Final 8 images

Final 8 images.

Night exposure

This is my final picture for night exposure. I decided to chose this one as I like how you can see the white and red lines clearly as they go up the road. Whilst taking these pictures experimented with changing the shutter speed so in my contact sheet I have long lines and quite short ones from where I had been changing the shutter speed.  To take this picture I had the camera balanced on the rails as you can see to the right of the picture. As it was quite late out not many cars was going up this road I would of liked more red and white lines in the picture but then I didn't want in to look too messy with all the lights.  I like how you can see the line of light going all the way up the picture. For this picture I used an editing app on my phone called 'fotor'.  while editing it I started off by enhancing the picture and then darkening the picture. After that I changed the brightness and contrast to make the picture darker to make the lights stand out more. I sharpened the picture too. I enhanced the red in he picture to make it stand out more and make it more noticeable as before it was a faint line as you can see from my contact sheet.

 If I was to take this picture I would definitely take a tripod as its quite hard finding something for the camera to place on where its steady and wont get knocked of moved which happened quite a lot in the pictures as you can see with the contact sheet. For this picture I like how you can see shadows of the lights on the road I think it adds to the picture.

 HRD

This is one of my HDR pictures this picture is of some posters piled on top of each other by he custard factory the posters are ripped and covered in graffiti which I like as theres a nice variety of colours and different tones. I found this graffiti stuck all over some cabinet left on the side of the road

 for this picture I zoomed into the graffiti as I didn't want to get the cabinet in the photo as I feel it would of looked too messy. I took this picture as I thought it looked colourful and interesting reading everything everyone had stuck on it.  I like how everything is piled and written on top of everything nothing is placed neatly or in order.

The focal point for this picture would be the star in the middle of the picture slightly to the left as when I look at the picture my eyes go directly to that.

I took these pictures on a canon EOS 650D when taking the picture the settings on the camera where all changed so when I was trying to change the aperture it just wasn't turning out right so instead I changed the ISO as well as the aperture for the 3 pictures I took and it worked out better.

For the first picture to get it under exposed I had the ISO on 100, Shutter speed at 1/30 and aperture at f/25 for the second picture to have it at a normal exposure I took it with the ISO at 800 the shutter speed at 1/30 and the  aperture at f/2.5 and then for the last picture I had the ISO at 12800 for a high exposure the shutter speed at 1/30 and the aperture at f/14 which turned out right. The focal length for all these pictures were 27mm.

To get the picture like this opened it up in photomatix  and opened all 3 of my picture up. Once all three pictures opened they all opened as one which for some of my photos there was some blur from where I have slightly changed position from changing the ISO and aperture so them pictures didn't make it into my final 4 HRD pictures. After that I had a selection of different effects to choose from for the photo I cant remember what effect I put on the picture but I used this effect on the photo as it really brought out the colours they look brighter and more in your face then they was when there was no effect on the picture. After that I clicked proceed and it then gave me the option to change the contrast and other things like that but with the effect that I had put on the picture I liked it the way it was so instead I clicked file and save as and I saved the picture.

This is my second HDR picture. I took this picture from outside of a pub I think it was the picture is of a light. I wanted to take a picture of the light as I thought it looked night and looked quite old which caught my eye.  I took the photo from a slight angle and looking up towards it I took this picture at this angle as I like how you can clearly see all the other side to the light well the writing on the glass which goes all the way round showing it is 3d.

With the wall being white I think it brings the light more forward and stand out more than it would against a dark or bright coloured background.  I think the picture could of been more clear but that's one of the problems with doing HDR. I think it would of worked out better if I had taken a tripod just so all the 3 pictures would most definitely been in the exact position.

I used the exact same ISO, shutter speed and aperture for every picture so for the first picture to get it under exposed I had the ISO on 100, Shutter speed at 1/30 and aperture at f/25 for the second picture to have it at a normal exposure I took it with the ISO at 800 the shutter speed at 1/30 and the  aperture at f/2.5 and then for the last picture I had the ISO at 12800 for a high exposure the shutter speed at 1/30 and the aperture at f/14 which turned out right. The focal length for all these pictures were 27mm.

