Modernism Assignment: "An Ordinary Day: A Student's Perspective"

"An Ordinary Day: A Student's Perspective" is a selection of 12 photographs. This series provide a glance into the images and activities involved in an average day for a college student. The 12 photographs I selected best represent the frequent activities that make up my own ordinary day as a summer student at the University of Stirling.

Modernism marks a major shift in what became the photography we know today. The term modernism is used to describe trends in photography that occurred in the first two decades of the 1900's. These trends involved the formation of framing techniques and principles such as the use of different heights and angles (high, low, or obscure), as well as exaggerated light and shadows in the images ("Inventing Modernism"). The work from the Modernist period is quite different from the Camera Obscura and Pictorialist photography that we also learned about in class. I found it interesting to learn about the Modernism topic, as this is the most common and relatable out of the three topics to the photography most captured to this very day.  My work is influenced by Albert Renger-Patzsch, particularly his photograph Glasses (1927). Renger-Patzsch (1897-1966) was a German photographer commonly associated with Modernism and New Objectivity movements. Glasses is a photograph part of Renger-Patzsch's collection The World is Beautiful. The collection was keen on revealing patterns of order and beauty in the both natural and man-made world ("Albert Renger-Patzsch"). His work follows along with Modernist framing techniques: Glasses inspired my work due to its' obscure angle and exaggerated light and shadows, as well as the alignment of the objects. Renger-Patzsch's photographs from The World is Beautiful collection capture both man-made and natural settings from angles of interest that produce unique shadows adding depth to the photographs. His collection of photographs inspired me to photograph objects and settings from my ordinary days at the University of Stirling, and form them together to produce a series can permit visually mismatched work to function as a series.

Glasses (1927)

https://dg19s6hp6ufoh.cloudfront.net/pictures/612521275/large/albert_patsch.jpeg?1423331777

The images I selected for my composition encompassed the use of tilted, high, and low angles of images, similar to Renger-Patzsch. As the viewer looks through ""An Ordinary Day: A Student's Perspective", they are able to receive a glimpse at what a college student's days look like through 12 images. The English idiom "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words" is relevant to my series. As opposed to writing an essay, it is more interesting and more captivating to the viewer to see what exactly the ordinary day looks like through a series of  12 images.  Figures 1 and 2 depict the start of the day, with an early morning tea. Figures 3 and 4 are the way in which college students can travel around besides on foot, hence my caption for Figure 4 being titled "Getting there." Figures 5 and 6 are of two staircases that I come across everyday on my way to class, and on my way around campus. These two staircases are essential in being able to travel around campus, and are a large part of my ordinary day. Figures 7 and 8 are of a classroom setting. Classes, of course, are a central part of University. Figures 9 and 10 are of the bookshelves in the library at the University of Stirling. After class, I will head to the library to check out books for class and for fun (Figure 10), or to complete homework assignments. Figures 11 and 12 are of the laundry room on campus. Although laundry is not exciting, I have been to that room countless times, making it an integral part of my days. 

At first, the viewer may not see how the selection of photos I have taken work together to form a series. Therefore, I have created words and titles written next to the images to allow the series to come together. Due to the shared elements of each photograph being that these objects and/or activities are essential in my day at the University, I have titled my series "An Ordinary Day: A Student's Perspective." It is interesting to think about how my series is compared to a similar series but from a working adult's perspective, or a 7-year old boy's perspective. In one instance, there may be photographs more centered on a working and family environment, and in the other perhaps the series of the child's ordinary day would be centered around playgrounds, sports, and minimal work. 

My hopes with this series is to provide my viewers with a personal story of my everyday life. I have spent the past three weeks studying at the University of Stirling, and while each day is a new day, there is still a routine aspect. I have my morning tea, then travel to class using the stairwell in the Andrew Miller Building and Juniper Court, attend Marketing and Photography courses in Cottrell, complete assignments in the library, and due to frequent hikes and trips around Scotland, end up in the laundry room to wash the mud out of my clothes and shoes. I chose to create the series ""An Ordinary Day: A Student's Perspective" to provide for a more personal blog entry, and because I wanted to see how exactly one can have images that appear visually mismatched work to function as a series. Although capturing drastic shadows that Renger-Patzsch used in Glasses was a lot more difficult than expected (due to Scotland's weather being rain most of the time), I took on Renger-Patzsch's Modernistic techniques of shooting images from high, low, and tilted angles, as well as creating a focus on my subject and having backgrounds more blurred out. Photographing multiple objects but creating a series out of them provided me with a challenging, but fun and interesting assignment to apply Modernism principles to my photo collection.

