Assignment 3 preparation

In the previous section I described how Fred Herzog's work gave me some ideas for tackling this assignment. To find situations where photography wouldn't be regarded as intrusive and where there was likely to be colour and people, I visited some of the local galas that take place in late June and early July. There is also a small number of photographs taken in an area of my town which is only just recovering after being quite run down; in fact very similar to areas where Herzog seemed to be working. What follows is my first selection of images and the rationale for considering them for the assignment.

A. Colour harmony through complementary colours


i

There is almost two sets of complementary colours here; the reds and greens of the building, contrasting with the blues and oranges of the 'for sale' sign. The contrast that particularly appealed to me was between the fading glory of the old fire-station, emphasised by the dull, jaded colours and the brightness of the sign trying to turn it into an attractive proposition for someone else. Many of Herzog's images gave prominence to the faded colours of old, crumbling buildings, (see below).
(selected)

A good example of the many images by Herzog of buildings that are past their best.











ii

The awful weather at the galas brought out some brightly coloured anoraks and this picture caught one of them over a bright yellow barrow, demonstrating colour harmony with complementary colours.
(selected)













iii

This is the kind of quirky shot that Herzog often took. The blues and oranges provide the complementary colours to provide some harmony, although the white door is a bit of an intrusion into it.

(not selected because of white door)











iv

Again, orange and blues feature largely in this scene at a stall to provide some colour harmony.

(selected)













v

The complementary red and green of the clothing provide the colour harmony. The facial expressions, perhaps, suggest less harmony.
(selected)

This is an example of Herzog's images which explored the colour relationships created by what people were wearing and their location. It certainly helped to raise my awareness of what I should be looking for when shooting for this assignment.








B. Colour harmony through similar colours


i

You meet interesting people at Galas, doing interesting things. This particular image is intended to demonstrate colour harmony created by juxtaposition of the similar colours, yellow and green; the yellow snake lying comfortably on the green vest.
(selected)

One example of Herzog's 'interesting people', but again, in a context where there is interesting awareness of colour - a slightly blue cast to the picture and the strong red accent terminating the converging lines created by the standing pedestrians.

...and here's another, which I could say unkindly cued me into my next picture.










ii

The sad clown. The overall intention was to show colour harmony in the relatively large areas of blue and green, however, the spots of red takes on a prominence disproportionate to their size.
(selected)












iii

In this case, it is the 'similar' red and violet colours of the coats that create the harmony.
(selected)














iv 

I include this one from my work for exercises 1 to 3 because it juxtaposes three similar colours; violet, blue and green.  This has some similarities with the many images taken by Herzog of wrecked vehicles.
(the best of the remaining three)






v 

I was struck by the colour harmony created by the similar yellow and orange of the lady's garb.
(not selected - composition, interest and impact lacking)














vi

The similarities between the blue shirt and the violet - ish train create the colour harmony and it's good to see a grown man re-living his childhood. From a technical point of view, my depth-of-field was a bit limited in this shot due to shooting on shutter priority on a dull day. As a result there's some slightly out-of-focus features in the foreground. Obviously, there is little opportunity to re-shoot such images.
(not selected - some areas slightly out of focus)











C. Colour contrast through contrasting colours


i

This is exactly the sort of image I was looking for to demonstrate an implied triangle for assignment 2. I couldn't find one then. This is the second I have been able to include in the work for this assignment. The close relationship is in the positioning only. The different eyelines suggest a lack of connection between the three. There is also some lack of harmony in the triangle of (almost) primary colours - something that Herzog used to considerable effect in one of his images, (below).
(selected)

Herzog was always interested in what signs add to an image. In this one, the faded blue of the poster of Diefenbaker, a tory prime minister on his way out, was ironically contrasted with the brightness of the red poster symbolically linked to the rising labour party. This juxtaposition appears underneath the yellow(ish) arch, hence the triangle of primary colours.





ii

As my first picture shows, red in an image really stands out in a way that other colours don't. I have often seen this phenomenon used to good effect when a detail in a black and white image is picked out in red. The red in the clown's suit here seems to be given even more prominence by its juxtaposition to a contrasting blue bin.
(selected)











iii

A man who is clearly proud of his ferrets and happy to pose with them against his contrasting blue shirt. He actually invited me to go to more galas where he would be appearing with his pets.
(selected)

Herzog also photographed people going about their business, this being one good example.
















iv

I spent a very interesting half hour talking to this young man about his work in the local centre for young adults with learning difficulties. I had not intended to take a photograph of him until someone came along and landed a ferret on his head. I think it is a quaint old Derbyshire custom. His sheer joy made a great photograph. There is, to a small extent, an arrangement of contrasting primary colours, but I'm not sure whether it is strong enough to meet the brief of this assignment, (therefore not selected).









v

In a sense, this is photographing somebody else's art work rather than creating my own, although the particular selection is my own choice. I was struck by the strong contrast between the orange and the green, providing strong impact. This no doubt was in the mind of the creator of the mural, possibly matching the content of somebody proclaiming loudly.
(selected)



vii

The contrasting colours of the orange snake and the violet tee shirt provide strong impact, but I was particularly struck by the hands, which seem to hold a lot of stories.
(not selected, though I like it very much; perhaps it's more about the hands).











