Covert and Obscure(d)
MINDMAP
To identify different areas of my theme I created a mind map in which I discovered different ways in which I could interpret this title. I looked at different areas such as abstract or lighting photography however I also addressed portraiture and other types of transformations. Importantly my mind map helped me look at two different aspects one being public covert photography which I broke down into different areas but also this mind map helped me discover different ways in which to obscure portraits. These are both areas that I focused on in my later development.
My topic for my AS Level exam is 'Covert and Obscured'. This topic includes many different possibilities involving disguise, using shadows to create distortion and under-cover style photography - for example looking at individuals in society, their habits, rituals and social actions. This might include actions that people take part in in everyday life such as getting on the train or bus and the way in which individuals conform or do not conform to expected behavior in public.
To get an idea of what I wanted to do for my exam I decided to take a London bus and use an undercover technique for taking my images. I observed people entering and exiting the bus from the back of the bus creating CCTV styled photos.
To get an idea of what I wanted to do for my exam I decided to take a London bus and use an undercover technique for taking my images. I observed people entering and exiting the bus from the back of the bus creating CCTV styled photos.
Bruce Davidson
I have decided to look at Bruce Davidson for my artist research in my exam. He has looked closely at members of the public on the subway taking pictures of people getting on and off the train. Above are two images of his that illustrates his approach to photography well. The first image shows a male leaning out of the train window. Features that make this image particularly outstanding are down to the natural expressions on his face. The photo captures the individual who is at the time unaware of the image as he is staring in another direction. This therefore results in a more naturalistic photograph. For example the direction in which his head is pointed, the stare of his eyes and the position of the mouth combine showing the subject in an instance of concentration. Other factors however also add to the success of this photograph. For example the lighting in this image means that the background is out of focus and the foreground is in focus. The photographer also keeps the natural subway mood as the surroundings appear generally quite dark and rusty. On the other hand the second image is taken from within the train. It shows a woman standing near the train doors looking directly at the photographer. This photo is similar to the first as it captures the individual in a still which represents feelings as well as the possible movements and actions of the individual. Here the photographer has created a similar atmosphere to the first picture keeping a dark mood. This is accomplished via the lighting as well as the background which shows the sunset creating a dark silhouette over the city. The photographer has kept the theme the same across both images however captured the different moods of the individuals. The first individual appears to be curious whereas the second appears to be startled or discomforted by the presence of someone or something. The different moods of individuals is something that really interests me in my covert projects as I am interested in looking closely at peoples actions and feelings.
Sophie Calle
Sophie Calle is another photographer I have decided to research as part of my exam. Calle partook in an undercover photography project working in a hotel to inspect peoples' bags and belongings in their rooms. This was therefore a type of surveillance project as she used and photographed objects that determine the characters of the people using the rooms. These images work well due to the natural way in which she has taken them. For example she does not position the items in any way but leaves them in the environment as she finds them creating an unpolished image. However this creates a more accurate portrayal of the characters staying in the rooms. Calle has picked out specific items such as radiators and sinks as these are places were we leave items that can determine age, gender and wealth. Using these day to day items conclusions can be made about an individual. Items such as gloves and mobile phones, represented in the image in the very bottom left or different types of shoes (top middle), can help determine the size of individuals as well as wealth or lifestyles. This is therefore a very clever project as it uses the imagination of the viewer to determine what the person is like that Calle is photographing. This is another covert style project that really interests me as it uses individuals belongings to help the viewer predict their identity. This project also uses a covert style as it is undertaken in an undercover and secretive manner similar to that of a spying method.
Here are two surveillance task I carried out in public after reviewing the work of Bruce Davidson and Sophie Calle.
Bruce Davidson / Sophie Calle based work
1st experiment
2nd Experiment
Results of both experiments!
