Final piece- Athena, the goddess of many faces.

My final video in response to my exploration of the face study...

I have used my musical knowledge to reinforce the initial desired atmosphere of the video...

VHS test- Studio work

I decided to take what I had learnt from my technical experimentations within the study and apply it within my VHS tests. The first is exploring the silhouetting styled effects inspired by Tyler the Creator's 'Yonkers' video. The bold tones of red acting as a form of pathetic fallacy. Red is atmospheric, it has character, it will compliment the music synced with it. This music being Bauhaus' Bela Lugosi's dead... a classic.

ANDY WARHOL INSPIRED VHS TEST-

I simply left Zoe alone with the camera (on a tripod) for a long duration of time... I told her to just forget about the camera and do whatever makes you happy... I wanted to see, explore and exemplify the variety of facial expressions she often shows me when posing for photographs.

I will not produce a video which exemplifies the fragile, strong, beautiful and powerful nature of Zoe and her face. It'll be a face everyone will recognise within the near future...

VHS TEST 4- Exploring the concept of pathetic fallacy in relation to the face.

Like a flower that shakes in the wind...

Pathetic fallacy can often be used to reinforce a particular emotion or expression shown by a character/subject. Zoe and myself embraced the windy and rainy Manchester climate and took the a multi-story car park. I wanted to show her as one with the world before slowly zooming into her face where she exemplifies a variety of emotions, blank stares and sexuality. I want the viewer to see many aspects of her character/face within a short period of time. 

Researching into filming techniques, I used a mixture of panning and zoom to make the clips far more aesthetically pleasing to watch

VHS TEST 3

I wanted to show the darker side of Zoe's character whilst perfecting my filming techniques. After all, filming is something that I am relatively new to and therefore must improve both by knowledge and skill of. 

I enjoyed trying out a new style of media as it meant I am being exposed to new ideas, concepts and themes. I will now start focusing on getting footage of Zoe's variation in facial expressions in order to successfully portray her as 'ATHENA, the goddess of many faces'

VHS test 2

Although this VHS test does not have anything to do with Zoe's face (due to the fat that you cannot see it) it acts as a form of contextual exemplification. I want the viewer to be neglected of Zoe's face for the first minute or so of the image so that they can learn about the rest of her body. The body reinforces the face and the face reinforces the body.

I will continue further with my VHS experimentation.

Filming styles- Tyler the Creator's 'Yonkers' music video.

Tyler the Creator's 'Yonkers' music video, although not particularly relevant to my project, I can learn a lot about the representation of the face through film. The rapid and varied use of silhouetting within this video is a perfect way to portray the darker side of Zoe's character. This is something I will experiment with within the studio.

Response to my experimentation dilemma

Recently I was stuck in a loop hole of constant experimentation, which for me is brilliant as it means my technical abilities are advancing excessively. However, the only draw back to this was the initial problem of having no real focal point; I needed something which would allow me to produce a series of images that relate to each other. After further research into portraiture and it's principles I believe that if I do truly want to explore the face and the emotions that come with it, maybe photography isn't the solution at this moment in time. After all, the deadline is looming...

Studying the video work of Warhol and others, I have noticed how film can catch an array of emotions within a short time span...I will now use my favourite technical approaches from this project and apply them to VHS film; thus allowing my work to be technically and aesthetically pleasing whilst reinforcing the original desire to explore the face and its variations.

VHS FACE TEST #1

By implementing film into this project I am able to study the variations and movements of Zoe's face. Initially gaining inspiration from Warhol's screen tests, I decided to first film Zoe whilst she was posing for a few photographs. This alone allowed me to see different aspects of herself and her face in general within a very short period of time. 

I would like to know take what I have learnt from my experimentations (from a technical perspective) and now apply it into my filming as I believe this is allowing me to move forward with regards to studying the face.

Athena, the goddess of many faces.

