Observational Photography: Geometry in nature

For my semester two project, I started by taking some photos of geometry in nature, especially sequences and symmetry. I picked this as a starting point as I really like making my art from observation, and bringing nature to peoples attention. At the start of a project, I enjoy being quite broad, to let myself go in different directions without being pinned down to a very narrow or specific theme.

 I want to look at repeating shapes, but also how these slightly change in nature and each one is ever so slightly different. This will link with the idea of sequence.

Unnoticed: photos

Vision: Changing how people see

For our theme of vision, i wanted to take a very everyday item, and change the way people see it or think about it. i decided to use a leaf, because leaves and flowers are one of my favourite things to photograph, because they have details in that people don't notice usually. I decided to make these details obvious to everybody. I chose to look at veins in the leaves.

I first did this by photographing the veins close up to show them very obviously.

I then decided to cut out parts, to make the veins more prominent, because the parts in between are taken out.

I photographed this against the window, to get the light coming through the gaps. This photo also has the cityscape in the background which i really like.

Space: Playing with scale

Today we were looking at space, how people occupy space, and how artists create the feeling of space, or lack of it, in their work. My favourite piece I looked at was by Joel Shapiro, and it was a cast iron chair, all alone in a large room. It started me thinking about scale, and how people perceive it. A chair is something that is supposed to be a certain size, supposed to be big enough for a person to sit on, so this very small chair, that would fit in your hand, is very strange to look at, and might make people viewing it feel uneasy and confused about what to do. I wanted to use this idea of making something that is usually big, very small. I thought of different ways of doing this and I liked the idea of making whatever I decided to make out of a different material to what it usually is (Shapiro's chair is made of cast iron) after brainstorming as a group, I decided to make a cityscape, scaled down very small, and I decided to do this out of paper.

I decorated the buildings with fineliner pen to give them windows, and I liked the contrast this had with the bright white paper. I think the black and white buildings worked well on brightly coloured background as this added to the feeling that this shouldn't be there. I tried to find locations that were easily identifiable in terms of scale, to show how small the buildings are.

I arranged the pine cones to show the scale of the buildings, but also so the buildings were tucked away, in a corner, so people passing by wouldn't notice they were there.

I really like this photo because a wasp came and landed on it, but unfortunately, it's a little bit blurred because i moved slightly, but the wasp flew away so i couldn't retake the photo

These photos also have the wasp in, but not as visible as the first one.

This photo is very clear but unfortunately the wasp is not in it.

I then put it on a leaf I found, as I like all the colours of the leaf, contrasting with the stark monochrome of the buildings.

I will take more photos of the buildings in different locations in the next few days to see which background I think looks best.

Macro Photography: Shield Bug

 I've always loved insects and creepy crawlies, and they're one of my favourite things to photograph. I enjoy using the macro on my camera because I can capture detail which is near impossible to see in real life, as it is so small (and bugs tend to move quickly). These are a few of my favourites.

I like that the detail of this one is on the leaves, not the bug, as the light is coming through them, highlighting the veins of the leaves and silhouetting the bug.

 This one I find interesting because of the large patch of blue at the top, which contrasts with the busyness of the rest of the background. I also really like how the green of the leaf is being reflected by the shield bug.

 Sunlight, picking out the colour and texture of the bug's shell.

 I like the brightness in this photo, I haven't altered it in any way, because I quite like the washed-out effect it gives, and the reflection, which makes the shell look almost glittery.

 I like the detail of the shadow.

 I've altered the contrast in this one, so the green is much more vibrant and not as natural, but i like the way it picks out the veins of the leaves and the texture of the bug's shell.

 Cleaning his antenna. From this angle, it's legs remind me of a crab's.

close up of the shell's texture.

Final Major Project: Hidden Pattern

For my final major project, I have decided on the theme of hidden pattern. I have decided on hidden pattern because I enjoy looking at detail and I want to create unusual patterns, not just geometric patterns and shapes. I will first look at organic patterns, like patterns in vegetables and plants, and transfer the patterns and shapes from these to jewellery I will be making. Through my work I have done so far in applied arts, I have found I tend to lean more towards small scale detailed objects and jewellery, so I would like to continue with this way of working.

 I will look at pattern created by accident, such as from a collection of objects, or pattern that has another use, such as road markings. I would also like to look into pattern created from another process, such as weaving or knitting. The fabric may have a pattern printed on, but I will be looking at the pattern that is created from making the fabric. it is not deliberate and it often unnoticed, but I would like to use this kind of pattern as a focal point in my jewellery.

 I will also look at pattern which is deliberate, but may be unnoticed, such as the patterns on banknotes, which many people will handle everyday without noticing the pattern and decoration that makes them so difficult to forge.