#10 - an analysis for my photography course

Matthew Merrett is a contemporary photographer, most famously known for his urban decay photography. He has travelled across the world photographing various forms of urban decay.

This photograph can be found here, and was one of these images taken from his various trips around the world, and is a natural shot, capturing something he came across in that particular moment in time I think the image may have been edited slightly, by perhaps darkening the dark areas, brightening the light areas and increasing the intensity of the colours. This has created a prominent contrast between the separate areas within the image, and therefore makes the blue of the door the main focus of the image. The composition of the image is extremely effective in creating a powerful image. The lines of the wooden wall are exactly in line with the edge of the image, creating a repetitive stripe effect across the whole of it. The door is also placed strategically in the right hand side of the image, so to split it in half unequally, and is sort of like my image of the broken window on the yellow wall.

                I really like this image because of the way that the photographer has composed it, and clearly put a lot of thought into how it should be taken in terms of composition, lighting and colour. I feel that it shows urban decay through the graduation of moss and mould at the bottom of the building, and that it suggests that decay is a slow process in which time plays a big part.                However, I think the image could be improved if it had contrasted natural decay, with man-made vandalism. For example, if this image had some graffiti incorporated in it, maybe it would have been more powerful through the contrast of the two separate types of urban decay.                I will use this as inspiration in my own work by creating similar images that show natural urban decay of buildings and objects. I will do this by searching for buildings that have got creepers growing up them, or perhaps have got dirty over time, or have not been taken care of and so have begun to go mouldy. I will also use a similar composition to Merrett, and will think about how to create a powerful image in great detail before snapping the shot.

Success!

I have worked it out now so I will continue to blog as normal.

Although, I have just realised that all the comments I was trying to enable were in fact spam, and consisted of people trying to advertise their own blogs. Where are the interesting comments people?!

Help?

Okay so, I went on my gmail for the first time in forever and I've noticed that quite a few people have commented on some of my posts, but when I view the posts I cannot see the comments. Would someone be able to help me? I'm fairly new to is so I'm still learning.

If you can help, please email me at laureeengray@gmail.com

Thanks x

#9 shadows

This is my absolute favourite picture that I took while on holiday/vacation in America. It was taken from my hotel balcony and about 6am while we were suffering from jet lag after just arriving. I loved how the sun was reflecting off the water and into my camera, creating a sort of over-exposure look; I also loved how the beach umbrella was the darkest object in the image, and how it's not surrounded by anything except sand, sea and a couple of people. I felt that this created a contrast within the image and meant that the umbrella is the main focus, rather than anything else.

This is unedited (as are most of my photographs)

Hope you enjoy :)

#8 leopard-print slug

This was taken by me on a walk with my family last year. I tend to walk looking at the floor (because I'm a bit clumsy and don't want to trip over) and while I was doing so, I spotted this rather unusual leopard print slug. I just had to get a picture of it because I've never seen anything like it in my life and thought it was fascinating. 

Unfortunately the pictures didn't come out as clear as I had hoped, but the pattern is still visible. Enjoy!

#7 sunrise

These are more of my images that I took this morning at sunrise. I thought the shape of the clouds was  so pretty and the way the light from the rising sun highlighted them beautifully, so I needed to capture it. The first image was an accident, as I tried to focus on the sky by my camera focused on the trees and the sky ended up over-exposed. I liked the effect it had, as it sort of made it look like it was taken on a film camera rather than digitally. The second one is the sort of image I was going for. I like how I've got the whole shape of the clouds, and some branches and the bird in full flight. The colours are also all deep and warm and compliment each other nicely.

Hope you enjoy!

#6 local art

This again is one of my photos. I really liked it because I've captured a local event that is close to home for me. It was taken at the Hop Festival in Faversham, Kent. I thought that by editing the background as black and white because I wanted to highlight the pieces of local art.
Although, I feel that if it had been taken from a different angle, and perhaps with some people enjoying the art, it would have been a stronger image.

#5 urban decay

I found this image here while researching for my photography project on 'urban decay'. I really liked this image because of the contrast between the orange of the rust and the white of the door. I also thought that it was cleverly taken, as the door is the main focus even though it's not in the center. I thought that the fact that the image hasn't been taken straight, adds a sense of confusion about the urban decay, and maybe gives it a dream-like quality.

#4 misery

This is an image that was taken by a friend at school, you can find the image on her Flickr here. The thing I loved about this image is the contrast between the light, soft colours of the female's face, and the dark, harder colours of her eyes, hair and the ground on which she is laying. I love the fact that the model's mascara has been smudged around her eyes, and how the rain drops create a tear effect on her face. 

You really should check out the rest of her photographs, they're truly stunning.

#3 sunrise in Daytona, Florida

Another of my photographs. This was taken on my holiday to America on Daytona beach. The sunrise happened to be particularly beautiful that morning, and so I snapped a few shots of it over the water. This was my favourite shot as the ripples and waves of the sea are clearly visible, and so is the reflection of the sun. I also liked the way that the colours of the sun blended in to the whole of the sky and created a soft change from light to dark.

#2 rose

This is another of my photographs; it's a rose that my mum was growing in her garden and I saw a certain beauty in it because of the apparent perfection of the center petals and the lack of perfection of the outside ones. To take this photograph I shone a small torch on the center of the rose in order to highlight this and have not edited the image at all, as I felt that by using the torch, this was not needed.

#1 urban decay

I thought I'd start this blog by posting one of my own images. This particular one was taken for my photography development of the theme 'urban decay' and has had no editing whatever. The contrast between the colours makes this image one of my favourites, as the door clearly stands out again the white walls, creating a center-point for the eye to be diverted to. The way the image has been composed is effective, as the door is parallel to the framing, and also the fence directly in front of the camera creates sort of a border for the photograph. The only problem I have with this image, is that I think it could be more interesting; maybe by editing the contrast, the image would have a bigger impact on the audience.