Photoshoot
My research into Henri Cartier-Bresson’s concept of the “Decisive Moment” – a picture masterly composed to seize the essence of an impromptu event, saw an undoubted relation to the genre of sports photography. Taking Bresson’s ideas of The Decisive Moment and it’s links to Sports Photography inspired me to undergo a photoshoot with a focus on the practice of surfing. My approach saw me produce a series of images in an attempt to preserve the human body and it’s surrounding elements in motion. The constant change in conditions when undergoing this photoshoot saw the capture of a well composed and visually compelling image a difficulty. Although, A Fast Shutter Speed, Auto-focus and the use of the ”Burst Mode” enabled me to overcome the difficult shooting conditions. The Waterproof housing provided by the JEP saw the opportunity to produce images from the viewpoint of a surfer, allowing for unique often unseen of outcomes due to the pricey equipment necessary. Areas of improvement have been identified from analysis of my outcomes, allowing for an improved response in future photoshoots. Due to the fish eye effect of the dome housing provided, the need to position myself a close distance from the subject was crucial. My affected mobility in the water saw my distance in specific images a necessary area of improvement. Although my past experience in the ocean aided my response, my recent knowledge on certain camera related tricks, such as the removal of water droplets from the lens with saliva, will undoubtedly aid me in future shoots. Physical and Environmental aspects of this in water shoot also affected my response, having already been in the water for hours prior to the photoshoot my levels of fitness and body temperature were seen to be a problem. Overall, I believe this photoshoot was a success.
Editing Process
Post Production was necessary for the majority of my images, the inability to manually change settings to adapt to the changing conditions saw post production exposure adjustments crucial. Along with the general tonal adjustments applied to my more complex outcomes, experimentations into images taking on a more minimalist approach saw the use of a punchy black and white setting and heavy cropping to produce an even sea sky split in most outcomes. Post Production saw me successfully uncover images I had believed to be of poor quality, allowing for outcomes in relation to my referenced artists.
Layout – Photobook
To incorporate a further sense of minimalism into my work, a clean simple layout has be selected, although the photobook only consists of 24 pages, I believe in quality over quantity and see this layout displays my favoured outcomes in their best form. The use of my works , taking on a simpler cleaner approach to break up the more complex ‘fast paced’ imagery effectively contrasts between the differing forms of the ocean.
Layout – Prints
