The Start of my FMP: 8th October 2019
8th October: I have included a selection of images which are of winter leaves. Life is so full of routines and for me every morning when I drive to work and park in my school playground I see a selection of leaves scattered on the ground. It amuses me that we walk over such a beauty that we don’t even notice what is in front of us. Leaves have symbolic meaning in many cultures, but in general, they symbolize fertility and growth. The green leaves of spring and summer depict hope, renewal and revival. Blazing yellow, orange and red leaves of fall represent the change of season. Ultimately, fallen leaves complete the circle of life with the final stages: decline and death.
If you observe a tree during strong winds you will see the swaying branches and leaves, you are certain it will break. If you watch the trunk however, you will see the power and strength and know it will not fall. The leaves and swaying branches are chaos. The trunk is the polar opposite. Surprisingly they work together, the trunk and its roots cannot be without the nourishment it receives from the leaves. The leaves and branches cannot survive without the nourishment and stability the trunk and the water the roots pull up. Man and woman, Black and white, Joy and pain and Sunshine and rain. It is light and dark. Good and evil. One cannot exist without the other.
Frozen 8th October
I am a summer person but I find something about autumn brings pleasant thoughts. I think about cosy scarves and home comforts but the best thing about Autumn is colour. Autumn reminds us that our bodies, minds, and surroundings are always developing. It focuses on the impermanence of life, emphasizing how vital it is to embrace the present. Thanks to the changing nature of life, each and every day presents us with new mysteries. The crisp fall air and changing leaves personify these unknowns. Once we accept those unknowns, we have more capacity to live life to the fullest. After all, it’s quite comforting to realize that we are all in the same boat facing the same sea of mystery. Autumn represents the preservation of life and its basic necessities. During this time, animals prepare for the winter by storing food and creating cosy hibernation spaces. Farmers work on their fall harvest by collecting a reserve of crops. We also tend to retreat indoors and focus on cultivating a safe and comforting home. In a way, the autumn season offers us a chance to reconnect with ourselves as we preserve our safe havens.
At this moment I have to really define my project. I have to be a little honest I do feel I need to really get a more cleary vision of what I wish to say within my Photos. At the moment I need to analysis my work soI have decided to use a sheet which I have created for my students for when I look at artist work but also for my own work.
Gold Fever 12th December
Still Life
I have recently been exploring the genre of still life photography within my practice. Life photography is similar to still life painting which is also an artistic style for tabletop photography, product photography and food photography. Compared to landscape and portrait photography, lighting and framing are essential aspects of still life photography. Commonly object such as fruits, vegetables, shells, plants and flowers etc. are used to betray a message of used to symbols within the composition. I have been experimenting with my own photography examples included above and below.In Gold Fever, I have taken a dried leafs from my local environment and cover I gold foil. It often fascinates me how nature is constantly changing as has such a massive influence on everyday life—something which needs to be more celebrated and appreciated. Gold is a substance that holds great value, and it made me think. Do we need to coat everything in gold for it to have purpose and value? With the editing I have applied textures to create this mood and darkness around the subject.
I have been exploring textures within my images more mainly due to the inspiration of Brooke Shadens photography. It does raise the question if you are editing your images does that still class as photography? I have been asking myself what is the purpose of my work? Ironically the photograph below was taken while sitting in a restaurant and dried flowers were on displayed.
While at work I decided to try and create my own still life and the red tulips were at their end of their shelf life. Droopy Out off the vase almost touching the table top. I like the tension of the flowers hanging and the light reflecting on the glass bottle. I was interested in the composition of the still life and the texture applied added a sense of age which represents how time applies to all things.
I really do love the colours within the three images above. I have been exploring filling the frame and creating depth within the photograph. Yet again I ask myself why and I doing this what is the purpose? How do I feel when looking at these images? My work is very dark and moody and not express positivity and joy.
