Jobs and courses.

Originally, i had planned to  enter a university course after college. I wanted to be a forensic  detective and many places in the Midlands offer courses revolving around forensics, but most are very specific.
At Nottingham Trent university, they offer a Forensic Science course. “On this course you will develop the ability to judge the importance of physical evidence based on incident scene observations and the results of laboratory analysis.Studying Forensic Science will enable you to:Understand crime scene science.Use case studies to highlight the range of approaches required in forensic investigations as well as analytical instruments, microscopy and the English legal system.Find out how the acquisition of crime scene evidence is studied as well as genetic identification.” Which appealed to me greatly. These are all things I wanted to expand and learn and develop a career around. After finding this course, I decided to see if Derby university posted the same thing, or anything similar, to which I found :
BSc (Hons) Forensic Science
BSc (Hons) FS with Criminology
BSc (Hons) FS with Psychology
BSc (Hons) Computer Forensic Investigation
And Forensic and Crime scene Investigation
I would have been happy applying to any of these, but specifically I wanted Forensic and Crime Scene Investigation due to the fact I wanted to focus on the investigation section of forensics. Looking into this course, it is a level 4 certificate of credit costing £1440 and being 20 weeks of part time study, although this course is a fully interactive online course, including virtual reality, mini documentaries, interactive media and technical videos .
” Using the latest learning technology, you’ll be able to access realistic crime scenes based in our new specialist crime scene house, located near our campus in Derby. You will search different crime scenes within the house and practice the CSI skills being developed at each stage of the learning journey”
I feel that although this is an online course, it will let me work with less pressure yet still offer me many interesting and valuable experiences.
I have decided to apply to this course next year, but first I will be applying for a job / apprenticeship to prepare me mentally and financially for this course, to ensure I do my very best with no distractions or barriers. Although the fact is an online course already makes it easier for me, I want to know I’m confident enough to follow through with this course.
Until this time comes, I will be hunting for and pursuing a apprenticeship in art such as an apprenticeship at art core, where they do exhibitions with the mayor and artistic and creative sessions with the locals to promote various things and help improve the local area we live in. I will be assisted by Reed at Derby college to help me find a suitable apprenticeship.

Images used in my Digital Portfolio

I have chosen the following imagesto be used in my digital portfolio as it is a wide variety of styles, techniques and categories and i believe that if i am applying for anything and presenting my portfolio, it would be best to prove i can work with a multiple styles of photography. This image shows i have experience in on location shoots, using natural light to my advantage even in the darkest of places .

 This image shows Photoshop skills, in a historic, documentary styled manor.

Here we see an ability to spot interesting angles, tones, and mostly shapes in day to day life and show the viewer what they’ve been missing all this time.

 Here is two examples of documentary work i did, this one is documenting the actions of a man

 Whereas this one is included as i’ve not only just managed to document the actions of of the locals, but I’ve managed to piece the surroundings together perfectly to show the female subjects, the shop and the location in 3 beautiful layers with varying depths without the aid of manipulation.

This image focuses on my skills in Photoshop, showing the viewer the most recent developments of my skills as i am still currently learning more about manipulation and will be continuing to, so this image will be updated regularly.

 Here is an example of me using a long shutter speed and producing light trails on a surprisingly well exposed and soft colored image. This proves i can do more with a camera than just take a simple image.

This has been included to show studio portraiture, an ability to work well with models to produce some confident imagery. This also shows an ability to work with low-key lighting in the studio, for a varity of styles of imagery instead of your basic brigh tlights and white background.

This Is to show that i can produce decent commercial imagery in the studio to sell/advertise a product, with the ability of knowing how to reflect the product without a distinct line where the backdrop meets the glass.

This is another commercial one to show that i can also do foods, making them look apetizing to the audience with a variety of colours, shapes and textures that are pleasing to the eye when combined.

My Final Major Project.

For my FMP, i created a series of images titled ‘Mental Mayhem’ with the aim of spreading understanding of a small variety of psychological issues. I decided to do this as it’s hard to understand how somebody truly feels, but i felt that portraying it through a visual aid would capture the readers eyes and really make them think and place themselves in the subjects shoes, experiencing what they’re experiencing.

I feel that with my results i met my goal of showing how crazy it can get inside your mind whilst looking and acting just like everybody else.

Each of these pictures represents their own thought process/emotions. For example, the above image represents Bipolar disorder, which is a condition that affects your moods, which can switch from one to the other drastically.

But you can’t always show EXACTLY how someone feels. The things they think about themselves constantly, the things that affect their social behaviour and self confidence. There’s millions of things we think to ourselves and never admit to which start to corrode our minds and break down our walls,not only effecting us mentally, but also physically. This would make us feel like a open book, leaving us vulnerable.

I shot my images on a Nikon D7100 with a tripod in various different locations and used a variety of techniques to create them, such as overlaying/layers and long shutter speeds, even a mixture of both. I used a ISO of 100 for the image above and an ISO of 400 for the rest, alongside a small aperture for good contrast and colours. Even with this i decided to burn the edges of my images to draw more attention to the centre of the image with a dark, moody feel to it without losing colour. The image below is the best example for this.

