ASSIGNMENT 2: A PHOTOGRAPHIC BOOK COVER

Brief: Create a design for a book jack using your own photography.

The brief of this assignment is to create a design for a book jacket using your own photography. This will take into account everything that we have learning in this course up until this point. The first task for me to undertake this assignment was to choose the book title that I wanted to use for this cover design.

Choosing a book title.

I have previously written an initial regarding post regarding choosing this title, you can find that at here and have chosen to design a cover for the book 'The Tyranny of Choice' by Renata Salecl (Profile Books, 2010). I found the book difficult to read. A very academic style of writing but with good points and descriptions of ideas but not an easy read for me. The main storyline summary of the book is how our choices define us as a society, but how social and political factors subconsciously influence the decisions we make, resulting in a lack of social change.

My first idea was to revert back to a diagram to conceptualise the word choice to give me some direction towards my photography (see image 1).

Image 1

Conceptualising the cover.

Based on my ideas from the diagram, I made some very rough sketches about which ideas I like the best. I wanted to continue with the idea of choice being represented visually in my photograph.

The actual book cover of the copy I have is shown in image 2.

Image 2

The cover is minimalist with the photograph being of two, identical, half full glasses of water. I think the glasses represent choice in the way of visualising how you would choose between two things that are identical. But I also think the glasses represent the individual and how their choice can decide whether the glass if half full or half empty, which then refers to the story being of how ones decisions are reflective of the society that we live in. The photograph takes up half of the front cover with a large title font and a slightly smaller font for the authors name. There is also a quote at the top of the page. The photograph is then shown at a smaller size on the back bottom corner with text boxes above showing the summary and three quotes. The spine shows only one glass with the title and author (in a larger font) with the publishing logo at the bottom.

I am going to leave out the quote boxes and just use the space for the essentials as not all books have quotes printed on the covers. I want to focus on the design and the layout itself. Also, My initial thought is to keep to a similar layout, although depending on my design, that decision my change as I progress.

The initial design ideas are shown in images 3, 4 and 5.

Image 3

Image 4

Image 5

1. My first design was to photograph a person stood at a crossroads/fork in the road, looking like he was making a decision. But reflected in his glasses would be the actual fork in the road. Or maybe to play on the social factor, the reflection could be of a selection of newspapers and magazines.
2. The second idea was the same as the first really, but instead of shooting into the models face, I would photograph from behind to show him/her actually stood at the fork in the path. Maybe the model would be scratching his/her head to represent the action of choosing something.
3. The third idea is to focus on the models face. Maybe crop to below the eyes as to not show the full face but again, using the hand gesturing to the common 'thinking' pose. Or even using the full face with a head tilt but adding a blur?
4. My fourth idea is to use a signpost. Simple idea of a visualising a decision between one way or another. This would be a location shoot, the same as ideas 1 and 2, or I could even attempt to find a visible crossroad with the signpost, or post process the signpost onto another photograph.
5. My final idea was the same as idea 2, but to not include the model. This would be to just simply show the fork in the road.

The ideas are very similar. You can see from my earlier diagram that I had ideas to use props but then I decided I wanted to attempt to create a different cover to the one the book has already and as that was a prop design, I thought it better to go with a more challenging design.

Most of these ideas could see me able to keep the layout similar to what it already is, except maybe 1 and 3. As these are close ups of a face, I may have to experiment with layout to see what fits where, without losing any detail. It may be that I need to cut the subject out and place it onto a plain background to be able to allow space for the typography, but the location shoots should be fine, even if we need to extend or retouch the background.

Planning & executing the photography.

In light of the above ideas, I undertook shots for all the above ideas to see what could work and what was available and possible. I used a friend as a model, and made sure I had some sunglasses as a prop to attempt idea 1. The location was a tricky one. There aren't too many places with the old style signposts and I had a specific vision of using wooded areas and paths so that the paths weren't too perfect looking. I also thought that woodland/ rural setting would be a contrast to the social and political factor of the storyline.

All images taken can be seen in image 6.

Image 6

The next part was to mock up a quick cover for each design idea and see how well the cover would work with typography (see image 7 for cover template). I used a website called Biddles.co.uk to get an estimate of paperback wrap jacket sizes.

Image 7

Image 8

Image 8 shows all 6 ideas as mock up front covers and I am torn. I really like idea 5 but I am more drawn to the model shots as they look a bit more realistic. I don't like the font on idea 1 so that is something to address when incorporating type. And i'm not sure if the image is too “busy”, there's a lot going on in the photograph with the model and the focus in the glasses reflection, but I think that is my favourite of the the choices.

From the above website, I found out that the A5 size paperback dimensions are 210mm x 148mm but then you have to allow for the back cover and the spine. Biddles website has a spine width estimator dependant on the amount of pages. With the book having 183 pages, it estimates a spine width of 12.81mm. This would mean my book jacket width, in total, would be 148mm + 12.81mm + 148mm. So approximately 210mm x 308.81mm. And I kept to the RGB profile as well as 300dpi.