Athena is the Greek Goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, strength, love, passion... it goes on and on. I recently discovered the history of this Goddess whilst watching an Ancient Greek documentary. This is obviously random and a little bit strange but when heard of Athena I instantly thought of Zoe. She is strong, wise, courageous, popular, and impeccably talented. She is my Athena within fashion photography.... I believe that regardless of the outcome of this project, the title will be 'Athena, the Goddess of many faces'.
After all, Athena is often portrayed to be with those of great power and knowledge, just as Zoe is constantly in the presence of musical masters such as Manchester's Zed Bias

WARHOL'S SCREEN TESTS

Warhol's screen tests act as a gallery with regards to the exemplification of his selected subjects variation in facial expressions and emotions. Each screen test revealing qualities of the subject which they may or may not be aware of even having. What I admire most about Warhol's screen tests are the   strong variety of emotions portrayed from within the subjects persona; it seems as if you are seeing two sides of their character...One being the side they want you to see, and the other being behavioural qualities which the subject may often hide from others.

It's almost as if you are alone with the subject; an intimate moment is shared between the viewer and the character.

Progression session- Darkroom workshop with Alan Jones.

The technical and aesthetic qualities of darkrooms prints produced by photographers such as Nadar and Ansell Adams have always fascinated me due to their bold and varied nature of grey, white and black tones. During a darkroom workshop session with Alan Jones, I was introduced to an alternative and more technical approach to printing; this being the grid method. 

This is where you expose the photographic paper twice, the first exposure not using an multi-grade filters, and the second using a multi-grade filter of five. After using the grid method to find the two correct exposure times and a little use of dodging and burning (with my hands) I was able to create a print I am extremely happy with, especially when comparing it to my originally scanned version.  

Although I am more interested in pursuing the remainder of this project in colour, this is definitely a skill which I will use throughout the rest of my time here at Manchester's school of art.

WHAT AM I DOING?

During my recent group session with Gavvin, it was stated that although I am producing good photographs, there is no real focal point... I am merely experimenting on a weekly basis. I do agree with this entirely so therefore changes must be made.
The reality is I am lost in a sea of ideas and possibilities....
The experimentation has been completed. I must now think about what makes the face so important and how can I present this?










                                                              Moving image?  VHS....



I want to show the variation of the human face, it's rapid and spontaneous shifting of emotion.
I believe that film will help me capture this...

Further experimentation

Inspired by a propaganda style poster I walked past on Oxford Road.

At this current moment in time I have acknowledged that I am experimenting far too much...

Helen Holt- Colour; The devil is a woman

At this current in moment in tome my main focal point is the representation of the face through the expression of colour and emotion; in this case perhaps seduction and fragility? This photograph of Helen is titled "The Devil is a woman" as I believe I should apply my own emotions and opinions into the photographs. Women can be seductively evil at times, just like the Devil. This is merely an idea...

I had Helen lie on the floor with her hair spread everywhere. Initially I used a yellow filter to fill in Helen's face as it contrasted with the originally blue eye make-up. By doing this I could retain the variations of colour when the hue's were adjusted to red. Lately I have been heavily influenced by Warhol's prints of Marilyn Monroe due to the provocative sensations of colour, and have therefore implemented that style into this photograph.

I believe this is something I can work from to produce a final series of images.

THE EYE

I decided to pay more attention on the individual facial features which often provide the subject with a unique and definable character. In a similar sense this experiment also allowed me to study the relationship between the face and shadows...shadows can often act as a tool for highlighting a subjects distinguishable feature; in this case highlighting one of Zoe's large eyes. 

My initial desire was to capture an in-depth side of Zoe's character whilst leaving the photograph with a slight sense of the abstract. However, due to being rather critical with my work in general it is naturally difficult to comment as to whether I have achieved this...

Merging the projects...

Initially this was a fashion shoot that ended up focusing more on the face than the clothes worn by Rachael. I shot this using some expired film from 1980, which despite the grain gave some beautiful results.

