For this next photoshoot, I am going to be focussing on my two friends’ friendship from a different perspective to the previous photoshoot. This time, I will be looking at their friendship in primary school instead of in sixth form. I will do this by getting my friends to send me any digital photographs they have of them either individually or together from primary school. I will also look through some of their photo albums they have as when they were in primary school, parents tended to use a camera which they would then have to print off the images and then stick them into a book. I will then use my camera to take a photograph of any of the images I wanted to use. I will need to position my lighting and physical photographs in a specific way to ensure I don’t get any glares in my images from the light. To do this, I will not place my light source directly above my image or use natural lighting so that it doesn’t produce as harsh reflections. This use of digital photographs and physical photographs will hopefully allow me to get a good variety of images as I am getting them from multiple sources instead of just one. However, as I am going to be using images taken from a long time ago, the camera quality may not be particularly good which may limit what I am able to do with the images. Therefore, I will most likely not be including these images by themselves in my final piece.
During this photoshoot, I will be looking for images that are of good quality and represent the youth and fun of their friendship in primary school. I will also be trying to photograph images that show their individual personalities and what they like. For example, one of my friends is very confident and this can even be seen in her childhood photographs where she is constantly posing for the camera. On the other hand, my other friend is more shy and nurturing which can be seen as she is often photographed playing or hugging with her sister. I hope my images will be able to portray their varying personalities and demonstrate how special their friendship is as although they are very different people, they are still the closest of friends. Additionally, I am aiming to also get some of the professional school photographs they have and then get them to recreate it later on in the studio to create a visual comparison of how much they have both changed during their 14 years of friendship.
For this photoshoot, I was inspired by Jose Ortiz’s image called ‘The Perfect Present’ and Pictorialism. I didn’t want to copy his image exactly but the premise surrounding it: a person at different points in time. I felt this linked to theme of union quite well as I could reinvent his image by photographing my friends by themselves and then have other images of them at a different points in time around them. Additionally, I will create a black and white filter over my images as seen in his work as I feel this will convey the sadness and emptiness they feel without each other.
I began my editing process by first narrowing down the images I had previously taken in Gorey of my friends to the ones that only consisted of one of my friends by themselves and then images where they were interacting with each other. I then opened up the singular person image on photoshop and another image of my friends together. Next, I used the quick selection tool to cut out the image where my friends were together and dragged that cut out onto the other image. I then adjusted the size of the cut out to make its size relevant to the other image and to create a sense of depth. I repeated these steps two more times so that I had three different cut outs in one image. I wanted to emphasise the idea of my friend being lonely without her friend and so I made the cut outs lower in opacity and kept the image of her by herself in full clarity. I think this was successful in highlighting that these cut outs are from a different moment in time and how right now she’s by herself, surrounded by ghost like figures representing her past self. To finish this concept, I experimented with making my images black and white, creating a colour splash effect and adding a sepia tone in order to replicate the style of pictorial images.
This was the image that inspired my idea
Final images:
Overall, I think this photoshoot was successful in closely replicating the image by Jose Ortiz but still making it slightly unique and different. The concept behind my photoshoot was inspired by the idea of capturing multiple moments in time within a single frame as seen in Ortiz’s work. I recreated his image by changed the concept slightly as I chose to depict my friend standing by herself and being surrounded by the ghosts of her past self and friends. This evokes a sense of nostalgia and reflection as she appreciates the fond memories created with her friends.
During the editing process, I experimented with several different techniques. For example, in some of the images, added a colour filter over my image which was sepia. This added a warm and vintage feel to my images and aligned with my previous research on pictorialism. The sepia tone also created a sense of distance between the present and the past, reinforcing the concept of memories fading over time. Additionally, I decided to create a softer, dreamlike effect to my cut outs by adding a drop shadows to them. This made my edges less shape and made the image like more dreamlike. I decided to do this as pictorial images often use blurred, soften lines to make the photograph look ethereal. Additionally, I also experimented the use of colour by making some versions of my images where the cut outs were in colour and others where they were in black and white. However, I think the images where the cut outs are in black and white portray my idea more as they appear more ghostlike. This photoshoot allowed me to further develop my original images and create a narrative surrounding the idea of my friend being by herself and surrounded by ghosts of her in the past with her friends and her recalling these happy memories they shared in the past.
