My name is Scott Wight, I am a Photography student and Blackpool and the Fylde College: Year 2. I have created this blog to document a brief we have been assigned as part of the course.
The brief is as follows:
You are asked to research and enter at least one competition brief. All the requirements for the competition need to be observed or this will affect your grade. In addition to these requirements you will need to submit at least two images that fulfil the competition, these can be drawn from your actual submission for the competition.
-Logbook required with development of work process and a reflective exploration of all briefs, together with a critical evaluation of each.
-One A3 Contact sheet containing two images.
- A high resolution digital file of each or your final images, submitted on CD/DVD.
-Each digital file should be A3 in size 300dpi, flattened saved as a TIFF and titled in the following format:
SURNAME_COMP_01
-All work must be protected with regard to copyright.
- A completed Self Assessment Form and Unit Evaluation Report.
- A completed Assignment Cover Sheet with applicable Releases and Licenses.
DEADLINE: Friday 26th November 2010- 12:30pm
COMPETITION: PhotoArt Gallery.com- Urban Oasis
The Photo Art Gallery is a social and international photographic destination where photography enthusiasts of all skill levels can show their photos, share within the network of users these images, as well as explore the other users images; with even the opportunity for users to sell their images.
Ownership and Copyright:
The website is powered by 'Photophuse', a platform created by photography enthusiast Andrew Coppin:
So for this brief I have taken thought to what images I could possibly use to meet the context of the brief being 'an interpretation of a place/environment I enjoy'. I have chosen two images from my 'portfolio of work' I have been building since the start of my photographic avocation and pursuit in early 2006.
The two images i have chosen are from a series of shots I took whilst I visited the state of New York, USA on a holiday with my family in the Winter of 2006.
I have particularly chosen these images as they relate to me as a time and place of when I really began to build up a passion for taking photographs. It was also a point in my life where I remember that I really enjoyed where and what its was I was photographing; because I had never visited New York before and I was captivated by the huge and vast scale, as well its great populous of culture intricate and exquisite architecture.
The two photos I have submitted are that of the typical styling as 'Andrew Prokos':
(full client list can be found at: http://andrewprokos.com/clients.html) -2010.
Extract from: http://andrewprokos.com/- 2010.
Andrew Prokos has been photographing New York City's architecture, skylines, cityscapes and landscapes for over ten years; resulting in a body of work that is one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of New York City photographs by a single photographer. He develops the changing face of New York City by capturing the same location at different times of day and in every season; witnessing is breathtaking transformation over time and creating an ambience of different moments in New York City.
His New York photography archive includes photos of the city's most famous architecture and landmarks and Proko's photography has been exhibited at the Museum of the City of New York as well as private and corporate art collections throughout the United States and Europe.
The majority of his work has been taken at night, each photo includes the city’s lights and light pollution, some light trails from traffic and where there are rivers, they reflect this light. Whilst looking through the internet for cityscape photographers, i found the work of Adrew Prokos. Instantly i loved the photos he had taken, but they also the reflected my images I have chosen to submit to the competition.
(Brooklyn Bridge- July 27th 2007- Prokos)
This image is set fantastically with the positioning of all aspects of the bridge and cityscape. The centre of the bridge gives the focal point, however is placed more to the right; creating the viewer to then follow the lines created by the bridges suspension and of to the left of the image.
The city in the background is set to minimal to the actual bridge size creating a beautiful looking scale and depth to the image. The use of lines in this image also creates a good sense of depth of field and height; the deep shadows and greys make for fine detail and atmosphere to the image too.
First of all, the sky is lit with the light pollution from the city, but also has very vibrant and deep colours of red, orange, yellow and blues; capturing beautiful moment of the sun setting over the city. The image is set with great composition having the Empire state set central as the focal point and the vast cityscape below creates a natural and human contrast with the background. The the spread and amount of light in the image is also a welcoming feeling to the city, and the many different building lit up gives the impression of a vast human presence.
In this image, again the sky is lit with light pollution but it is a much lighter colouring of purple, and scaling across to blue giving a good capturing of dusk setting of the city. The reflections of the city in the water really gives the idea of motion in the image as well as an almost double image for the viewers attention too. It also reflects the dark shadows of the trees, as well as a very mellow lighting of the sky and city lights from buildings. There is also a gentle green light lit in the background of the image witch draws great depth to the images with help of the wide angling of lines of the bordering trees, giving a real panoramic image.
