These photos are from my final idea photoshoot and my final choices of the selection which will be used. For this photoshoot I aimed to capture mainly objects and possibly places that are falling into decay that people hardly ever notice. Some of the concepts I really wanted to include in the photos was rusting materials, peeling paint creating a texture of different colours, breaking down buildings that are no longer occupied. I really wanted to capture the atmosphere that photographer Marthew Merrett does in some of his photos such as vast abandonment and loneliness making the place seem eery and creepy. His aim which I was inspired by was to capture places that people never notice, before they disappear forever in the development cycle.
This photo i thought captured the idea of danger as a result of decay. I like the idea of this although i don't think the photo is the best of being interesting or unique, it appears as just an average photo of s sign. I like some of the texture from wear and tear on the sign, also some of the colours of the wall including the growth and roots spreading over the top. There is also the side of a person to the left of the photo, which was not actually intended but I thought it made quite a good concept of the person looking down at the sign making them aware. I like the idea of this photo. In the end, I decided to use this photo in the final project. Although may appear as slightly plain, I liked the idea of having old signs and thought it would help make the final selection of photos more unique.
At first, I thought this photo might be a bit plain but after coming across it again I was really pleased with the result. Firstly, I really like the strong colours in the photo, the rock which could act as the 'background' to the subject is not distracting and has a distinctive blue colour which appears smooth. This really helped presenting the rough, rich textures and brown colour of the rusting chain making it stand out more. I think this photo captures 'old industry' quite well too. The sand and small stones in the rock also help to tell that the subject was at the beach. Lastly I was also happy with the angle I took the photo at, the chain passing from one side to the other exactly through the centre of the middle horizontal row thinking of the rule of thirds. In the end I did not use this photo, I actually was really happy with the colours, although it didn't seem as interesting or eye catching compared to the photo of the chain I selected.
This photo was the same idea of the chains, but from a different angle. It captures the setting around the subject, but it doesn't really take notice of the decay and just looks like a bunch of chains running across the floor making it pretty ordinary. I didn't use this photo in the end as it appears slightly boring to look at, and also doesn't focus on the decay of the chains unlike the other photos.
I was very happy with the result of this photo, which I used macro mode to capture. As a result of this, details and rusting textures of the chain are very sharply in focus giving a brilliant presentation of the decay and wearing. As I used macro mode, there is also a very shallow depth of field and therefore everything was out of focus surrounding the subject, I was pleased with this as you can still make out the surroundings, also some other chains heading in the same direction making a good concept. What I was really also pleased with was the composition of this photo, firstly the close up angle taken 'along the chain' creates a strong leading line and also really capturing the repetitive pattern of the chain. Overall I was really pleased with the result and I will use this photo in the final selection out the 'chains' experiment which are the several photos here of chains. In the end I decided to use this photo as I was truly happy with the strong texture and detail; the focus of decay and rust. There is also a unique leading line created which makes it stand out.
This shot of the chains had some interesting detail i thought, the photo being completely filled with a mix of chains and pebbles, also sand. It has a unique concept of all the chains running though the photo, also capturing the fine details of each individual one. There is a nice mix of colours, which included the dark browns with a red tint on the chains over the varying colours of the pebbles. I did not use this photo in the end, although there's some good different colours of rust, there's quite a bit of distraction from the pebbles.
In this photo I wanted to show how the chain starts to disappear into the sand, giving the idea that it's something no-one really takes any notice of. The chain can be easily seen in the sand, since it has a bright blue colour which was good. This photo doesn't really have any 'eye catching' elements of decay but i liked the idea. I did not use the photo in the end.
This photo is of an old fire extinguisher outside on a sunny day. Firstly, I was really happy with the textures and colours, these really gave a great blend and effect I was looking for when planning this photoshoot, which was a big plus for it. There is a lot of detail also, especially where paint is peeling around the writing and shapes which appear really sharp. The sun was also showing on the day, making the colours appear more vibrant and bringing out the smallest of contrast and shading which laid under the peeling paint, this added some great detail. I used this photo in the end because it was exactly what I wanted in the project, something with peeling paint and high textures. I was truly happy with this find.
This was the same subject but taken at a different angle. I think that there is a vast amount of the detail displayed here, but it's not captured as well as the shot above. The straight-on angle of the front makes it seem pretty average and also less of an eye-catching subject unlike the one above, which makes the detail seem some vibrant. I felt this photo did't have the same focus on detail, unlike the image above, which has a close up angle and didn't use it.
This photo captures well in terms of decay, with the wood broken away from the bolts, also showing some elements of 'force' in which has been applied to cause this. There is some strong detail around the breakage but the majority of colours in this photo appear quite dull, as not much light is in the area. The angle is acceptable but not really interesting.
Here are some photos of an interesting piece of very old machinery, I experimented with different angles and compositions to make the subject seem more catching.
Here I took this photo at a closer angle to the teeth, as I wanted to get precise details and textures sharply. I like the very rich colours which have a great impact of decay and rust which this object has been subject too. The sun was also shining, bringing out the colours and creating stronger contrasts too. There is also some nice patterning from the teeth themselves.
This photo is from the same angle but slightly further away. More of the subject is displayed giving slightly more detail and overview of the shapes and concept. There is some sharp detail and the background being the floor has no distractions pulling your eye away from the subject, and it actually suits the situation quite well.
This photo was taken to one side of the machinery, looking through to the other side. I like the angle that it displays the complete pattern on one side whilst also showing the other. There is also some strong detail here too. What I disklike about this photo slightly is that it appears more dull than the others of the same object, letting down on the contrast slightly and vibrant colours.