For this photoshoot, I went to Gorey with my two friends to take photographs of them whilst they were doing various things such as dancing with each other and playing in the park. I wanted to try and capture them in a way that didn’t look staged and so I didn’t give them any instructions on how I wanted them to pose. This allowed for more natural images that really reflected their friendship. Once I had taken all of my images, I then imported them into Lightroom and used a specific system to narrow them down. I began by giving each image either a white flag (if I wanted to use them) or a black flag (if I knew I didn’t want to use them). Next, I used the filter tool to only make my images with white flags visible and then began rating these images on a scale from 1-5 (1 being the worst and 5 being the best). I then began to adjust the exposure, contrast, highlight, shadow, white, black and clarity of each image I had previously given 4 stars or higher.
I then noticed that some of my images had shadows in due to the sun being behind and casting a shadow onto the ground in front of me. In order to fix this, I decided to open up these images into Photoshop and use the remove tool in order to make the shadows disappear seamlessly. I think this makes my images look cleaner and means that the shadow doesn’t take away the focus from my two friends seen in the centre of the image.
Final images
These are the final edited images from my photoshoot. Overall, I am happy with how they turned out. Overall, I feel the shoot was successful in capturing my friends in a relaxed, semi natural way. One of the key elements I focused on was ensuring that the photos didn’t feel forced or overly posed, which allowed their personalities to shine through more authentically. Rather than giving specific posing instructions, I let them interact with each other and their environment, which resulted in moments that felt more genuine and candid.
In terms of lighting, I chose to photograph them in a way that allowed the natural light to illuminate their faces and make them the focal point of each shot. The direction of the light was critical in this process because I wanted to avoid harsh shadows and ensure that the subjects were well lit. The sun not only highlighted the details but also helped to create a positive and uplifting tone in the images which reflects the warmth and closeness of their friendship, capturing the essence of who they are as individuals and as a group.
However, next time I photograph my friends I would like to do it in the studio. This is because working outside with unpredictable weather sometimes limits my creative freedom. By working in the studio, I will have more control over the lighting and mood of my images. Additionally, in the studio, I will be able to focus more on each individual friend, exploring their unique personalities through more intimate, personal photographs. I feel that it is essential to understand each of my friends in their own context in order to gain a greater appreciation for their friendship.
For this photoshoot, I am going to try and convey the idea of how friendships shape our lives and how the presence of friends can make us feel less alone in a world that often feels isolating. I am going to take inspiration from José Ortiz’s piece called the Perfect Present. In his piece, you can see the same man appear multiple times in one image by himself. This image highlights to me the sadness and isolation people may feel who don’t have these vital, supportive friendship groups around them.
In order to replicate this feeling of loneliness people experience without friends, I am going to begin by photographing my friends together, capturing moments of laughter, interaction and joy in one of their favourite places to hang out; Gorey. I will try to capture candid moments between them in order to ensure they dont look unnatural and that I’m actually photographing the emotions they experience whilst hanging out. Once I have completed this, I will then use photoshop to incorporate the different images of my friends into one image. To achieve this, I will use the quick selection tool to make a cutout of my friends from certain images and then drag those cutouts onto a photograph where I have captured only one of my friends by herself. Next, I will lower the opacity of these cutouts to create translucent figures but leave the singular person in full opacity to convey the idea of them not being with her anymore. There will be a clear contrast between the joy seen in my friends cutouts compared to the image where she is stood alone with her back to the camera. Additionally, I will also make the images black and white to further emphasise this feeling of sadness she is feeling as she is no longer with her friends which brought her happiness. My images will symbolise how we sometimes feel like we are merely specters in our own lives without the presence of those who truly see us. The fact that the figures are made to look like ghosts represents the loneliness many experience when they are disconnected from their friends/ loved ones. Overall, I hope to reflect the importance of connection and friendship in our lives. The images I create will not just be about capturing the joy of being with friends but highlighting the idea of how much we need friendships in order to survive.