Word Count: 971

Photo Collection: 

Figure 1: Morning Tea
Tilted angle with minimal shadow highlighting the steam from the mug.

Figure 2: A cup for two
This image highlights both the teapot, as well as the shadows beneath the mug. Due to the lack of sunlight in Scotland, a dramatic shadow was difficult to capture, so instead the subtle shadow of the mug is reflected on the table.

Figure 3: The wheels to class go round and round
An image that highlights the wheel and the building in the background. Taken from a lower angle.

Figure 4: Getting there
Image taken from low tilted angle, with the focus on the bicycle. Unfortunately, no shadow was able to be produced due to the lack of sunlight once again.

Figure 5: The ascent to class
This photograph implements the use of the tilted/bottom view. The dark coloured steps provides a contrast between the light in the hallway and from the walls.

Figure 6: The descent
This staircase is used by myself at least four times in a day. This staircase provides the passageway from my dormitory to the remainder of campus. Taken from an above angle that focuses on the lower part of the stairwell, and seems to blur out the top of the railing.

Figure 7: Looking Up
Taken from a view below the desks. Highlights are on the two main chairs, with the following chairs in the back being noticeable, but not the focal point. Taken in a classroom.

Figure 8: Looking Down
A "birds eye view" of the classroom. This technique explored by Alexander Rodchenko allows the viewer to have a better view of the overall space. Clean lines in this photograph.

Figure 9: The Stacks
This photograph was taken from a higher angle, and though the top of the books closer to the camera appears regular, there is a slight shadow on the top of the books closer towards the back of the photograph. Also, if you look closely, you will see another bookshelf beyond these books.

Figure 10: Take a look, in a book: Reading for fun or for school?
This photograph has an overall shadow to it, as the photograph appeared darker than the other images in this collection. This image was taken from above, and has a clear focus on the top of the photograph and a blurred out focus on the bottom of the books.

Figure 11: Open and Closed Doors
Taken in the laundry room on campus, not the best activity but still a necessity. This image was taken from below and the doors to the washing machines and dryers being either fully open, fully closed, or partially open make for an interesting view and dynamic. 

Figure 12: A Slight Mess
This image was interesting to me because it is not clean cut like Figure 8. Instead, there are clothes and detergent in the back right side of this photo, and spilled powder in front of the washing machine. It was interesting to place a contrast between how an image can appear "messy" vs. how an image can appear "clean". This image emphasizes the bottom tilt angle, where the first washer on the left along with the powder spill is the subject of my photograph.

References:

"Albert Renger-Patzsch." Tate. N.p., 19 May 1970. Web. 27 June 2017. http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/display/albert-renger-patzsch.

"Inventing Modernism." Inventing Modernism: Photographs from the American Museum of Photography. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 June 2017. <http://www.photographymuseum.com/modernism1.html>.

Pictorialist Phototgraphy

The Construction Process

I created eight filters made of different textures and colours to use as a pallet for my photographs. The following is a description of my filters (from left to right-- starting with the top row): Filter 1 is made from a piece of a fishnet material and texture, backed by a yellow/green piece of film. Filter 2 is a blue piece of film. Filter 3 is a piece of cellophane. Filter 4 is a piece of bubble wrap. Filter 5 is a clear piece of film with lines from a green marker drawn over it. Filter 6 is a piece of the net from an onion bag, backed onto a clear piece of film that is coloured orange  Filter 7 is also a clear piece of film but with brown shading and black lines drawn on it. Filter 8 is a piece of white/semi-clear fabric backed by a light blue/clear piece of film. In addition to the filters, I used a plastic clear mason jar and placed it behind my filters to give the photographs a unique dimension and perspective. All of my photographs were taken on Princes Street in Stirling, Scotland, one of the most historic looking streets in downtown Stirling.

 

My Intention/Source of Inspiration: Frederick H. Evans

I chose to photograph this street due to the historic architecture and models of the buildings, as well as the interesting and intriguing doorways that were all different in size, shape, and colour. My intention was to capture the doorways and windows of different historic homes and office buildings on the street in order to compare the contrasting styles of architecture.

 

The Pictorialist movement was centred around the idea that photographs could be just as creative as other abstract art forms, especially paintings. This movement occurred at a similar time of Impressionism, so therefore Pictorialist photographs can often be compared to paintings from that of the Impressionism period.

