The Environment

In this project we were asked to produce a picture of the landscape. Basically I'm finding it quite hard; I don't like them as much, as portraits...

Mostly in my pictures you can find people or just pieces of human body, which means that most of my pictures include something connected with people (even some shape such a shadow makes me more satisfied about my photograph).

I guess for my final images (is quite long way but already I’m thinking about it) I’ll include people, just small piece of them.

So far I took some pictures of my previous surrounding in London. Firstly I didn’t think about them so serious, I just found them interesting. So I grab my camera and I started shooting.

It wasn’t easy, literally dangerous because I was leaning out the window on the 4^th floor. But it doesn’t matter, it was worth it, because I like this mirrored effect and I think I’ll keep this idea for medium or large format camera, but for this cameras I’ll need to find more safe place such a balcony or terrace.

5x4

Large Format Camera

When Johnathan started to talk about large format camera I was just terrified. I’m using my 35mm camera all the time, so obviously I know what film camera mean and how to use it. But this one… So big with lots of new things…

In the beginning I found it so strange, but later on – I can say that I adore it. There is plenty of important information and buttons which you need to remember and know hwo to use it. What you have to press now, what you need to lock after, how to change slides…  It takes a lot of time, but is so amazing and final thing – developed negatives, so amazing.

Just few minutes after I’ve back from uni I scanned negatives and edited them to positive. I’m not a master with editing so they are not so good, but at least you can see something.  Anyway my scanner is quite old, dirty and doesn’t have good quality…

Peppers by Edward Weston

  

I found something very interesting is Edward Westons photographs of peppers. They are quite sexual but in the same time really soft and so normal because it's just a vegetable..,

I love the way how light and shape of the object are working together. Basically shape doing its work and I guess pepper from the picture 'Pepper No.30' is not just a random vegetable bought in the market place. 

For me series of peppers are connected with women, sex and a bit with feminism. I don't know at all and I'd never get this knowledge what exactly he wanted to say by this photographs. 

"It is classic, completely satisfying – a pepper – but more than a pepper: abstract, in that it is completely outside subject matter." 

When I look at them, they looks perfect, even unreal. But as he said "a pepper - but more than a pepper" brings something that makes you think and ask questions. Is that pepper real? When did he find it? How he took that picture? What it means?

There is some context hidden there, which attract this still-life images more. You want to study and study them to find something more. 

Literally every single description of art work is partly constructed by the artist and party by the viewer. So I can say that this peppers are sexual for me, but somebody else can say they are just a boring vegetables which nobody likes. And even Weston could say something totally different.

During my research in the Internet I've found some page called Soulcatchers Studio, where was a sentense like:

'"These are contact prints, made directly from Edward's original 8x10" negatives,  and printed to his exact specifications by the one person that could do the job right(...)"

Basically prints which are in this studio are made by Edward Westons son Cole. Who spent many years under his direct supervision in his darkroom. He was only one person who could use his negatives after his death.

Summer Project

Self portrait

This picture is taken by my first film camera which my dad gave me to play when I was really young. By the time I recognized that this camera is something more than just a toy… I started to taking pictures, quite random and without any visions, specifics ideas. I think by this time I found something still not improved in myself – love to photography. This period in my life it was just practice. How to see objects by the camera. Then, when digital cameras came I started to be more serious with my surrounding . But from technical way it was much easier and much cheaper that film camera – which was always with me…

All things with I love.

For my summer project I had to take a self portrait. Most of the people thinks that portrait is just an image of the face… But portrait is much, much more.  

Obviously I’m in the picture, but you can’t see my face because it’s stick to camera, with obviously means that there is some relationship between the person and the object.

Anyway picture looks so messy, but all objects have some meaning – some of them are more personal some less but still they’re important.

I wanted to show by this picture part of my inside. My obsession about shoes. My adoration to old stuff, such a my grandparents gramophone. My addictions – cigarettes and coke. And basic one – my love to photography.

In this picture person – me – is not dress at all. But anyway is dressed so weird because which normal person is wearing pants, t-shirt and winter hat? Basically this outfit have some meaning as well. From the top – winter hat means that I quite like cold. Cold is for winter; and winter is for winter sports, which I adore.

Then t-shirt, which means comfort, I really don’t like formal clothes (even I’m wearing them I find it so uncomfortable. Also I’m just a master with making myself dirty, so I really difficult for me to stay fresh and clean in that kind of clothes. In casual ones I don’t care at all.)

Finally pants and naked legs. Is about acts. I think it says by itself…