Unit 57 LO3

I have chosen to focus on urban photography, which is the practice of taking photos of visual representations of urban spaces and the people who pass through those spaces. Urban photography can take many forms such as architectural, street, objects, documentary, fine art photography etc. I'm going to focus architectural photography and make visual representations of urban landscapes; buildings, structures, bridges etc.

This is a photography of Embankment Place taken in 1990. The photographer took this during a sunset to capture the beauty of the red sky ad create a calm atmosphere and the lights from embankment illuminate the image and  create a minimalist reflection against the river. The lighting and angle of the photo allows you to see the different texture and layers of the photo.





This photograph is taken by David Gutierrez, he is a modern London photographer who captures the city's urban spaces and focuses on architectural photography. He takes abstract and creative  photos of London, In this photo he manipulates light and creates a strobe light effect across a scene of London including the Gherkin, where the lighting allows you to see the different coloured glass windows. The angle is skewed and makes the photo look abstract.



Through my photos I want to capture buildings and structures in London, specifically in my local area and manipulate the photos to create an aesthetically pleasing piece of fine art. I want to use some graffiti on my photos. Graphitti is considered as an urban art which can be  used to portray a message, it can be seen as a type of vandalism which is usually done out of rebellion and to mark ones territory and show the freedom to express themselves through art. I also want to manipulate lighting to alter the atmosphere of a scene and create beautiful visuals. I am particularly interested in taking pictures at night when it is dark because the lighting on buildings are emphasised and you can capture scenes in a different mood in night photography. I want to manipulate my photos using different angles and shot types to create depth and differentiate heights when needed.


Shooting Schedule

Date	Location	Details
26/10/2014	Multiple Locations: Excel Millennium Mills Woolwich Ferry Building 1000 Tate and Lyle / London city airport – taken from Royal Albert	Test Photographs
29/10/14	Westfield Stratford, East London gymnasium and Theatre Royal Stratford	More test shooting
22/11/2014	-	Decide on final locations for photo
26/11/2014 - 1/12/14	Westfield, Millennium Mills and North Woolwich ferry	Final piece shoots
1/12/14-12/12/14	Production/Photoshop	Final piece shoots for any re-shoots needed
1/12/14-12/12/14	Make sure all coursework for LO3 is finished.	Production/Photoshop

Equipment Booking 

Risk assessments of locations 

Location	Risk	Level of risk	Controlled measure to prevent being at risk
Millennium Mills	There is a rail that separates the sidewalk from the river.	Medium	Do not lean too far over the rail when taking photos. The side walk is near excel exhibition centre which gets busy when there is an event so i need to be aware of my surroundings and not get in anyone's way.
Westfield Stratford  Bridge	The bridge gets relatively busy with people.	Medium	Avoid getting in people's way or bumping in to people when taking photos.
Dockside next to North Woolwich Ferry	The dock is quiet and next to the river.	Medium - High	Do not lean to far over the rail when taking photos and also be safe when taking photos alone as it is an isolated space as equipment could get stolen and I could be in danger as not many people will be around.

Test Photographs

This photo is taken of the North Woolwich ferry dock from the side walk near the river. I took it in the evening when it was relatively dark and used a fast shutter speed to make it darker which I think creates a more serene  atmosphere as you can see the contrasts of the colours in the sky more clearly as well as the beautiful reflection of the the docks lights on the river. I took the shot at a diagonal angle of view because it defines the 3D shape of the dock. This is composed of a long shot so you can see the wide span of the river and it adds depth to the image and you can view the image in layers.

This photo is taken of the Millennium Mills near Excel London. It is a derelict building which interested me as I could fuse my idea with Urban decay photography, which is good at portraying old and broken buildings in a different light. The sky above the building looks very cloudy which gives the photo a dramatic affect. I used a long shot so you can see the whole building and some of its surroundings e.g the river and the sky. I took this photo at diagonal angle of view as well as I like how it defines the buildings 3D shapes and adds depth to an image.

Purpose of my photographs

 I have finally decided that the purpose of my photographs will be to show manipulation of light and the aesthetics of urban architecture. I have used graphitti in my photo to portray the freedom to express yourself through photography and art. 

 My Editing Process 

This is my original image I took of Woolwich Ferry. The first manipulation I did was to brighten the image on Photoshop.

Then I added another layer which included a photo I took of a firework. Using a combination of the magic wand tool and the eraser, I removed the black background and decreased the opacity of the image to 60% so that the firework blends in with the sky behind it.

My final layer is of a photo I took of some graphitti  I added it because I liked the message and wanted my photo to portray the message. I erased the grey background in Photoshop and used the fill tool to change the colour of the writing to blue. I also decreased the opacity to 72%, as I didn’t want the text to cover the image behind it but be able to see through the text.

This is the final piece with all the layers merged together. I feel that the angle of the shot shows off the ferry dock's firm and masculine structure. It also allows for the lights to reflect at an angle which creates beautiful straight lines of light on the surface of the river. The sky looks thick and cloudy but a calming light blue along with the streaks of red sun light bursting through the clouds as the sky gradually darkens before night fall. The firework symbolises celebration, fireworks are generally used at special occasions, it shows the freedom to express our happiness, religion or even sorrow. The elements of my photo are combined together to create a calm and free atmosphere. To reinforce it I used a piece of graphitti as a centre point. Graphitti is also an art used to express ourselves and let people know who we are or what we stand for.

For this image I started off with a photo I took of Westfield in Stratford. It was late evening and this made the light stand out and look appealing. 

I added a second layer of a photo of a falling firework. I think it looks magical and fireworks are pretty to look at. This adds to the purpose of my photos being aesthetically pleasing. I decreased the opacity of the photo and layered it on top of my original image to make the two layers blend.

I had a photo of graphiti near the area that this photo was taken at. It is the post code for the area. I included it as I wanted to show how graphiti is an act of expression and people are proud of where they come from. I manipulated this picture by erasing the background and filling the text in red to make the colour stand out. The same goes with the graphiti of a peace sign, I manipulated it by erasing the background and colouring the text. I also decreased the opacity so it is slightly faded in to the background reflecting it hidden meaning.  It is a piece of graphiti I found in this area and shows that people want to live in peace. Westfield shopping centre was formed for the olympics for the purpose of giving everyone a place to come and enjoy the facility. This included those who came from abroad and those who love in London. Primarily London wanted to show off its wealth but it also shows how welcoming London as a city is.