Phoebe Rudomino: http://phoeberudomino.com/home.html
At the 'Out of Focus' exhibition at Saatchi Gallery last year, one of my favourite images was 'The Girl in a Room', a still from Johnson & Johnson's 'Imagine' Total Hydration body wash TV commercia (see porfolio on PR's website)l. As a keen diver who enjoys underwater photography, it was interesting to see and underwater photograph that was not of fish, or the natural world. This was a staged and planned image. Rudomino is based at the Underwater Stage at Pinewood Studios. The submerged set is lit in a subtle yet precise manor, some lighting from above creating some contrast on the model, light on the "windows" creating some depth perception.
In Rudomino's 'Plastic Soup' collection, there is interesting use of materials, coloured liquids, props and lighting to create original and eye catching images. She also puts the different elements together to convey her message(s). I particularly light '250 million' 2011. The title and the 'Plastic Soup' theme suggest a reference to plastic waste in the oceans.
Wednesday 28 August 2013
Evidence of Action
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| 2013.08.18.EggShells-EvidenceOfAction f/6.3 1/25 ISO-200
The premise for this image is fairly simple, evidence of having cooked eggs. I took various shots with different arrangements of the egg shells, and from different perspectives. Placing the eggs on some kitchen towel shows that they have been used and not accidentally broken. The simplicity of this shot and attracting the viewer to the broken shell at the back led me to select the image. It was originally taken in monochrome and I changed it to colour editing the RAW version. I felt the colour version worked better, with the only colour really on the outside of the shells, which made them stound out more from the background.
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Examples of concepts often depicted in advertising:
1. Desire
2. Quality of life
3. Status
4. Sexuality
5. Insecurity / fear
Other images that insurers use: Telephones (depicting you can talk to them and they are there to help), things that they cover such as houses, cars, pets, travel (e.g. suitcase, beach chairs etc), pen and paper, money, stethescope, life buoy.
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Sunday 18 August 2013
V&A - 17th August 2013
The collection at the V&A shows photography from its beginnings through to more recent times. Essentially, it shows a history of photography, in terms of both processes and styles, without any current and contemporary work.
Some of the early works on display showed rather painterly qualities. I got this impression not just from the grainy appearance, but also the subject matter and composition. 'The Old Farmhouse' by Francis Bedford, for example, can easily be imagined as a painting. Somewhat surprising then that 'Figures at the Fountain of Sultan Ahmet III, Istanbul' by James Robertson and Felice Beato was taken seven years earlier, in 1853. The detail in a photo taken at this period in time genuinely amazes me. In contrast, Peter Henry Emerson intentionally created images that were not sharp and detailed throughout, to create a look similar to Impressionist painting. He did indeed collaborate with a painter, creating publications on rural life. 'In the Haysel' is the Emerson image displayed at the V&A, and it certainly achieves his aim of creating a "painting style" of photograph.
Another image that stood out for me was 'The Cloud' by Alvin Langdon Coburn, taken in 1906. Simple yet effective. He explored the design concept of 'notan', involving balancing light and dark proportionally. Perhaps there is some symbolic message, with the light cloud emerging for the dark, or dark cloud covering the light.
Moving on to the late 40s / early 50s, a couple of photos by Robert Doisneau caught my eye. 'Café Noir et Blanc' and 'Le Petit Balcon' are light hearted, and poignant observation of human emotions, in which you can sense contrasting moods of different people within the images. In 'Le Petit Balcon', for example, the amusement on the faces of several of the prominent figures is tempered by the sad and wistful expression on the face of the lady sitting on the floor. You assume from her clothing that she is involved in whatever performance the crowd are watching, and wonder what her involvement is and why she is sitting there.
For me, the most impressive images were those of Man Ray. Taken in 1931, as a commission for The Paris Electricity Company, the images seem well ahead of their time, and have clearly influenced many modern practitioners who have the benefit of considerably more advanced equipment and photoshop. As well as creating images that could be considered contemporary now, they clearly represent the subject he was tasked with, electricity.
As well as enjoying this collection, I had a good look around the museum and found that it is an excellent place to observe people, and watch them observing. Something to keep in mind for the next module on People and Places!
Some of the early works on display showed rather painterly qualities. I got this impression not just from the grainy appearance, but also the subject matter and composition. 'The Old Farmhouse' by Francis Bedford, for example, can easily be imagined as a painting. Somewhat surprising then that 'Figures at the Fountain of Sultan Ahmet III, Istanbul' by James Robertson and Felice Beato was taken seven years earlier, in 1853. The detail in a photo taken at this period in time genuinely amazes me. In contrast, Peter Henry Emerson intentionally created images that were not sharp and detailed throughout, to create a look similar to Impressionist painting. He did indeed collaborate with a painter, creating publications on rural life. 'In the Haysel' is the Emerson image displayed at the V&A, and it certainly achieves his aim of creating a "painting style" of photograph.
Another image that stood out for me was 'The Cloud' by Alvin Langdon Coburn, taken in 1906. Simple yet effective. He explored the design concept of 'notan', involving balancing light and dark proportionally. Perhaps there is some symbolic message, with the light cloud emerging for the dark, or dark cloud covering the light.
Moving on to the late 40s / early 50s, a couple of photos by Robert Doisneau caught my eye. 'Café Noir et Blanc' and 'Le Petit Balcon' are light hearted, and poignant observation of human emotions, in which you can sense contrasting moods of different people within the images. In 'Le Petit Balcon', for example, the amusement on the faces of several of the prominent figures is tempered by the sad and wistful expression on the face of the lady sitting on the floor. You assume from her clothing that she is involved in whatever performance the crowd are watching, and wonder what her involvement is and why she is sitting there.
For me, the most impressive images were those of Man Ray. Taken in 1931, as a commission for The Paris Electricity Company, the images seem well ahead of their time, and have clearly influenced many modern practitioners who have the benefit of considerably more advanced equipment and photoshop. As well as creating images that could be considered contemporary now, they clearly represent the subject he was tasked with, electricity.
As well as enjoying this collection, I had a good look around the museum and found that it is an excellent place to observe people, and watch them observing. Something to keep in mind for the next module on People and Places!
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