Still Life Decay 22nd January 2020
Billy Kidd inspired these photographs I have taken. Billy Kidd is a photographer which I have researched in passes modules. He is a self-taught photographer who is influenced by Man Ray, Andre Kertesz, Jacques-Andre Bouffard, Weegee and Helen Levitt, but mostly by Irving Penn. One of Bily Kidd’s photographs called “Decaying Flowers” shows us that there is something beautiful and purely natural in the process of dying. He sees the beauty that other people often dismiss. The roses can be just as exquisite and captivating even in their decaying state. In some ways, Billy Kidd has breathed new life into them. The floral images have been taken with a black background and exploring the detail within the roses using a single light source. I was exploring this concept within my photograph that yes the flowers are drying and the falling petals gentle fall but represented time and beauty.
Herbs
Alone 19th March 2020
Medway River 20th March 2020
Forgotten Land 24th March 2020
On the Other Side 25th March 2020
Isolation 30th March 2020
Opposite Light 31st March 2020
Alpha and Omega 2nd April 2020
Look Up 3rd April 2020
Going Home 8th April 2020
Twisted Times April 2020
Playground Silence April 2020
BlueBell Light April 2020
Lock Indoors May 2020
Lost May 2020
Welcome to wonderland May 2020
Fire Flower May 2020
Red Poppie
May 2020
Capturing Time and Movement. May 2020
The trees are called Standing People because they are our teachers. They do not walk about like human beings, but they do hold the energy of Earth and Sky. The roots of the trees go deep into our Mother Earth, and their branches reach for the sunlight high in the sky. These teachers of the woods show humankind how to balance the female and male energies present in every human being. Through their example, we can learn how to give and receive. The trees are firmly grounded in the Earth and are reaching for the heavens with their branches, showing human beings how to be bridged between the tangible and nontangible worlds. The balance of demonstrative and receptive is found in the hearts of humans and in the trunks of the trees. These living examples of balance allow humankind to discover the flow of life force that brings inner peace. It is circular and flows up through the roots to the top of the branches, travelling down to the roots again, creating recycling of energy. A tree is never is on its own. It forms a living symbiosis with others around it and does this via an Internet of the trees, the wires which are fungal and without this symbiosis between trees and fungi neither tree nor fungi could live. Like trees, we also must connect with the Earth Mother by rooting ourselves deeply in her while stretching out to the sunlight for warmth and energy.
Trees can teach us so much if we are but prepared to pause and listen to them and observe them, and care for them.
Golden Hay Faversham June 2020
This image was taken on 14th June 2020 and the location was in Faversham. Surprisingly I have lived within the local area all my life and never knew about this location, which actually caused a stir in the local newspaper.
The moment I saw the fields I was in love and there were not a lot of people there. The clouds formations create interests in the image. I used a wide-angle lens and shoot the image slightly lowers then eye view to create a sense of being within the fields. The images have three layers of interests, the foreground of the bright red poppies which draws your eye in and is the focal point of the image. I have used the rule of the third to divided the sky and land within fame. The light was amazing on this day the sky was breathtaking. The contrast of the cool blue and cool red creates against the orange tone within the middle ground. Within the background, there is a farm building on the left-hand side of the photograph which balanced with the clouds in the sky. The one thing that needs improving is how I have edited the photographs. To me, it’s slightly over-edited and too saturated. The image size within Photoshop is 50/60 cms.
Below is the improved Image with slightly edited adjustments:
Faversham Poppies June 2020
Naked Shellness June 2020
This photograph was taken on the 16th July 2020 on Shellness Beach at Laysdown-on-Sea Kent. I have used a wide-angle lens which I love to use to create drama and to pull the image to the foreground. I have used the rule of thirds to divide the land and sky. My intention was to create interest with the detail of the long grass which is in the bottom right hand of the photograph. Your eyes are then pulled in towards the leading line of the water which stops at a dead end. Your eyes then move upwards towards the dramatic clouds in the sky. The water and the sky both lead off in the same direction creating movement within the frame. I wanted to create a simple composition but yet dramatic to reflect the surrounding environment. I love the tones of this image which was taken late in the afternoon. The location is also known for being a nudist beach. The beach is a mixture of sand, shingle, shells and in places, mud. The scenery is typical of the Thames estuary – there are good views of Whitstable and of shipping in the Thames and at low tide, the sea can be a long way out. I think to create more of interest within the frame adding a focal point around where the clouds and water meet would be ideal, maybe a person walking along the horizon line to create scale.
Gemma Ryder 