Illustration and Narrative - final version of assignment #5

 

Decisions

Following the tutor's feedback:

• Read the brief! Particularly - choose a cover page and use evidence of action, symbols and juxtaposition.
• Make the story clearer in 2 ways. Firstly, illustrate just the reaction of residents to the race passing through their 'territory' early on a Sunday summer morning, and not attempt to show also the experience of the cyclists themselves.  Secondly, limit the narrative to 1 rather than 2 two races (otherwise this risks confusion trying to explain visually to 2 separate time lines)
• Take out the reference to 'village' in the title - tutor's suggestions about alternative compositions suggest that this word is loaded with expectations more of a Midsommer Norton look-alike rather than just another part of suburbia inside the M25 ring that still uses the name 'village'.
• As a result, replace most of the images of participating cyclists and use those remaining to provide visual context

Click here for: Original version of Assignment 5

Cycle 100 passes through Weybridge

 

Text

The Surrey 100 is a 100 mile cycle race for amateurs that follows the same route as the 2012 Olympic Road Race. It begins in London, runs in a loop around Surrey and then finishes back at the start. The 2013 race was the first of its kind. 20,000 riders came in stages over 2 hours through Weybridge, 20 miles from the start, from 7am on 4th August.

How did local residents react to this early morning visit? 

Cover page



The Cycle 100 arrives in Weybridge, 20 miles form the start

 

Inside story

 

Access to the main road was closed from 5 am
 

6.55 am, a few wait at the newsagents
to see the riders arrive
 

7am, the first pelaton of riders thunders past
 

The small crowd starts politely clapping

The rest of the family and others come later to support  

 

Lets capture the riders on a camera phone



Mum gave us these flags but we're
not going to wave them

But I am not so pleased to have my
dog walking interrupted

Can we have our road back, please?

Goodbye, keep going, well done!



Light - final version of assignment #4

Decisions
The main decision was to:

• stick with the Turkana Man subject (see original assignment for its personal significance)
• use the formula of producing 2 versions of each of the 4 stipulated goals of the exercise, i.e. show shape, form, texture and colour 
• re-shoot all the images except for Shape 2 and Texture 2, since the key weakness of the original assignment was untidy backgrounds

Click here for: Original version of Assignment #4

Images


Shape

Shape 1

• Composition - side profile provides the most interesting shape, showing some of the facial features increases interest, white card provides strong separation
• Lighting - flash #1 at approximately 160 degrees with reflector to reveal gently the detail of the eyes etc, flash #2 was behind statue and directed at background to create silhouette

Shape 2

• Composition - lens flare hints at the dazzling light of midday in Kenya, rim light provides depth by showing brow, temples and top of shoulders, again the use of a white background maximises contrast
• Lighting - single flash overhead and behind subject

Form

Form 1

• Composition - 3/4 view of subject gives a good profile to model the dimensions of the statue, the black background makes for a quieter image than the previous two Shape portraits
• Lighting - Flash #1 (key light) at 45 degrees to left, Flash #2 at 45 degrees to right, reflector to right of camera at close range to increase detail shown of cheek

 

Form 2
 

• Composition - side view provides another good profile to reveal form, the striped background adds to African feel of the image (Thanks for the idea, Robert!)
• Lighting - Flash #1 (key light) at 45 degrees to left, Flash #2 at 45 degrees to right, reflector to left of camera at close range to increase detail shown of cheek

Texture

 

Texture 1

• Composition - side view again because to show the range of contour of the bust, better than a frontal view
• Lighting - flash at 90 degrees to the subject so that the light falls across the textured surface of the bust to reveal its contours and blemishes

 

 

Texture 2

• Composition - complements the previous image by showing the rear view which did not feature prominently
• Lighting - Side lit again with a white card reflector on the right hand side to reveal some of the detail of that side of the bust. Black card background changes the mood, making it more sober and formal than the previous shot.