Here are my results for both of my 1st public experiments. For my first experiment I decided to use public transport as my starting point for a covert project. I used my local bus by sitting on the back row of seats in the middle. This view therefore allowed me a view of everyone who entered and exited the bus as well as people who walk towards and up and down the stairs. Therefore this position allowed me maximum coverage for everyone moving around the bus. The 1st image for example shows a women and her child entering onto the back of the bus. This allowed me to gain a picture of both people in motion. This image therefore captures a moment in which the boy is looking for where to sit and whilst the mum is overseeing the boys actions. The second photo shows a man preparing to exit the bus holding a white bag. This image therefore is similar to the first as it shows similar types of public movements within a bus. Movement is represented by the mans right foot which is particularly blurred and the look on the mans face represents different types of emotions. This is again similar to the final two images particularly in the last one where movement is shown again and the second last where the man is waiting to exit the bus. The second last image shows a man dressed in yellow which particularly results with him standing out from the rest of the public. The luminous colour brings attention directly to him however the look on his face isn't necessarily that of someone who wants to be noticed but instead shows a person acting in a manner in which he doesn't necessarily want to be noticeable.
This was therefore an experiment of mine just to get a feel for the types of people, places and atmospheres that can be created when conducting covert photography. One aspect i did manage to learn which let me down in this experiment was to be careful in creating a steady image on public transport!
This was therefore an experiment of mine just to get a feel for the types of people, places and atmospheres that can be created when conducting covert photography. One aspect i did manage to learn which let me down in this experiment was to be careful in creating a steady image on public transport!
Here are the best three results of my public experiments here shows pieces from my expedition around different areas in London. The first image shows a man behind a counter looking towards his desk. This photo works particularly well as the poster in the background add to the typical expectations of a public stand and this image captures the worker in a typical situation. For this shot I stood quite far back from the stand in order to attract as little attention to myself as possible. As a result of this the image represented a natural situation as the person was unaware of my presence. The second image shows a typical street performer from the streets of London. It shows a man wearing an ancient styled outfit holding a sword. These types of performers are very common in London so i decided to take a few photos of this man as part of my covert experiment. Unlike most of my other images this person doesn't represent emotion that can be found in other situations as it is part of his art to become completely still. This is however a topic that interests me as this style of artistic busking can be found in other forms. My last image chosen is a good example of another form of busking. It shows street performers in motion during a dance act. This is a very interesting image as we see the responses from people around the performers in the top left as well as the movements of the performers compared to their audience. The composition of this image particularly differs from the others as to fill all the members of the dance group into the photo i had to take the image from a slight angle. I then found that cropping the image smaller reduced unwanted distractions from the group but also the long fram mirrored the way in which they performed.
This was a second public experiment i conducted similar to that of the one I did on public transport. From these experiments I decided I am most interested in the faces of individuals and picking up different types of feelings, emotions and interactions.
This was a second public experiment i conducted similar to that of the one I did on public transport. From these experiments I decided I am most interested in the faces of individuals and picking up different types of feelings, emotions and interactions.
Dryden Goodwin
This is another artist I am have looked into as part of my research for my exam. Goodwin uses images and then marks on top of them to get to know the people he has photographed. This outlines personal features of the individuals allowing the photographer and viewers to better understand the person in his images. The patterns and lines create obscurity however the lines and markings at the same time bring out the features of the person therefore uncovering the mood and expressions of the characters. Top right shows a boy in which Goodwin has used his technique to apply to this image. Noticeably Goodwin has identified the round shape of the persons head and repeatedly used that as a baseline for the rest of his markings. They all tend to follow a pattern discovering all features of the face such as the nose, ears, eyes and mouth. This is different to the image top left which shows a older male. Here Goodwin has been less repetitive and the markings don't appear to follow as much of a pattern compared to the markings on the boy. This however seems partially to do with the persons age as Goodwin has outlined areas of this individual such as the top of the head in which ageing has occurred and Goodwin has therefore marked.
Dryden Goodwin Experiment
After looking into Dryden Goodwin's work I applied his technique onto a piece of my own.