To get the picture like this I opened  up photomatix  and opened all 3 of my picture up. Once all three pictures opened they all opened as one. From this picture you can see where I slightly changed position and theres a faint part of the wood goes over the light but over all the focal point of the picture is the light which you can clearly see and I didn't want the picture to look perfect it clearly shows I experimented and it didn't work out as well as some of my other HRD pictures.

Then once again I chose an effect for it which I thought looked nice. The effect I chose really brought out the chips and discolouring on the metal part of the light which you can see from the picture. After this I clicked proceed and then changed the contrast to make it a tad darker to make certain things stand out more like the frame of the light. Once that was done I saved the picture as I was happy with it.

Here is another HRD picture of mine. This picture is of some shingles it looks like which are broken up into big and smaller bits. I found this on the pathway right against the wall opposite south an city college. For this picture there is no blur as it was the last photo I had taken so I was kind of use to holding the camera still whilst changing the aperture an the ISO. I decided to take this picture as I liked the colour of shingles on the floor and I like how they started off in big broken pieces and then got smaller as they went along. I also liked the pattern on the bricks on the wall and it shows of the different textures. You can see some shadows on some of the shingles especially on the left hand side with the second shingle you can see the shadow made by the shingle on top of it. I think this is one of the better HDR pictures I have taken.

Once again I used the exact same ISO, shutter speed and aperture for every picture so for the first picture to get it under exposed I had the ISO on 100, Shutter speed at 1/30 and aperture at f/25 for the second picture to have it at a normal exposure I took it with the ISO at 800 the shutter speed at 1/30 and the  aperture at f/2.5 and then for the last picture I had the ISO at 12800 for a high exposure the shutter speed at 1/30 and the aperture at f/14 which turned out right. The focal length for all these pictures were 27mm.

To do this HDR  I opened up photoshop and opened all 3 of my picture up. Once all three pictures opened they all opened as one. I then picked my effect for the picture which once again I cant remember which one. But the effect I picked had like a blue tint to it which is why its quite blue and purple looking. I used this effect as I thought it brought the pink and orange out on the shingles. I think it brings out more detail on the shingles like you can see its different shades of colours on some of the broken pieces you can see blue, purple, orange and pink which I like. After this I clicked on proceed and changed the contrast and made it darker to bring out the shapes of the shingles and the bricks i thought it made the colours a lot more deeper and you can see some shadows. I then saved the picture as I liked it the way it was.

This is a HDR picture I had taken a while back when first experimenting doing HDR. I decided to have this picture as one of my final pictures as for my first time doing HDR I did like it and I thought it turned out pretty well. Instead of doing this on photoshop like last time I went on photomatix like all of my other HDR pictures. I decided to do it on this photoshop rather than the other one as I used an effect and  put on it as I wanted to improve it more and make it look better which I think I did using this photoshop. For this picture I did only have 2 photos instead of the 3 but it till worked out pretty well I though. I had an over exposed picture and I had a normal exposed picture.

The green on the building Is so bright compared to the other photo I done it stands out even more and is just more noticeable. The sky looks more greyer and darker which I like it looks like its going to rain in the picture. The roof of the building is so dark compared to the rest of the picture when i look at the picture I look directly at the roof because its that dark. In the first picture of this the roof was just so dark you couldn't really see anything where as this one has turned out even better. The focal point of the picture would be the roof for me I feel like its nice and dark and the green just makes you look at it.

 For this picture opened the 2 up in photoshop and put an effect on it which I cant remember which one, But this effect brought out the green even more and darkened the picture up too. I was then happy with this effect so I moved on and proceeded which I then changed the contrast to make it that tad more darker to bring out more detail I the building and to make the green stand out more.

   I like this picture as you can see the moss on the building where it has gone green but it also looks really old which I like. The picture is of the top of a building in the city centre. I like how the building looks abandoned and with the weather being crappy and dark and gloomy it makes the picture look that tad creepy which I like.

