Category: Uncategorized

I took these photos in Hangzhou, because l had a swim meet during the weekend and l came back to Beijing on Sunday. My idea for the statement of intent was to take window reflections and not water reflections, but l only went to this one place so l had to take water reflections. I plan to go with my original idea for my final set of photos.

The first two photos are my favorite, the reflection creates an abstract and blurry effect, adding depth and movement to the image. The presence of tree branches and leaves in the foreground, along with the urban environment and raindrops in the background, adds layers to the composition. The central focus on the reflection of the boat draws the viewer’s attention, creating a dynamic and visually engaging scene. In terms of techniques used, l used reflection to enhance the visual interest of the image. The play of light on the glass surface and the abstract nature of the reflection add complexity and visual appeal to the composition. Additionally, the inclusion of elements such as tree branches, leaves, buildings, and raindrops adds context and depth to the scene. The use of composition techniques likely helped to position the central focus and create a balanced and visually appealing photograph.

    

Leaf macro photography

Leaf macro photography offers a unique opportunity to capture the intricate details of leaves, showcasing their textures, colors, and structures. First, l experimented with macro-lens with a 1:1 magnification ratio. This allowed me to get very close to the flowers/leaves while maintaining sharpness. I also tried using colored filters to enhance the natural hues of the photos, adding vibrancy to the images. I tried with different angles and perspectives to capture the leaves, such as top-down shots and side perspectives. In addition, l used contrasting backgrounds to make the subjects stand out. For example, the photo of the pink flower has the green leaves as the background, and these natural elements serve as effective blurred backgrounds.

Street photography

• Dramatic Lighting: The images have a strong, directional lighting that casts shadows and highlights the subject’s facial features, creating a dramatic and moody atmosphere.
• Shallow Depth of Field: The shallow depth of field allows the viewer to focus on the subject’s face, with the blurred background providing context without distracting from the main focal point.
• Tight Framing: The tight, close-up framing of the subject’s face fills the majority of the frame, emphasizing the expression and details of the person’s face.
• High Contrast: The images have a high contrast between the bright, highlights on the subject’s face and the darker, shadowed areas, which adds to the dramatic and emotive quality of the photograph.
• Unique Perspective: The slightly upward angle of the shot creates a sense of vulnerability and intimacy, allowing the viewer to engage with the subject’s expression and emotions.
• Composition: I used composition by filling the frame with the main subject to capture details and emotions more effectively.

• Dramatic Lighting: The harsh, directional lighting from an unseen source casts dramatic shadows on the subject’s face, creating a strong sense of contrast and depth.
• Unique Perspective: The low, upward angle of the shot emphasizes the subject’s physical position and vulnerability, inviting the viewer to engage with the scene from an unusual vantage point.
• Framing and Composition: The subject is positioned within the frame in a way that creates a sense of confinement and isolation, with the concrete walls and other objects in the background serving as visual barriers.
• Selective Focus: The shallow depth of field keeps the subject in sharp focus, while blurring the background elements to direct the viewer’s attention.
• Storytelling: The image evokes a sense of narrative, suggesting a moment of struggle or hardship experienced by the person, which aligns with the visual cues and emotional weight of the scene.

   

Frank Machalowski

In Frank Machalowski’s series “monster,” the artist tries to express this feeling by taking pictures with a long exposure time of busy places within a city such as an underground station or an airport. Because of that the people moving around the places become blurry and appear like “a uniform monster”. The frame of the city has therefore been given a special meaning: the lack of individuality and identity. According to that, the focus is clearly put on the masses which appear within the space of the city, and how one becomes irrelevant and invisible, how one almost disappears in the crowd.

“When big masses walk into the same direction, everything is connected, you adapt yourself to it, everything becomes uniform.”

Machalowski changed the exposure time to show how this can change the meaning of the photos. He uses time as a tool to express a feeling of anonymity, and to give a different insight of reality. The first three photos show big crowds that are blurred. These photos show Machalowski’s opinion towards these masses, of how people might feel a loss of identity and individuality when surrounded by people. The last photo’s main subject is a building that is also blurred, and it shows a distorted reality.

 

 

Alexey Titarenko

Alexey Titarenko is a prominent Russian-born photographer and visual artist, celebrated for his evocative black-and-white photography that explores themes of time, memory, and identity. Titarenko’s work gained recognition for its innovative use of long exposure techniques and intentional camera movement, which create a dream-like quality in his images.

The first two photos have architecture in the background, with blurry crowds of people. I think black and white photography adds the sense of lack of emotion to both Titarenko and Machalowski’s works, further expressing the loss of individuality in big crowds. There are two people in the third photo, but one of them are blurred enough that you can barely see them, and this shows the passage of time. The last photo shows another crowd of people, and you can see their faces more clearly.