Hayley Warnham is a UK based artist. She is most well known for her collages and photography. Her art takes everyday moments, captured through old photographs, and creates something new and exciting. One of her most famous series is called ‘Everything is Beautiful’. This framework of art involves her blending her families personal history with artistic reinvention, using colour to reinterpret the past. Warnham’s background as a designer and illustrator heavily influenced her photographic work. She graduated the Royal College of Art in 2014 and quickly made a name for herself soon after. She collaborated with various different clients like: Penguin Books, Tate and Computer Arts Magazine. She is currently the Deputy Art Director at Oneworld Publications. She tends to use digital media as a way to engage with and reinterpret the past instead of just a tool. The images seen in the series ‘Everything is beautiful’, comes from photographs taken by Warnham’s grandfather during family holidays to the seaside. Hayley Warnham has stated that the image that holds the most significance to her is a photograph of her mum as a child. She found herself drawn to these faded, nostalgic images of her family’s life, which held a deep sense of history and memory. This admiration for old photographs is what ultimately led to her creating this series. She realised that these worn and grainy images that showed her a raw, unfiltered look at the past sometimes lacked the vibrancy and energy of the present. This sparked the idea in her head to reimagine these family photographs by adding colour and texture to them.
The method she used to create these images involved her blending traditional photography with modern technology, using digital manipulation. She begins with the original black and white photographs, preserving their authenticity while adding layers of digital colour and texture. Through this technique, she brings a fresh energy to the otherwise still images, reimagining them with bright, bold colours that contrast the faded monochrome tones of the original prints. By doing this, Warnham is able to highlight specific elements of the photographs, for example, the various people seen in the image. She wanted to ensure that she would preserve the integrity of the original photographs whilst also being able to experiment with composition and colour to help elevate the images.
The idea behind her body of work was finding and highlighting the beauty in the everyday and the overlooked. Her work encourages her viewers to reconsider their perceptions of what makes something beautiful in the surrounding world. The vibrant colours she adds into her grandfather’s old photographs transforms once mundane scenes into something powerful and interesting to look at. Overall, I believe her work allows her viewers to view things from a different perspective and helps to remind us of the beauty that exists in the smallest and most personal moments.
Image analysis
How she links to Union
Hayley Warnham’s series ‘Everything is Beautiful’ links to the theme of union and friendship through her use of colour and digital manipulation to create new vibrant images from vintage photographs. The vibrant colours she adds into these old, black and white images creates a warm and fun tone to the images. This is similar to the emotions you experience whilst being around your friends. Her work highlights how our connections with others (eg friends) transforms our experiences and perspectives, making the world seem brighter and more meaningful. Additionally, her use of bright, bold colours layered over black and white images create an energy and vibrancy into the once melancholy and muted photographs. I interpret the colours in her work as representing the positive impact relationships have on our lives. For example, friends tend to bring a sense of joy and belonging to individuals, which Hayley has then conveyed through the use of bold colours which make the scenes more lively and engaging (similarly to friendships). I see the transformation from black and white to colour in her work as a parallel to how friendships illuminate the world around us, turning mundane moments into something extraordinary.By enhancing these moments between people with colour, Warnham highlights the significance of connection for humankind. Furthermore, the presence of friends can drastically shift the tone of any situation (just like how the use of colour clearly changes the mood and energy of her photographs). Friendship has the power to take an ordinary moment into something extraordinary. By overlaying colour onto her grandfather’s photographs, Warnham highlights how typically boring, everyday experiences can be made more meaningful and fun when shared with others.
Bobby Neel Adams is an American artist best known for his photographic series called ‘The Family Tree’.Bobby Neel Adams had always been interested in photography since a young age. He had a passion for storytelling visually and photography provided him with a way to explore and capture moments in time. He was drawn to the idea that photographs could transcend mere representation and believed they could be used to explore deeper narratives of human experience, memory and transformation. He aspired for his work to not only capture the essence of his subjects but to also reflect on the different connections between individuals, time and family. His series ‘The family tree’ was inspired by his fascination with the passage of time and its effect on human beings. In this series of images, it involves him using photographic manipulations to juxtapose the faces of individuals at different points in their lives, creating a connection between generations. The photographs feature two images of a subject at two different ages, which he then blends together to highlight the similarities and differences between his subject’s younger and older selves. He creates his images by overlapping the faces of an individual with their parents, grandparents or great grandparents. His images allow his viewers to reflect on their own family histories and begin to understand how we are shaped by the people around us and those who came before us. In this project, he wanted to explore how individuals are connected across generations through biological inheritance and shared experiences. His work suggests to me that family is an evolving part of one’s identity as he explores the physical and emotional marks we leave on one another and the relationships that define us. Bobby Neel Adams creates his photographs by combining his different images together in a darkroom. He overlays two photographs of people at different ages or generations, carefully manipulating the images so that they seem to blend together seamlessly resulting in a singular portrait showing half of a face from both the older and younger generation.