Double exposure 

This is my final picture for double exposure. I have done this before as you can see in my sketchbook but it didn't turn out the way that I wanted it to so I done the picture again. For this picture I decided to have a side on view of someone rather than having a statue. I did try putting flowers inside the of the figure but I didn't work as well as the building so I decided to carry on with doing the building instead of the flowers. For this I decided to not fade out Brittany's face completely as I wanted to see her and the building too so when you look at it you look a both the whole figure of the person and then the building. To do this photo I opened up photoshop and I opened both of the pictures in photoshop. I changed the brightness in the picture of Brittany as it was quite dark so I brightened the picture a bit and then with a bit of help I created a new layer and dragged the photo of Brittany on top of the building and faded and blended the pictures together until I liked it. I then cropped the picture and used the erase tool so I would just get the figure of Brittany and got rid of all the unnecessary parts from around her. Then from looking at my picture In the research the picture with the building and the person but at the top of the picture it was the top of the building rather than her round head so I though id try that out and liked how it looked so I left it. I got rid of the top of Brittany's head so it would just be the top of the building.

 I like this picture as I think it works well together but if I was to do this again I would tell Brittany to have her hair down as I think with it being In a pony it looks quite stupid I would rather it was down and straight but over al I do like the end result. I found the photo shopping quite hard to do so I definitely wont be doing it again any time soon.

Hand Colouring 

This is my final picture for hand colouring. This picture was taken in the centre and is a display with poppy's and an airplane so im guessing its a war display or a tribute.

I think the red really brings the poppy's forward. When I look at the picture it kind of reminds me of an old looking picture or a painting which I like.

To do hand colouring I went into photoshop and opened the picture up I then clicked to duplicate the image then clicked on the duplicate layer so all my work would be done on the layer instead of the original. I then went to image- adjustments- hue and saturation- change saturation- layer mask. I then went to the paint brush tool and painted into the layered mask. The black box was for the colour and the white box was for black and white. While doing this I had to zoom into the picture to make sure I brought back the colour in just the poppy's and the plane which was quite hard as theres plants that go over the poppy's so some green parts may be showing a tad but they aren't really noticeable as the red stand out more.  After using the college photoshop I used my own editing app called 'fotor' just to improve the picture even more I started off by putting an effect on it called theatre which brightened up the building in the back darkened the plants and made the red even brighter to stand out more then I enhanced the picture. After that I darkened the picture a tad more using contrast just to make the detail in the building darker and stand out more than looking over exposed from the effect that I had put on.

 I decided to take this picture and to use it as it has poppy's in it which is a powerful symbol as its worn to commemorate the sacrifices of our armed forces and to show support to those serving today and their loved ones plus my dad served in the army for many years so when I saw this I just had to take a picture and hand colouring was the perfect time to use it and just have the most important things in colour which would be the poppy's and the plane. I do like this picture I think its my favourite from all my final pictures.

Abstract

This is my picture for abstract photography. The picture was taken on a canon EOS 700D. The ISO for this picture was 800, the exposure 1/100 and the f-stop- f/5.

This picture was taken in the back of my garden I think its a part of the lawn mower im not quite sure.  I thought this would be something good to take a picture of because you wouldn't expect it to be a lawn mower part looking at it you'd think it was a bench or something else.

I took quite a few shots like this trying to make sure I got it right as I wanted to take a picture of something with both pattern and shape which it has. I picked this picture over the other ones I had taken because I didn't like the pavement and grass showing in the other pictures background I just wanted the circles and nothing else in the picture. I new if I cropped the unnecessary parts out and just have the circles the picture just wouldn't look the same so I decided to pick this picture which I like as much as the other photos I had taken.

When looking at this picture it makes you think that the circles are continues and go on and on like its never ending. I like how the picture is grey and black its simple and doesn't hurt your eyes where as if it was colourful your eyes would be all over the place. When looking to the right of the pictures the circles look 2d where as looking to the front left of the picture you can see the circles are 3d and actually look like holes which they are. Through the holes theres nothing but blackness so you cant see what's past the holes which I like.

 I decided to pick this picture over the other ones I had taken which you can see in my contact sheet because I liked how it starts of completely in focus on the left and then as it moves to the right it goes more and more out f focus which I liked.

For this picture I didn't use photoshop as everything I was doing on it I just didn't like. It just never looked better it just looked worse so I decided to keep the picture the same.

