Assignment 4: Exercise 3: Black and White Tones: Option 2: Photography

Whereas the previous exercise investigated line, this exercise is about tone. We were to set up a sill life of 5 or 6 objects that were black or white. These were to be lit by a lamp from one angle in order to enhance light and shadow. In the photography option, we were then to take 10 photos of the still life, looking at the aesthetics and design possibilities of tone. Following this, we were asked to change the light source so that the still life would be lit from another angle, creating different shapes and shadows. We were then to take 10 photos of the still life in this new light.

Here is my still life:

Here it is after I changed the light source.

I am not good at taking small numbers of photos once I get lost in an exploration like this! Therefore I took more than 60. I like to have lots to choose from and then edit the ones l like best.

I then scooped them all up and put them into their own album. I spent some time just looking at them, then deleted any that I thought would definitely not work. That left me with about 40. Then I looked through again more slowly, editing the photos where I saw potential and passing by the ones that didn’t inspire me. 

I liked the warm light cast by the lamps, but I didn’t want colour to be a variable in this task that is designed to look at tone. I initially tried desaturating the colour, but I wasn’t happy with that. I wanted some of that warm tone back, just without colour. I therefore used a filter called Silvertone on all the photos I edited. I looked for shapes and patterns and variations in tone. I cropped, changed angles in some, and used basic image editing that is in the photos app on my iPad. In most cases I made very small changes, but in a few I exaggerated the light and shadow to add a different emphasis. I particularly liked the way that the white dots on the tray were reflected on the slightly shiny surfaces of the jug and cup. 

These are my 10 chosen images from the the still life with light coming from the right.

Here are the 10 photos I chose of the still life with a lamp to the left and slightly behind the objects.

I enjoyed this exercise so much! When feeling a bit lacking in inspiration I often take myself off for a photo walk, where I take perhaps 100 photos on a short walk in my local area. Sometimes instead of that, I do something very much like this exercise, taking an object and taking a load of photos of it as a way to ‘see’ it in a new light. The process makes me feel more connected to the world around me.

Before moving on to the exercise on shape, I’m going to explore some of these images a bit more in mixed media. That will be in my next post.