Truro City of Lights - Community - Establishing Image (Final 3 images)

When researching potential shoots for an establishing image for community, I came across a fairly local event called, Truro City of Lights. It is an event that involves local groups including bands, dancers, youth groups, schools, etc. making and then parading through the streets with large tissue and withy lanterns.

I planned my shoot well in advance due to the scale of the event. I knew it would be hard to take out equipment and take a long time to get to Truro. I hired a 6D and 50mm f1.4 lens. This was because I wanted high quality images and needed a camera and lens that could handle low light.

These are the final 3 images that I need to choose from to get my final 8x10 print.


I chose this image for one of my final 3 because it shows all ages involving themselves in a community event. The main point of focus in the image is of the woman in the foreground looking directly at the camera which is the one of the aspects of the image I don't like. When a person is aware that a photograph is being taken of them, it is very hard for them not to act in at least a slightly different way. I wanted the images I shot of the event to be as natural as possible to really show how the community acted at the event. Having said this, from feedback many people have said that this is an aspect of the image they like and that it makes it more personal. They also said that she does not appear to be performing any differently to the other members of her group that arn't aware that the photo is being taken.

The lighting was very difficult for the duration of the shoot which meant I had to boost the ISO quite high in order to get a sharp image. This means there is quite a bit of noise/reduced quality if you look closely. In the future I will get around this by using a flash.

I was lucky to capture this image as I did not have a press pass for the event. Luckily I spotted someone that did have a pass who had 3 members of one of the groups posing meaning I could get a similar shot to him. The vibrant costumes that stand out from the dull and dark background with the 'wings' slightly illuminated by these is what made me put this photo in my final 3.

I did not like colours and informative background but after dicussing this with other press students we decided that this emphasises he vibrance and luminace of the subject of the photo. It also emphasises that the event really brings a large community together.


My final of the 3 images is a close cropped image of just one member of a group. I had a very similar image which was slightly technically better than this one of the woman in the background. The reason I didn't choose this was because the excitement and happyness which this woman shows really portrays the general atmosphere of the whole night in contrast the woman behind who didn't seem like she wanted to be there. It brings an element into the photograph that I had no control over making it unique and the main reason why I put it in my final 3.

I also love the out of focus seasonal lights in the background which add not only aesthetics to the image but also important infomation showing the viewer that it is approaching Christmas. This is significant due to it being one of the first Christmas events of the year.

The Establishing Image - Community - Truro City Of Lights - Final 7

Initial Ideas - The Establishing Image

These are some initial ideas I have for the 'Establishing Image' brief.

Isolation -
'A lack of contact between persons, groups, or whole societies'
For isolation, I'd like to steer away from people and focus on something more descrete. I think this may make a more interesting photo as the subject which will be representing isolation may not be as obvious as an 'isolated' person.

- Rock in sea - long exposure - B&W - empty background - rock and sea only things in image - really expresses isolation.
- Single tree in a large fied - strong composition is key - probably B&W.


Industrial Coast -
- Mines - external flash (recently learned how to use and very dark situations are likely - also adds a unique feature due to artifical light)
- Docks - landscape (clear establishing shot) - possibly a view over Falmouth Docks - shows size and range of activities within the area.



Community -
- Animals - group of same species to show community - diverse contrast to a community of people (unique) - birds, deer, sea?

REVISED:

As Falmouth is a seaside town with a large fishing and water based industry, I thought the coast guard would be a large part of the community.

My main interest in photography lie within sports and action. Therefore, shooting with the local coast guards is of great interest to me.

I looked them up and got a contact number and address for them:Castle Dr, Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 4WZ

Phone: 01326 310800

After ringing this number I was given 2 more numbers to local coast guards in order to organise a shoot with them at a trainin session.

REVISED:

I found out about Truro City of Lights which is an event every year that involves a huge community coming together to celebrate the turning on of the christmas lights. Small communities such as schools, university groups, bands, etc. parade through the streets some of them carrying huge chinese lantern sculptures. I have decided to shoot this event for community as the opportunity has come up.

Relevant Photographers to Surfboard Shaper - Person At Work

 
Ocean Driven Media is a company made up of two individuals, Wade Howard and Mike van Heerden. They often take on large projects such as large events or weddings including smaller ones such as shooting Derek a surfboard shaper they had known for many years.


The picture I have chosen out of this project uses very similar techniques to mine to show a person at work. For example, the perfect symmetry of the image is replicated in this image shot by Ocean Driven Media which is very similar to my photo (below) of Seabase. We have both used a shallow depth of field to drop the foreground out of the point of focus and draw the viewer's attention to the shaper. Also, they both show the shapers doing the same job, sanding down the boards. The composition is clearly the most important part of both of these photos and it looks like Ocean Driven Media have chosen to do this for the same reasons as I did; to make the job of the shaper as clear as possible. Doing this could make an uninteresting photograph but by adding in the shallow depth of field and carefully framed composition, they both make interesting and informative images.
















 

Alexandre Adel Musso is a designer/photographer from Morocco who took this image of a surfboard shaper. I love the detail that is shown in the image which is due to the tight framing and also how he has frozen the action of the belt sander. Freezing the action makes the image more interesting because it is a detail that you would not normally be able to see. As I mentioned about the images above, the depth of field in this image is used in the foreground to draw attention to the action in the photograph to clearly show a 'person at work'.

