Kensington & Chelsea College
Fears and Obsessions
QUOTE
For this assignment you have to produce a number of digital photographs on the theme of “Fears and Obsession”. You will need to plan your photo-shoot and consider the type of lighting most suitable for the style of your photos. All work need to be shot in the photographic studio. You will experiment with high-key and low-key lighting and use a reference white/mid gray card, in order to set your White Balance in ACR later. A strong concept and the right props, combined with the appropriate image manipulation techniques, could produce outstanding outcomes. For the final submission you need to choose two digital images and manipulate them in Adobe Photoshop.
UNQUOTE
For this assignment I opted to depict the actual bodily sensations one feels when experiencing fear or obsession, rather than represent a specific obsession or fear. The images were converted to black-and-white and then given an overall colour to emphasise the feeling depicted, fear being a rather cold emotion and obsession a warm one. With special thanks to my awesome photographic actress/colleague photographer Katerina.
The Reluctant One
Some time ago I published a picture of Dante, my youngest dog, who is a very willing model. Alfita, my oldest dog who passed away last friday, was a very reluctant one.
At a young age, she would turn her back whenever she saw a picture and walk away. As she grew older, and especially after Dante joined the family, she relented a little. After moving to London in 2011, she finally decided that it was OK to be photographed.
At the ripe age of 15 1/2 she left us to join her family in doggie heaven. We miss you “cosita linda”…….
The Four Directions
The Studio! I have anticipated working in a studio ever since I started my formal study of photography. My current academic endeavours at Kensington & Chelsea College have opened my eyes to other photographic genres, yet deep down I still consider myself a portraitist first and foremost. And studio portraitist is the next frontier for me, to conquer the misteries of artificial light.
For our final project in the Studio Photography unit we had to create two series of four studio created images, one series consisting of still lives, the other of images taken with models in the high glide part of the studio. I opted to combine my two series in a single project about the Four Directions. With the help of my two amazing assistants, colleagues Gesine and Liliana and fellow photographer Rodrigo as my model, I present to you my interpretations of the Four Directions.
NORTH:
EAST:
SOUTH:
WEST:
Photographic Actor?
One unexpected development of my photography studies has been being asked to pose for the projects of some of my fellow students. So do I consider myself a model now? I would rather say that I am now also a photographic actor, as that combines my two loves, photography and acting. The preceding and following images were taken by my colleague Gesine Garz. Check out her amazing oeuvre!
Feta and Puy Lentil Salad
One of the most challenging assignments we have had was to make a series of photos to illustrate a recipe. Challenging as you had to make the pictures interesting and appetising and deal with photographing in a kitchen.
Here is the illustrated recipe, comments are welcomed:
Feta and Puy Lentil Salad:
200 g feta cheese
juice of one large lemon
a bunch of fresh mint, chopped
300g Puy lentils
3 cloves garlic, flattened but not peeled
Break up the feta and let it sit in the lemon juice and half the olive oil.
Tip the lentils in a large saucepan of water, add the garlic and the bay leaves and cook for 20-25 minutes or until tender. They must not be soft.
Drain the lentils, discard the bay leaves and pour the remaining olive oil over them while they are still warm. Season with black pepper. Add the marinated feta and sprinkle over with the fresh chopped mint.
And here is the finished product, ready for a romantic evening:
Meet the locals at “Proyecto Asis”, wild life rescue sanctuary in Arenal, Costa Rica
In December 2013, I had the privilege to visit the Central American country of Costa Rica, a country with an incredible natural beauty and dedicated to the pursuit of a pure and clean life. The country is known for the diversity of its flora and fauna. I saw many sights and colours and took a great many pictures which I will be sharing on this blog very soon.
During a visit to the hot springs of the Arenal volcano I had immense pleasure of visiting “Proyecto Asis” . According to their website, the sanctuary exists because “human development and the accompanying destruction of natural habitat, not to mention illegal hunting, have led to a precipitous decline in wildlife populations, causing many species to be in danger of extinction. We believe by doing our part in helping injured wild animals and educating the public on the struggle of these animals, we will be helping to restore the balance between man and nature”.
At “Proyecto Asis” I made the acquaintance of its current residents and was quite impressed. At first I was shocked to see some of them living in cages, albeit large and comfortable ones. The lovely guide explained to us that the animals living in cages are ones which are used to living in packs. As they were abandoned or forcibly taken away from their packs, they need to become part of a new pack before they can be set free again together. It is all for their own good and their living conditions are a vast improvement over their previous circumstances.
It is my pleasure to introduce to you some of the current locals at “Proyecto Asis”!
Le Troisième Homme
In early November our Photography class travelled to Paris to attend the 2013 “PARIS PHOTO” exhibition. Four days filled with images of all sorts, inspiration in many forms and one, very compelling assignment: to photograph a series of images inspired by the movie “The Third Man“. This 1949 motion picture, directed by Carol Reed and starring Orson Wells, was the first movie ever shot almost in its entirety on location. “The Third Man” is a classic “film noir” thriller shot in black and white and is famous for its lighting techniques which won Robert Krasker, its cinematographer, an Oscar. Although the film was shot in Vienna we were given the assignment in Paris, as that city as well as London, show similar locations. So for your enjoyment, here is the series I call “Le Troisième Homme”.
Related articles
- Top 10 film noir (theguardian.com)
- The Third Man (1949) (sevendeadlycinema.wordpress.com)
- The Third Man (1949) – Review (seanreviewsfilms.wordpress.com)
What’s Charcoal Gotta do with It?
One of the most interesting classes we have had at Kensington & Chelsea College, was a live drawing class with a nude, and very rude, model. When I heard about it my first reaction was apprehension. I am not known for my drawing abilities, so nothing good was bound to come out of it. Then I thought “I am studying photography, what’s charcoal gotta do with it?”
We soon learned from our tutor that the object of the class was not the become the latest “it’s” in the art world, but to train in identifying lines and tones created by the reflection of light on a subject.
We started slowly and progressed. From the basic lines, we moved to more of an outline of the human form.
Then we turned off the lights and, working only with a light on the rude and nude model, set out to draw the tones created by the light on her body and on the background. You create the different tones by using a rubber eraser and also smudging with your fingers.
It was indeed a very useful exercise, one that would come in handy the very next day. But more on that later…………..
Related articles
- Digitizing Charcoal Drawings (kenallennews.wordpress.com)
- Charcoal drawing (cognitivedialecticalartproject.wordpress.com)
- Exercise Shadows and reflected light and shade (simona512354.wordpress.com)
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Lightpainting by Richard John Isa 