From my series of images I took whilst I visited New York in Winter 2006, I used five of them for building my photography portfolio and unfortunately do not have have any of the original contact sheets as they were deleted from the College system I was using at the time after my completion of time there. This meaning I have none of the original psd (photoshop) formats of the images and only the five JPEG files I had from my portfolio. However I felt that these images fit the criteria and my own enjoyment and personal representation of an 'Urban Oasis'.
Below however, is a Contact Sheet of the five remaining images i had from the series:
The two images I have chosen to submit, which I shot on a Canon 400D on a 18-55mm lens. The first is on the Brooklyn Bridge and the other is a photo taken from street level in Manhattan.
What I like most about this first image is that I have captured that great use of line created by the suspension on the bridge, like that in Prokos's work.
The use of more vertical lines really presents height to the image as well as the centre and other parallel lines really make for a long depth of field. The lamppost in the foreground is macro in the shot and gives more information for the viewer to look at in the image, using the rule of thirds. The scale of the city in the background and people in the foreground adds to this sense of height, as well as the urban lifestyle of the typical New Yorker.
I decided to have this photo done in Black and White because at the time, and still am now, a big enthusiast of the genre of Black and White photography. I fell this adds to the impact and atmosphere of the image, as well as brings out the detail in the images with lights and darks.
COMPETITION: PhotoArt Gallery.com- Urban Oasis
The Photo Art Gallery is a social and international photographic destination where photography enthusiasts of all skill levels can show their photos, share within the network of users these images, as well as explore the other users images; with even the opportunity for users to sell their images.
"This competition is open to artistic intrepretation, but our intention was to inspire people to search for the things that makes them happy in their environment - their very own Urban Oasis".
http://www.photoartgallery.com/competition/festive-(2010).
The theme of this competition is my interpretation of an 'Urban Oasis', a place/environment that I personally enjoy. It was a 'free entry' competition and open to people to all photographers aged 14 and over; (except employees of the Ph.Art Gallery and members of their immediate families and agencies associated with this Competition).
The promoter of the competition is 'Ph.Art Gallery Pty Ltd' and is sponsored by the 'Lecia Camera AG' International company.
It commenced on the 20th October 2010, with final entries to be submitted before 12:00am on 1st December 2010. The Competition is judged by a panel of expert judges from the photography industry and other representatives of the sponsors; "Each entry will be individually judged based on originality and creative merit"- (T&C). The best entries are determined by the judges and the final judging will be deemed the prize winners. The judge’s decision will be final.
The Promoter has the right, at any time, to verify the validity of entries and participants, and to disqualify anyone who submits an entry that is not in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of Entry.
The competition ins split into 9 Prizes and Winners.
I am allowed to enter 5 images only and the images minimum file size requirement applies of: 1024 x 768 Hi Res JPEG files and participants will be advised when their images are accepted or rejected from the event via email.
Warranty of the competition:
"By entering the Competition, each participant warrants to the Promoter that the entry and any other work subsequently submitted is an original artistic work of the participant, has not been wholly or partially copied from any other design or artistic work, and does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party".
Ownership and Copyright:
"The copyright of all images remains that of the photographer at all times but may be reproduced by the promoter for the express purpose of PR and publicity of the results of the competition and for promotional purposes. The promoter will endeavour to credit the artist at all times if their image is used and will seek permission for said promotional use whenever possible. Separate negotiations shall be entered into should the Promoter or its agents which to use any images for commercial purposes".
A copy of the terms and conditions (T&C) can be found at:
http://www.photoartgallery.com/competitions/pagesholder/sponsor/phart/festive/termsandconditions/compname/festive/sponsorname/phart/-(2010).
The website is powered by 'Photophuse', a platform created by photography enthusiast Andrew Coppin:
'After running photo competitions for the members of www.photoartgallery.com, (Australia’s online photo gallery & community for photography enthusiasts), Andrew saw a need to make it easy for any company to run and manage successful competitions and promotional events using the power of imagery, in a space that you exclusively own'.http://www.photophuse.com/about-us/-(2010).