I used Photoshop Elements 9 to make a template with the above dimensions for the jacket and then started to prepare the image for the front cover.

Image 9

Image 9 shows the image that I originally took. I put this onto the template and sized it to fit the front cover. It's a profile shot but the main focus is the fork in the path ahead, reflected in the glasses so I had a lot of processing to do to get this point across. The face is also important as it shows the model thinking about something. I decided to select the reflection and decrease the shadows, as well as brighten that section and decrease the contrast ever so slightly. This brightened the image as is wasn't very clear in the original photograph. Next I wanted to take the focus slightly from the face, so I inverted the selection of the reflection and added a gaussian blur at 10.1pixels. Then I thought it would be interesting to convert the rest of the image to black and white to really emphasise the reflection. Finally, I brightened the whole image slightly and decreased the contrast a touch.

Incorporating type.

Looking back to the experimenting with layouts exercise, I tried to play it safe with the text for the book cover design. It was important to have a clear and bold title, so I chose Oriya MN font (bold) for the titles (and mixed in Verdana font for the authors name on the front cover) and then the Georgia font for the blurb text, as it's clear and easier to read in a small size. I used the move and resize tool to set the sizes of the text, I just went with where the text looked best and didn't hide any important detail to the front photograph. I also thought it best not to incorporate a coloured text to distract from the photograph so kept to black and white text.

In regards to the spine, I really didn't know what colour to keep the background as the front was taken up with the whole black and white image. I played around with different shades of grey, as well as black and white but nothing looked right. In the end I had the idea to duplicate the front cover image and reduce the opacity to 50%. Then 'slide' this layer over the spine section of my template, so that you just see 12mm of the left side of the image, which makes it look like a slight extention. I added in the Author and title to the spine in the same fonts and colours as on the front, and added the publishing “logo”. I toyed with the idea of adding the image in a small square space to the spine, or even just the glasses, but when I added them I immediately didn't like it and discarded it. The same goes for the back of the book. My initial intent was to add a mirror image of the front photograph but with less opacity, or to use just the glasses section, again with less opacity. But my experimenting with this led me to discard those ideas too. I think it's because the photograph is so busy that adding it to the back just made it look too messy and cluttered. And the glasses just didn't have a good position on the cover. If I did them big, then they would need to go up the top of the back cover, with the blurb over the top and then the rest of the back cover would look empty. And if I put a small image on the back then they would have to be at full opacity in the bottom corner, much like the duplicate image is on the actual book cover. In the end I decided to use a black back cover as all the different shade of grey I tried just made the cover appear to have too much grey. I then filled in the blurb and added a barcode for effect.

The final design.

Image 10

Image 10 shows my final book cover design for The Tyranny of Choice by Renata Salecl.

Final thought.

I am happy with my final design. I think it functions very well to fit with the title of the book as well as to visually conceptualise the theme of the book. It suits the purpose of the title and the story and I think the type elements fit very well in the composition without losing any detail.

Exercise: Conceptual cover design

This is a very similar exercise to the previous one. I have looked at a few of the covers and made notes:

The Honeymoon's Over - Edited by Andrea Chapin and Sally Wofford-Girand
I actually really like this cover design. It is cleverly thought out with the theme visualised into a piece of burned toast. The book is a " provocative collection of essays by prominent women writers on the turning points in their own marriages" (Amazon UK, 2015) Honeymoon is a word associated with marriage and the term Honeymoon Period is nowadays referred to not only for marriage but also for any new venture, whether it simply be a new relationship or a new job. The phrase the honeymoon is over is also thrown around in the same way now meaning that things aren't as perfect as they were initially when the relationship/job started and things aren't as brilliant once you've settled in. Everyone knows your honeymoon is meant to be bliss, however the designer has used the term as a reference to the content of the book, being about the moment the relationships turned for the worse, the same as the toast. It's meant to be browned and perfect, much like the honeymoon but now its not as great or as perfect as it should be.  A simple cover to photograph but a well thought out concept.

A General Theory of Love - by Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini and Richard Lannon
 This again is a simplistic cover design with a well thought out concept. Amazon UK (2015) summarises the story as "an original, lucid, at times moving account of the complexities of love and it's essential role in human well-being."
The designer has symbolised the story into the two chairs, representing two people. The tilted chair could be seen as a symbol of affection with it gently touching the other chair and it also gives the impression of stability, which is the heart of an relationship, with the one chair leaning on the other. This all ties in with the storyline of the book and works very well as a cover design.

Presence - by Arthur Miller
 I thought this was such a basic book cover and couldn't find this cover straight away as it appears to have many different cover designs. From what I can gather by looking at the other versions, this is a collection of stories published after Miller's death. In which case I believe this cover design is representing that fact as opposed to the actual storylines contained within. The word presence means something is there or felt without being seen. I think the figure in the photograph represents Miller himself, a silhouette in the mist, showing his presence is still felt after his death with his book being published, but he is not physically visible anymore. A very simple yet effective cover design.





