Assignment 5: Daydreaming While at Work - Photograph 8

I arranged to meet with my subject at a race track, where he trained a lot in his spare time. I envisaged a flood-lit track in the blue hour just before full-night, with my subject training. I was very pleased with the resultant initial photograph (8a). I thought the orange of the track complemented the blue of the sky nicely and I managed to capture my subject training in full flow. I would have liked to have had him fill a bit more of the frame but he was still crucially recognisable as the person in the eventual final Photograph 8b.

Photograph 8a - the photograph within Photograph 8b

   I then arranged again to this time meet at the place where he studied. It was in stark contrast to the outdoor, massive training track in Photograph 8a: the library corner I chose to photograph him in was very confined. Everything in that part of the library (the books and their shelves) converged into the centre, where the photograph-within-the-photograph (8a), caught the eye immediately because of this.

Photograph 8b

   I asked him to hold Photograph 8a so it appeared he was pulling it out of one of the book shelves, almost like he was about to pull out a study book but instead was pulling out what he was daydreaming of.

   Lastly, the expression invited the viewer to look towards the book shelves to his right and more specifically to his hands and ultimately: Photograph 8a. Therefore, I felt Photograph 8b was successful compositionally and the expression on his face caught (at least my) attention.

Assignment 5: Daydreaming While at Work - Photograph 7

For the photograph-within-a-photograph (7a), I decided and agreed with my subject a typical situation, where she would be not working. This would be relaxing in her garden, reading a newspaper. This was a reflection on her busy lifestyle, where even while relaxing, she would usually be doing something proactive.

Photograph 7a - the photograph within Photograph 7b

   I thought I captured this accurately with Photograph 7a, particularly the natural expression on her face and with her feet up.

   For the final photograph 7b, I managed to capture what I thought was a telling expression on my subject's face; showing she was daydreaming. This, coupled with her fingers typing (indicating she was working) and the spatial positioning of Photograph 7a, made for an alluring scene in my opinion. The scene itself was quite busy but I rearranged some of the clutter in the foreground. I also placed Photograph 7a deliberately in front of an open file folder, which made for what I felt was a more cohesive composition. I thought I still retained a faithful rendition of her workplace though.

Photograph 7b

   Lastly, the lighting in the room for Photograph 7b was all from a window, in the direction to which she was looking; adding an extra, natural feel.

Assignment 5: Daydreaming While at Work - Photograph 6

I was already very satisfied with my 'pre-shot' photograph (6a) within the main photograph (6b). In some respects I felt I actually had to make the final image live up to the standards set for Photograph 6a and I thought I managed to mostly produce that standard.

   The reason I was so pleased with Photograph 6a was because it captured my subject in his element, with an accurate expression captured on his face too. The colour and compositional components of the photograph were really strong too in my opinion, with him placed amidst all the colour and also between the sugar cane sticks.

Photograph 6a - The photograph within Photograph 6b

   I attempted to do a similar thing for the Final Photograph 6b and capture some of the essence of him but in a working environment this time. Like my first subject for this assignment (captured in Photographs 1a and 1b), my subject was retired but of course this subject similarly still had activity going on in his life so I decided him cooking was an occupation of his time now. I felt this was an accurate assertion and also one that offered enough scope for composition and creativity.

   I managed to photograph him at a time when the Sun was just catching the cooker and pans and himself, which gave the photograph a lighter yet simultaneously more lively feel. In fact the scene was quite contrasty so I made two exposures (I was using a tripod); one for the cooker, where the image was brightest and another for the shadows and him. Then I combined the two exposures in Photoshop by placing the darker photo over the lighter exposure and then applying a black layer mask on the dark exposure layer. Finally I painted back with white paint the highlights from the darker exposure back into the image.

   I felt the image was successful in this lighting aspect and his expression was quite well captured as well. I did have to hurry with regards to the lighting situation however, with the Sun quickly starting to create unwanted shadows as it got lower. Therefore, because I had to hurry, the sharpness in the shadow areas wasn't optimal and I had to in fact crop put parts of the right of the image because of the shadows. Valuably though, the important parts of the image (including the picture within the picture (Photograph 6a)) were sharp and well-exposed.

Final Photograph 6b

   Regarding the picture within the picture (Photograph 6a) inside Photograph 6b, I thought it was very well placed and helped make the connection to convey what my subject was daydreaming of.

   Meanwhile, there was a good sense of activity, with him cooking evident and the expression was accurate to how I recognised him.

   Overall, I would say that Final Photograph 6b was of pretty good quality and I wouldn't change much about it.