So for this brief I have taken thought to what images I could possibly use to meet the context of the brief being 'an interpretation of a place/environment I enjoy'. I have chosen two images from my 'portfolio of work' I have been building since the start of my photographic avocation and pursuit in early 2006.
The two images i have chosen are from a series of shots I took whilst I visited the state of New York, USA on a holiday with my family in the Winter of 2006.
I have particularly chosen these images as they relate to me as a time and place of when I really began to build up a passion for taking photographs. It was also a point in my life where I remember that I really enjoyed where and what its was I was photographing; because I had never visited New York before and I was captivated by the huge and vast scale, as well its great populous of culture intricate and exquisite architecture.
The two photos I have submitted are that of the typical styling as 'Andrew Prokos':
"Andrew Prokos is a New York City based photographer specializing in architectural, location, and fine art photography. Andrew has worked on assignments and commissions for clients in advertising, publishing, design, real estate, government, and corporate art. Andrew's photos have been widely published in magazines and corporate annuals, and are featured in printed product lines sold in the United States and Europe".Such clients include: The New York Observer, Random House, Hoffman York Advertising, Morgan Stanley Real Estate, etc.
(full client list can be found at: http://andrewprokos.com/clients.html) -2010.
Extract from: http://andrewprokos.com/- 2010.
Andrew Prokos has been photographing New York City's architecture, skylines, cityscapes and landscapes for over ten years; resulting in a body of work that is one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of New York City photographs by a single photographer. He develops the changing face of New York City by capturing the same location at different times of day and in every season; witnessing is breathtaking transformation over time and creating an ambience of different moments in New York City.
His New York photography archive includes photos of the city's most famous architecture and landmarks and Proko's photography has been exhibited at the Museum of the City of New York as well as private and corporate art collections throughout the United States and Europe.
The majority of his work has been taken at night, each photo includes the city’s lights and light pollution, some light trails from traffic and where there are rivers, they reflect this light. Whilst looking through the internet for cityscape photographers, i found the work of Adrew Prokos. Instantly i loved the photos he had taken, but they also the reflected my images I have chosen to submit to the competition.
This image is set fantastically with the positioning of all aspects of the bridge and cityscape. The centre of the bridge gives the focal point, however is placed more to the right; creating the viewer to then follow the lines created by the bridges suspension and of to the left of the image.
The city in the background is set to minimal to the actual bridge size creating a beautiful looking scale and depth to the image. The use of lines in this image also creates a good sense of depth of field and height; the deep shadows and greys make for fine detail and atmosphere to the image too.
(New York Cityscape- Prokos)
First of all, the sky is lit with the light pollution from the city, but also has very vibrant and deep colours of red, orange, yellow and blues; capturing beautiful moment of the sun setting over the city. The image is set with great composition having the Empire state set central as the focal point and the vast cityscape below creates a natural and human contrast with the background. The the spread and amount of light in the image is also a welcoming feeling to the city, and the many different building lit up gives the impression of a vast human presence.
(Dust over Central Park- Prokos)
In this image, again the sky is lit with light pollution but it is a much lighter colouring of purple, and scaling across to blue giving a good capturing of dusk setting of the city. The reflections of the city in the water really gives the idea of motion in the image as well as an almost double image for the viewers attention too. It also reflects the dark shadows of the trees, as well as a very mellow lighting of the sky and city lights from buildings. There is also a gentle green light lit in the background of the image witch draws great depth to the images with help of the wide angling of lines of the bordering trees, giving a real panoramic image.
From my series of images I took whilst I visited New York in Winter 2006, I used five of them for building my photography portfolio and unfortunately do not have have any of the original contact sheets as they were deleted from the College system I was using at the time after my completion of time there. This meaning I have none of the original psd (photoshop) formats of the images and only the five JPEG files I had from my portfolio. However I felt that these images fit the criteria and my own enjoyment and personal representation of an 'Urban Oasis'.
Below however, is a Contact Sheet of the five remaining images i had from the series:
The two images I have chosen to submit, which I shot on a Canon 400D on a 18-55mm lens. The first is on the Brooklyn Bridge and the other is a photo taken from street level in Manhattan.
(Brooklyn Bridge 2005- swightphotography)
What I like most about this first image is that I have captured that great use of line created by the suspension on the bridge, like that in Prokos's work.
