I particularly like this shot because of the use of the twisting of the human perception of clowns - In times gone by, we would have assumed that clowns were happy beings, OR sad ones - they never look this intense/moody, their makeup is usually . I like the use of asymmetry in the eyes to create an effect - above the model’s left eye, there appears to be a black line, which could represent a scar. This is interesting because of the perception of beauty, because without this scar and the makeup running down from his left eye (which seems to be almost a continuation of the “scar”), and because human beings naturally assume that phisiognomy has something to do with personality, we are almost afraid of things with scars and imperfections, or we consider them repulsive. I also like the way that he has a faint red line coming down from his lip - it could almost be blood, again representing that imperfection that humans are so afraid of. On the right hand side, I have placed an image of a “normal” clown from a circus, and you can see that he is a “happy” clown, his makeup is symmetrical and he’s smiling.
People who inspire me - Erwin Olaf
I really like the work of the Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf. The shoot of his that I am focusing on is the one entitled “Paradise Portraits”. I like this shoot because it portrays people as they wouldn’t normally be seen, which relates to the work I am planning on doing for my shoots with Daniel.
I like the way that all these people are just normal members of society with makeup on, but as soon as this makeup is applied, they cease to be “normal” members of society and take on an entirely new and unusual identity. I like the way that as soon as you put this sort of makeup on a human being, if they were to go out like that, people would view them completely differently. I plan to use this perception of identity in my shoots as much as possible, looking not only at how people can take on different identities, but also how society perceives them when that identity is adopted.
Statement of Intent/Ideas - Digital Project
- I’m planning on combining the themes “Identity”, “Conformity” and am toying with the idea of incorporating “Tell me a Story”. I’m going to use my boyfriend Daniel as a model and utilise the length of his hair and the sort of clothes he wears to demonstrate his nonconformity and identity. However, in some of the pictures, I will be incorporating aspects of some of the other themes, for example reflection.
- I want to use the ideas of “evil” story/comic book characters to demonstrate the differences between good and evil, because that again relates to identity in the way that there is good and evil in all of us, it’s just the choices that we make that determines who we are.
- I could have a series of portraits in a similar style exploring different styles of my boyfriend’s character; maybe using opposites, for example happy/sad, good/evil, colour/black and white. I could use merging effects to create a picture that’s maybe half colour, half black and white, or I could just make some of it colour, for example his eyes/hair. I could take two almost identical pictures, but with different facial expressions, and merge it so that half of his face is smiling, half of it is frowning/crying/surprised etc.
I really like the way these pictures are ambiguous about identity. The first man almost has no body, meaning he is different, meaning his identity differs from those around him, and the second has a blurred face, so you don’t really know who he is.
Statement of Intent - Digital Photography Project.
My chosen theme for my digital photography project is “identity”. I want to take this in a slightly original way, using the word “identity” to mean “identity - or lack thereof”. I want to use things like contrasting colours, masks and facepaint to demonstrate how one person can look very different in different situations. My main model for this will be my (long suffering) boyfriend. I’m going to do things like use the same shot over and over, superimposed, and have them all in black and white, but one in colour, demonstrating those who stand out from the crowd. I will also be using different styles of face paint to create different effects. I also want to use effects like having lots of people facing backwards and then one facing the camera - again showing distinction in identity, the people with their backs to the camera not having any, as it were.
I’m also very interested in the identity of made-up things, such as clowns. I will probably use face paint to create the effects of clown makeup to achieve the effect of an outsider, as many people are scared of clowns. I will try and photoshop the images so that some colours are more vivid than others, emphasizing, for example, eyes or lips, and leaving cheeks, hairline etc in shadow. Hopefully using a number of different techniques will create an effect that represents identity well.
This is my garden. I like the idea of man collaborating with nature, rather than destroying it, and my gazebo looks like it’s growing out of the shrubs and roses around it, which I think makes it look very natural.
These two photograms indirectly represent nature. The butterfly is supposed to represent freedom, the skull and cross bones and the padlock represent being entraped.
About me
This is where I'll be blogging about photographs I've taken, and what inspires me. I'll be using all of this work for AS Photography, so please be kind with any criticism!!!
