Rationale

For me moving to Wellington was a big change in my life. Before moving here I had lived in the same house and had been surrounded by the same people my entire life. However even though Wellington is so new to me as a home I enjoy it. When looking at this assignment and the idea of 'belonging' I found that you don't really belong to a particular place, its the things you do and the people you surround yourself with that give you the sense of belonging you associate with these places. Therefore I have tried to communicate this idea in my photography, focusing on the way we inhabit a space and make it our own.
Using the different blending modes in Photoshop allowed me to also portray a sense of time and the passing of time in my images due to the opacity of the people. I found this adds to the photographs and my idea of occupying space as although we come and go, moving around in the image, the place we inhabit stays the same and will continue to be the same after we have left.

Finalising Ideas

I have decided to have 5 photo's in the final series as I feel it makes the series complete.

I have also decided to have the photo's in series all taken in the lounge. Although I am a little worried the photo's could end up a little to similar I think it reflects how we use the space in our flat a lot better as we are constantly in the lounge and spend a lot more time there rather than in our bedrooms or the kitchen. It is more communal and is the main space where we interact.

In these last two images trying to decide how much to put into the images and the brightness and contrast will be important, especially when getting them to all work together as a series.

I quite like the flow of the movement in the top image and the opacity in the curtain/window, I find this is what differentiates it from the other photo's in the series.
The window in the last photo is quite dominate as the photo's were taken and night and this is the only image that has black windows, although I feel it makes the photo seem a bit more busy and crowded I think it adds to the series as it shows the space in a different way.

These are the contact sheet's for the last to photo's in my series:
You can see the effects the different lighting settings on the camera have on the photo's in some of these images as I was playing around making sure I used the best one possible.

4thSeriesFinal



Last Contact Sheet

Photoshop Tutorial

As the technique for my final series uses the different blending modes a lot, especially with all the different layers in my photos, I have found using the different modes create quite different final images. I have been looking around try to get a better idea of what the blending modes actually do to my images so I can have a better understanding of what I'm doing.  

While editing my final series I found this video tutorial very helpful as he explains quite clearly and specifically what the different blending modes do when looking at light and contrast. I found he explained what the blending modes are doing to the black and white areas of the image quite well, helping me decide what blending modes will be most effective for my final series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik6MAbzlQ40

I also found another website (http://land8lounge.com/profiles/blogs/february-photoshop-tutorial) which explained the categories the blending modes are divided into in photoshop, which was also quite helpful.

 
Normal (default setting, no blending)
Dissolve

These blend modes deal with Darkening
Darken
Multiply (*mode of choice for eliminating white backgrounds)
Color Burn
Linear Burn

These blend modes deal with Lightening
Lighten
Screen
Color Dodge
Linear Dodge

These blend modes deal with Light and Contrast
Overlay
Soft Light
Hard Light
Vivid Light
Linear Light
Pin Light
Hard Mix

These blend modes deal are Comparative, inverting the base color
Difference
Exclusion

These blend modes deal with Color
Hue
Saturation
Color
Luminosity

Looking at Series

Looking at photograph's for series

I really like the colours and composition of the images in the last two photo's above. Don't know whether I should make series just in the lounge or include other rooms as well, although I quite like the continuity of the sofa in the images.

These images are defiantly working a lot better than the two below as the colour and lighting are more continuous throughout the different photo's.

Contact Sheet for the new photo's below: 

PhotoShoot#4

Where to go from here.

Well deciding on what approach to take for my final series of photographs I found these images from other photographers who have also looked at overlaying multiple images to create interesting yet also very different overall effects.  

I like the overlaying of different landscapes in this series and I also really like the colours used through out the series, I think it's very effective. 

Although these last two photographs by Jerry Uelsmann and Harold Edgerton are done with film and processes in the dark room I find the way they approach the layering of images very inspiring. 

Looking at my work so far:

I like the composition and colours in these two photos, and I think they are working well together as a possible series. I like the way the images are layered up on top of each other especially in the image on the right. 

 In these images I looked at adding myself to into the photo as well, as a way to show my relation and the sense of belonging I have with my flat.

However I think the images are a lot stronger with out me in them as they become more abstract and about my feelings which isn't working when I put myself in the image.  

 These photo's are continuing with the idea of looking at how my flatmates and I relate to the space around us aka our flat, and how we only occupy the spaces in our flat for a moment - the furniture and space stays the same while we are constantly moving around.

Looking at these photo's compared to the previous one (below) I don't think they are working as well. 

This is because: 

- I'm not doing anything in the photo, just walking around - looks set up

- Only one person in the photo, don't get the relation between people

- Too many people, I think it's ruining the effect

Although I really like the first two images I think this is just because they are more finished and work well together, and therefore for my series of images for this assignment I think I'm going to continue with the last images. I think the idea behind them is a lot stronger and clearer.


Here is the contact used in some of these images:


220311_ContactSheet

Editing.

Since one of the main editing effects I am using in photoshop is the Blending Mode, I found a quick link I can reference that explains what each blending mode is doing with the colour in each layer. Although it is not explained in terms of light and similar darkroom effects, it helps me understand what I am doing to my images especially when there are multiple layers.

http://www.freetimefoto.com/photoshop_blending_mode

Reflections

I noticed when taking photo's at night that I can create a similar effect with what I was doing in photoshop with the reflections of my flat in the windows. 

I like the composition of these photo's and the effect the lines create when they are reflected onto each other. I also like how I am included in some of the images due to the reflection, I find that helps make the viewer realise the image is a reflection.

I really like these photographs, however I am not sure these images quite fit with the idea of the assignment as I have not used photoshop.  

Never the less here are some of the photo's I took while experimenting with this. 

The lighting of these three are different as they were taken in a different room. 

Contact Sheet: 

210311 ContactSheet