Image analysis
How he links to Union
One of the key concepts seen in his work is the idea of aging. I think this links to the theme of union as by showing how time inevitably leaves its mark on every individual throughout his work by merging different generations together, he explores the idea of the aging as something that binds all of us together, regardless of background or any differences we may have. His series called ‘The family tree’ also links to the theme of union as he explores the importance of family and relationships beyond it eg friends, in shaping our identity. While his work mainly explores themes of family, aging and legacy, it also touches on the broader concept of unity and how the bonds we share with others ( whether that be biological or chosen), all influence who we are. However, his series mainly looks at the union of family members across generations as he creates visual representations of the interconnectedness between different generations throughout his work. These images depict the continuity of life within family and the different, shared traits and experiences that are passed down over time. His work highlights the union of generations and how they help form one’s identity physically and emotionally. I think his work is portraying how everyone is shaped by their ancestry, carrying forward not only physical resemblances, but also emotional and cultural legacies of those who came before them. However, I believe this idea of family union can also be expanded to the union of friends and how they equally play a role in shaping who we are. While bloodlines play an undeniable role in shaping identity, the people we choose to surround ourselves with (eg our friends) also become a core part of our story and have an equally important impact on us. Adams’s work can be seen as a reflection of how union (in any form) helps individuals evolve. For example, although family members are linked through their shared genetic and heritage, friends also contribute to our development through their support, experiences and perspectives. I think the blending of faces seen in his images act as a metaphor to show how these different relationships all act together to influence who we are as individuals. Additionally, the contrast between old and young faces in his images suggests to me the importance of friendship during childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age as these friendships act as a vital support system and help us to adapt and grow as time passes and we begin to change. This idea of the importance of friendship in forming who we are has inspired me to recreate his images but by combining pictures of my different friends together instead of them with family members.
For my project based on the theme of union, I will be exploring the idea of friendship. Throughout my project, I will delve into the strong bond shared between my two friends Alannah and Beatrice and explore how their friendship has evolved over the past 14 years. Throughout my project, I will reflect and convey the positive emotions people experience when surrounded by their friends and convey how vital it is that we have good support groups around us. By portraying their friendship in a positive manner in my work, I am aiming to show how these connections form a significant part of our emotional well being and how they evolve as we grow older.
To start my project, I am planning to incorporate snapshot photography as this style of photography will allow me to capture natural, unscripted moments between my two friends, giving a realistic view into their friendship. In these photos, I will focus on capturing them as they interact casually with one another and avoid giving them instructions of what to do in terms of posing. My goal for this photoshoot is to depict the raw, unfiltered essence of their friendship and show the joy and ease that comes alongside friendship. I want these images to feel spontaneous and authentic as seen in typical snapshot photographs and so I will try to not direct them too much. I hope to capture the authenticity of their friendship in my photoshoot to allow the viewer a real insight into the true dynamics of their relationship, without any artificial constructs.
For the next part of my project, I will work in the studio. This controlled environment will allow me to have greater control over lighting and composition, leading to better quality images of my friends will ensure I delve into who my friends are as individuals as well as together. These studio photographs will contrast with my snapshot images and will provide a more polished and deliberate representation of their friendship. Additionally, another component of my project will be the photographing images of my friends when they were younger from their old photo albums. I will capture images of them by themselves and others where they’re together to. This will allow me to explore how they have both grown as individuals and how their friendship has changed as a result. By incorporating these childhood images, I hope to show how long their friendship has lasted and how it’s transformed over time. They have been friends for approximately 14 years and so by showing their evolution from childhood to adulthood, I hope it will show how friendships grow and change and how this isn’t a bad thing. The juxtaposition I will create by showing them now compared to when they were younger will highlight the strong nature of their bond, showing that despite the inevitable changes that come with time, their friendship has remained a constant source of support and joy.
In my project, I have been inspired by the work of Bobby Neel Adams and Hayley Warnham. Adams is most well known for his series of images where he blends together old and new portraits, often merging photographs of a subject from childhood with their current image. I plan to replicate his images by merging photographs taken of my friends in the studio now with photographs of them from their childhood. By combining the past and present, I will hopefully convey to the viewer how their bond has remained unchanged, even as their lives have evolved. Hayley Warnham’s work involves her adding bright, vibrant colours to old family photographs taken by her grandfather. This idea of adding colour to my images has inspired me to take photographs of my friends in a large crowd/ in social settings then add bold colours to the photographs on photoshop. These colours will not only enhance my images but also act as a metaphor for the positive emotions they feel whilst in each other’s company.