I also used black boarders around the images instead of your regular white boarders so that the presentation of the image was black fading into the image with its burned corners, keeping its sharpy edgy mood and yet again keeping focus on the lighting and colours in the image. When combined with black frames, even with the fancy boarders, the attention is still focused on the centre of the image. 

My first idea i was following through with was the idea of a ‘Freakshow” , inspired by a Derby University students work i saw at an exhibition.I then developed this idea into my current idea of ‘Mental Mayhem’ which you can read about in my project proposal.I am happy with my results and i have had some great feedback from friends, family and peers.After experimenting with many different styles of imagery, this project has really helped me explore how i want to shoot my images from now on.

I think my results are good and fit the criteria of my proposal well. I have achieved what i set out to do.
I personally think i could have done better if i had achieved the same feeling that Jared Tyler’s images give me in my images, but the aim was for that feeling to be spread to the audience, not the photographer.I think this is affected by the fact that i know everything behind this image so i don’t get the same sense of relativity i hope the audience gets.
I think i could have improved a lot more on my images if i made them surreal but easy to understand, much like:

Jared Tyler.

Although you can possibly relate to these kinds of images, my images are relatable in a separate, more realistic form.

If i had the skill i would have attempted a series of images much like these, but i would need a lot more experience in photoshop, unless i did a series of images using the double exposure technique i learned on my course to create images in the style of :

I have set myself a personal assignment to still continue to experiment and develop my skills through first attempting these ideas.

Jared Tyler

Jared Tyler is a 19 year old photographer who expresses his feelings and emotions through photography, much like Christopher Hopkins but with a wider variety of feelings. I feel i can relate more to this photographer due to him being a young artist and with certain images of his i feel it visually expresses how i and many other people feel. For example, this image below.

I know i’m not the only one to feel like they’re drowning when being phoned, but i feel that this image is clear on its narrative and can be very relatable to most of its viewers.

This inspires me to also become an expressive photographer, expressing my emotions through a visual aid. but i don’t want it to be just my emotions and thoughts. I want people to relate, to understand , to know they’re not the only one. It’s easy to think you’re alone, but you’re really not. Even the craziest of thoughts and feelings are shared with many others around the world.

He has some beautiful images that are pleasing to the eye whilst at the same time showing reality, what really happens, how it really feels.

Not all of his images need heavy photoshopping, he has a variety of styles for a variety of narratives.

In my FMP i aim to create the same kind of feeling, i want people to enjoy the image in an artistic manor but also be able to understand how it feels. Even if they can’t relate, if they could at least understand then they would see the true feelings behind the image and have a better understanding of how it feels. Even if i use beautiful warm colours like the image above, the narrative could easily be something cold, creating an emotional contrast in the image.

Using a contrast of dull and vibrant colours could help you achieve a variety of feelings in your images, not necessarily happy nor sad.

Justin Hopkins

Very expressive painting by an artist by the name of Justin Hopkins, much like Christopher Hopkins he also expresses himself through art.

I find that it would be easier to express yourself through paintings as you can easily use any colour, any combination, and style, and manipulate the subject in whatever way you want without needing great photoshop skills.

Very sketchy and a lot of use with the thick black lines to define the facial features. The darkness is also creeping in from the left hand side and is then merging with the subject.

This woman has no identity . A black and white painting with one, thick bold vibrant colour hiding her identity. This could express that her identity / personality is very bold, vibrant, girly, but she has an ordinary body just like the rest of us.http://www.bleaq.com/2015/justin-hopkins

Bruce Gilden

Contact sheet 01.06.2015

The following images are experimental images of a home made lens frame with a shoot using a fire extinguisher to try incorporate into my work.

1st shoot for FMP

With the fire shoot, i aimed to get some nice shapes in the fire and smoke to try manipulate to look like a skull or faces.I managed to get one image which would work nicely with a skull.

What i’ve photoshopped so far :

With this image i plan on adding arms clawing up from below.

Idea 2 FMP

Mental Mayhem.

My second idea is to produce a series of images, each representing a different mental illness or problem.

This should hopefully raise not just awareness for those going through a hard time, but understanding of what it is they’re going through and how it feels.

For example, things such as anxiety could be made without the use of photoshop, using many models all sectioning out a target in the centre  and peering down, intimidating them. Whereas other images such as bipolar would need the aid of photoshop to replicate the model in both happy and depressed moods. Most of my images will require photoshop and planning before shooting.

Artists:

Franchesca Woodman and Christopher Hopkins and Justin Hopkins

Personal statement

My Personal Statement.

At the beginning of this photography course in September 2013, I didn’t know much about photography and all its factors. But I did have an interest in taking images and I wanted to know how to improve my skills and achieve the same crazy, inspiring images that first got me into the subject.

Now, in 2015, I’m proud of how far I’ve come in the past two years. I’ve developed my skills beyond what I would expect.

Now I understand more of the technical side of photography, like things such as exposure , aperture , ISO are and how to adjust them to help create a well exposed image.

Beginning with the ‘Light’ Assignment was the best way to start a course due to it giving me a basic understanding of how light works and how to manipulate it,which then lead to me branching out in a variety of methods and styles of imagery as i had an understanding of how to get the contrasts and exposures i require to get that particular style.