viii

Back to adults in kiddies' trains. There is a strong contrast here between the bright blue of the train and the bright red of the woman's coat. The contrast is somewhat heightened by being framed in blue.
(not selected - not as interesting and powerful as clown and bin with similar colours)









ix

The blue in the face paint contrasts strongly with the red lips and red top, providing a strong image. Some harmony is provided by the violet tips of the face paint mediating between the blue and the red. As this person was the face-painter I wondered whether this was an intentional use of colour by an expert.
(not selected - perhaps not enough blue)









x

It's a close call as to whether these tights are more towards orange or yellow. It certainly looks more like contrast with the green grass than the sort of similarity there is, for example, in the image of the yellow snake on the green vest, above. This photo is my attempt to re-create a very similar picture taken by Fred Herzog, below.
(not selected - maybe not orange enough for desired impact, having seen Herzog's).

These stockings are definitely orange and the contrast with the deep green skirt is clear. This is a good example of Herzog's focus of making colour a central element of his images.








xi

Trying to follow the example of Herzog I anticipated this photograph, set my camera up and waited until the moment of greatest impact when these Morris dancers, dressed in blue and red, skipped in front of the blue and red ice-cream van. I'm not sure whether the outcome matched my lofty intentions - but I was pleased that, with heightened awareness of colour,  I am now more deliberately looking for such relationships and planning them ahead.
(not selected - a bit too fragmented).












D. Colour accent using complementary, similar or contrasting colours


i

The orange 'open' notice seems to stand out strongly against the under-stated blues and the fairly simple lettering of the shop's name. It seems to be trying to be not too obvious while, at the same time, loudly inviting people in. It had little impact on the passer by who seems very disinterested. The same cannot be said of the venues with a broadly similar purpose photographed by Herzog, below.
(selected)

Man and boy are strongly attracted by this display, but it's doubtful whether it's the use of colour in the posters that's attracting their attention. It is, however, exactly the sort of colour relationship that featured in many of Herzog's images.







ii

Sometimes you get one by accident. I was really exploring the colour relationships between the coats and the trees; it was only later that I was struck by the blue accent formed by the one-way sign, similar to the greenery and contrasting with the coats. It strongly draws attention to the direction the coats are moving in.
(selected)










iii 

Canoeists in the canal basin presented a couple of possible accents. The first is the yellow ball contrasting with the blue of the canoe and the canoeist's clothing. The second, below, is an accent with similar colours, the red paddle blade harmonising with the orange canoe. The two images together show a comparison between cool and warm colour temperatures.
(strong possibilities but not as much impact as other images)

iv

My camera was drawn to the hair style of this member of the band playing at a local gala. He clearly didn't mind showing it off, or his mean expression. So I was really hoping for a strong colour relationship that matched the brief for this assignment and I'm not sure it's there. There's a little bit of contrast between the purple in the hair and the green background, but it's not prominent.

Since exercise 4 was about 'colour into black and white tones' I thought I would apply the skills to this image, with some variation. The colour of the hair comes through even more strongly and produces a powerful image but, obviously, there is no other colour with which it can have a relationship, as this assignment requires.

I applied my developing understanding of accent to this picture of my daughter. The exaggerated blue of the eyes, contrasting with the 'goldish' hue of the face provides a strong focal point. I have decided not to use this image in the assignment because, while my photo of my daughter is in there somewhere, the final outcome is more photoshop than photograph, (using techniques in Lea D. 2007, Creative Photoshop, Digital Illustration and Art Technique, Focal Press).

An image I am more likely to use, however, is this one of a dummy displaying country-wear on a stall at a gala. In the style of the image above, I have slightly enhanced the colour of the lips and eyes to provide clear accents and stronger contrast with the blue headscarf.
(selected)










v

Another face providing a strong accent belongs to this singer working hard on his Neil Sedaka tribute and not helped at all by a very dodgy sound system. As with the picture of the young lad above, it will be hard to consider this image for the assignment because there is a lack of another colour with which to have a relationship - even though it's position in a naturally black and white context has impact.




vi

I only just stopped myself kicking this carry-out food container before I realised there was perhaps a strong image here created by the juxtaposition of the yellow polystyrene and red flowers on the wet road. The red accents stand out very powerfully and relate well to the box and the dark wet road surface.
(selected in preference to one below because it is a simpler, more powerful composition)



vii

I don't know whether the placement of the bright political poster on an otherwise fairly dull blue display of jumble was deliberate, but it was certainly an effective use of contrasting accent to attract attention. I was looking for images like this, having seen similar pictures taken by Herzog, (below).

viii

I was just leaving a gala and putting my camera away when I was attracted by a flash of blue in an otherwise completely green setting. It seems to be a good example of colour harmony with similar, though strikingly distinct colours. It did, however, raise a question for me about how big an element of an image has to be before it stops being an accent.
(not selected - not convinced this is an accent, although I quite like the image)