References:

Amazon Uk(2015) The Honeymoon's Over:True Stories of Love, Marriage and Divorce [online] available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Honeymoons-Over-Stories-Marriage-Divorce-ebook/dp/B00FOTRB4A/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427276507&sr=1-1&keywords=the+honeymoons+over+Andrea+Chapin [accessedMarch 25th 2015]

Amazon Uk (2015) A General Theory of Love (vintage) [online[ available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/General-Theory-Love-Vintage/dp/0375709223/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427277485&sr=1-1&keywords=A+general+theory+of+love [accessed March 25th 2015]

Amazon Uk (2015) [PRESENCE BY (AUTHOR) MILLER ARTHUR [PAPERBACK] 12-02-2008 [online] available at:http://www.amazon.co.uk/PRESENCE-AUTHOR-MILLER-PAPERBACK-12-02-2008/dp/B0079F9PLY/ref=sr_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427277992&sr=1-14&keywords=presence+arthur+miller [accessed March 25th 2015]

Exercise: Choosing your imagery

This was a fun exercise to research imagery on book covers.

An out-of-focus photograph

The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins
I have seen two covers for this book and both include an out of focus shot. The first depicts the blurred image of a train itself as though you are on the platform watching the train race past, from the outside. The second image (shown on the right) shows the blurred image of a landscape as though you are watching the scenery race past as you are on the train looking out. Either way, both covers show movement blur which ties in with the novel being about a womans daily commute on a train. Both images capture attention however I think the first is more effective and links directly with a key point of both the story and the title.


I found another book cover that I was interested in and wanted to include it here.

The Photographers Wife - Nick Alexander
Whilst this cover is not completely out of focus, it doesn't show a clear photograph and so I guess it would fit into this category.
This novel is about a successful photographers wife who hasn't given her children much insight into her past and her youngest daughter daughter uncovers lots of old photos while preparing an exhibition of her fathers work, which gives her an insight into their past. The image is much the same, It doesn't give much away. It shows a rainy glass which gives the impression of rain, misery and stormy weather. It could also link to tears. Plus the image is of a fraction of a womans face. I think that this represents the wife and that she was never the main focus of wholly in the picture. As though the picture always came first. I haven't read the book so I'm not sure it's a true reflection of the story but the cover gives great symbolism if it does. I though it was a very effective cover with a link to the title and possibly the storys' content.

A minimalist landscape or outdoor scene with a large area of sky.

A Mother's Story - Amanda Prowse
This is my inclusion for this category. The cover is mostly sky with two almost identical trees either side of a woman in the centre. The girl, ground and trees and all silhouetted against a colourful sunset sky. The story is about a woman who has a perfect life but finds it torn apart through post natal depression. The images itself appears subjective to the story. It depicts loneliness with the lone figure but also tranquility in the evening sky. But I think the fact that everything is silhouetted is symbolism for the darkness of the depression against her otherwise perfect world, symbolised with the beautiful sky.
Not a particularly eye catching book cover but it's perfectly in sync with the theme of the story once you know what the book is about.




A Still like close up.

Fragile Lies - Laura Elliot
The summary of this book says its a story about love and adultery and betrayal. The cover is a close up of a hand, holding a heart shaped pendant on a chain, being held by a hand. Immediately looking at this cover you know that love was in there somewhere due to the heart shaped pendant. The pendant can also be a symbol for someones heart as opposed to 'love' and the image in my eyes looked like someone holding their or someone's heart in their hands. The title is 'fragile lies'. Fragile implies delicate and something that needs to be protected or can be broken easily. So I think the title is emphasising that even the most 'protected' lies can have a huge impact and ruin lives or in this case, hearts can be broken. Again, not a striking book cover but it gives an air of mystery to the story behind the cover.


An historical archival photograph.

Gone to Ground - Marie Jalowicz Simon
I didn't find a huge amount of historical archival covers in my searches but I did find this one. It is a factual account of a woman's life in Nazi Germany and so a true story. The photograph shows two women in an urban street which links to the author and the story. The inclusion of the image in sepia/monotone gives the impression of age which links to the historical factor of the account being set in 1941. It is unclear whether the photograph is actually from the author or from the time or location of the account or if it's just a stock photo. But either way it ties in with the story and someone seeing this on the shelf would know straight away that this was a historical story so I can understand the choosing of this photograph for this books cover.



An Inverted Photograph.

Inverted - Tom Ellsworth
This was another difficult find. This book is apparently a group study book looking at the parables told by Jesus. The cover basically shows a cityscape, upside at the top of the page, with a plane pulling a banner with the subtitle on at the bottom of the page, the right way up. There isn't really much to comment on this cover. The photograph is completely subjective to the book title.







I found another book cover which caught my attention under this category but it has an illustration as opposed to a photograph.

August - Bernard Beckett.
The image shows a car upside down at the top of the cover. It doesn't tie in with the title, August, so it really captures your interest to the nature of the story, which is about people contemplating their lives while trapped upside down in a car wreck after a crash. So the illustration really does capture the subject of the story precisely. But it makes for a very interesting cover with such an abstract image.
The illustrator, Guy Shield, wrote in his blog on Nov 30th 2010 about how he had been commissioned to create this artwork and how it was "designed to sit upside down on bookshelves, creating an up-close sense of intrigue about the fact that their hair is 'floating' and colour is rushing to their heads. The reality is the car is upside down in mid air."



References:

Amazon Uk (2015) Gone To Ground [online] avilable at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gone-Ground-extraordinary-account-survival/dp/1781254141/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427235257&sr=1-1&keywords=gone+to+ground [accessed March 18th 2015]

Amazon Uk (2015) August [online] avilable at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/August-Bernard-Beckett/dp/192175804X [accessed March 18th 2015]

Amazon Uk (2015) The Girl on the Train [online] available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-Train-Paula-Hawkins/dp/0857522310/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427236663&sr=1-1&keywords=the+girl+on+the+train [accessed March 18th 2015]

Amazon Uk (2015) Inverted [online[ available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inverted-Living-Perspective-Changing-Parables-Jesus/dp/0784729255/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427236692&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=inverted+nick+ellsworth [accessed March 18th 2015)

Amazon Uk (2015) Fragile Lies [online] available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fragile-Lies-Laura-Elliot/dp/1909490806/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427236725&sr=1-1&keywords=fragile+lies [accessed March 18th 2015)

Amazon Uk(2015) A Mother's Story [online] available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mothers-Story-Amanda-Prowse-ebook/dp/B00NLGBKTK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427236746&sr=1-1&keywords=amanda+prowse+a+mothers+story [accessed March 18th 2015]

Amazon Uk (2015) The photographers Wife [online] available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Photographers-Wife-Nick-Alexander-ebook/dp/B00MTJQVPS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427236770&sr=1-1&keywords=a+photographers+wife [accessed March 18th 2015]

Amazon.Com (2015) Girl on the train [online] available at :http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Train-Novel-Paula-Hawkins/dp/1594633665/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427236798&sr=1-1&keywords=girl+on+the+train [accessed March 18th 2015]

Guy Shield(2010) The long lazy afternoons [online] available at:http://guyshield.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/long-lazy-afternoons.html [accessed March 18th 2015]

Exercise: Experimenting with layouts

This was another Elements task to experiment with different fonts, presumably to show us that not all fonts work well together or as a book cover text. As we had worked with Verdana and Georgia fonts in the last exercise and the suggested fonts were Arial and Times New Roman, I predominantly worked with these for this exercise but then I also looked through the list of fonts available and picked out another two that I felt were similar to the four that I have just mentioned. The other two fonts I chose were Silom and Helvetica.
Here were my experiments;

Example 1

Example 1 has the Title in Verdana (Bold) and smaller text in Georgia.

Example 2

Example 2 has the Title in Arial and smaller text in Times New Roman.

Example 3

Example 3 has the Title in Silom (regular) and the smaller text in Helvetica.

Looking at all three images open together above, I think I prefer the Verdana font title. It's not too bold like the Arial, even though it is set to Bold, and the Silom font is just too tall and narrow with too much space between the lettering.
I like all three os the smaller texts although I think that the text is slightly clearer and easier to read in the Georgia font when it's set to '12' like they all are in the examples. So I prefer the first layout out of the three, with the Verdana title at a size of 50.15pt with the move cursor.

Exercise: Applying a drop shadow

This was an extension of the previous exercise to show us the technique to apply a drop shadow to the 'Title' from the previous exercise.

Here are some screen grabs of the process:

Adding the duplicate layer

Adding the Gaussian Blur to the new layer

Showing the result of adding the blur

Final result after reducing the layers opacity

And here is the final result as a JPEG:

Applying a drop shadow to the title

I really enjoyed these hands on tutorials. I didn't know how to add a drop shadow this way and I can only hope to have more of these along the duration of the course. I will definitely be using these techniques more in the future.

Ideas for Assignment 2.

I have taken the first step today on the path to Assignment 2.

I looked at the titles available for the assignment and after reading through the summaries of each book, I narrowed it down to two titles, The Outsider and Choice.

Amazon Uk website (2015) summarises Albert Camus' The Outsider as "an exploration of the alienation of an individual who refuses to conform to social norms". After a brief read of the overview, I found this the type of story that I would enjoy and as spare time is something I don't have a lot of, I thought that any time that I could fit in to read this book , it would catch my attention.

Choice by Renata Salecl is defined by Amazon Uk (2015) as "an exploration of how late capitalisms shrill exhortations to 'be oneself' can be a tyranny which only leads to ever-greater disquiet and how insistence on choice being a purely individual matter prevents social change." This book appeared more factual and I was curious to read it, thinking it would be a more interesting read.

So I have ordered my copy and will try to read what I can when I can, even if it means a chapter a day.







References:
Amazon Uk (2015) The Outsider (Penguin Modern Classics) [online] available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Outsider-Penguin-Modern-Classics/dp/0141198060 [accessed March 10th 2015]
Amazon Uk (2015) The Tyranny of Choice(Big Ideas) [online[ available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tyranny-Choice-Big-Ideas/dp/1846681863/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427229408&sr=1-1&keywords=renata+salecl [accessed March 10th 2015]

Exercise: Analyse an essay

Our task was to read John Berger's 1972 essay 'Understanding a Photograph'.

On my first read I made a spider diagram to jot down points that stuck out for me. My notebook page is below.

Spidergram - insert from my learning log notebook, 2015

After re-reading the essay, I believe that John Berger's argument summarised into one line is that photography does not deserve to be considered a fine art because it is merely a representation of a moment seen by the photographer that he/she considered it worthy of recording.
He has presented his argument very clearly and has good reasoning behind his points. He does not appear to be able to be swayed on the matter, there is a very strict and conservative tone to his argument which would tie in with his socio-political stance.
I am not convinced by Berger's argument. The essay itself appears in John Berger's Selected Essays and Articles: The look of Things (penguin (pelican) books, 1972). Given that we are now in the 21st Century, I feel that photography is even more recognised as an art form nowadays. Bergers argument focuses on value and rarity in the first instance but nowadays it is more common to see photography exhibitions within museums  and well known photographers can produce rare, well known and valuable pieces. Berger believes that photographs are merely snapshots of memorable events or places and while this is true to some extent, (I have seen so many people thinking they can be labelled as a photographer because they can use Instagram), a photographer can capture a shot that not only he/she wants to see but one that can also be enjoyed by many other people.
Photography has always been something that can be mass produced, you can see why Bergers argument questions the rarity, however this mass production can then stretch to market that image worldwide therefore exposing not only the image, but the photographer and could potentially increase the photographs value.
As I expected, this writing style is particularly academic and difficult to read in my eyes. His argument is clear, however, it is difficult to not get sidetracked by the language if you do not fully understand it.

Part Two: Initial thoughts.

I am eager to start this next chapter as the first few exercises are more hands on and a bit more exciting. I have stated before that I am not very academic and therefore the theory work can be difficult and somewhat painful at times so I am excited to start a more physical project. The first problem that I have encountered before even starting is that I do not have the full version of Photoshop, and I am disappointed that it is assumed in the course text that everyone will have it. I have Photoshop Elements 9 and so I will attempt to do what I can with that. I cant imagine there being a huge difference in the tools available.

Exercise: Getting started

This exercise was a hands on exercise. A basic point by point tutorial on using Photoshop (or Elements in my case) which is great and something that should be done a lot more through these courses.

The aim of the exercise was to give us the first step of basic knowledge on creating our book cover which will be needed for Assignment 2.

Screenshot From Photoshop Elements 9 after completing the exercise

Here is the above exercise saved as a JPEG file:

Getting started exercise finished

This was a pretty simple task but good for someone with limited Photoshop knowledge.

Reflections on Part one.

I am now up to the final exercise of part one and my mind is mush already. The next and final exercise does not bode well for me either.
I am academically challenged. I fully admit that. After undertaking Photography 2: Landscape and now this module, all I can say is that my passion for photography is dying.To the point that I just don't want to pick up my camera anymore. I appreciate that this is a photography degree and that you need to progress to another level moving up to Level 2, but theory and analysis are not my strong points. I am always self critical of my own work bit I shoot what I see. I'm not good with organised shoots as I feel uncomfortable giving direction and then don't want my subjects feeling uncomfortable too. People say I have a talent and an 'eye' for photography but I don't analyse who, what and why I take the photographs that I do. If it looks good to me, I photograph it. But now my discomfort is yet again stretched to analysing who, what and why I have taken or others have taken photographs and I feel I can't muster up anything to say.
The ten point system is great for people like me as it gives me a starting point to waffle about something and anything that I can talk about with any relevance but here I am on the cusp of analysing an essay which I am barely going to be able to understand let alone talk about and I am starting to panic.
Photography for me is a hobby. Something I, used to, like doing for fun. I have no future intentions to sell and of my work, it will always be a hobby. I feel it unimportant to know how to create a book cover or know how to make my work professional. I thought this degree course would be more about the photography and not about planning event coverage and who the 19th and 19th century artists who inspired landscape photographers were and why. I have been out of my comfort zone and possibly my depth now since starting level 2 and once again I find myself debating whether this course will get the better of me. Only time will tell. All I can do is give it my best. Although I'm not convinced that my best will be good enough.

Exercise: Research and analyse

Looking at the image options, I chose to look at Don McCullin's Shell Shocked:

When I initially Googled 'Don McCullin', this image makes numerous appearances.

Google images result for Don McCullin search 2015

I have done a little research into this image and have come across vast information and opinions of other regarding this image which doesn't really help with the exercise in hand.
'Shell-shocked' (Hue, 1968) was taken by well known war photojournalist Don McCullin (born 1935) as he joined American marines who battled the north vietnamese soldiers for the city of Hue in 1968.
To look at the image using the ten point system, my first impression is one of war and sorrow. The image is in black and white which doesn't allow anything to distract from the subject of the soldier. The soldier is closely framed with vertical lines made through the gun as well as implied line from the gun to the soldiers face. The solider doesn't look comfortable. He appears on edge and more 'slumped' than sitting. The way he is gripping his gun adds tension to the image and gives an atmosphere to the photograph even though we can't see any of his surroundings. The dirt on his hands and face show that this was taken amidst 'something' and the gun , clothes and helmet immediately show this 'something' as war or fighting. Then there is the soldiers face. The pure look of shock shows disbelief. There is a look of pain and sadness in his eyes yet he is looking above the camera as though the moments leading up to this shot being taken have consumed everything this soldier has inside and he is completely unaware that the camera is even there. He appears to be 'lost' to the previous moments and he is reflecting the obviously painful situation that he has just endured, as well as maybe feeling a slight relief that he is still alive.
The genre is that of a portrait. The photographer has set out to show the soldier and nothing else so that the viewer sees just the soldier at that precise moment. This could be an editorial shot or just a gallery piece. I am not completely sure. It could be seen as a documentary piece to show the world the effect of war to the soldiers who are battling it, to show the emotional and physical effect that it has on it's fighters after and during battle as well as accompanying news articles on specific pieces.
The immediate situation facing the photographer would be the solider and his reactions. Had the photographer not been where he was at that exact moment, then he wouldn't have captured this photograph and the sheer look of devastation on the soldiers face. I would say that this was a completely unplanned image. There was no way that McCullin could've known that this soldier would have this reaction for him to capture it. McCullin was merely documenting what he saw as and when he came across it and this shot would've been completely unplanned and an opportunity that appeared at that moment.
Technical details, again, no comments here. The photograph has been taken or processed into black and white and the aperture may have made a difference with depth in the background but I would imagine that the soldier would've been as still as his expression when McCullin took this photograph. And as it is a portrait, there isn't much else going on in the image due to such close framing.
Going back to the google image search at the beginning, we see a lot of McCullins war photography with plenty of images of war and it's effect on the people caught up in it. They are all black and white from what I have seen and a lot show the strains and emotions shown in the people's faces so this image does actually follow McCullin's own style of Photography.
This photograph can be put into each of the following categories: Black and White, War, Portraits, but without researching McCullin and his work first, I wouldn't have known if it followed any mannerisms or a certain style of the photographer.
I think the photographers intent was to capture the pain and emotional stress that war and conflict has on, not only the people caught up in it but also on the soldiers that are in the midst of it and actually undertaking the fighting. The physical factor that they are doing a 'job' is strain enough on that person but even today with all the conflict in Syria and Iraq, we don't ever get to see the emotion and mental strain that these fighters are put under and as the situation arose for McCullin, I think that his intention was to show that war has a mental effect as well.
The fear, pain, shock, suffering and disbelief seen in this soldiers eyes is enough to show that there is enough information in his face alone. Mixed with his clothes and gun and body language, this image gives us enough to believe that this man is in a war zone and possibly quite shocked that he is still alive, so I think that this is not only a successful photograph but a very powerful photograph with very clear intentions that have been conveyed perfectly.






References:
O'Hagan, Sean (2010) Shaped By War: Photographs by Don McCullin [online] available at: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/feb/07/don-mccullin-shaped-war-review [accessed February 16th 2015]
Victoria and Albert museum (2012)Don McCullin Shell-shocked soldier [online] available at: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/feb/07/don-mccullin-shaped-war-review [accessed February 16th 2015]

