Townscape Photography: Research and practical work

Photography research

Townscape
"The appearance of a town or city; an urban scene"

This is a historical photograph which was taken during the life time of Eugene Atget which was from 1857 until 1927. The time which it was taken makes it a historical image but also you can tell as it is in black and white and the buildings look old fashioned. I really like the photo because of its black and white as there is no color which can distract you from looking at the detail, such as the cobbles. In addition to this I like how the path narrows down into the distance and disappears. I would like to try and take an image similar to this for my townscape project.

This photo was taken by Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris, 1932. I would say the date it was taken makes it a historical  photograph as it was taken over 70 years ago.  I like this photo because it is in black and white but in addition to this I really like the shadow which has been created in the puddle.  There is a contrast between the background and foreground as the foreground is much clearer and dominant compared to the misty building in the background.



This is a double exposed image by Harry Callahan. I really like the tow images which he put together as it looks quite strange, a car coming out of a wall. I'm not sure the time the images was created but Callahan's life ended in 1999 so his work is fairly modern. The foreground of the tree stands out to me and makes the car seem slightly set back. I think this is because of the texture of the wall which is on top of it.



This double exposed image by Jay Archibald and is also a panorama. He states his approach to urban photography is less architectural and more an abstract neon behind glass and grate approach. I really liked a lot of his work and the two image below is my favorite out of them all.





I think these images have a lot of energy to it and I really like the bright colours and lights all merging together in them. I would say both of these are contemporary photos as they represents modern day night life.





This a contact sheet of some photographs I have taken of townscape scenes. I haven't had as much class time to take photos due to absence. I like quite a few of the photos which I have taken especially the ones on different angles. 

This is one of my favorite photos which I have taken. I like how the building looks quiet and abandoned. I think the graffiti and boarded up windows gives it a lonely atmosphere.
To improve the image I think it could have been taken at a slightly different angle and I think it would have looked better if the whole of the building, including the top, was showing.

I also liked this image I had taken and I chose to take it from the bottom of the back alley to try and get the same effect as Eugene Atget's photo which I analyzed further up.  However I don't like the green and red in the photo, I think its distracting and would look better in black and white, just like Atget's photo.

Using photoshop I made the photo black and white and adjusted the brightness and contrast. 

I prefer the photo much more now and I am pleased that it resembles Atget's work. 

Layers

Here, using photo shop, I have used two images and placed them on top of each other. Then I played about with the opacity until I had the right balance of each photo. Then I have used lots of different effects and also changed the brightness and contrast on some of the photographs.  I am really pleased with how these look , I also really like this effect which you can create using photo shop and will most probably use it again. These photographs are also in my visual note book. 

This is one of my favorite images and I think the building looks like a flag, with the lamppost holding it up. I especially like how the windows how been replaced with the brick wall showing through into the foreground.

This image is has much more character to it and I think the negative effect gives it a mysterious feel to it. Overall I am pleased with this image and it reminds me of Jay Archibald's work which I have researched above.

This one is one of my least favorite as you cannot see both of the photographs clearly unless you look closely. 

I am not overly pleased with this one either as the gate in the foreground makes the overall images look blurred.

I am pleased with the two images above as agin they also remind me of the images I liked by Jay Archibald.

Panoramas

A panoramic photo is simply any image which has two or more shots stitched together to make it appear as one large photograph.  Here are some examples of panorama's which I have found on the internet. ( http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/40-inspiring-panoramic-photographs--photo-864 )

I chose these three as examples which I really liked because of the sky in all of them. I thought the skies in the first two skies where pleasant to look at as they are clear and flawless. However my favorite is the sky setting the bottom example because of the colours fading together. It looks calm and peaceful. 

These are two panoramas which I have created on photoshop using some photographs I have taken around college. 

I am pleased with how the photos have fitted together in this one, how ever because of the rain I am disappointed with the quality of the image. 

I prefer this one much better as parts of the images are really clear and although some are not I actually really like how the clearness changes though out the image. This wasn't done intentionally. 

Double Exposure

These images where taken with a film camera. They are double exposed, so there are two or more images on each film. They where developed at college by the technician an then scanned onto the macs. I then opened them up in photoshop and after duplicating the layer I went into Image, Adjustments and Invert. I then played around with the colour levels until I was pleased with the image. 

This process was a good chance to try out new skills with the film cameras and also photoshop. However I prefer using a digital camera and taking single images. 

This one was quite difficult to edit as the image in the background wasn't as clear as the foreground and I don't really like it. 

I really like this one because all parts of the image are visible. I like the original one above much more than the blue underneath because of its colour, it reminds me of a sepia edit. 

This edit is my favorite out of the four. I especially like the yellow background as it reminds me of the sun and I think is contrast really well with the dark buildings in the foreground.

I am also quite pleased with this edit. My favorite part is the different shades of blue. The image looks calming and quiet and reminds me of something out of a film.