The use of more vertical lines really presents height to the image as well as the centre and other parallel lines really make for a long depth of field. The lamppost in the foreground is macro in the shot and gives more information for the viewer to look at in the image, using the rule of thirds. The scale of the city in the background and people in the foreground adds to this sense of height, as well as the urban lifestyle of the typical New Yorker.
I decided to have this photo done in Black and White because at the time, and still am now, a big enthusiast of the genre of Black and White photography. I fell this adds to the impact and atmosphere of the image, as well as brings out the detail in the images with lights and darks.
(New York Cityscape 2005- swightphotography)
This image is taken from street level in Manhattan; what I like most about this image is the way it creates a layered effect drawing the viewers eyes into the image. I am not terribly happy with the tree in the foreground, but I personally like the idea of this natural element being present in this towering metropolis. However there is a lot of other different aspects of the image that draws your eyes away from this; for example I like the way other buildings are mirrored into the side of another, adding so much more detail for the viewer to be noticing.
I like the way the image has been cropped as it creates a tightness to the buildings and gives the image height; as well as a large space between because of the width of the street. With this is space the viewer can notice the way each building is layered over the other and literally builds up the image and creating depth.
The lighting of the image is very dark due to the scale of buildings, but I feel this adds to the depth and vastness of New York City. I also like the way the shadow has been caught and angled down over the image, indicating this further.
Evaluation
For this assignment I was ask to enter at least one competition brief and meet all the requirements that the competition had in place. In addition to this I had to submit at least two images that fulfilled the competition's theme/genre.
I chose this particular competition for various reasons but genrally because I had already developed two appealing images that I felt met the content of what the promoter was looking for. Another reason was that it came with no cost to enter and it also I felt it gave me the opportunity to show two images I am quite passionate about and consider to be well photographed by my perspective. The intention for the competition was to show an environment that makes a person happy and they see as their own 'Urban Oasis'.
The competition required up to five images of 1024 x 768 Hi Res JPEG files; I uploaded two images of this format easily and was sent a confirmation email by the promoters to say my images were accepted. The copyright of the images remained with me which was good if in the case of winning I would have full rights.
The reason I chose the two images I had is because the time and place where I had taken the photos made me feel happy and it was a place that gave me great memories of a family holiday, enjoyment of being in a new exciting place and it was a real spur to the progression of my photographic development.
My research into the photos I had taken came after the creation of the photographs, however they resemble very much so the work of my researched photographer 'Andrew Prokos', and would give me more of an insight to developing other similar photographs if I were to be given the opportunity again.
In conclusion I feel that with my own artistic interpretation, I have met the brief of the competition and submitted two photographically interesting images depicting my own idea of an 'Urban Oasis'. However with my second image I feel I could taken it from a different perspective to get a better focus and style of the cityscape genre, like that of Andrew Prokos.
Self Assessment Form:
Module Evaluation Form:
I chose this particular competition for various reasons but genrally because I had already developed two appealing images that I felt met the content of what the promoter was looking for. Another reason was that it came with no cost to enter and it also I felt it gave me the opportunity to show two images I am quite passionate about and consider to be well photographed by my perspective. The intention for the competition was to show an environment that makes a person happy and they see as their own 'Urban Oasis'.
The competition required up to five images of 1024 x 768 Hi Res JPEG files; I uploaded two images of this format easily and was sent a confirmation email by the promoters to say my images were accepted. The copyright of the images remained with me which was good if in the case of winning I would have full rights.
The reason I chose the two images I had is because the time and place where I had taken the photos made me feel happy and it was a place that gave me great memories of a family holiday, enjoyment of being in a new exciting place and it was a real spur to the progression of my photographic development.
My research into the photos I had taken came after the creation of the photographs, however they resemble very much so the work of my researched photographer 'Andrew Prokos', and would give me more of an insight to developing other similar photographs if I were to be given the opportunity again.
In conclusion I feel that with my own artistic interpretation, I have met the brief of the competition and submitted two photographically interesting images depicting my own idea of an 'Urban Oasis'. However with my second image I feel I could taken it from a different perspective to get a better focus and style of the cityscape genre, like that of Andrew Prokos.
Self Assessment Form:
Module Evaluation Form:
