Task 1 - Research

Simon Bruntell

Simon Brunell is a photographer who gained a reputation through photographing contemporary pieces of glass. He owns a studio which is based in Stourbridge in west midlands, the epicentre of the once world famous glass making industry. He started his career mainly within the commercial advertising sector, but for the last ten year Simon has worked with glass, the first person to walk through his studio doors was Helen Millard cameo artists. The aspect of glass he admires the most is its transparency everything you want to see will show and everything you don’t want to see you cannot hide.

This is a very warm and rich image, the oven creates an eye catching effect which draws viewers in, the transparency enhances the fiery effect by creating curved lines it guides the viewer around the entire image. Texture is also a major aspect, it gives the image detail the upper sections feels rough and course compared to the lower section which feels soft and light this variation creates conflict between textures. The brickwork adds a pattern effect but what is more appealing to me is the oval shaped oven it looks like a tunnel which is great when trying to attract people towards an image.

This image resembles a modern and stylish theme, the blue circular shape frames the glass this emphasises its importance. The background is coloured in blue with artificial light hitting the objects. The reflective effect on the base is very interesting it gives this image a sophisticated feature. You can feel the texture of the wine glasses the one on the left hand side is bumpy and dense compared the centre which is smooth and the glass on the right hand side has a sequence of bumpy lines.  

Justin Borucki – glass collodion process

Justin is a New York native, the process which he has used is the (Glass collodion process). The glass collodion process involves coating a plate of glass with a mixture of iodine and Cellulose Nitrate, the plate was then immersed in a solution of silver nitrate to form silver iodine.  While the plate is still wet it must be placed into the camera and exposed.  This process was invented by Englishmen Frederick Scott Archer in 1851.

 Justin Borucki is a contemporary photographer but his images suggest otherwise, he has opted for the (Glass collodion) process to give his images a historic feel.  I admire this process because it allows contemporary artists to experience more traditional methods of creating images, it also allows you to deal with problems historic photographers may have experienced, and this gives you a better understanding of what it must have took to create images during the 19 century.  The shallow depth of field makes you focus all my attention on the subject and bike, this technique gives you can insight into the artist’s thought process he has used depth of field to add more emphasis to the main areas of  this image. The black splodges around the edges suggest that the emulsion did not reach those parts of the image but I prefer this effect because it supports the historic theme by emulating a worn-out and eroded look.

 I enjoy viewing this image because it was shot in the glass collodion process which makes it look like it was captured behind a window, the black shades on the background give it an old and warn out feel, and furthermore it also creates a frame effect which draws people towards the image. There is a wide range of shades which make this image look similar to a sketch rather than film. Moreover this image plays on scale because it was shot at a distance the high depth of field makes the skyscrapers look like building blocks.  Moreover the aesthetic theme may be comparing run down areas to rich and upper class areas, it may be telling people that poorer parts of a city are neglected. 

Irving Penn was born in June 16 1917 - 2009, Plain Field New Jersey, is an American photographer known for specializing in fashion, portrait and still life photography. Penn’s career includes work at vogue magazine, and independent advertising for Issey miyake, and Clinique. He attended the Philadelphia museum school of industrial art from 1934 to 1938 where he studied drawing, painting and industrial arts under Alexey Brodovitch. During his still life shoots he mostly shot images of food and everyday house hold items such as; stationary, cigarettes and cutlery. Penn uses many compositional techniques and styles to create his still life shots one of the main aspects of his image is contrast he uses it heavily to attract people to his image.

 This image is very peculiar because, I did not expect glass to have circular lines running through it. The shadows create a pattern effect throughout the image this is very attention grabbing, it makes you wonder why these glass objects have glass running through it.  Furthermore the low angle has allowed Irving Penn to capture the shadows. This image may have been shot with artificial light because there are variations in brightness in some areas of the image.

Historic

Talbot was born in Melbury, Dorset, he was educated at Cambridge University in 1817 he was an inventor, member of parliament and photographer; he made major contributions to photography at a time when it was not well-known. Talbot invented the calotype process and his work during the 1840s on photo mechanical reproduction led to the creation of photo glyphic engraving process.  Some of his photography is very simple and basic but it contains a strong contrast which enables you to see the detail within his subjects.

This image looks very ordinary, its seems as though the photographer has captured a random area of his house. The format is perfect for capturing wide subjects the scale and alignment is good, everything is evenly placed which gives it a balanced and calming feel.  The contrast is very strong this is great when creating an eye caching effect to draw people towards an image.