Also, Musso chose to convert to black and white as I did in my photographs. The contrast in this photo is probably my favorite aspect comparing the pitch black background to the white foam of the board.

Not showing the actual person at work and just showing their hand also makes the image more interesting to me. It could be seen as less personal due to not being able to see their face; but I find the detail and precision of the work and how close the camera is to the action gives it a unique feel that would not be possible if the image was shot wider.



Peter Politanoff is a professional freelance photographer from Los Angeles, USA. He took this picture of a surfboard shaper. This image is of Mike Geib shaping a surfboard.

This picture is very similar to mine which can be seen below. The shapers are both using the same sanding tool at a similar part of the shaping process. We also both made our images black and white. I did this because I felt the contrast looked stronger this way and it improve the looks of the image due to their being flat and 'boring' colours in the colour version.

I have found that having a persons head in an image can be distracting if it is not the main subject of the image. This may be the reason Politanoff decided to crop this part of the scene out to ensure the focus was on the sanding process. This is the same reason I decided to only show what I felt was the important parts of the room to show a person at work in the most informative way.

The only part of this photograph I don't like is the distracting hand/arm in the foreground. Although it does not cover the subject of the image; the extremely strong contrast draws your eye towards it when it does not give us any more information about the profession.

Final Image - Surfboard Shaper - Person At Work

I have chosen this image as my final for this shoot because I love the aesthetic look of the symertry of the board that I carefully framed and the shallow depth of field to compliment this. Others that looked at my final 3 shots also agreed that this was the best one for the same reasons. It was also pointed out that the frozen action and contrast between the blacks on the shaper and the whites of the board made the image even more interesting and clearly showed a 'person at work'.
















After discussing this final image with others from my course, I have decided to change my final image to this.

There is more going in within this image which make it more interesting along with the feeling of freezing motion where the shaper is sanding the blank down.

Another aspect of this image I really like is the visible dust coming off the board in the bottom of the image. It goes almost the width of the frame but just in the bottom third which adds a very nice effect.

At first, one of the reasons for not choosing this image as my final was because the shapers head is cut off. After relooking at it, I have decided that this is not an important part of the image and that the action of the shapers hands is the main subject.

Final 3 Images of Surfboard Shaper - Person At Work

My favourite aspect of this image is the composition. I carefully lined the stringer of the board up to be exactly in the centre of the frame. This effect is enhanced by the fact that the board is exactly symmetrical leaving a very aesthetic appearance. Also, the lights in the room were only waist high. After speaking to the shaper about this he told me that it was to create a shadow on the 'rail' of the board to help ensure it is symmetrical. Although I did not plan this to be part of my photos, I found that it made for interesting light because the image naturally becomes darker towards the top which is opposite to what would normally happen when shooting inside. The main subject of the image is the shaper checking the surface of the 'blank' that he has just sanded. He hand being raised adds interest to the image because it shows him pausing to check for minor detail in his work. I chose to have the shaper to be the only thing in the point of focus. The background is extremely plain as is the foreground and the foreground has been clearly dropped out of the point of focus to ensure the attention is just on the shaper clearly showing him at work. I chose to convert this image into black and white because the colours in the room were very dull and including them in the picture did not enhance it.

This image is in my final 3 for several reasons. Firstly the detail it shows in the shapers hands and his work has a distinctive contrast to that of the board. Although this is not an aspect that shows a 'person at work', it makes for an interesting image. The shot is quite tightly framed which shows the detail and precision of the work (this is the final stage of the process where the shaper writes the size of the board and signs it on the stringer on the underside of the board). Again I have used a high aperture to drop the foreground out of focus to draw the attention to the subject of the photograph which is the shapers right hand writing on the blank. I think this can be a useful and important technique for this project as it can help draw the viewer’s focus just onto the part of the image that clearly shows a 'person at work'.









This is my final of the 3 images I have chosen. I chose it because it shows the main part of the shapers job which is sanding. Each board must be sanded extremely carefully to ensure it has no defects in it which is very time consuming. In this image I have chosen to make the point of focus in the foreground of the image. This is a contrast to the other two of my final 3 images. One of the main parts of this image I liked is the action involved in it. If you look carefully at the image you can see dust falling from under the sand paper. It was quite hard to freeze the action due to the low light; therefore I had to push up the ISO to 1000. This has reduced the image quality slightly which is noticeable if you look carefully at the image. Also, there is a little too much empty space to the right of the image. I do not like this because I feel that everything in a picture should add to it or give it more information. An empty wall and untidy floor does not do this for me.

Final 8 Images for Surfboard Shaper - Person At Work

Seabase (Quiver) Surfboard Shaper - Newquay Person At Work

I have always had an interest in surf photography so photographing a shaper was one of the first shoots I thought about when given the 'Person at Work' brief. I knew of a popular shaper in Newquay called Seabase that I had visited before so I gave them a ring. At first I struggled to get a date to shoot due to difficulties with transport, their machine breaking and their shaper not being in. Eventually I managed to do the shoot. Below are my favourite images from the shoot edited down and processed.