I was really happy with the angle this photo was taken at, it shows sharp detail of the side section
of the object, whilst presenting the details on the other side that are out of focus. There is a large amount of texture and detail, as this photo was taken closer to the object than any of the others, which highly makes it stand out from the rest. The background which is nicely framed is highly occupyed by the other side of the object, which it;s patterns and detail can still easily be made out, and it's rich colour makes it stand out from the green areas of the background which were further away which I was happy with. I decided to use this photo in the end, as i liked the concept and detail.
I was happy with the result of this photo, there is some strong detail of not only the subject, but the surroundings too. I really liked the framing of the photo, created by the twigs and plants close to the camera so being out of focus, but the curly shapes spread from the bottom area of the photo with a couple heading up further. The concept also helps to support an overgrown and derelict atmosphere, which I wanted. I used this photo in the end, as I really liked how the house was level on the hill and there was some good framing by the plants.
I thought the subject of this photo was interesting. It's an old antique shop which was
quite a surprise to be found. There's a lot of detail scattered about from objects and also thought the window, which has several signs on too. The peeling paint and rust here and there really show the decay and age of the building itself, which made this photo ideal for the project. I used this photo in the end as there was some great bits of detail and texture, it was also another decaying building to add to the project, which I wanted.
I really liked the details and textures in this photo, beings it was
just an old garden object. There is some great elements of decay here, all in an interesting pattern. The blue paint is becoming cracked and rusted over creating some interesting textures. The detail is captured sharply displaying all the very small details which make the photo unique. The background through the patterns is out of focus, but a closer look reveals the rest of the decaying object. Therefore this would be a great final photo.
Final Photos - Photoshop manipulation
These are the final photos I have selected, and how they've been manipulated in photoshop for improvement.
This is the photo before any manipulation.
After manipulation, i have decided to make it black and white, also rising the
contrast slightly, to improve the detail. I thought a black and white filter makes the atmosphere slightly more focused on abandonment and unnoticed. I slightly based the idea of signs from Mathew Merret's images which i found inspiring.
Before manipulation - Photo taken in Macro mode also with the use of a tri-pod, to improve
the sharpness of fine details making them tack sharp.
After manipulation, I have made the contrast and brightness higher by using the 'curves'
tool in photoshop, altering the graph to present a rough 's' shape. This has highly bought out
colours and colours in the photo and made them stronger, presenting the textures better from wearing paint, also contrast has become stronger as a result presenting smaller details sharper and clearer such as the cracks.
Before manipulation - photo taken at a fairly high shutter speed of around 1/100 of a second.
This was ideal as the setting was very bright, allowing enough light for a high shutter speed
and also helping make the image more sharp than it would be without, since the camera
was not on a tripod and being held by hand which doesn't stay completely still.
A contrast rise using the curves tool, highly bringing out the rich colour and detail such as blues and browns. This has highly made the subject stand out more than before manipulation.
After a thorough decision, I decided to make the image black and white. It really helped to create
and 'industrial' environment which i thought worked well with the old machinery. There is a great amount of detail and contrast which stands out in black and white, still giving the subject the same decaying impression as when it's in colour.
Before manipulation - taken using macro mode with a fairly large aperture of around f/8
as the day was dull and close-ups require slightly more light to capture. Using macro also puts what it's not focusing on, highly out of focus as a result, helping to remove distractions.
Here is the image after manipulation. The contrast and brightness have been risen,
firstly because the lighting was quite dull adding a slight grey tone over the colours, as seen above. Also the contrast has been risen to highly bring out the texture and precise detail of the rust, which was the main concept of the photo. I had a slight thought of making the image black and white, but this would make it less interesting since the background is slightly textured and the rich brown/red colours catches your eye as the subject.
This photo was taken on auto mode, the bright sky has slightly created too much contrast across the ground itself, making it a tricky light situation for the camera to focus on. Colours and details can still be seen well, although are a bit too shaded.
After rising the contrast by around 25 in photoshop, colours are appearing stronger such as the yellow flowers, and also brightening up the image is making it seem more natural and making the darker colours more visible such as those of the trees.
I didn't feel this photo needed much manipulation, but brightening up a little
as colours appear slightly dull and boring to look at.
The subject was bright at the time, making it easy for the camera to capture.
The photo was taken at around 1/100 of a second shutter speed to help reduce
vibrations or shaking of the hand which may cause blur.
I have decided to crop the photo on each side making the subject more included, and reducing small distractions such as leaves and removing some of the other side to make the subject in the centre. The contrast and brightness has also been altered to make colours and textures stand out better. Precise details have been made more visible as a result of stronger contrast, such as shadows under peeling bits of paint.
Final Mounting
This is the final mounting that the 7 photos will be included on. I have used card and black paper, then cutting out card in to different shapes to create art to suit the idea 'decay'. On the left side there is a decaying and breaking down wall with rubble across the floor. To right hand corner there are several gears and this is supporting the idea for machinery and rusting metals. I thought this was quite an interesting concept to create the theme out of shapes and I am happy how it turned out.
Another idea for mounting, which i've used for other projects is creating an up right stand out of card, which allows the mount to stand just like a picture frame on a desk. These turned out successful, although over time fall apart and the glue sometimes becomes unstuck and paper becomes creased slightly. A flat card is more simple and durable, so that's why i went for it.
Another idea for mounting, which i've used for other projects is creating an up right stand out of card, which allows the mount to stand just like a picture frame on a desk. These turned out successful, although over time fall apart and the glue sometimes becomes unstuck and paper becomes creased slightly. A flat card is more simple and durable, so that's why i went for it.
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