After looking at Goodwin's photographic obscurity technique I enlarged an image from my original London bus photographs zooming into one of the people's faces that I saw coming onto the bus. I used this enlarged image to experiment with Goodwin's photographic technique using a scalper in order to create markings on the individuals face to get to know the person in the image. As a result I was able to learn the individuals features better as this involved me in the physical and emotional presence of my selected character.
|
I focused mainly on areas such as the cheeks, neck, collar, hair, ears and around the eyes and mouth. For the other areas such as the forehead i decided to leave plain to allow room for contrast. This therefore resulted in me creating patterns in places that I recognised shapes and different types of lines could be drawn. The image i chose really complimented my work as it showed a person looking away from the camera revealing the side of the face and shadows more clearly.
|
Further Development
After looking into Dryden Goodwin's work I decided to develop this idea into different digital and physical transformations!
Gordon Magnin
After taking my portrait images I decided to look at Gordon Magnin for my artist research into these transformations. Magnin showed to create simple but effective transformations of individuals faces. For example the first image above shows a bald man having had parts of his face copied, put into triangular shapes and then placed back on top of his head. This therefore fits onto the subjects head well as the size can be kept the same but also the clippings are taken from the same subject. This works very effectively in the first image as areas such as the eyes appear upside down and incorrectly positioned. On the other hand the second image shows another male in more detail. Here Magnin has taken square snippets from the person face and placed them back on top of his head. This therefore results in distortion of the face as areas are misplaced purposely however due to the skin being similar still works as one image. Both these images have used a similar effect however due to the organisation of the end result they both appear very different. This therefore has helped me understand that distortion of the face can work effectively and that outlining a particular detail can create more interest within a transformation.
I then decided to develop my obscurity project further by taking portrait images and later obscuring them digitally and physically using paint and photoshop.
Physical TransformationThis is my physical transformation which is a development from my obscurity based piece on Dryden Goodwin's work. Instead of using a scalper I decided to change my equipment to paint to obscure this image. I used a simple technique using the red coloured paint to outline the features face then using the blue to paint over the jacket leaving just the facial features of my model left. Finally I decided to use the brown/red coloured paint on the face to outline the shaded areas of the face then using the orange coloured paint to further outline the darkest areas of the face. This gave me an idea of how you can use different techniques to hide parts of a persons face and therefore create a covert feel as areas of the face become hidden.
|
Digital TransformationHere shows my first attempt at a digital transformation of a human face. I used both of these images as an experiment to test what I could do with a digital transformation of an image. For the first image I used basic enlarging tools placing one image behind the other repetitively. This in turn meant for a big picture however many of the faces were hidden behind one another until the last one was placed down. This was a very basic transformation however I decided to look at slightly more advanced ideas on my second attempt. I gathered all of my images together and placed them in one photoshop file. I shaped them all as best I could in the position of the persons head and then rubbed out straight lines allowing images behind to appear at the front. This resulted in a mixed collage with all the different images contributing towards one.
|
These transformations therefore show similarities to Magnins technique as I highlight particular details such as shading but also use copy and pasting techniques to create distortion.
Abstract Experimentation
|
|
|
|
Here shows two different mini-projects I conducted whilst my main focus was on my facial transformations. i used these experiments to add depth to my understanding of how obscurity can be accomplished. I primarily focused on lighting and used different objects to create silhouettes and shadows of patterns or objects. The images above show different items such as cut out clouds and leaves which I presented differently. I either tied the objects up to a pole or held them in front of the camera. This allowed me to discover different angles and move the objects around to explore different angles. Shadows were made effective by artificial lighting positioned either side of the objects and allowed for increased shutter speed reducing effects of motion blur. in hindsight still images may not have been the most effective way of representing this type of project but instead a pic motion clip or even a video may have captured motion of the items resulting in more interesting outcomes. I used these types of items to develop my understanding of different abstract ways in which to obscure objects however I kept my main focus on faces of individuals.