Exercise: Analyse a photograph

"Castell Coch" - AlCallow Photography 2014

My first impression is that this is a strong image. The main focus is plainly on the castle itself but gives good indication of the castles surroundings. The weather, with the blue skies and white clouds, make the image more appealing, along with the luscious greenery from the trees framing the image. The castle itself is rather spectacular and almost 'fairytale' looking with it's round turrets and towers, and the implied lines of the driveway up to the drawbridge and the gate make it very appealing.
The genre is quite clearly a landscape image. The photograph is showing the castle and it's immediate area and there could be no way to view this as anything other than a landscape shot.
Looking at the image I would say that it's initial intended use would be advertising or it could be a gallery print. The fact the image is solely subjective on the castle, it could be used as a tourist brochure image to attract visitors to the castle. The image is pleasing to the eye, especially as it was taken in such good weather. And it's not the usual castle ruin, the image could really spark interest for people who would like to see it for themselves.
The immediate situation facing me as the photographer was to capture an angle that fit the whole castle into a suitable framing. With all the trees in the outside of the image, the viewpoint was a task in itself, trying to find an angle that not only captured a suitable image of the front of the castle but one that did not have obstructions from trees or overhanging branches. As it is a tourist spot, I also had to make sure that no cars were visible in the image, as I was stood in the main driveway. I wanted the image to be solely about the castle without any vehicles or people if possible.
This is a planned photograph as it has a specific subject and as I have already mentioned, I wanted a particular view, free from people etc. The 'planning' was to capture a pleasing view of the castle but, as I had never visited it before, I was unable to really plan any further details as I was unable to guess the layout of the castle, or the whereabouts of the facilities or the weather beforehand. So it was planned in knowing that I was shooting the castle but everything else was unplanned.
There wasn't really any technical details relevant to this image. Looking at the image, it could've been taken with a large camera, a small camera or a camera phone. There is a significant stillness and even clarity of the image but there isn't really anything to move and the sun allows plenty of light into the image, so there was not really much to comment on under that heading.
The style of the photograph goes hand in hand with the genre really. The shot is a landscape shot but with a sure subject so the style is quite traditional in that respect. And it is strong in that style. I wouldn't say, as the photographer, that I have a style or any mannerisms so looking at the photograph, I would say that it doesn't have any.
The photographers intent was to take a visually appealing shot of the castle to highlight it's unusual character. Most of the castles in my local area are in a wide range of ruined state, but this is unique in it's state of repair and it's overall design, so I wanted to show this and I think it's done well to do that.
Is there sufficient information available? Well this image is exactly how it was shot, without it being tampered with, except maybe for minor adjustments to the saturation and to straighten it slightly. I wouldn't look at this image and say that there was anything about it that had been altered or changed dramatically.
As a viewer, I would say this is a successful photograph under the three questions, but asking if it's good is another story as I tend to be extremely self critical when it comes to my own work. However, under the three questions and pretending that it isn't my own work, I would say that yes, it is good. The photographer set out to produce a visually pleasing photograph of Castell Coch to highlight it's unique beauty and to draw attention to it. The photographer chose a good viewpoint with acceptable focal range as to capture the subject in its surroundings without losing detail and without the need to amend anything and the photographer succeeded to show this in the image.
If I was a tourist to the area, interested in this subject area and saw this photograph, I would want to visit it.

Exercise: Write a caption

Again, I will use the same photograph as in the previous exercise:

"Like father, like son" - AlCallow Photography 2013

• Father and son, L & I Callow, taking a stroll along the beach at Ogmore-by-Sea, South Wales, after taking a break from playing on the sand, to catch up with the rest of their family.

I know the text said to write about 50 words but I found it difficult to do that for my choice of photograph as there isn't any factual information, like with the example, for such an image. 

• This is a strong compositional image with a good overall attention to detail. The vertical and horizontal lines of the image are equally balanced and are emphasised with the vertical framing of the photograph. The composition is balanced by the two subjects being equal distance from the sun. The horizon is set to the centre of the image to give equal attention to the two people in the foreground as well as keeping the sun an equally as important subject. And the focal length highlights this too, with neither the people or the sun taking the main focus. 

Exercise: Describe a photograph

The photograph I have chosen to use for this exercise is shown below,  taken by myself in 2013

"Like Father, like son" - AlCallow Photography 2013

I have always loved photographing sunsets and living near the beach, this was something I've been able to practice regularly. This image came at a time when I started to play with sunset silhouettes.
Myself and my family had gone for a winter walk to the beach at sunset as the sky was clear. I started to walk at an angle and a short distance to my family to try to capture their shadows in front of the sun. I focussed in on my partner and son who had been playing and running, chasing each other on the sand. I remember trying to get a low viewpoint where they were directly between me and the sun. I was careful to make sure that the sun was behind but between them to make the background equal, but also to make sure that I got an equal silhouette for both of them. The longer I took though was causing more of a problem as the sun was setting very quickly and I remember trying to balance, squatting down as to not touch the wet sand.
When they had finished playing, they started to walk back towards me and while attempting to keep the viewpoint as well as keeping the sun in a good position behind them, I managed to capture this wonderful image. My two boys walking in step, side by side in the sunset.

Tutor Feedback for Assignment 1

Overall Comments
It was obvious you found this assignment difficult and that it took you considerably out of your comfort zone. In and of itself this should be considered a good thing –by learning to make photographs in situations you find uncomfortable you will be more confident when it comes to subjects that you find accessible and really inspiring. What I would suggest moving forward is that you identify subjects that you feel allow you to make the most of your existing interests, or areas you would like to become more interested in, and use these as the basis for the upcoming assignments.
Assessment potential (after Assignment 1)

You may want to get credit for your hard work and achievements with the OCA by formally submitting your work for assessment at the end of the module. More and more people are taking the idea of lifelong learning seriously by submitting their work for assessment but it is entirely up to you. We are just as keen to support you whether you study for pleasure or to gain qualifications. Please consider whether you want to put your work forward for assessment and let me know your decision when you submit Assignment 2. I can then give you feedback on how well your work meets the assessment requirements.

Feedback on assignment
Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity
Looking at the images as a series that explores the place where you live, the submission comes across as more initial ideas than final outcome. This is not a problem at this stage, but you will need to start thinking about how you sequence your images and the message you wish to convey as you progress through later assignments.

