Final Evaluation

A Review

This unit has been very engaging when it comes to how it has quite a wide range of topics to do, all compressed into a single option. Choosing curves and circles was an interesting choice for me as it gave a modest amount of freedom on what I would be photographing. Through the first few shoots, I had some minor struggles. But as the project progressed I improved. With my best shoot being (in my opinion) shoot 1 however, that is because it was one of the final shoots to have been taken.

In the exam, I have faced a multitude of different tasks to complete within the given ten hours, which I believe passed off as being rather creditable. I began with Work Record Shoot 1. In this shoot and the other, I decided to go for a more abstract view on curves, which I feel worked quite well.

The first image pictures a sculpture of a butcher found in Harlow Town Centre. To create this photo I began with using a plethora of different techniques in camera RAW. After the pleasantries, I burned and dodged the shadows of the statue, creating a big contrast to the statue and the background. In fact, I actually made the background purposefully white, as it is almost like it melts into the blog page. The photo itself actually signifies how one must put the effort in to get rewarded. It gives a story of reaping what you sow. If you put in as much as you have into what you are interested in, you will eventually make it to calmer waters. The photo shows someone in the middle of the struggle, the grind to finally reach their best self. The one thing I would change about this image is the angle. The angle I took doesn't have much shine on the face, and I could've taken it from a different area at a different time to fix that.

A different photo to the previous, this is of a garage door outside the back end of town. I really liked editing this one, as I got to be very liberal on exposure and burning & dodging. After using raw, I began by making the top of the door and the right side of the photo significantly darker. After that, I added shadows to anywhere where there were any. In fact, the shadow in between the two white walls was actually entirely fabricated. The shadow ends a few inches down, but the extended shadow gives even more composition to the photo. The photo itself though signifies how much of an issue the economy is today. Shops everywhere in the local area have been closing down permanently. However, I am not a fan of how much dirt is on the garage door, it is not as nice as I wanted it.

The photo here is probably my favourite photo of the bunch. It uses select saturation to keep the grassy area in colour while removing any colour in the pavement. The photo itself was taken in a plaza, with a very little amount of grass around. That's kind of what it resembles. To me, it's almost like the "silver lining" in any cloud. There's always good somewhere. Even when the rest looks hopeless and dreary. Originally, the photo didn't have the corner hitting the centre of the image. To do this I moved the half to the centre, and then selected a small edge and extended it to fill the white gap. It's quite unnoticeable actually. The bending in the metal isn't where it started, as it was a much smaller gap. 

The fourth image pictures a sign beside a wall showing the street name. It was created using burning & dodging as well as select saturation. I created this because of the sign's name, actually. The sign itself is called "Cross Street", which reminds me of how people might find themselves at a crossroads sometimes. Prior to the connotation, I'd like to just put in that there were a lot of sticker-like objects attached to the sign. To get rid of these I used the spot healing tool. Anyway, as said prior - one might find their self at a crossroads. It signifies how you should approach any tough choices with courage and pride, taking a decision you truly believe in. If I were to improve the photo in the future, I would probably get rid of any unwanted items on the object, rather than removing them in post. While this might take longer, it removes the risk of the final photo looking flawed. 

This one is quite fun in my opinion. It pictures a car park in Romford, where it uses a spiral-style ramp to go up or down levels. In the editing of the photo, I really went wild with contrast and exposure. It created a really interesting look for the car park. I believe this one really signifies how we're being towered by something dark, and we must overcome it. It almost signifies a government which doesn't care, and we need to take control to finally get set free. Sadly, however, the contrast also impacted the white part of the car park which I intended to be a lot brighter. To improve I should've used more burning & dodging.

The statue here is taken in a plaza outside in the Water Gardens. It pictures a woman shielding herself from something, as if to protect herself or that she's embarrassed. I believe the photo signifies anxiety, or what it must feel like. In the statue, she is pictured nude, which further solidifies it. The feeling of anxiety is as if you're entirely exposed and avoidant. It's almost really to relate to those who suffer, to show they're not alone. My only qualm would be the removal of the buildings in the background in a different photo (via using a different angle) but I'm using it for the colouring, so it doesn't matter as much.

One of my favourites; this photo is taken nearby and really doesn't mean much. The task the banister is completing isn't much. It leads into nowhere, after heading upwards. It's almost useless. However, the contrasting in the photo I believe is extremely compelling and interesting to the eye. For a photo, even with select saturation, it's a very aesthetically pleasing photo. However, next time I might not use select saturation. On this piece, it looks very rough and rushed, even though it wasn't.

A second favourite, this has extremely high contrast all over the photo. Of a curved road, it pictures the scene of urban life and how much of our daily life is filled with concrete and brick. I like it a lot because of how the select saturation brings out the main painted curve compared to everything else. It really creates a focal point for a viewer to look at. The rest of the photo saw burning and dodging in specific areas. For example, I darkened the edge between the curb and the road, creating something like a divider between the two. Moreover, I brightened up the upper area of the photo to solidify the realistic lighting.

During my first shoot, I took this photo, and I've been interested ever since. It pictures an abandoned office building with an extremely reflective window which then shown a tinted photo of a modern office block. It almost tells a story of modernisation, and how Harlow has been built around old buildings while creating brand new ones during. Furthermore, the difference between colour and B/W really improves the idea of that. However, I don't like the fact that the sky is in the shot. I don't know how I could fix this without removing the top piece but I would want to if I ever re-took the photo.

In this piece I found a dilapidated railing leaving an underpass, which was quite interesting for creating a scene like this. It reminds me of photos where nature re-takes hold of the land. In the photo the rail has clearly rusted and slowly been decomposing in the years it's been there. In replacement for that, nature is slowly reclaiming the area where the rail stands. However, I wish there was less glare in the photo.

A unique photo, it faces a sign nearby the town centre, and it gives a plethora of directions into different places and parks. I like this image because it makes you think of the different directions you can take in life. You could go anywhere. The photo itself uses select saturation and burning & dodging in the majority of the photo. For the main sign, I decided to keep it in colour, because it makes the viewer see it as a focal point for the photo. I don't like the way it's been angled though. If I were to recreate this photo, I would change it so it was perpendicular to the original pole.

And here we are; the final photo. This one is an interesting one due to how it uses a handrail's curve on the edge in contrast to a luscious background of forestry. The contrast and exposure are used a lot in this photo to portray a strong scene. I like how the cuboid-like pole contrasts so significantly to the main focal point. It gives a weird and intriguing composition one might not usually find in a photo.

In conclusion, I feel like this exam project has been very successful and I've been able to really improve my skills and test them through this channel of work.