Ming Smith - creative use of light
Within the image created by Ming Smith contains a sort of distortion to the image as everything seems to be kind of shaken so that there are multiple layers within each item. This is more visible in the background where a sign seems to be split into many layers with some more distorted than the others as they begin to fade with colour. the group of people in the foreground seem to of been less distorted than those who are a little further back. The sparkler that is in the centre of the group photo seems to give off specks of light which ended up at the centre of the photo which also became distorted as there are many visible layers of it. The photo it self although very distorted, I believe that it belongs in the street genre as it appears to be set in the middle of a street which is displayed by the sings on the buildings above possibly store signs or advertisements. I believe this one is different compared to the normal sort of street genre because of the strong distortion cause by the sudden movement of the camera. The image might challenge the typical stereotype of street photography with the abnormality of the distortion. The normal style of street photography would be untouched so the distortion is very different compared to the traditional version. I also believe that the photo has a sort of red tint to it as the buildings are sort of red as well as the ground
I believe that Ming Smith has used a traditional camera with possibly a different sort of lens or using a technique to distort the image and sort of blur it. If I was to make an image like this I would have difficulty with it as it would be hard to figure out how to distort the image in this sort of way as it seems to distort the people more than it distorts the lights. The image by Ming smith intrigues me quite a lot as I want to figure out how they have made the image distorted in this way as well as what time of day it was as although lights are on i believe that the clouds above makes it harder to figure out. |
I believe a question I would ask is what sort of technique did they use to create the distortion as why did they choose to use this scene in particular to use the technique. Another question I would ask is where did they go to locate this scenery as although it is dark there are except the sparkler used to illuminate the people as well as the foreground. The building signs are used to lighten the background as otherwise it would make the location difficult to locate. The picture above relates to the creative us of light as the light is being used to illuminate the image as well distorting the image so it is a creative use of the light but there seems to be a red tint to the image and the possible source of that could be from behind the photographer. After some research on the photographer I have discovered that they don’t usually use coloured images but usually use black and white images so this image is an unusual sort. I also discovered that in some occasions Ming Smith uses paint on the photos after they have been printed but usually untouched. My opinion on this image in particular has changed as although it is using bright colours that is not the typical style of Ming Smith and that makes this image more rare.
For a response I will use some lights to try obscure the image with possible lines going trough it. I will have something in the centre on use multiple types of lights. Phone light or ring light as they are both easy to move. I will also use the shadows caused by natural and unnatural light as it would the use of light. I will also use the shadows of multiple objects to create a collective shadow in some situations. I will take 20 photos using these ideas as well as an obstruction using the light from common items such as phones to create distorted image in some occasions. The images will result in many shadows and bright lights.
Pratical
During the practical the hope was to find some nice shadows but unfortunately it was a cloudy day so it was difficult to locate so once I went outside I took every opportunity available and caught abnormal shadows such as the lights on the buildings. Once I had entered the building. Once I had started to use a phone light indoors I was able to get some nice photos and fortunately was had some opportunities that I could not miss
WWW: I was able to use abnormal light to replace the natural light. The light was able to highlight the colours throughout the images. The light which was aimed at the wall gave a bright light
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EBI: I should of took more photos with bigger shadows (sunnier weather) another issue was that the unnatural light inside had a yellow tint so it affected a photo (better choice of light)
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I was fortunate to obtain the chance for this image as it shows a lot of possibilities for light but if I changed nothing I believe that it displays the opportunities displayed to everyone. The image was quite casual but had nothing really affecting it. The light within the image also expresses the shadows more in the images whilst also countering the light source with the shadow on the back of the actual light
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WWW:
I enjoyed using the abnormal light which created light on the wall as well as creating shadow. The image was quite enjoyable as the positioning was all natural so it was easy to take a photo of. If I were to do this again I would keep the positioning as it creates a nice result |
EBI:
The piece would look better if there was some details on the background that was not affected by the light. Another thing is that the light only used a simple colour so if there was an abnormal colour I would enjoy it more. If I were to do this again I would put a colour filter over the light to make it more abnormal. |