Work in Progress
- Laura Marsh
- Feb 16, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 18, 2021
Constructed Realities: Week 3
Thinking about how my own practice can related to this weeks theme has made me look at how I have edited my work. From the contact sheet below, you can see the edits I have made regarding the original situation, and my final image is not 'as seen'.
This image below was one I shared last week, with some tonal and contrast amendments, but I didn't feel it portrayed what I wanted, it was still too light and 'hazy' which was not the image I had in mind.
The second is one I chose not to show, as I felt it was not as string visually as the first. Getting closer to my subjects is something I want to explore and I felt this one did not quite work. I was also using my phone on his occasion, which I do not feel was the right choice.
Here I have re-edited the first image, taking it into Lightroom. Here I removed some of the 'haze' and highlights to enhance the details that were being hidden and the textures of the flowers skeleton have been drawn out. This shows the detail and delicate nature of what I saw, the fragile flower laying on the verge, you almost feel like it would break it you tried to touch it.
This image I prefer as it is darker and more focused. I am planning to print this out at A4 size, as that is the only access I currently have, to see how the size affects the impact of the image.
Linking to my idea around fragility within nature and our own bodies, I discovered a Pigeons egg that had fallen from the bridge above.
The lighting was not perfect on this day, with very low harsh directional sunlight, so finding the right angle to photograph was difficult. Thereby, the image was not quite as I wanted and I was unsure about the image.
In the forum this week I decided to share it with my peers, even though I could tell a story with this image, I was not sure the quality or edit choices had worked.
I received a response form one of my peers who said "you speak of the intent and context I do think that the egg shot has a lot of positive aspects to it in terms of telling a story both overtly but also more subtle which I guess is the ongoing aim of your work" (Rabone, 2021)
After reading this, I realised that my intent had shown and that my editing choices had helped with the message. A suggestion was also made that maybe I could look into re-staging the image or images going forward, to achieve the desired affect. This is an aspect I want to explore when I look at still life.
Research:
Polly Morgan was an artists suggested to me last week on one of our forums. I was amazed at what I found as I was not expecting work like this. The mixture of sculptural taxidermy, such as 'Stacked Against Us' (2015) alongside more abstract work as 'Understand Your Audience' (2020) was quite striking, and not what I had expected. Her aim by using taxidermy, concreate and polyurethane is to "explore false narratives in our increasingly polarised and digitised society" (Morgan, "Biography - Polly Morgan").
I do not plan to use deceased animals with my own still life work, but looking at how other practitioners have explored this in a creative manner is inspiring to see and something that I may explore with my work in another way with the objects I collect to use.
I also discovered a photographer, Keith Dotson, who has created detailed black and white photographs of leaves and leaf skeletons up close, showing their structure, decay and fragility against a black background using macro photography. Quite relevant to my own practice.
He is showing the natural structures and says "once their functional life is past, they even decay and fade away beautifully" (Dotson, 2021). This is an aspect that I am aiming to portray, the small details that even in death and a fragile state, beauty can be found. As I look into where my practice could develop, seeing a practitioner use macro one these leaves has inspired me to explore what I can do with the macro equipment I have on location in the street and at home in a still life setting.
His website can be viewed here: https://keithdotson.com/blogs/news/minimalist-but-dramatic-nature-photographs-of-leaf-skeletons
References:
Dotson, Keith. “Minimalist but Dramatic Nature Photographs of Intricate Leaf Skeletons.” Keith Dotson Photography, 2021, keithdotson.com/blogs/news/minimalist-but-dramatic-nature-photographs-of-leaf-skeletons. Accessed 16 Feb. 2021.
Falmouth Flexiable. “Topic: Week 3 Tutor Forum with Sarah: False Indexes.” Flex.Falmouth, 11 Feb. 2021, flex.falmouth.ac.uk/courses/694/discussion_topics/19366. Accessed 15 Feb. 2021.
Morgan, Polly. “Biography – Polly Morgan.” Pollymorgan.co.uk, 2021, pollymorgan.co.uk/biography/. Accessed 16 Feb. 2021.
Figures:
Fig 1: Contact Sheet 1
Fig 2: Laura Marsh, 2021
Fig 3: Laura Marsh, 2021
Fig 4: Laura Marsh, 2021
Fig 5: Laura Marsh, 2021
Fig 6: Contact Sheet 2
Fig 7: Laura Marsh, 2021
Fig 8: Morgan, Polly. “Stacked against Us,” Polly Morgan, 2015, pollymorgan.co.uk/works/stacked-against-us/. Accessed 16 Feb. 2021.
Fig 9: ---. “Understand Your Audience,” Polly Morgan, 2020, pollymorgan.co.uk/works/understand-your-audience/. Accessed 16 Feb. 2021.
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