In order to edit my images initially, I will use Lightroom. Here, I will begin by adjusting basic elements of the image such as: exposure, contrast and saturation. This will ensure my images look cohesive and be of better quality. Once I have completed this initial editing, I will then export my images out of Lightroom and use Photoshop to recreate my chosen artist’s images. For example, to recreate Adam’s work, I will use the quick selection tool to make cut outs of my friend’s faces during different ages and then combine the two cut outs together to create a seamless, blended image. I will also use a similar technique for Hayley Warnham’s inspired images but instead of pressing layer via copy, I will press fill on the cut out and select a colour to fill the space outlined.
To present my completed project, I will create a photo book which will explore my friend’s friendship from when they were younger to now. The photobook will include both candid snapshots and studio portraits, as well as digitally manipulated images, telling the story of their evolving friendship. Additionally, I will also print some of my favourite images and stick them onto mount board. Ultimately, the aim of my project is to capture the lasting and positive nature of friendship through a blend of documentary style photography and digital manipulation. By focusing on the bond between my two friends, I hope to convey the personal connection they share and the universal emotions that friendships evoke.
Snapshot photography involves the taking of informal, spontaneous photographs that are taken without a carefully planned composition or specific intention. Snapshot images capture moments in everyday life and focuses on the subject matter or the event rather than precise technical aspects. Snapshot images are typically quick in nature and taken with a camera that doesn’t require manual adjustments. Some key characteristics of snapshot photography is its candid, raw quality. The photographer’s goal during photoshoots is to capture life in motion, portraying moments that feel genuine and unfiltered, making the images more personal and meaningful.
Snapshot photography became widespread after the invention of the Kodak camera in 1888. Before this invention, photography was a complex and expensive process. This meant that only professional photographers who had cameras, film plates and studio setups could practice it. The Kodak camera was a simple handheld device that anyone could use. It came preloaded with film and was designed for amateurs, allowing normal people to capture personal moments and everyday life. This lead to the rise of snapshots in modern photography.
To create a snapshot image, you don’t need to have a high end camera (meaning even phones can be used). The key is to capture a moment in time as it happens. Snapshots are unplanned and spontaneous, so it’s vital that you don’t wait for the perfect shot but to simply take a photograph whenever a genuine moment occurs. Snapshots are about capturing a moment in time rather than worrying about symmetry or rule of thirds. Capturing the emotion/ activity in these moments is more important than technique.
Some key concepts of snapshot photography is: candidness (capturing spontaneous, unguarded moments), emotion over technique (images focus on evoking a certain feeling rather than being visually perfect), everyday life (snapshots depict ordinary, everyday scenes eg family gatherings or street scenes) and social documentary (snapshots give us a glimpse into people’s lives and provide a visual record of history).
Henri Cartier-Bresson is a famous photographer whose work fits into the snapshot style of photography. He is one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century and is famous for his concept of the decisive moment. He believed that the key to photography was capturing fleeting, spontaneous moments that revealed the essence of a subject. In his work, he often relied on his intuition and quick reflexes to photograph everyday scenes in a way that conveyed deep meaning. His images are candid and unposed, yet reflect the beauty and drama of the world around him. Additionally, Vivian Maier is a street photographer whose work also resembles characteristics of the snapshot aesthetic. Her photographs were taken with a simple camera during her daily walks. She captured intimate, candid moments of urban life. Her images document the lives of ordinary people, showing us a glimpse into mid 20th century America in cities like Chicago and New York. Her work challenges the idea that professional photography must be staged or polished and showed beauty of capturing raw, unscripted moments of life.
In 1830 photography was used mainly for producing scientific and representational images and was the preserve of a wealthy elite. The Pictorialist art movement emerged between the 1880s to the early 20th century. It began in response to claims that a photograph was nothing more than a simple record of reality. It transformed into an international movement of exhibiting photography societies to advance the status of photography as a true art form, and have the same status as paintings and sculpture. Key figures in the development of Pictorialism include Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, and Gertrude Käsebier. Stieglitz played a major role in advancing Pictorialism as he organised exhibitions and promoted the idea that photography could stand alongside other fine arts like painting and sculpture.
