Key items

Discovered some key things about how to make this blog work easily and quickly. The way I was using it was making a real long winded job of it. After speaking to Julian I realised that the easiest way to deal with images is to keep switching between html and WYSIWYG format. This gives me much more control.
However, after being told to be creative and make our blog special - it seems that we can only be creative within very tight templates and the abilities of the software. C'est la vie. Onward.

My Images - in the style of ...

... in the style of James Welling

Research - James Welling

James Welling
1951-
An artist of singular accomplishment Welling is always experimenting within the medium of photography. He deconstructs photography developing his photogram techniques; taking abstract images of everyday objects and using light as his paintbrush.

31 - 1999
One of my favourite Welling photographs. He likes to move away from representing items accurately, These architectural forms are viewed close up so all idea of scale or form is lost and the result enters into the realms of abstraction.

H3 - 2006
Flowers are transitory. In this image which is taken from a high viewpoint the leaves become a mass in the dark and other forms begin to emerge. The light shining through coloured glass onto thee leaves mutate the them into something other worldly.

002 - 2006
This image has movememnt. The gels that are placed on the negative introduce a blurriness and movement. The image starts out as a photogram and printed onto Kodak Endura Metallic paper.

James - 2007
This image has stillness and movement at the same time with the fabric crumpled in a heap at the foot of the photograph.

In search of ... - 1981
Abstract or real? The composition is delicate and the folds in the fabric encourage you to look at the white items at the bottom. We need to make up our mind what we are viewing? What the cloth is covering? What the white items are and why they are there?

Still Life Photographers

Still life photography is often associated with complex lighting and elaborate flash set-ups. However window light can sometimes be enough. Different weather will produce different types of light entering through the window. This can be controlled with net curtains or taping coloured gels to the window. It is easy to use on translucent items which can be back lit.

Medieval painters and artists mostly adopted 'God's eye' as a viewpoint and used multiple and contradictory perspectives ignoring the relative scale of objects. The Renaissance artists put the work at 'man's height' and built images according to the rules of geometric perspective with a horizon and a single vanishing point.

A photographer using a high viewpoint avoids the jumble of planes and makes an image more legible. A high viewpoint shows the photographer to be a witness rather than a participant and removed from the world with a chance to be better able to interpret its meanings. A photographer can sometimes have an aloof presence.

Images in half shadow half light exaggerate their mordant character and suggest something from Satan.

Research - Andre Kertesz

Andre Kertesz
1894-1985

Mondrian's Studio, Paris 1926
I love this image because of the subtlety of light and shadow; dark and light. The door frame encourages you to look through and the stairs make you want to follow them as well.

Melancholy Tulip, New York 1939
Table top still life. The light in this image is beautiful and possibly just daylight but it gives depth and meaning to this unusual view of a flower. There is something odd about the perspective as the top of the vase is ellipsed but the bottom of the vase is not on a similar plane as the top.

In the Basement, Williamsburg 1948
The viewpoint is of 'man's height' but the interesting lines created by the tiles lead the eye into the picture and straight to the couch which is placed high up in the frame.

Intersection Blois, France 1930
Another high viewpoint which makes this image so interesting.

Eiffel Tower, Paris 1929
The high viewpoint from the first floor of the Eiffel Tower makes people beneath look like ants - but this viewpoint gives an idea of scale as we recognise that we are looking at people.

United States 1953
This is a very busy image but the washing line leads the eye to the vanishing point at the top.

Tokyo 1968
A very amusing image as if the white arrow is helping guide the men with umbrellas. This high viewpoint is improved by positioning the umbrellas off-centre. The high viewpint gives no clues to where we are with landscape or buildings which makes this image timeless and of any place and of any time.

Winter Garden, New York 1970
Reminiscent of James Welling images and an unusual viewpoint giving the final image an abstract feeling although we know exactly what we are looking at.

Martinique 1972
Wonderful use of space and light - whistful, peaceful and full of freedom.

My Images - in the style of ...

... in the style of Karl Blossfeldt

Research - Jim Phalen

Jim Phalen
1957 -
Jim seeks to capture the integrity through seeing. Without nature there is no conversation. Perception, placement, subject and time are the key elements of his paintings.

White Still Life

I love this because of it's simplicity. The composition obeys the rule of thirds and the 3 fruit are positioned in a triangle. The cloth and the wall are very similar colours but we are still able to make out which is that table top and which is the wall.

White Pomegranate

Red is a foreground colour and so by placing the pomegranate at the front we immediately see it. However the tranquility in the colours in the table and the wall help give space for our eyes to rest and take in the beauty and subtlety of the fruit.

Silk Rose
All of the items on the table are painted on the same plane and from the same perspective and represents a realistic view of the composition. The subtlety of the white cloth and the white wall complement the white rose beautifully.

Winter Light
These banal items are rendered beautiful by Jim's ability to represent them with such care and beauty.

Date Seed
I do like the pomegranate - the colour is so rich.

Vertical Arrangement
Two pomegranates and a pear. We are confused by the way these items are positioned but this does not detract from their beauty and the subtle use of colour.