I wanted to portray and evokethe youthful nature of Rachael, her character and the facial expressions that come with it. This session was more a technically oriented shoo, however, I still wanted to exemplify some form of the abstract from within Rach's face.

Manga girl is something I am pleased to have produced from this session as I have managed to make Rachael look completely different to how she normally looks. Focusing on bold tones of red to allow her features to stand boldly against the solid white tones of her face, I had a lot of fun making her do bizarre and out of the ordinary facial expressions.

For something which wasn't originally intended for this unit of work I am satisifed with the results. However, I believe that for this project to be consistent I must go back to photographing Zoe

An unedited version of my photograph... I am trying to edit less and achieve more in-camera.

Solarisation- Many Ray inspired portrait.

TWO FACED.

Alongside developing my understanding of Man Ray's style of solarisation I have attempted to capture two aspects of Zoe's personality; the left side of her face exemplifies an almost innocent and fragile persona, whereas the right side of her face is complimented with a hint of glare. 

I want to capture an essence Zoe's true nature, and in this photograph I believe I have. Zoe and I are a team and therefore the emotions present within each photograph are real.

Clown Girl- A quick idea

This was just a random idea I had... Using different colours to represent each facial feature differently.

Personally I am not entirely satisfied with the results as I believe I could've produced far better portraits.

Experimenting with colours and angles to exemplify the face- Zoe

Inspired by the colour work of Erwin Blumenfeld and William Eggleston, I decided to get closer to Zoe's face, forgetting all about posing and instead simply focusing on exemplifying the facial features which makes Zoe who is she. In this case I wanted to avoid showing Zoe's eyes as I wanted the majority of the viewers attention to be drawn to her large red lips.

Studying the face with colour-Jessica

Emotion can often redefine and reshape the way a character is perceived and viewed. This week I decided to focus on exploring the representation of emotion. Each of these photographs consisted of having Jessica stare constantly into the camera; telling her to exert attitude with a slight sense of seduction (second photo). This is an emotion all girls are masters of achieving. 

With a variety of colours on her face, I told Jessica to smudge and rub the paint into her face; it meant she had to engage with her face, her emotions whilst leaving her personal input within each photograph. 

Abstract forms in relation to the face

During this session of experimentation I decided to study the movement of the subject's face through the use of colour; and in this case, over saturated tones of red, blue and green. All three photographs were taken using a multiple exposure style method but just one long exposure of around 5-8 seconds. During this exposure I manually triggered the flashes at every moment I thought necessary. 

What I found most interesting about this studio session was the spontaneous nature of each photograph, after all, every photo looked completely different to the last.

                                           My favourite photograph from this session was created through an exposure of 15 seconds with manual flashes being triggered every other second. During this exposure I had Zoe slowly move her head from side to side. This movement allowed solid colours to fill the Zoe's face.

I am satisfied with the results. 

Perhaps I will continue with portraying the face from an abstract/alternative perspective.

Artist- Andre Kertesz

Andre Kertesz's study of 'Distortions' embarks on a unique exploration of the human strucutre in regards to the concepts of the beautiful and grotesque. In relation to this photographic study, Kertesz states "One can give what explanations one wishes of his work; all I can say is that making them was very exciting, very amusing'. This is initially how I feel when discussing my work. Kertesz is evoking a sense of the beautiful and grotesque through the way he presents his subject and their facial expressions. After all, the smug facial expression of the larger lady overpowers the scared and feeble expressions exemplified by the character on the left. Here Kertesz is using distortion to represent an alternative perspective of his subjects emotion. After all, despite the heavy sense of distortion inflicted on his subjects, there is something fascinating about them; it is as if they have a story to tell. Within this photograph Andre Kertesz is representing the human form from two perspectives, ideal and grotesque, whilst also reinforcing the original point that all humans are performing bodies. 