Wes Naman
I decided to look at Wes Naman for my obscurity project. Naman uses people in particular their faces as the main focus of his scotch project in which he obscures is subjects. He uses sellotape which he applies to the heads of his models causing the skin to stretch across the models' faces in different directions. By obscuring the face with sellotape Naman makes his subjects appear physically distorted.
These images show models having had their face distorted by sellotape. Here the photographer has positioned the sellotape to distort particularly the main features of both faces. This includes the nose, the cheeks, the mouth and the ears or forehead. As these are the main features of a persons face, distorting these parts in particular changes the look and potential identity of the person therefore creating an obscure and partially unrecognisable portrait. This is therefore a very different technique from other styles of 'obscured' photography as it uses simple techniques that work very effectively in actually distorting the shape of an individuals face.
|
The photographer has therefore chosen the areas in which he wants to distort before applying the Sellotape and has used artificial light to create a balance of light amongst the faces. This technique really interests me as a way of looking at an individual. Changing an individuals face can create a distortion of their identity and is an experiment I would myself like to attempt.
|
Here shows my response to Naman's work. I used his idea of distortion by Sellotape on different models some of which I distorted more than others. Throughout the images I made sure I looked at key areas of the face such as the mouth, eyes and nose as these are the immediately recognisable parts of the human face that create a persons identity.
This image in particular is one in which I am most pleased with. Here the Sellotape has successfully distorted the mouth and changed the normal positioning of the nose and left cheek. However this image works particularly better than the others due to my instruction to the subject to change the normal position of his eyes which partnered with the physical distortion created by the Sellotape. This therefore created a higher level of distortion than the other images as I included the subject to become more involved in his distorted character.
After going deeply into detail of the human face I decided to take a step backwards and rather than look at distorting the face instead look at public places and facial expressions. I combined my focus with faces and geared it towards an undercover approach to photography. As part of my research for this change I decided to look at Paul Graham and Caleb Kenna's work.
Paul Graham
I decided to look at the work of Paul Graham as part of my transition from focusing on faces to people in public as he photographed many people in public situations. Above show two images the first in which shows a man on a bridge looking into the sky and the second showing a man drinking in a pub. These photo's particularly interested me for different reasons. For example the first image which shows a man on a bridge opened me up to different ways in which people act based on the context of a situation. For example this image shows a person looking into the sky from a bridge which is quite normal as a bridge can be seen as a view point. However this sort of behaviour may not be normal in other situations for example in the second image. The second image shows a man smoking and drinking around a table in what appears to be a pub. This is however made perfectly normal as the context is a pub, a place in which these sorts of behaviours are expected. However If this person were to act like this on public transport people may become uncomforted by the situation. Therefore this artist research really interests me as it help me develop my understanding of how people act differently depended on where they are and what may be expected of an individual in that situation.
Caleb kenna
Caleb Kenna is another artist who I have decided to look at. After looking at Paul Grahams work I was opened up to different interpretations such as how people act in different situations. Here i have decided to look at kenna as it is particularly relevant to the types of settings I may find when abroad. The pieces above show kenna's work into markets and the people who move around and shop or work in these places. The first image for example shows a man on the streets holding what seems to be a type of cloth or cover however the most interesting part of this image is the look on his face and the items on the left representing what type of a stall he owns. This image is therefore a similar image to what I may want to represent on my trip abroad. The second image shows interaction between people from the public in what seems to be a market type of area. This image shows direct communication happening between the people and the image is made stronger by the different bright traditional colours and objects within the room or stall. This image is therefore a similar style of what I will be hoping to create with the different foreign setting and culture available to me. This artist research has helped me link my understanding between keeping my project personal as I wish to look at peoples interactions with their environment however this has also hope add a covert effect.
After looking at the artist above I decided to take my opportunity abroad to develop my project across a different culture. I was still maintaining focus on expressions as I believe this is what connects the viewer to the images as different feelings can be represented this way. I focused on people who were taking public transport, people from behind counters and importantly I photographed the cultural differences in Japan. I looked also at ceremony and ritual of the different culture as I found this created an obscure effect to the project due to the unfamiliar cultural differences.
