Final Evaluation

Final Evaluation:
A04:
My initial ideas were to position skulls with human objects as if they were still alive. Victorian's used to pose for a photograph with their passed loved ones after they were deceived, so that death would imitate life. I wanted to use skull to represent death in everyday life and objects. I was also interest in looking into different histories about some of the many causes of death, and use the skulls to create a Memento Mori of how they died. 
A Memento Mori is a reminder death and was created in the Medieval period by Christians to reflect on the "vanity of earthly life". Memento Mori literally translates to "remember death".

I did this in my second work record that was inspired by Jordan Parks. I was told the place where I'd conducted my skill's building shoot for her as a Photographers Research was located near some plague burial pits. In response to this information I created a Memento Mori of how that person would have died. Here are some of the images I created.
 


I liked the theme of skulls and so continued them throughout the project. For my final outcome I wanted to create more Memento Mori, but this time I wanted to create something that celebrated life rather than morn death.

To create this I used skulls and flowers/ lights, both symbols of life and vitality. However, I still wanted it to be a Memento Mori so I used dead flowers to keep the sinister edge that Memento Mori are known for and thus resulting in my final images/ Memento Mori. 

My final series are a result of many different photographer influences, the first being Uta Barth. She takes out of focus images which allow the viewer to imagine the rest of her images, like filling in a crossword. I like her style of photography as she changes the focal length of the images and consequently makes them out of focus.

 I used this in my first shoot for juxtaposition:

I like the idea of the viewer filling in the missing details that aren't in the photograph as it forces them to become involved with the images. 

Another photographer that was a large influence on my work was Cheech Sanchez. She poses skulls with different harmful vices humans have, such as junk food, alcohol and drugs. 


I looked at how Sanchez laid out her compositions; they look haphazardly throw together while still being in a neat manner. I used this research when I was constructing my different Memento Mori as I knew the composition will look as if it's been constructed and I wanted to know how to make it look naturally arranged. I learnt that the cliché "less is more" rings true. The more I arranged around a skull the more artificial it looked, so I began using less. Less junk food wrappers and less distracting extras I was putting in my images before. 

Another artist that influenced my work was Jordan Parks. It was through looking at her work that I understood the technical side of Bokeh. 

I knew the function of the F-stop and how it affects the images you take, but I didn't know that it could be taken to extremes like Bokeh.

If you want to take a photograph with an intense focus on your subject then you should drop the F-stop to as low as it possible in locations conditions. By dropping the F-stop so low you decrease the depth of field and increase the amount of light that enters the camera. This means that in some conditions you won't be able to lower the F-stop to it's minimum as the images will be over exposed. I used a Macro lens with a slow shutter speed to take Bokeh images of the skulls in my final images. I was able to use a low F-stop as I was taking the shots in a studio and so could control the light, because I was making the images so dark I had to compensate with a slow shutter speed, which was why I used the tripod. 

 The settings I used for this image were F/2.5 which was the lowest F-stop that the Macro lens had. The ISO was 160 to avoid how grainy the image would be (I've added a Mosaic Filter to the image above, it isn't grainy). 

Over the course of the project I've learnt different techniques such as Bokeh, and how lowering the F-stop will affect the photographs I take. I've also learnt about the camera setting BULB. This allows you to hold the shutter speed down for however long you want, instead of having to use a pre-set time.

I've also learnt more into the aesthetic of death and different traditions that people have surrounding death. For example the Memento Mori originated during the Roman era, the victorious generals that returned from battle would have a slave that walked behind them saying Memento Mori (remember death) to ensure they were humble.

However, the main influence on my work was my discovery of the Memento Mori. How people would paint and buy artwork that would w=remind them of death. I intrigued me as I thought it was such a peculiar behaviour, I soon learnt that it was to remind people that they were going to die. Consequently this reminder would shape the way they lived their lives, being very conservative and careful in their behaviour as they didn't want to be remembered for their wrong-doings after they'd die.

Intrigued by this artwork I wanted to create the role reversal, artwork that celebrated death. I hoped that I will change people's perspectives of death as something to be celebrated. We should celebrate someone's death as we'd celebrate their life, for without death then out lives wouldn't mean anything. They would have no beginning and no end. In this respect I feel I have responded well to the exam as I used juxtaposition to contrast life and death against each other. 

I feel my strengths were using my research into different artists and imitating the different camera settings they used. I feel this way because I have experimented and developed my own style using my newly learnt method of photography, Bokeh. 

I would like to have developed my range of subjects in my images. However, I feel my continuing theme of skulls ties my work together well and consequently meets the exam brief. 

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