Colour

Colour 1

• Composition - close-up adds variety of information and perspective to the series as a whole as well as increasing the focus on the colour of the clay 
• Lighting - 2 flashes equidistant from the subject, one at 45 degrees and the other at 315 degrees. The second flash was set at EV -1 stop compared to the first

Colour 2

• Composition - again the close-up adds variety and focus on the colour of the clay. In addition, the narrow depth of field also emphasises the colour of the bust as does using the contrast of a green background (recedes and complements as another earth colour)
• Lighting - 1 flash facing the subject bounced off a white ceiling



Colour - final version of assignment #3

Decisions
The decisions made to create the final submission were:

• Keep unchanged the following images since they fit the brief:  Complementary Colours Harmony - 2, 3; Similar Colours Harmony - 7; Contrasting Colours - 9, 10, Colour Accent - 13, 14, 15
• Adjust Complementary Colours Harmony - 1, Shoes in Superdry window as follows: correct for original error in White Balance, blur the background and (because the blur didn't reduce the distractions as much as the tutor suggested) crop the image more closely
• Replace Complementary Colours Harmony - 4 with Forest and Lake in Autumn to respond to tutor's feedback that too many of the images presented for this assignment were simple close-ups
• Change Similar Colours Harmony - 5 with the shot of the Ceiling at Snog! , to provide an image that was less flat than the Autumn Leaves still life of the original project and that introduces more variety to the assignment
• Change Similar Colours Harmony -6 with the image of the men's shirts in the Shop Window, which seems to be fit the brief better than the shades of yellow and ochre of the Colonnade (my Tutor suggested re-framing the original to include people and café tables but (a) I could not return to the scene and (b) I think it would have distracted from the objective of showing similar colours in harmony)
• Reduce the bleeding of light (in Photoshop) onto the black background of the Pears on Book Similar Colours Harmony - 8 (definitely agree with my Tutor here)
• Substitute Contrasting Colours - 11 with a second shot of the St Giles Circus Office complex, as its predecessor (green and yellow flip flops) didn't fulfil the brief
• Change Contrasting Colours - 12 with an additional image from the Superdry Shop Window, as my Tutor thought the original looked like a snap (I thought that was harsh, frankly, but if that is the impression it risks, then it has to go!)
• Replace Colour Accent -16 with the Reflection of the Sky in the Window in the Wall, because the original failed (miserably!) to illustrate colour accent

Click here for: Original version of assignment 3


Images

A Harmony through complementary colours

 

1. Red and Green in 1:1 ratio
Superdry shop window,  Covent Garden

 

2. Blue and Orange approaching 2:1 ratio
Highlighter pens

 

3. Crimson Red on Light Greens, adjusted away from 1:1 to compensate
Crane in front of City of London office block 

4. Mixed shades of red and green, with some orange,
roughly equal space
Forest and lake in New England in autumn

 

B Harmony through similar colours

 

5. Light Blue and Purple
Ceiling of Snog!, Covent Garden
(frozen yoghurt store)

6. Shades of Blue and Green
Boutique in Verona
(where men's clothes are displayed just
as imaginatively as women's)

 

7. Blue and Green
Pennants advertising the 2012 Olympics, Covent Garden

 

8. Red, Orange to Yellow
Pears on book

C Contrast through contrasting colours

9. Orange and Violet, in 3:1 to compensate for
relative brightness of these colours
Door and wall of restaurant, Covent Garden

 

10. Yellow and Blue
Office block at St Giles Circus, London
 

11. Orange and Green
Another view of the office complex at St Giles Circus
(see previous image)

12. Yellow and Blue
Another section of Superdry's shop window
(see 1 above)

 

 

D Colour accent

 

13. Green accent on complementary red background
Apples stacked at Waitrose
(many thanks to the manager for agreeing to
let me photograph!)

14. Yellow, Dark Blue, Green and Orange on a Blue background
Ferris Wheel, New England

15. Red diagonal on Blue background
Crane reflected in glass of City of London office building

16. Light Blue on Peach and Brown
Window in a street in Verona