The focal point of the picture would be the part of the picture which is clear and in focus my eyes go straight to that part of the picture and then I look at the rest of the picture.

I had fun taking abstract photos and using depth of field as I think the two just work well together.

Abstract People

Abstract People 

FINAL TWO PICTURES -

This picture is one of my final pictures.

I have chosen it as its one  of my favourite pictures out of all of the other perfume bottles I took pictures off.

This picture is of Aabidahs hands holding some Victoria's secret perfume called Tease and it smells amaze-balls. For this picture I used a cannon and had flash on when taking the picture because it wouldn't auto focus. I like this picture as the perfume and Aabidahs hands are sharp and in focus where as the background is blurred and quite dull compared to the perfume. The focal point of the picture would be the perfume bottle as its right in the middle of the picture and the light from the flash went directly onto the perfume bottle. I like how you can see directly through the bottle and the bottle looks nice with the lace and the pink pump on the bottle. I like the perfume bottle as its got little details added to it with the lace. I haven't used photoshop on this picture as I like it the way it is.

This is one of my final pictures.

I have chosen this as its one of my favourite pictures plus it won a competition and is on the front of the sketchbook.  I like this picture because its not just lain old boring cacti these ones have little flowers on them which is eye catching and makes them look pretty.

This picture is of some cacti. I took this picture at the markets in town. I only took this picture because they looked pretty with the flowers on them otherwise I probably wouldn't of taken the picture. This picture I do really like as some cacti are sharp and in focus the ones at the front where as the others aren't in focus. The cactus in the middle of the picture with the yellow flower isn't as sharp and in focus as the two next to it but isn't as blurry as the ones behind it. For this picture I don't think there's a focal point as there's cacti everywhere. I haven't used photoshop in this picture.

These pictures are of a perfume bottle displayed on a stand with huge paper leafs surrounding it. The first picture I took was to show off the whole display and the second one I wanted to get a close up of the bottle on the stand. If I was to do this picture again I would move the perfume bottle to the left as its annoying me that its not dead centre on the stand. I do like the stand its on as it makes the perfume bottle stand out more as there's a light on top of the stand lighting up the bottom of the bottle. The focal point of these pictures would be the perfume and the leaf display as the green leafs catch your eye straight away.

 This picture is of Aabidah holding a bottle of perfume. The perfume bottle it quite plain unlike the other two bottles of perfume this bottle isn't as clear and see through as them. What I do like about the bottle is the black glittery pump on the bottle so the bottle doesn't look that boring. The bottle and Aabidahs hands are sharp and in focus and the background is blurred and not in focus. The focal point of this picture would be the perfume bottle as that's all that's in the picture as its in the centre of the picture. I haven't used photoshop on this picture but if I wasn't so lazy I would probably crop the photo down a bit to cut out Aabidahs head scarf as its a bright pink colour.

 This picture is of some cacti. This picture is different then the one I took before as it's taken from more of an angle and more closer to the cacti. This picture has sharp and none sharp parts in the picture the cacti with green flower on top to the left of the picture is the only cacti which is sharp and in focus so is the cacti which you can only see a bit of in the left corner with the pink flower on it where as the rest of the cacti aren't that much in focus. I like this picture because the cacti have little flowers on them. The focal point of the picture for me would be the cactus with the green flower on top as its the only one in focus and clear. I haven't used photoshop on this picture.

This picture was taken at the markets of a flower stall. If I was to take this picture again id go to a flower stall that is full of flowers so there's no gaps in between the flowers as it looks horrible with the gaps in it. The picture is of bouquets of all different flowers which is why I took the picture as there all different kind of flowers and not the same otherwise that would of looked quite boring. The focal point of the picture to me would be the flowers directly in the middle with the £10 sign in them as they are directly in the middle of the picture. I haven't used photoshop but if I was I would probably crop the photo down so you would just have the flowers in the middle so I would cut out the gaps.