Pictorialism focuses on creating expressive and artistic images, using techniques like: soft focus, manipulation of prints, and elaborate darkroom processes. Pictorialists aim to emphasise mood, atmosphere and emotion in images rather than sharp realism. Pictorialism influenced photography by encouraging photographers to experiment with their medium. Photographers would used techniques eg gum bichromate printing and bromoil printing in order to produce images that had the qualities of fine art. Pictorialism as an art movement highlights the importance of composition and the photographer’s creative control, challenging the idea that photography was just a mechanical recording tool. Modern day photographers aim to convey emotion, mood or personal interpretation of the world in their photographs by using: soft focus, selective manipulation of images, or digital techniques that imitate traditional Pictorialist processes. The key concept of pictorialism is emphasising the beauty of subject matter, tonality, and composition, rather than the documentation of reality.
José Ortiz
José Ortiz is a contemporary photographer. Ortiz’s work tends to explore themes of perception, memory and emotion. Ortiz’s photography can be associated with the Pictorialist movement which is a photography style that aims to elevate photography from mere documentation to a more subjective, artistic form of expression. José Ortiz’s photography evidently displays key themes of pictorialism (which focuses on conveying emotions and mood rather than documenting reality) as he combines digital manipulation with analog techniques to produce photographs with a dreamlike feel to them, evoking a sense of nostalgia, memory and emotional depth to his viewers. His work blurs the boundaries between reality and fantasy as he uses smooth lines in his images. This is a core concept in Pictorialism as it’s interested in subjective interpretation and creating images that speak to the inner emotions of the viewer. Ortiz’s use of light, shadow and texture, combined with soft focus and manipulation of colour, creates photographs that transcend mere representation of the physical world. Ortiz uses photography to evoke emotion rather than simply documenting reality. Additionally, his images are ambiguous which allow the viewer to think about, nterpret and connect to his images in a unique, personal level.
In the series ‘The Perfect Present’ where you can see a man walking by himself, is one example of Ortiz’s work that closely resembles that of old pictorial images. The photograph features a man in soft, muted tones and with blurred details. This lack of sharp focus and manipulation of light and shadows replicates the soft focus techniques used by Pictorialist photographers. As a result, his image that transcends the mundane and invites the viewer to think more deeply about what his image is trying to portray. In this image, you can also see the same man walking at different points in time. This is clearly not documenting reality as a singular photograph shouldn’t be able to capture the same person at different points in time. This therefore creates a surreal and dreamlike tone to the image due to the impossibility of this actually being possible to capture without manipulation, which is a key theme in Pictorialism. Overall, his use of soft focus, lighting manipulation and focus on mood rather than realism makes his images Pictorial in style. He shows how photography can be an evocative and emotional form of art and his image represents not just a moment captured in time but an emotional journey. This links to the art movement Pictorialism as it also aims to communicate feelings and personal experiences through photography rather than just documenting the physical.
How he links to the theme of union:
José Ortiz’s piece called ‘The Perfect Present’ links to the theme of union through its emotive and symbolic elements. For example, the title ‘The Perfect Present’ suggested to me the idea of a gift (an object or gesture shared between individuals), often given to celebrate a special occasion or expressing affection. The “perfect present” symbolises to me not just a physical gift but the act of giving. For example, the exchange of experiences, memories and qualities eg trust and companionship, that comes alongside friendship and union. The concept of a perfect gift goes beyond materialism; it represents a deep emotional connection between people. Ortiz’s photograph to me acts as a metaphor for the essence of friendship and union, showing how the simplest gestures are often the most significant. Additionally, his use of soft focus and muted tones in the photograph creates an intimate and personal mood, inviting the viewer to reflect on their own personal friendships. This quality links to the emotional depth that underlies strong friendships and unions. Just as the photograph’s soft textures evoke a sense of nostalgia and emotional warmth, friendships and unions are rooted in shared memories, gentle moments and emotional vulnerability.
The theme of union and friendship can also be linked to this photograph through the depiction of a man walking alone. To me, this symbolises the isolation and loneliness that one feels by being by themselves. As the man walks alone, the absence of friendship is highlighted in the image. This evokes feelings of melancholy and sadness in the viewer which also arises when one lacks meaningful connections with others. This solitude and sad tone contrasts with the warmth and support that friendship provides. The narrative suggests that the longing for connection, embodied by the man’s solitary walk, makes the value of friendship even more apparent, showing how essential these bonds are to one’s sense of belonging and happiness.
