. On the way out of museum I came across a couple of photograph art works, one of them in specific got my attention and got stuck in my mind. It was Beginning and Ending by Roger Ballen.
Looking at Roger Ballen's works is a cathartic experience, it is impressive how those art pieces convey suffer, melancholic and pain, it immediately challenges the audience to reflect about the life and society. “My photos are not about my own psyche but about the archetype of the human mind. It is a very complicated theme because it is about the philosophy of aesthetics and perception" (Ballen, 2013). In a interview in 2015 to the Guardian Ballen also reffer to his photography as "a mirror of society". My photographs evoke the absurdity of the human condition, but they are also records of a personal psychological journey. For me, photography is a way of looking in the mirror” ( Ballen, 2015).
artdoc. “Roger Ballen | Shadow of the Mind.” Www.artdoc.photo, www.artdoc.photo/articles/shadow-of-the-mind. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024.
O’Hagan, Sean. “Photographer Roger Ballen: “I Can Live with Myself.”” The Guardian, 5 Apr. 2015, www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/apr/05/roger-ballen-outland-interview.
Ballen, Roger. “A Puzzle with No Solution: Roger Ballen’s Quest for Meaning through Photography.” Roger Ballen Photography, 24 Apr. 2018, www.rogerballen.com/articles/a-puzzle-with-no-solution-roger-ballens-quest-for-meaning-through-photography/. Accessed 14 Jan. 2024.
On today's classes we had to select a random subject. The Object i picked was Jean Paul Gaultier "Le Male" perfume can. I chose the object owing to two different reasons:
1- The sound. When I saw the can, I went straight away to it, it was one of the few objects available that I knew would have a interesting sound. I intend to record sounds made with the can and come up with a concrete piece of music.
2- It reminded me Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup can. I intend to create a photography/ concrete music parody called this is not a Campbell Soup can, referring to the Warhol's work.
Campbell's soup can
The idea of photography I have in my mind is inspired in others work of Andy Warhol. It will be nine different pictures of the can with slightly tones and colors variation. However, instead of vibrant colors I will use only black and white, to create a contrast with the original piece. I intend to use the final visual art as a cover of mine music. When it comes to the music I will write a concrete piece, recording the different sounds i can produce with the can and modifying then in the post production using both softwares and plugins in digital audio work station such as pro tools.
"Musique concrète is often described through the story of its invention: a musician experimenting with recorded sounds in a radio studio constructs senseless structures, with a radiophonic background, and at some point he considers this music; he then gives it a name and creates a group to work on and experiment with his discovery. The important factor is that he may use any kind of sound from any origin and, through sound modifications and sound superposition, he blends them together in a musical structure (which is actually not very different from cinema production methodology). He then attracts composers to work on his ideas and in the studio; the first and one of the most productive and original is Pierre Henry, then many others come to the studio to test musique concrète and experiment with its possibilities"(Teruggi, 2015).
In one article in 1957 Schaeffer, one of the pioniers of concrete music described the rules and tge conventions of the new genre:
"First postulate: Primacy of the ear. – The potential for development, along with the boundaries of any new music, depends on the capacity of our hearing.
Second postulate: Given the first assumption, a preference for real acoustic sources for which our ear has been long conditioned (especially refusal of an exclusive use of electronic sources).
Third postulate: Search of a language. – New musical structures must tend to ensure communication between the person who constructs and the one who perceives.These three principles apply to any attempt to renew the musical domain, and are in no way conditioned by any technical background.
Five rules also draw practical conclusions regarding musique concrète:
First rule. – Learn a new Solfeggio by systematic listening to sound-objects of any kind. The only needed capacity here is to know how to listen, although rudiments of technique (acoustic and electronic) are naturally likely to facilitate learning.
Second rule. – Create sound-objects: that is to say, practices the actual realisation of diverse and original as possible sounds, as opposed to the traditional act of writing on staved paper writings that correspond to abstract sign configurations.
Third rule. – Model musical-objects: that is to say, learn to use ‘devices to manipulate the sounds’ (not to be confused with musical instruments): tape recorders, microphones, filters, etc.
Fourth rule. – Before conceiving works, carry out studies; similar to the ‘school exercises’ of traditional music, they will force the beginner to choose among the variety of available resources and possible implementations.
Fifth rule. – Work and time, indispensable to any real assimilation."(Schaeffer Reference Schaeffer1967: 16, 29)
For this project, I do not intend to follow the ideas and conventions set by Schaeffer. Within time the concrete music has massively developed, and new artist redefine the genre,breaking convention and creating new sounds. My main inspirations for this project are artists such as Alex Buck, Jonty Harrison and David Berezan.
Licht, Alan. Sound Art Revisited. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 22 Aug. 2019.
Teruggi, Daniel. “Musique Concrète Today: Its Reach, Evolution of Concepts and Role in Musical Thought.” Organised Sound, vol. 20, no. 1, 5 Mar. 2015, pp. 51–59, https://doi.org/10.1017/s1355771814000429.
Schaeffer, Pierre, et al. In Search of a Concrete Music. Berkely, University Of California Press, 2013.