This picture is of a bouquet of flowers. I choose to take a picture of these flowers as I liked how there just white/creamy coloured flowers. If I was to take this picture again I would get a birds eye view of the flowers as I didn't take any all I took was pictures from an angle. I haven't used photoshop on this picture but if I did I would probably crop the photo down but I haven't because I didn't to ruin the picture so I left it like that. The focal point of the picture would be the flowers as there isn't anything else really in the picture.

Natural Landscapes

Natural Landscapes 

Adam Burton is one of the UKs leading landscape photographers and author of five books. Since 2008 he has been working as a full time professional landscape photographer, regularly supplying imagery and undertaking commissions for a wide range of clients.
He has photographed five of the seven continents and now specialises in the landscapes of the UK, particularly Southwest England.

This picture was taken by Adam Burton its on a natural landscape. In the picture is a stream down the middle of the picture which big rocks in it. The water looks misty as its white. To the left and right side of the picture are trees, grass and rocks. The focal point of the picture would be the front middle part of the picture. I do like this picture as it looks calming.

This picture is one of my final two pictures for natural landscapes I have chosen this as I find the other pictures quite boring as its just of logs and wood when I find plants more better and interesting.

This picture is a birds eye view of loads of three leaf clovers. This picture was taken in lickey hills country park. When I took this picture it had been raining not long before I took the picture which is why  you can see raindrops on some of the three leaf clovers which is why I like this picture so much.

I like the range of colours of greens on the three leaf clovers.

 There isn't really a focal point in this picture as its all just based on one thing the tree leaf clovers. I haven't photoshopped this picture because there isn't anything I would want to do to it I like it the way it is.
I have chosen this as one of my final images as out of all of the pictures i really like this on. I like how the raindrops are perfectly on the three leafed clovers so it gives more to the picture.

This picture is of logs, branches and bushes. The front of the picture Is bury and out of focus where as the rest of the picture is sharp and in focus. You can see the moss and different layers on the first log at the front which is blurred. When I took this picture I didn't intend for it to turn out like this but im glad it did as I like it like this.

The focal point of this picture for me would be the log at the front even though it blurry it catches my eye straight away because its at the front of the picture and like right in your face. I wouldnt change anything about this picture. I haven't used photoshop either.

This picture is of a pathway which is right I the middle of the picture is was a dirt path. Theres a log at the front of the picture going from the bottom left the right. There are bushed and trees to the left and right of the pathway in the middle of the picture. I like how the picture is light and lit up at the front of the picture and the goes darker as theres no sunlight hitting certain parts of the picture.

I don't think they'd be a focal point to the picture as theres nothing really that catches my eye straight away.

I haven't used photoshop on this picture but if I was to take this photo again I would probably try it at different angles to see how the lighting would change.

I took this picture whilst I was looking up as I wanted to get one of me looking up at the top of the trees. If I was to take this again Id try and get it as the sun is breaking through the trees as theres just loads of green in the picture. The picture is of me looking up really theres 2 trees and a hell load of leafs. The focal point of this picture would be the two trees or all the leafs.

This photo hasn't been photoshopped. 

 I like this picture as you can see the details in the trees especially the one to the right.

This picture is of a bunch of white flowers. The flowers are directly in the middle of the photo which would also be the focal point of the picture as white stands out more than the green does.

There are 4 sets of leafs that come out behind the flower in like a plus sign.

 I like this picture because the flowers and the 4 sets of leaves surrounding it are all sharp and in focus and as you look on into the background its less sharp and more out of focus. I haven't used photoshop on this picture.

This is another one of my final pictures for natural landscapes. I like this picture as theres quite a lot going on in the picture compared to the other pictures I have taken. Theres the steps, rocks, bushes and trees in the background.

This picture I took whilst walking up some steps. In the picture you can see two of the steps. Theres a bush to the right side of the picture and to the back of the picture there are rocks sticking up through the ground and then trees to the further back that you can see. I like this picture as it has a rough look to it with the rocks sticking up everywhere.

Im glad I went on a day where the weather was nice because I like the shadows I think it gives more to the picture an it doesn't look that plain.