Romanticism is a concept that draws from the Romantic movement in art and literature, which emerged in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This art movement emphasises emotion, individualism, the sublime, and nature. It typically focuses on themes of mystery, beauty and the idealised. One of the key concepts of romanticism is emotion and imagination. Romantic photographs tend to capture moments which evoke strong feelings in the viewer eg fear, nostalgia and awe. Photographers achieve this through the use of dramatic lighting. Additionally, many Romantic photographers focus on the beauty of nature and its power. They often present these scenes in a dreamlike manner by using soft focus, unique lighting and unusual compositions, all of which makes a once ordinary scene look extraordinary. Overall, Romanticism focuses less on technical precision and more about capturing the emotional, imaginative, and mystical aspects of the world, inviting the viewer to connect with the deeper, unexplored dimensions of life and nature. One photographer who links to the art movement of Romanticism is Ansel Adam’s. His images often idealise nature and shows it in its untouched, majestic form, creating a sense of overwhelming awe in his viewers (which is a key concept of romanticism).
Constructivism
Constructivism is an art movement that emerged in Russia around 1915. It was a revolutionary movement that sought to break away from traditional art forms and create new visual languages suited to the modern, industrial world. The movement is closely linked to the ideals of the Russian Revolution and the desire to integrate art with social and political change. Constructivism rejected traditional representational art in favour of abstraction. Artists used geometric shapes (eg squares, triangles, and circles) and emphasised clean lines, angles, and the use of industrial materials eg metal, glass, and wood. Constructivists believed art should serve people and contribute to social progress. Constructivism is a radical, forward thinking movement that views art as a tool for social change and aims to break down the boundaries between art and everyday life. Its focus on abstraction, geometric forms and the use of modern materials influenced not only visual arts but also design, architecture, and graphic arts. An example of a constructivist artist is Vladimir Tatlin. He was a Russian painter and architect who was best known for his contributions to the Constructivist movement. He’s most well known for his design of the Tatlin’s Tower (which was intended as a symbol of Soviet modernity and revolution). Tatlin’s work focused on the idea that art should be integrated into life and serve a practical, social function, aligning with the Constructivist belief in combining art with technology and industry. His work rejected traditional artistic methods and favoured abstraction and constructivist forms.
Impressionism
The Impressionist art movement originated in painting in the late 19th century. In photography, it focuses on capturing the essence/mood of a scene rather than precise details or sharp focus. The goal is to convey the impression of a moment, often using techniques like soft focus, motion blur, unusual lighting, and experimenting with colour and composition. This approach emphasises the beauty of everyday scenes which can be achieved by manipulating the exposure, shutter speed or using filters in images to create a dreamlike effect. This then evokes a feeling/ atmosphere rather than a realistic representation of the subject. Some of Claude Cahun’s work can link to this art movement due to the techniques she used. For example, her use of soft focus, blurred movements, and dreamlike compositions gives her images an ethereal and atmospheric quality, capturing not just the subject but mood and emotion too. Additionally, Michael Kenna is another impressionist artist whose black and white landscape photography often reflects a minimalist and atmospheric quality reminiscent of Impressionist art. His use of long exposure times and soft, ethereal light in his images creates a sense of movement and atmosphere. His work often evokes a dreamlike feeling which aligns with the Impressionist art movement.
Surrealism
The Surrealism art movement began in the early 1920s. It looked at exploring and expressing the unconscious mind, dreams and the irrational through bizarre/fantastical imagery. Surrealist artists sought to challenge conventional perceptions of reality by depicting strange, illogical scenes that often combined elements of the familiar and the bizarre. The movement was heavily influenced by psychoanalysis and the ideas of Sigmund Freud emphasised the importance of dreams and the unconscious to explain behaviour. Surrealism had a profound impact on literature, film, theatre and philosophy (as well as visual arts). Surrealist photographers employ various techniques in order to manipulate reality. This consists of: double exposure, photomontage, manipulating perspective, symbolism and abstract forms. One surrealist photographer is Man Ray. His work blurs the line between the real and the imagined, creating dreamlike and fantastical images representative of Surrealism. For example, his work “Le Violon d’Ingres” (1924) features a female figure with the f-holes of a violin painted on her back, clearly displays the surrealist ideas of distortion, symbolism and the subconscious.