Face study- Zoe

Responding from my tuesday group session with Richard (who stated I should capture the movement of my subject's emotion) I purchased a Lomo Uboot camera. This small camera has four lens' which when triggered go off one after the other; thus allowing any slight movements of Zoe to be captured. Initially, I got this idea from looking at one of Andy Warhol's books (previous post) as it fascinated me with regards to how the slightest movement can often completely change the photograph. 

This camera is pretty much a piece of plastic, with no viewfinder or any controls whatsoever (other than the shutter) it stripped me of my comfort zone- these photographs would be all about the light. 

In order to capture these photographs, I would manually trigger the studio flashes in sync with the camera; the results are, from my perspective, an unusual analysis of the face. 

This is something I would love to do again as it truly captures Zoe's movement which within itself portrays many aspects of her character.

Exploring the face with colour- Nick Knight's colour work

In order for my work to progress, I have decided to also explore the face by using colour. Recently when researching in the library, I came across this technically exceptionally photograph by Nick Knight (directed by Hussien Chalayan ). Here Knight portrays the face as an abstract art form with the presence of multiple colours against a black background. I am unsure as to whether this effect has been achieved through using multiple coloured gels or simply a clever use of make-up, however, this image has inspired me to also use colour when exploring the human face.

Recently I have been listening to a lot of music by "A tribe called quest". Within their album art work I strongly admired the bold reds and greens used; they complement each other excessively

I

Further experimentation with black and white- Ruby

This session my aim was to explore a more bizarre aspect of the human face and the emotions associated with them; this implemented with the subject's movement allowed me to create a doppelgänger to Ruby's rather happy and smiling persona.

I do admire these photographs, however I believe that for this project to progress I must focus my attention on colour rather than black and white due to it being broader from my personal opinion.

Man Ray

The abstract qualities of Man Ray's portraits act as a borderline between photography and drawing/painting. With unusual skin tones and the use of solarisation, Man Ray is adding a unique style of depth to his subject's character; like they are drawings coming to life. The sheer abstract nature in general makes the portraits far more engaging as it is as if he scratching beneath the surface of his subject; revealing their true beauty and grotesque qualities.

Focusing more on the representation of each facial feature.

I have decided to use Zoe again for this session simply due to her unique and graceful nature when it comes to posing. The large nature of her eyes have provided me with the opportunity to focus more on the facial features which persistently reveal emotion.

The dramatic contrast between the black and white tones is gently separated with tones of grey. Thus providing the portrait with a nice variation of tones; grey is  just as important in black and white. 

Adopting and modifying the black and white portrait- Nadar to Avedon

The godfather's of black and white portraiture. 

With a mixture of stark and contrasting tones both Nadar and Avedon naturally personify their subject matter with an almost haunting yet realistic representation of an emotion. The beauty and grotesque are carefully exposed to the world without exemplifying the subject in a negative way. 

It has been said that both Avedon and Nadar appear to have the ability to capture and see a glimpse of ones soul...however, as argued by Bailey within the documentary "The man who shot the sixties" it is not the soul that is captured by these two photographers, but instead it is as if both Avedon and Nadar carefully study their subjects, noticing qualities and notions about the character which are often missed or disregarded. 

Within the studio I decided to focus on creating a powerful black and white style of lighting with similar yet alternative qualities to those of Nadar and Avedon. Using a beauty dish raised slightly to the left of the model, I was able to have full control of the shadows which had flooded Zoe's face. The principle of the prop light giving me pin point accuracy with regards to how I wanted the shadow to flow. Shot using Ilford Xp2 with a slightly slower shutter and a rear flash (the slow shutter allows light to appear more intense when the rear flash is triggered), I decided to use the wind machine to exemplify the ever so slight movement of Zoe. 

I am impressed with the results, however I do believe a slower shutter alongside a further exploration and representation of emotion will immediately allow my photographs to appear far more powerful. 

 Dodging and burning of the eyes further allows the portraits to achieve this notion of 'power' wiithin a portrait. In future reference I will refrain from featuring other aspects of the human body such as arms etc...