 I haven't used photoshop as I didn't want to change the picture. The focal point of the picture would be the middle of the picture.

event photography

Event Photography

When taking a picture indoor I would need to consider:

• The lighting ( a high ISO)
• white balance
• Fast shutter speed. 
• Have a high aperture 

This is one of my final pictures for event photography. I have chosen this because I like how she is sat around the table talking to everyone and I like how I have photoshopped it with her being in colour and everyone else being in black and white.

This photo is of the workshop the woman who is in colour is a rapper and is sat around a table full of other people. I used photo shop to make her in colour and everyone else in black and white to make her stand out more. when in photo shop I opened up the image and:

- I then duplicated the image.

-I then clicked on the duplicated layer, so all my work would be done on the layer instead of the ordinal.

- I then went to Image > Adjustments

Hue + Saturation

Change Saturation

Layer Mask.

- I then went to the paint brush tool 

Paint into layer mask.

The black box = Colour The white box = Black and white

- I then had to zoom in to the image because I coloured outside of the lines. 

This is one of my final pictures for event photography. In my sketchbook I have a picture of kanye west I got because it reminded me of this picture which makes me like this picture more.  I have chosen this picture as he is dancing and holding the microphone so theres a lot going on in the picture and I just really like it.

This picture I took is of someone who is rapping.

He is stood with one leg slightly bent which is slightly blurred. He is holding the mic up to his mouth and looking down. There is a table to the left side of the picture which is annoying as the picture would of looked better without it there. If I was to take this picture again I would of stood in a different place so the table wouldn't of got in the picture. The focal point of the picture would be the lad.

 I like this picture because he is rapping and he is dancing as well and theres no blur in the image. I used photoshop to crop the photo an did nothing else as I like the picture the way it is.

 This picture is of someone rapping. This picture was hard to take as he kept moving around which is why his feet are slightly blurred. If I was to do it again I would make the shutter speed higher so I don't get any blurs.

This picture is of a woman talking to a group of people sat around the desk. The lighting was bad which is why there left side of the picture is darker then the right side of picture. I haven't used photoshop on this picture because theres not much else I can do with it. It was hard to take pictures as non of the students wanted to have their picture taken.

These two pictures is of someone rapping. I used photoshop to crop the picture as all I wanted was him in the picture. while I was taking these pictures the ISO had to be high as the lighting was bad in there. If I was to take this picture again I would try at a different angle as the desk in the picture ruins it.

Fact files

Fact files

This is the fact file about event photography. I have chosen events as one of my 3 different location types.

This is the fact file for interiors. .

This is the fact file for commercial.

this is the fact file for architecture.

this is the fact file for people in place.

Essay

African masks

For this essay I have chosen to write about African masks. I have chosen to write about this as I don’t know much about it and want to learn more about it.

“In the early 20th Century, artists like Pablo Picasso and Andre Derain were inspired by the bold abstract designs that they discovered in African tribal masks. They collected and used these works of art to influence their own style. In effect, they used African culture to refresh the tired tradition of figure painting in Western Art.

As a result, we now tend to admire the bold design and abstract patterns of African masks through European eyes. We appreciate them as exhibits on museum walls, cut off from their original meaning and magical power. However, this is not how they were designed to be viewed.

African masks should be seen as part of a ceremonial costume. They are used in religious and social events to represent the spirits of ancestors or to control the good and evil forces in the community. They come to life, possessed by their spirit in the performance of the dance, and are enhanced by both the music and atmosphere of the occasion. Some combine human and animal features to unite man with his natural environment. This bond with nature is of great importance to the African and through the ages masks have always been used to express this relationship.” Taken from

http://www.artyfactory.com/africanmasks/information/african-mask-functions.htm  “The function of an African mask”

“Picasso's African Period, which lasted from 1906 to 1909, was the period when Pablo Picasso painted in a style which was strongly influenced by African sculpture and particularly traditional African masks.” Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picasso%27s_African_Period   “Picasso’s African period

This is Pablo Picassos artwork of "head of a woman" 1907 which was inspired by African art. Picasso's African Period lasted from 1907 to 1909.
I cant seem to find much information about this picture.
By the looks of it, it is an oil painting of a woman. The woman's face looks and reminds of an African masks on the drawing the woman has quite a big pointy nose, a long face, quite big eyes and short brown hair. The focal point of this image would be the face.
I think the drawing is quite weird and I don't really like it.