 

Photograph done by Frederick H. Evans. This photograph served as inspiration for my assignment by the use of shadows and a focus on the light.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/59/84/81/598481a840475c76c6e7ce7204b2c40c.jpg

 

I selected Frederick H. Evans as my source of inspiration for this assignment. Evans was a well-known British photographer known for his photographs of landscapes and architectures, primarily archways. ("Frederick H. Evans (British, 1853-1943) (Getty Museum). I chose Evans because I am fascinated with the idea of archways, and similar likings such as doorways and windows because there is so much uncertainty that lies beyond these structures. The painting 'Windows in the West', done by artist Avril Paton and exhibited at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum shows how there are many different stories that lie beyond each window in a building. Therefore, when I was walking along Princes Street, I was reminded of both Paton's painting and Evans' photography, and chose to combine the two by photographing windows and doorways that were part of the historic 

homes on this street. My theme for this portfolio was "Look Beyond that is Seen, Every frame tells a different Story".  A doorway is just a doorway. A window is just a window. But with my photographs, I focussed on these two objects and tried to capture it at an angle that asked the question, "What is Beyond that Frame?".

Frederick H. Evans' goal in his photographs was "to utilize the play of light and shadow on static architectural structures" (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). This goal is what distinguished his work from other Pictorialist photographers. In my photographs, I played with the use of light by using two contrasting filters: Filter 1 which was yellow/green film backed by a fishnet material, and Filter 8 which was a white piece of fabric backed by a light blue piece of film. These filters also allowed for darker spaces/shadows on the final photograph, which mimicked Evans' dark areas in his photographs, but that were paired with warm colours to create more of a mysterious dark. I used the mason jar and placed it behind my filter when taking the photo in order to add shadows and a fade effect to my photographs. Evans was a good example of a Pictorialist photographer, and by looking at his photographs I was able to use his ideas when doing my own portfolio.

My portfolio drew inspiration from photographer Frederick H. Evans and from Avril Paton's painting 'Windows of the West', but then I used my own interest in doorways and windows on historic buildings to further expand my photographs. The two contrasting filters I used allowed for my photographs to be faded on the outside and a soft focus when using Filter 1, and dark light and a harder focus when using Filter 8. The mason jar provided an interesting dimension to the photograph that mimicked photographs from the Pictorialist time period.



References

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Frederick H. Evans." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 25 Oct. 2013. Web. 23 June 2017.    

                                              

"Frederick H. Evans (British, 1853 - 1943) (Getty Museum)." The J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 June 2017.                                

Photograph Collection:

 



Figure One 

This photograph was taken using filter eight and the mason jar, but the dim lighting from the cloudy sky resulted in a darker image that focused on the doorway and had dark shadows surrounding the window and side of the house. The dark shadows were drawn from Evan's photographs as a source of inspiration.



 

Figure Two
This photograph is of the same doorway from figure three, but is approached from a different, narrower angle. The narrow angles produce intriguing shadows from the trees and bushes surrounding the house, similar to Evans' work. The contrast in light from the top right hand corner of the photo to the middle of the photo where the doorway is provides a sense of mystery for the viewer of this photo.

Figure Three
This photograph was taken using filter one and the mason jar. Here, I focussed on the upper half of the doorway, the ledge above the doorway and the window, in order to be consistent with my theme "Look Beyond that is Seen. Every Frame tells a Different Story". This is a photograph of the entrance to a home on a quiet street in downtown Stirling. I appreciate the mystery of not knowing what lies beyond the doors. Is the home occupied by an elderly couple? Or rather, a single man who is a struggling author? Or a young family who just moved to Scotland? I do not know, and that is the mystery to it.

Figure Four
This photograph was taken with filter one. The fishnet is visible and although unusual, has placed a higher emphasis on the windows of this building, which was the subject of my focus for this photograph. The yellow/green piece of film is similar to that of the Pictorialist photographers, and the fishnet actually highlights the windows of this building. The left side and bottom half of this photograph has a soft focus. 

Figure Five
This photograph was also taken using filter one. I used Evans theme of playing with the light and shadows on a "static architectural structures". The door and window is highlighted in the photograph, and the tree has a soft shadow to it. The effect of this photograph is warm and inviting, due to the soft colours and the door seeming welcoming.

Figure Six
This photograph was taken using filter one and the mason jar. This photograph employs the fade and dark shadow effect that Evans used in many of his photographs. This is an image of a the building towards the end of Princes Street. This building has two round towers attached to it, and this is a photograph of the left tower. The windows on this building are different than the other ones found on this street. These are more rectangular and placed differently, which made this an interesting sight. The tree in the shadows along with the greener colour on the top of the photo added a sense of uncanny feeling to this photo.