I decided to split up my images for the different types of situations they created. I did this to stick to my idea of peoples changes in character when in different contexts something I discovered from my artist research. Importantly I also focused on the face of the people whom I photographed however rather than attempting to later distort them I hoped to gain a highly natural image looking at feelings and emotions throughout the public.
Markets & CountersStreet |
TransportLines |
Here shows all the different ways in which I split up my photographs for my exam piece.
Undercover Storyboard Investigation- Final Piece
Final Piece Breakdown
Here shows my final piece for my exam. I took note of the type of words said to give my documentation a more more interactive feel. I did this by using my memory of the situation and applied the key words which I had written down (on my mobile) or memorised to create a storyboard of my journey with speech!
1Here shows the first part of my covert storyboard in which my main focus was the airport. I looked at my previous work and decided to revert back to my original exploration of the public. I used a covert way of taking my photos which is here demonstrated by my photos on the plane itself of people around me. I wanted to ensure that those in which I was photographing had no awareness that I was doing so to create more natural results. This did result in me having to occasionally hold the camera at my waist therefore lacking my ability to accurately see what I was photographing however I overcame this by taking lots of images which I reduced down to much less. This part of my storyboard shows my expedition through the airport/plane and really demonstrated how peoples actions change due to their surroundings. In this type of situation people were very private and limited their interaction with people outside of their families or friends.
3This shows the third part of my storyboard. This slide tends to focus more on ritual that occurs within markets. Here big bowls of fire and steam could be found and people would use their hand s to get the smoke to pass through their body. This came across as a spiritual type of process in which many people were happy to interact with others even whom they had just met. People from different ages and gender also crossed paths and much noise consisted of laughing and humming or preying.
5This part of my storyboard focuses on public transport. Here I took images of the general public sitting down on trains or buses or pictures of authority figures such as ticket wardens. When reviewing my notes I found that there was practically total silence amongst people on the train. In fact it was seen as disrespectful just to be using your phone. This demonstrated a clear cultural difference. However when authority such as conductors and wardens were in the scenario this totally changed. The public became much more interactive involving themselves in conversation with the wardens as they bought there tickets to get on or off the train.
|
2Here shows the second part of my storyboard. This focuses mainly on people behind counters and others wanting to buy from those working. This situation created a very different response. The quotes demonstrate that the atmosphere was much more interactive as people leant over their stools to sell goods or offer you a product. Noticeably some individuals were more interactive than others for example the taxi driver appeared less interactive than the woman selling saffron (bottom right).
4Here shows part 4 of my storyboard. This part focuses again on ritual however In this slide I found different types of ritual produced different levels of social interaction. For example ritual demonstrated at the top of the board shows people using water to wash their hands and body. The water is often kept in temple styled cases and people tended to interact with each other when using this particular form of ritual. However this when ritual such as traditional silent preying shown in other examples (the lower middle row on the right) is performed a lot less interaction happened between the public and in fact it was seen as disrespectful.
6This part of my storyboard consists of peoples behaviour in lines within stations and airports. I found that very little interaction occurred between people within lines unless people were in some way related or friendly towards each other. However unlike earlier situations people would not get involved in deep conversations a drop an occasional hello which seemed to be triggered earlier by social activities such as different rituals. However this as I left the more public places of Japan and headed towards the more westernised airports interaction was slightly increased as it was triggered by staff and people behind counters.
7This is the final piece to my storyboard and shows the final part of my journey. It like the first slide shows sociability within the airplane which to begin with came across as relatively significant however died down whilst in flight. This appeared therefore to be a more private situation for people in which the public felt it awkward to impose the possibility for conversation amongst one another.
|
Overall my covert storyboard has picked up many different situations within a foreign country. This storyboard has demonstrated different types of settings and there affect on people towards one another. It seems this has been a successful way of investigating culture in a covert manner in order to create as natural a situation as possible. These tend to work well as a set and each different slide does however demonstrate different attitudes of the public towards the different context!