This is a drawing of 5 people. The two people on the far right are wearing African masks or have faces resembling African masks where as the other three have normal faces.

This is “Les Demoiselles D’Avigon” The two people on the far right of the picture are the beginnings of Picasso’s African period. Picasso would look towards African artworks as inspiration for some of his work his interests was sparked by Henri Matisse who showed him a mask from the Dan people of Africa.

Masks are made to fit a certain role or represent something like “the person who wears a ritual mask conceptually loses his or her human identity and turns into the spirit represented by the mask itself” This is why some masks have certain shapes and features to the mask itself.

Quote taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_African_masks “Ritual and social meaning”

Masks have played a big part in history by guiding and helping us understand more about being human. “Masks in various forms (sacred, practical, or playful) have played a crucial historical role in the development of understandings about "what it means to be human", because they permit the imaginative experience of "what it is like" to be transformed into a different identity (or to affirm an existing social or spiritual identity). Not all cultures have known the use of masks, but most of them have.” Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mask#History “History”

Masks as old as 9,000 years have been found and are being held by the “Musée "Bible et Terre Sainte”  and “Israel Museum “.

It is believed that the earliest masks where used in Africa was before the Palaeolithic era. African culture has used asks in rituals from the earliest days of civilisation. These masks are made to represent spirits of animals, mythological heroes, moral values, ancestors or a form of honouring a person is a symbolic way. Masks can be made from many materials like wood, copper, leather, metal and fabric. But mostly the masks are made from wood. Details on the masks are made from animal teeth, bones and horns, hair, feathers, seashells, straw and eggs shells.  The paint you see on some masks are made all naturally the paint is ochre which is a natural earth pigment which ranges in colour from yellow to a dark deep orange or brown colour.

African masks are made mostly shaped as a human face or a muzzle of some animal.  Animals are a frequent theme of African art of mask making, they represent the spirit of an animal and the person who wears the mask would become that animal himself which would allow that person to communicate with that animal. This is so they can ask that certain animal to stay away from the village. Animals are a symbol of virtue. Most masks made will be buffalo, hyena, crocodile, hawk and antelope. The one animal mask which is widely used would be the antelope mask.  “It symbolizes agriculture and is worn to enable better crops. Horns represent growth of millet, legs roots of the plants while ears represent songs that women sing in the harvest time.” Taken from http://www.historyofmasks.net/mask-history/history-of-african-masks/

Whereas human shaped masks represent things to like masks representing patience and calmness have half-closed eyes, one having a small mouth and eyes represents humility. Masks that represent wisdom have a wide bulging forehead. Masks with a large chin represent power and strength.

This picture was taken of Google of a Punu mask. This is an African mask from the Punu tribe of Cameroon, Gabon. Another common subject of African masks is a woman’s face which is based on specific cultures ideal of feminine beauty. The female masks of the Punu people in Gabon have almond shaped eyes, curved eyelashes, thin chin and traditional ornaments on their cheeks. The picture is an African mask. You can tell from details that the mask is based on a females face as it has the female features described above. When reading about the masks I read that the Punu masks are made by men and no one else is allowed to see the mask until it has been completely finished.  These were considered good looking traits.  “One of the well-known representations of female beauty is the Idea mask of Benin. It is believed to have been commissioned by a king of Benin in memory of his mother. To honor his dead mother, the king wore the mask on his hip during special ceremonies” Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_African_masks  “Feminine beauty”

This picture is of Burkina Faso’s Festival of masks. Burkina Faso is a country located in West Africa. This is where dances are preformed day and night and it is said the person wearing the mask embodies the spirit of the mask they wear. Villages that live around Bobo-Dioulasso hold masks festival giving people the opportunity to show of new masks to awaiting villagers. The last phase of the festival involves straw covered men like the one in the picture. Athletic dancers representing evil spirits with every stunt they do the crowd is driven into an energy filled screaming frenzy. There are three straw covered men and they all try to outdo each other in the end of the festival the good and evil spirits mix dancing alone or in matched or mixed pairs. The picture shows a person stood wearing a black and red mask with white on it. You cannot see any of the body as it’s covered in a dark orangey brown straw. You can see people in the back ground.

