Unit 57: Photography and Photographic

Practice Research of other

photographers work

Ansel Adams

• I am researching Ansel Adams a famous environmentalist and nature photographer. He was born in February 20th 1902 as Ansel Easton Adams. He was also responsible for developing the Zone System, which he used to determine the exposure and adjust contrast on the final print. And also promoted the idea of Visualization, the idea of imagining the finished image in your mind before actually taking the picture.

Examples of photographs

• This is one of Ansel Adams photos it is in the Yosemite national park and is a picture of the half dome that is in the park, it is 4737 feet off of the ground,

• I think that the main feature of this photograph has to be the half dome, it is the largest and most prominent part of the image. k

CompositionIf Ansel had zoomed out we would have been able to see other mountains and some of the Other scenery in Yosemite Park. We would have been able to see trees and rivers and other mountain peaks. The decision to crop out or exclude some of the other scenery couldBe because he wanted to focus on the half dome and not the rest of the park. This means the message being conveyed was about the half dome.

Techniques Used

I think the shutter speed would have been fast for this photo to get the photo as Crisp and as clear as he could. He used the rule of thirds so that the dome was to the Left of the image.

In this image he again would have used a fast Shutter speed and also the rule of thirds to makeThe image more interesting and also because of How close he is to the man the size of himCompared to the rest of the image is a way of Showing that he is the focus. And also that in every Image that he does it is in black and white this beingAnsel Adams signature style.

Strengths and WeaknessesWhat I like is his use of black and white colour relying on the actual content insteadOf the colours to draw peoples attention, and also his use of the rule of three whichI think he uses in a way that because of the size of the focus of the image makes the Image even more interesting. I think a weakness though would be that sometimes the Black and white is not so effective in some of his images and I think if I tried to do mostOf mine in black and white I would lose the effect I was trying to create.

Timothy Allen

Timothy Allen is a photographer who has worked for the BBC and is a freelancePhotographer who focuses his work around Indonesia after a pivotal moment in hisLife when he went there to study, meeting an indigenous forest tribe. He also Became part of the BBC Human Planet team being the first photographer to be soHe was to journey round with them shadowing them and taking photos.

Photo Analysis

This is one of Timothy Allens photosHe uses lighting to make the image More vibrant and also to bring out the Smoke, which in essence I believe Makes the image what it is. For example He ignore s the rule of three to get the Image he is going for and also Because of the lack of light in the Background I think that it makes you Focus more on the central image.

Composition

I think that if he had zoomed out we would have seen nothing else because of the Fact it was pitch black this being the aim of the image in general so therefore there Is nothing to see other than the man and the smoke. The message being conveyedWas the central focus on the man.

Techniques Used

I think the techniques used in this would have to be a fast shutter speed to catchThe smoke as it is rising, and a low ISO to capture the effect he has.

Strengths and Weaknesses

I think the strengths of his photos is that he uses a fast shutter speed to get a Crispness to the image and also that he incorporates vibrant colours through The image and also uses a lot of people in his images mainly as they are the main Focus and source of his images. I think the weaknesses though is that because Sometimes in his photos he has multiple people it takes away a focus meaning thatYou cannot appreciate the image as you are too busy trying to look at everything.

Pascal Meunier

Pascal Meunier is a Paris based photojournalist and Documentary photographer. He works mainly in the arabAnd Muslim world, reporting on culturally different placesSuch as Yemen, Iran, Libya and Egypt.

Photo Analysis This is one of Pascal Meuniers photos, I Think that he uses light and the lack of it Effectively here to bring out the coloursAnd where he wants to focus your Attention, furthermore the colours that heFocuses on are the lights, walls and water.The man being the first thing that is Brought to your attention. And he is stoodWhere the center of the photo is based.He uses the rule of three in this photo Also.

Composition

With the composition of the photo if he had zoomed out or showed more what we Would have seen would have been the rest of the bath house, furthermore I think that If he had zoomed out though it may not have been as good as a photo as it was as The rest of the building may not have been suited to the photo and by focusing on thatPoint it made the image more engrossing. Instead of making you look at everything Else.

Techniques Used

The techniques used in this would have been a quick shutter speed, the rule of threeAnd he has also used a cold colour to make the little colour there is stand out more, Through the use of colour balancing.

Strengths and Weaknesses

I think using the colour balancing to get the effect of hot and cold colours and also This would be useful in getting the mood of the photo but I also think that this dependsOn the style of the photo they would want to have taken.