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Unit 31 - LO2: Ethical and Legal Considerations

For my photos there will not be any Legal or Ethical considerations, as i am taking pictures of public areas such as the city centre of Sheffield and since it is not privately owned land and is open to the public i do not need to seek permission to take photos. Also i do not need to seek permission from people to take pictures of them as i am taking pictures of objects not people and even if the people would be in the shot, they would most likely be in the background and not be the focus of the shot. Also i would not need to consider any child protection laws as no children will be photographed in my shoot. If i was taking pictures of people what i would need to do would be ask permission from them first while also telling them what it will be used for. If it was a child i would need consent from the parent while also having at least two adults present at the time. Also i would only be allowed to photograph the child at the specified and agreed to location, any other location, for example the child's home, would be illegal and unethical. Finally i would have to avoid putting the names of the children on the photos as it is illegal to do so, in order to protect the children from any harm. Furthermore in order to protect the rights of the individuals i would need to store any pictures of people in a secure area, and would delete any photos of anyone after the course is finished.

Unit 31: LO2 - Planning the studio photo shoot

I will be taking photos based around the theme of Sheffield and steel in the UTC studio. This is because in the studio I can more easily control the lighting and environment than any other part of the building. Because I can control the lighting easily in the studio by blocking the windows and other sources of light, it doesn't matter what time of day it is. The meaning I wish to communicate through the images is the importance of steel and how it has shaped not only UTC but Sheffield as well, but also how the steel industry has gone increasingly automated an Sheffield's steel industry is not as prominent as it once was. The equipment I would need is a camera, a tripod and a light so I can selectively project it onto the photos. The props I will need to do the photo shoot would be steel cutlery, the machines in the engineering side of the UTC. Using the lighting affects of darkness to show the degradation of the steel industry in Sheffield.
For camera settings I will use a narrow aperture to have a more high quality image, however this means I'm required to use the tripod for all my photos as it would take longer to take the photo. Also because my images will generally be of inanimate objects, it doesn't matter that it will take longer to do the photo, as there will be no movement. For shutter speed I will use a low speed, something like 1/2 a second as since the photos I'm taking are landscape photos and with no movement, so there is no danger of having a blurry photo with a low shutter speed. Finally I will be using a low ISO speed, to reduce image noise as much as possible and get a clearer photo.
Other camera settings such as a flash is not needed, as it would ruin the dark and melancholy tone of the photo. Also I will be using Macro for the photos in the shoot that require a close up, as it makes them more detailed and a more overall higher quality photo.

Screenshot of image folders

Feedback For LO1 &LO2

Unit 31: LO1 - My identity Pitch

Identity Photography Pitch

I have been asked by the Millennium Gallery to do an exhibition on the theme of identity, submitting 8 photos for the gallery. My theme will be based around the identity of Sheffield and its steel industry. This could relate to close d factory’s, the artwork dedicated to Sheffield steel, the interesting steel buildings, the different steel factories and companies in Sheffield. This relates to the Millennium Gallery theme as it is based around the identity of Sheffield as well as being the city which the gallery is based in.

The genre of my photography would be landscape, particularly urban/industrial landscape. This is because the main theme of my photography would be capturing the Sheffield steel. This would include more landmarks, factories and things that represent the identity of Sheffield being famous for producing steel. This means that that generally people wont be in the photographs that I will be taking and if they will be, they will most likely be in the background and not the main focus of the photo.

For my photos I will be using a lot of low angle shots, as to emphasise the scale and incredible nature of the buildings and structures. Also I might use a fish eye lens in a photo to capture the wonder of some of the structures and sculptures. For example the steal scorpion outside of Sheffield Forgemasters. Some shot types I could use would be close ups, to empahsise the size and scale of the buildings and sculptures. Also the settings on the camera would be important to consider, for my photos I will be using manual mode as I want to use a narrow aperture as it gives a large depth of field, good for photos of landscapes. However, because of this it will take longer for the camera to take the photo so a tripod will most likely be needed to steady the camera better when taking the photo.  