Assignment 5: Daydreaming While at Work - Photograph 5

I felt Photograph 5a gave the viewer  a good insight into my subject's ideal hobby. The gentle lighting made Photograph 5a appear 'daydream-like' as well. The colours were mostly close to pastel quality too; further enhancing this feel of the photograph.

Photograph 5a - The photograph within Photograph 5b

   The Final Photograph (5b) was a shot I was very pleased with - for two complementary reasons. Firstly, I thought it was very creative; having the photograph within the photograph wrapped around the barrel in the brewery setting. Secondly, I thought my subject had just the right facial expression for this specific project - it was very wistful and the pose helped too. Together the facial expression and pose led the eye from the barrels she was leaning on to the foreground barrel, where her photograph within a photograph was wrapped around the front.

 

Final Photograph 5b

   Another nice feature of the photograph was the inclusion of a separate worker at the brewery in the frame too. Without him the scene would have seemed a bit empty and less like a working environment. I liked the way both their poses complemented each other and the natural triangle created by the roof's perspective converging in on the activity below. This activity actually took the shape of another triangle beneath the roof triangle, which led the eye to the photograph-within-the-photograph. Then there was a little detail, where the stripes on the main subject's clothing coincided with the stripes on the barrel, which worked well in black and white. Therefore I was really pleased with the compositional element of this photograph.

Assignment 5: Daydreaming While at Work - Photograph 4

I actually re-did this photograph because I wasn't happy with the first, resultant image (Original Photograph 4b). For me it looked too staged and unnatural, which in turn detracted from what I was trying to convey in this photograph for the assignment. Ultimately, I was much happier with the second version.

Photograph 4a - the photograph within photograph 4b

   I photographed my subject doing one of her favourite pastimes: gardening and I thought I captured a realistic portrayal of how she spent some of her free time. This incidentally also contrasted nicely with Photograph 4b, which was situated in a much more confined and oppressive environment.

Original Photograph 4b

Final Photograph 4b

   My subject was looking directly at Photograph 4a in the Final Photograph 4b, rather than at the camera (as in the Original Photograph 4b). This, combined with a more relaxed posture, made for a more captivating yet true photograph for me.

Assignment 5: Daydreaming While at Work - Photograph 3

For the initial 'pre-shot' - Photograph 3a, I captured a moment that candidly depicted my subject playing in a band, which was the natural, semantic progression for the final photograph (3b). This was because it made sense that he practiced in the room shown in Photograph 3b in order to enjoy play in the band as shown in Photograph 3a. I was pleased that I managed to capture the colours and atmosphere of the scene in Photograph 3a, which would appear vibrant also in the final photograph (3b).

Photograph 3a - The photograph within photograph 3b

There were several technical elements of the final photograph (3b) I thought worked particularly well, namely the balance of light and dark, the manner in which everything inside the practice room inclined to the centre where my subject was standing and the way the guitars all were standing upwards (including the one he was holding).

   I also felt the only bit of colour in the photograph (the photograph within the photograph - 3a) was well-positioned and the fact it was covering most of the amplifier made it 'fit in' more. Semantically, it also made sense - the guitar and amplifier implied music; something which can prompt daydreaming. Therefore, a visual representation of his daydream was present coming out of the amplifier.

   Again, I waited for his smile to recede slightly before taking the shot, thereby showing a more natural facial expression.

Photograph 3b - the final photograph

   Overall, I felt this was one of the stronger images I produced for this assignment. This was due to the photograph within the photograph being placed so creatively and also the diagonal lines of perspective from the different objects in the room converging in on my subject.

Assignment 5: Daydreaming While at Work - Photograph 2

I repeated similar steps for the photograph (2a) within the 'main' photograph (2b) for this second shot. It was obvious to this subject that her child was what she naturally daydreamed of during work so I took a quite intimate shot of the two of them together.

Photograph 2a - the photograph within photograph 2b

   I then visited her workplace, along with the A3-sized printed photograph (2a). One nice touch was the use of spectacles in the 'main' photograph (2b), creating a business-like contrast, whereas the photograph within the photograph was more intimate and the lack of spectacles signified this. I also asked her to think of her time with her child in order to get a facial expression which reflected that. In terms of composition, I asked her to look upwards while smiling. This meant even though she was looking in the other direction, it seemed she was thinking of her time with her child (the representation of which was placed above her in the other direction - Photograph 2a).

Photograph 2b - the final photograph

   For the foreground, I included several beverages, which my subject said helped her to get through the day because they contained caffeine. I thought this 'filled out' the frame better, where it would have been quite bare otherwise. It also divulged a bit more information about her working day. I liked the way these foreground objects were placed so they led the eye to my subject; who in turn brought the computer and more importantly, in my opinion, Photograph 2a to the viewer's attention.