Figure Seven
Filter one and the mason jar were used in the taking of this photo. The mason jar provided the unique and mystical depth to the doorway and right window of this house, and the soft shadow on the left. Evans' photographs that used soft and hard focuses, as well as different forms of light and shadows served as inspiration for the taking of this photo. The doorway is highlighted in this photograph, and can be viewed as either welcoming or almost eerie.

Figure Eight
This is the same image as Figure Seven, but was taken with filter eight and the mason jar. The lighting in this photograph is different than that of figure one, which results in a cooler temperature effect and a more appealing look. The doorway and left window are highlighted in this photo and the steps to this entryway are nearly invisible, as there is a hard shadow on the steps. Using filter one (in figure seven) and filter eight (in this photograph) to capture the same image provides the similar looking setting but the different filters provide a unique feel. This filter is more welcoming where as filter one used in figure seven of this same image is more eerie and mysterious.

Camera Obscura Assignment: University of Glasgow by Katie Barry

Images of my Camera Obscura:



 

 

The Camera Obscura:

 

           The Renaissance, translated from French to mean "Rebirth", was a time of new creations, inventions, and ideas in history. Leonardo da Vinci was an artist, scientist, and inventor, and is one of the most important figures to have contributed to the Renaissance period. Da Vinci was known for his paintings. inventions, and his work that dealt with optics and the science behind the human eye.

           Although he did not create the camera obscura, da Vinci spent his time studying the camera obscura and the similarities between it and the human eye. He worked with the camera obscura and used it as a drawing tool as well as for his research ("The Camera Obscura."). The camera obscuras that were constructed in class consisted of a dark box that had a lens on the outside, and a smaller box within the dark box that had a screen to project the image. The result of light reflecting on the lens and the box is an image produced upside down (Haunty). Da Vinci's research showed that there is a relationship between the camera obscura and the human eye. A human eye views an object, light reflects off of the object, and travels through your pupil to produce the image seen through our eyes. Da Vinci was the first of his time to go into depth in this research, and therefore concluded that the human eye and camera obscura can complete a similar function.

            I encountered one major  challenge when completing the Camera Obscura assignment. My challenge was the frustration that resulted from the image not being as clear on my phone as it had appeared on the screen in my camera obscura. Using modern day technology for photography, such as iPhones and DSLR cameras, it is relatively simple most of the time to capture an image and have it be a clear and similar representation to what is actually seen with the human eye. However, using the camera obscura made me realize and more conscious of the idea that some images are unable to be captured as clear as they could be due to the technology or form of the camera used.

            The photographs I had taken at the University of Glasgow were clearly reflected on the screen of my camera obscura, but once I used my phone to take a picture of the picture produced on the screen, the quality diminished significantly. The lessons I took away from this particular challenge were that technology has improved over the past centuries in the sense that is now simpler to capture an image with a camera due to the image on the screen being able to be captured with the click of a button as opposed to having to use another camera to capture the image produced on a camera, as done in the camera obscura assignment.

             The photographs displayed below were taken at University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland. My intention behind these photos was to capture and focus on the Gothic Revival architecture at the University. The Gilbert Scott Building led to my decision of my theme being Gothic Revival architecture for my portfolio. The Gilbert Scott Building is the second largest example of Gothic Revival architecture in the British Isles, and therefore I chose to photograph different angles and segments of the building in my portfolio.

             This assignment was particularly interesting in the sense that I was able to expand my knowledge of the history of photography by building and using my own camera obscura for an assignment, as well as I was able to explore a new area of Scotland and capture Glasgow's unique architecture and styles on campus through the lens of my camera obscura. This assignment has made me have an even higher appreciation for photography and how camera technology has improved from the creation of camera obscura in the late 17th century to present day times.

 

References:

Haunty. "Leonardo Da Vinci's Camera Obscura." Owlcation. Owlcation, 22 Dec. 2016. Web. 17 June 2017.

 

"The Camera Obscura." FotoHistory: Camera Obscura. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June 2017. <http://www.fotomuseum.ws/archive/photo/history/chapter/optics.htm>.

 

Photo Collection:

Adam Smith Business School at University of Glasgow, Glasgow Scotland



Western Wall of The Cloisters at University of Glasgow, Glasgow Scotland

Northwest Corner of The Gilbert Scott Building at the University of Glasgow, Glasgow Scotland



The Gilbert Scott Building at the University of Glasgow, Glasgow Scotland

Archway to The East Quadrangle at the University of Glasgow, Glasgow Scotland



Northwest Corner of The Gilbert Scott Building at the University of Glasgow, Glasgow Scotland

Tower of The Gilbert Scott Building at the University of Glasgow, Glasgow Scotland


Northeast Corner of The East Quadrangle at the University of Glasgow, Glasgow Scotland