• You mention a number of times in your self-appraisal that your estate is synonymous with crime but that you are attempting to show the pleasing aspect of the estate. There is something of a dichotomy here that is noticeable in many places –what can look idyllic and picturesque on the surface may not be like to everyone who calls the place ‘home’.
  
• I am not sure how well this comes through in the photography –perhaps this would be solved by captions or more focus on the sequencing of the images. It might be useful to think how an outsider views the place in the photographs, in this case myself. I have lived in Wales for a number of years (4 years in Newport at university) and my father is Welsh but I know little about Bridgend or specifically Brackla.
• Looking through the series I see a fairly pleasant and modern looking estate – the usual signs of graffiti are present here and there but nothing that suggests a deeper issue. The cars look fairly expensive and the houses well kept. The only signs of degradation are on an apparently closed pub –but then as pubs are closing across the land this doesn’t seem out of place. Overall this looks like a housing estate that could be pretty much anywhere in Britain –if it weren’t for the pictures of the road sign and the notice board you wouldn’t even realise this was Wales.
• What I did learn from the series was the positioning of the estate between town and country –this aspect of the place, being on the edge of the conurbation, is one that might be worth exploring in more depth later in the module.
  
• 
  
• This quick overview is intended to help you think about the relationship between what you know about the place and what impression a viewer with no more information than the photographs might gain.
  
• 
  
• On a technical note, you need to be carefgul to shoot enough photographs so that you can make confident editing choices when back in the studio. In this case you have had to include a couple of photographs that aren’t really usable due to overexposure (Neighbourhood11) or suffer from camera shake (Neighbourhood13). As this is a module with a certain amount of technical focus you should make every effort to use the time to perfect your technique before the next module.
  
• 
  
• 
  
• I noticed in Neighbourhood20 that you seem to have erased the number plates of the cars in the photographs. Whilst you haven’t noted this in your Self-appraisal I can understand why you thought this might be wise from the overall tone of your text. I would caution against this, especially as it appears to have been done quite roughly. If you feel you must remove them then I would suggest you read up on professional retouching and use this module to perfect the necessary retouching skills. A word of caution –within photojournalistic work such changes are wholly unacceptable so you would have to be aware of this if shooting for a professional client. As this module does support the further development of your technical skills I have included a reading list geared towards these skills in the suggested reading.
• 
  
• Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays
• Context

There doesn’t appear to be much in the way of progress on your blog -1 introductory post and the assignment post. I would suggest you start thinking about photographers you have already encountered and admire and write some notes about them before the next assignment. I have added a few photographers to the suggested reading so that you have some material you can get started with that will be directly relevant to the work you have produced in this assignment. If you are keeping a physical log of your wider research then please include a few photographs of it with the next assignment.

Suggested reading/viewing
Context
Photoshop and Lightroom
Adobe TV – http://www.adobe.tv
George Jardine’s Lightroom Training Videos - http://mulita.com/blog/
Adobe Lightroom 5 Student Edition
EISMANN, K. 2004. Photoshop Masking Compositing. San Francisco, New Riders EVENING, M. 2012. Adobe Photoshop CS6 for Photographers, Oxford, Focal Press. EVENING, M. 2013. The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers, Berkley, CA, Adobe Press.
RODNEY, A. 2005. Color Management for Photographers, Burlington, MA & Oxford, UK, Focal Press.
Photographers
Simon Standing –Emblems of Civilisation -
http://www.simonstanding.co.uk/emblems-of-civilsation/4586449253
Dave Wyatt (yes, me...!) –Thames Town - http://davewyatt.co.uk/gallery/thames- town/
Steffi Klenz –Nonsuch - http://www.steffiklenz.co.uk/work/nonsuch/?lang=en Paul Graham –Troubled Land -
http://www.paulgrahamarchive.com/troubledland.html
John Davies –Pretty much everything he has shot - http://www.johndavies.uk.com/

Pointers for the next assignment

Next time I would like to see you use your main camera rather than your iphone. This will allow you more control over the images you are creating. I would also like to

see more documentation of your post-processing workflow so that I can help iron out any difficulties you are experiencing there. I would also like to see evidence of how you are thinking about the sequencing of your images –how does the order in which they are placed influence how a viewer might read the work? Finally I would like to see you shooting quite a bit more for each assignment. This will allow you to make the most appropriate choices in terms of conveying the narrative or concept that you are exploring. 


I don't really have much to comment on in regards to this feedback. It was considerably better than I expected and so I am happy with it. I have taken on board that I need to take a lot more photos while undertaking assignments such as this one and that I need to take more care to focus on each shot and how I approach it. Obviously I will use my main camera for the next assignment and it's not something that I would've normally done but as my tutor noticed, I was considerably anxious about undertaking this assignment and I was out of my comfort zone, which was clearly evident in my images. I will attempt to work on this feedback for the next assignment.