I will be shooting my photos in JPEG, as though shooting in RAW would mean a higher quality photo, it is not as easily editable and transferable to other devices as a RAW file. I will need it to be easier to edit and transfer because I will be going on Photoshop to edit my photos as well as placing them on my blog.

For the photo shoot I will need a DLSR Canon 650D camera, a tripod to steady the camera, 2 SD cards (one for the camera and a back up just in case) and a spare battery. Also I won’t be needing any props or costumes as all the photos I will be taking will be of buildings with no people or props needed.

The risks involved would be damage of the equipment if they are not handled correctly, as well as traffic in certain places such as near the factories like Forgemasters. I will prevent this by handling the cameras and other equipment with care, to make sure not to damage any of it and also be careful when walking around town with it.

I will be calling my work “A City With a Steel Heart”, as to reflect how deeply Sheffield is related to steel and how it means a lot to a lot of people. Also the fact that a process of making better steel was discovered in Sheffield, means it has a historical connection as well.

Unit 31 - LO1: Duncan Philpott Research Photographers

Duncan Philpott is an action and adventure sports photographer.
It is an offshoot of photojournalism, where he takes photos of events such as the sheffield outdoor campaign. These events generally are about a sport activity. He usually is contracted to do these events, and is generally used to take pictures that show the event in a good light. He highlights the extremeness and appeal of the sport that he is photographing.
For example the sheffield outdoor city campaign he was asked to depict sheffield key outdoor sports and showing the city as an attractive destination.

This picture highlights the extremeness and appeal of the sport, as well as the fast paced and gritty nature as its down in the mud and throwing dirt in the air. Also The background and setting is a green lush area with a nice blue sky, highlighting the beauty of the area and the places you can visit while doing the sport. Also Duncan uses the rule of thirds in this image, with the focus being on the bike rider on the left side. The effect of capturing the dirt in mid air as well gives the image more of a feeling of spectacle and amazement. My initial reaction to Duncan's work is that he captures a lot of shots from a low angle with a lot of shots having dirt and dust thrown in the air. This gives a feeling of the rider being more powerful or skilful, while also emphasising the gritty outdoor nature of the sport.

Unit 31 - LO1: Martin Parr Photographer research

The genre that Martin Parr's work comes under would be social portage. This means he comments on the social and personal views on the british people. commenting on things like the social ironies of the british people.
The characteristics of Martin Parr's work would be criticisms and humour. It could also be described as unusual perspectives and garish colours. An example of this would be this image.

My initial reaction this picture would be cramped and very honest to what the British seaside is This image portrays the british seaside as more cramp and clustered with the amount of people there. Also the black sand could have been used on purpose to portray it as more of a dirty and darker look to the seaside rather than the stereotypical golden yellow sand. Also the birds eye view could have been used to give a wider perspective of the cramped nature of the seaside, further expressing how the British seaside is not as glamorous as it seems, the use of the birds eye view also shows that everything in the frame is meant to be there. I think the purpose of this photograph is to make us question if this is really the image of the British seaside that you want and is not really what is expected one someone thinks of the seaside.
I believe this photograph belongs to the genre of photojournalism, as it shows a real life event and shows what it is really like in real life. In this case it would be the British seaside and how unglamorous it really is.
The composition of the photograph is used in a wa where all people are captured from a similar angle and size to show how numerous and crowded the beaches are and the use of a birds eye gives the view from another perspective and gives a good view of how cramped it is. Also the black sand highlights the other parts of the photo, the coloured towels and people on the beach themselves.
Some critics who have commented on his work:
The German photographic curator Thomas Weski has said:
"Martin Parr is a chronicler of our age... Leisure, consumption and communication are the concepts that this British photographer has been researching for several decades now on his worldwide travels... Parr enables us to see things that have seemed familiar to us in a completely new way."
Dan Rule, writing in The Age, has said:
"Parr's signature is his ability not only to isolate the most evocative of human details, but to elevate such visual fragments to that of the wider societal signpost or glyph."
Martin Parr focuses on the identity of modern life and the social classes within them through the use of intimate, satirical and anthropological (study of human behaviour) techniques.