5.5 Rain

My brief is to produce a single, strong and attractive photograph on the subject of rain for a magazine cover.  This needs to leave readers in no doubt that the cover photo is about rain.

I had lots of ideas and luckily had plenty of opportunities to go out photographing in the rain.  I’ve collated my favorite photographs from the various rain shoots I’ve done but as the brief asks for one single representation of rain then I will showcase this first:

To me this photograph categorically symolises rain.  It’s what everyone sees from their window when it rains.  The background is there but very distorted so this could be anyone’s view from their window on a rainy day.  It’s a strong image due to the water droplets being mainly in focus and attractive too in a Monet kind of way with the colours blending into one another.

Other ideas for photographs sybolising rain are:

     

Although these images were produced as a result of rain many of them were taken after the rain had stopped.  Mainly to protect my camera but also rain can be distracting in itself and it’s much better to wait if you want to produce a calmer image.

5.4 Juxtaposition

Of all the times I’ve got up in the morning and got straight into studying in my pj’s, today I wish I had showered, blow dried my hair and put on a bit of make up!  I’m not doing myself any favors here as  you’ll find out……….

My aim here is to photograph a book cover relevant to the book where using two or three elements will give a good impression of what the book is about.  The placing of these elements is also important as it can help a great deal.

Using juxtaposition (the placing of two or more things together to suggest a relationship) I’m attempting to photograph a cover for the book ‘Secret Smile’ by Nicci French.

 

My thinking was that partly placing the hand over the smiling mouth it would indicate that the smile is a hidden one.  Also the eyes are looking away towards the ground in a guilty manner.  Also in the frame is the presence of a wedding ring suggesting that’s an important part of the story.  The black and white filter is to add some mood an intrigue.  If you put all these elements together, the hidden smile, being married, the guilty eyes, the dark atmosphere……….this should suggest an affair that went wrong!

You decide……..

5.3 Symbols

We can photograph visible things but what happens when we want to photograph a word?  None visual words such as, insurance, need a visual representation and to resolve this issue we use ‘symbols’.  In the example of insurance we may use a symbol that clearly represents security such as a padlock or a safety net.

My task here is to think of symbols that can be used in place of words:

GROWTH – Child in front of a height chart, piles of coins gaining in height, seed\seedling\plant\tree.

EXCESS – A person dining with an extremely bulging tummy, bulging suitcase, plate overflowing with food.

CRIME – weapons, fingerprints, handcuffs, jail bars, murder victim chalk outline.

SILENCE – Graveyard, person reading, finger on lips, hands on ears, Library.

POVERTY – Slums, starving children, sleeping on street, person wearing dirty and torn clothing.

Some of these symbols, to represent words in pictures, may seem obvious and others not but what they all have in common is that they can be photographed as actual things.   Therefore giving each word a visual representation by using the suggested symbols.

5.2 Evidence of action

I was tasked with producing a photograph were evidence of an action can be seen when within my own household and altercation took place.  There was no time for lighting techniques, tripod, change of lens or to consider the perspective.  It was a case of grab the camera and shoot!  So in this event the content of the photograph is the main point and not the technical quality of the image:

As you can see in the foreground is a soft toy lying on the floor with its stuffing taken out.  Beyond that is a dog and an unhappy child accusingly pointing a the dog.  You may also notice lots of dining chair legs suggesting the location of the scene is under a dining table.  This photograph is telling a story all by itself.  The dog has stolen the child’s toy, hid under the dining table and chewed all the stuffing out of it.  The child has caught the dog under the table and the evidence of the remains of the soft toy next to the dog.  The child points to the dog scalding him for being a bad dog.

5.1 A narrative picture essay

As this is a narrative essay it should need no introduction or explanation.  The photographs should do that:

An introduction to the story, setting the scene of a recipe and ingredients showing the intention to bake.

  
The chef gets to work, look at the concentration.

    
Putting the ingredients together carefully.

Oops! Making baking fun.

     
The equipment used in the baking process.

The flavour of the bakes, unmistakably chocolate.

 
Adding the chocolate drops…..one for the chef…..cheeky!

 
Pouring the mixture into the baking tin and checking the consistency for quality control purposes.

Checking the time, is it ready yet?

This waiting about can be boring, lets have some more fun.

Tada….Chocolate Brownies.

Baked to gooey perfection.