This is a picture of an African animal mask that I have got of Google. The animal the mask represents is an elephant as you can see this by looking at the picture as they have a trunk which isn’t that long as the tusks on either side f the trunk is longer than the actual trunk. By the looks of it the mask is made from wood no other materials have been used you can see where details have been added which would be around the eyes in the middle of the mask and the ears. There are loads of little lines I think they are there on the mask to make it look like a more realistic mask. On the masks there’s no colour to it it’s just a plain brown whereas other animal masks have a splash of colour to them. On parts of the mask it goes to a darker brown even black in some parts. As I said at the beginning of the essay people would wear these masks so that they could communicate with any animal of their choice to mostly warn the animal to stay away from the village.

From researching about the African masks I now know a lot more than I did when I started the essay. I now know about some masks and the meanings behind them, why they wear the masks and looking at the different kinds of masks and how they communicate with the dead. I do find some of the masks that I looked at ugly and creepy but now know the meanings behind them and that they all have a purpose. What I did enjoy reading about was the rituals and how they communicate with the dead it does sound mad and hard to believe when reading about it.

Studio - Final pics

Final 6

This is the lighting setup for split lighting. I had a strobe light to the right side of my model so it would light up the right side of her face leaving the left side of her face with no light.

In these two pictures I have used split lighting. I chose to do split lighting as I wrote about it in my studio technique and lighting set ups and I liked the way it looked and wanted to try it out. I put a strobe light to the right side of the model so it lights up the right side of her face where as the left side of her face is dark. My model is sat on a chair. On the first picture I haven't used Photoshop or done anything to the photo where as on the second picture I have used Photoshop. For the second photo I first cropped the photo down as you could see the background so I wanted to cut that out. I then changed the brightness and exposure and made them lower so the picture looks darker.  I then changed the colour balance and added more pink and red into the photo as the photo had too much yellow and green in it as you can see by looking at the first photo.  I like the second photo more than the first because I have put more work into that and it looks better.  

This is the lighting setup I used to create Rembrandt lighting.  It was quite hard as my model had to keep turning her head until I could see the looping effect next to the models face. I used a strobe light with an umbrella attached to it so I could get the loop lighting effect.

For this picture I have used Rembrandt lighting I had a light with an umbrella reflector placed to the left side of my model. I took quite a few pictures trying to get the hooping effect next to the models nose. I used Photoshop on this picture and I changed the levels to darker the picture up a bit so the hooping effect next to the models nose would stand out more. I like this picture because I like how the left side of the modes face is light up and more lighter then the right side of her face as there's more of a shadow.



For this picture I also used Rembrandt lighting the lighting set up was exactly the same except my models face is more straight forward compared to the other picture its slightly turned and her heads more up plus she decided to crack a smile. For this picture I decided to have it black and white to bring out more of the shadows and to make them stand out more. I used Photoshop on this picture and made it black and white and made the photo darker changing the levels.






For these two pictures I have chose I actually had no light what so ever in the studio I was just using the flash on the camera as I wanted to try something different see how my pictures would turn out. For both of these pictures I have used Photoshop. For the left picture I just changed the levels to darker the picture and bring out the shadow more that's on her right side and I cropped the photo. I like how the background turned out on the picture as the top of it is a light blue where as the bottom is a darker blue. I like how in both pictures her cheek bones stand out and look really nice. For the picture on the right I used Photoshop  to change it to black and white I changed the levels as well which brought out the shadow more and her cheek bones and I cropped the photo. For these photos there was nothing specific I wanted my model to do I just wanted her to have some fun.

 

For this picture I had a soft box to the right side of my model which is why there is a slight shadow on the right side of the face. For this picture I ripped out the top half of someone's face and made my model hold it to make it look like it was part of her face. I used Photoshop to crop and make the photo black and white so the shadows wouldn't stand out as much. I like this picture as the ripped out magazine part blends in with her face nicely. If I was to take the picture again I would move the strobe light so it wouldn't create a shadow on the models face.