My portfolio project explores the broad theme of Home. Within this project I have chosen to focus on what Home is to me and capturing it the insatiable feeling through a lens. You can see this through multiple aspects of my work including but not limited to the music I choose to the scenes I capture and the colours I highlight in my editing.

 

I have been influenced by the following Photographers:

• Sebastian Magnani

• Laurent Kronental

• Peter Lik

My first photographer, Maganani, inspired my incorporation of mirrors/reflections and shapes. This is evident in my use of circular mirrors, a recurring aspect of his work in collaboration with various shapes through capturing natural scenes, a key aspect of my third photographer, Lik. I continue to replicate his clever use of dramatic skyscapes and vibrant scenery- from sunsets to sunrise, from nature to architecture. Finaly I used my second photographers use of shapes, as seen in previous artists, to embody natural scenes, as seen in my third artist. Kronentals further use of techniques like negative space and pastel tones makes him a perfect bridge between my artists.

 

To further my project I made the creative choice to adapt all these techniques to mimic the complex feeling that is home- more than a place- by moulding them into a film as you can see through my progression. I achieved this by considering the wide variety of colours I chose to use, the speed of my clips in accordance with the music, Through the shapes, negative space, weather conditions, lighting conditions, zooming in to create smoother transition between clips I was able to embody what Home meant to me.

 

My development work depicts the creative and difficult journey I embarked to reach this ambition aim. Each development is essentially a stepping stone to my final piece- from an enhanced overlap of artists in my first development with little personal touch to a final piece 10 times as personalised and with a creative interpretation of my artists techniques- the colours, shapes, mirrors and more- complimented by my own creative touch- the film, the speed/pace, the locations, the music. The transitional shots and editing.

 

This was all triggered within my first development. In this development I wanted to set the framework for the remainder of my project by beginning with a basic incorporation of my first and third artist- I captured dramatic reflections in a circular mirror in order to set a foundation of my theme. I shot the majority of the dev in my home area- a small neighbourhood explicitly different to the contrasting image of Selly oak- in order to draw attention to this drastically different environment I photoshoped a photo of Selly oak into a photo of Sparkbrook as seen in the original scene of a cracked window in contrast to the architecture and canal of the disclosed image, in order to emphasise this contrast I made the background black and white and the inside image vibrant during the editing. This is in order to mimic the everyday reality of the interpretation of home in the view of it as a physical place. I go to school in Selly oak most 5 days a week and am faced with this harsh gap that many of my friends won’t face. In order to lighten the mood however in my other 2 photos of this development I wanted to highlight the beauty of the pace Ive called home for my entire life. In the first of these photos I use Liks use of sunsets and bright orange colours to create a nostalgic aesthetic followed by the second photo I continue to use bright oranges however these time in the form of flowers. Overall I believe this was a near perfect beginning to my project. A few things I believe could’ve been better is making a more distinct link to my artists. In the last photo my theme and intention was lost in the execution of the photo, leaving us with a lower quality product, similarly in my second the photoshopped image wasn’t as smooth or clean as I would’ve hoped- the intention is there but the execution could’ve been a lot better.

My second development was a critical building block of my project. With my final piece in mind, I committed to my intention to make a film by adapting my artists work, similar to the photos in my first development, into the form of videos. The best way to create it I decided was through a timelapse. So by using a tripod and a circular I ventured to the Library of Birmingham to study with a backdrop of night lights and a funfair. In this piece I used Magnani’s use of mirrors and reflection of me studying complimented by a backdrop of a rainy November evening, with the main focus being a Ferris wheel which adds a nostalgic and dystopian aesthetic. This clashing scene creates a peaceful but simultaneously dramatic and lonely mood. This reflects my theme as Home can be a lonely feeling sometimes- not everyone has people to go to or a home environment they can be themselves in. The timelapse can also mimic the fast-paced nature of life and how we should appreciate the world around us. I believe by doing this im able to create a less generic view of home and draw light on the very different reality many people face- myself included- creating a more intimate and relatable tone. Overall im pretty proud of this development but there is always room for improvement. In this case, one thing that could be better is a more diverse and engaging scene. By leaving the camera in a single scenario for the entirety of the film in addition to the lack of creative editing creates a less explicit and more boring scene decreasing the professionality of the development. This was the vital self-criticism which led to a much improved third development.

 

In my final development, my intentions and goals for my final piece are much more clear- but are just out of reach. Taking in account self-feedback I wanted to create a overly ambitious version of my potential final piece in order to lay out any and all potential issues I could come across. So I focused entirely on editing by incorporating contend either taken for my artists or in my camera roll. This big leap of ambition is clear from the get go, with a closely timed intro using a diverse group of photos overtop of the timelapse used in my previous development. One downside which immediately presented itself was the time a precision required to time the clips and transitions to the music. Although I was able to navigate the this at the beginning it quickly spiralled as you can see in the product. The lack of time on top of this was a recipe for disaster. Some ways this could’ve been avoided was shortening the length of the film and/or choosing a slower paced song. However in the end this was a major learning curve which was a necessary part of my journey to my final piece in turn proving my original intention of the development was a success. Althpugh this was my lowest development in terms of quality and execution it was the most creatively challenging and enabled me to reach my desired final outcome so overall it did more good than harm.

In my Final piece I reviewd my [ast developments to ensure I don’t repeat any of my previous mistakes. Some improvements that I made in this piece compared to my past developments include a larger variety of shapes, spees, location, weather and colour, this allows for a much higher quality and supportive platform in which I can relay my Theme. Yet I still found it creatively challenging due to the pressure to go above and beyond my previous work. One thing I was a hundred percent sure off was conveying my view of home as clearly and concisely as possible which I believe is clear throughout multiple aspects- big and small. This in combination with influences from my artists and the music creates a nostalgic and comfortable atmosphere- what home feels like to me. Some aspects that could be improved are shooting more new clips for the final piece to differentiate it more from the developments and perhaps making it longer. However other than that, I am proud pf the outcome and believe It achieved exactly what I wanted it to.