Tuesday 30 March 2010

Environmental Portraits - Week 6

Plasterer



For this shot I wanted to work with the rectangle of the window to fit a shaped compostion with the subject in this frame to hold most of the focus. Knowing that the subjects vehicle was in view through the window I felt this gave more detail to the subjects occupation. I wanted to keep a wider shot for this image as the architectural lines of the room create an interest atmosphere into the frame.

I shot this image with an Olmypus OM1 with a 50mm prime lens on a ilford hp5 400 iso film.
Because I was working with no flash units I wanted to work with artificial constat lighting to maintain a good exposure, I did so with the plasterers harsh light aimed at the ceiling with a soft light filling the room.



I wanted to find natural shots for this shoot and understand the role of work in a plasterers job. Doing so I let him work and allow him to pretend I was'nt there to take photographs of him. Plastering involves concentrating and a alot of movement from place to place and this movement is something I wanted to capture.

Using the same camera, lens, film and lighting I capture this image.





The harsh lighting that became diffused once it had hit the ceiling cause a great attraction to the frame once the plasterer was working beside it. I felt to provide the image with an extreme patch of bleach white alongside a dark corner the tonal range creates an interesting mood for the composition of the subject.

As the lighting was closer to the subject a different exposure around the leg of the subject was revealed, however I kept the same lighting setup where it was.






Arnold Newman creates powerfully simple compositions within his frames, but remains to fill the audience with a great deal of interest into the subject. With this shot I wanted to provide the frame with a simple setting and use the subjects movement and stretch in his arm to enter the frame and release a powerful composition like Arnold Newmen.

Working with the same equipment and lighting setup the image allows a tiny highlight to hit the head of the subject, adding an interesting touch.







As I wanted to express five images that reveal the roles involved in the plasteres job, concentration plays a big part. I have taken a close up to show the interest between the subject and his coordination towards perfection. This connection between the two provide a locking focus on the subjects form. The compostion in the bending of the arm also interests me as it works well with the positioning of the subjects head looking at his hand.

In this shot the light is more diffused and causes a higher level of midtones, however there are smaller areas with patches of highlights. I used the same equipment to take this shot.

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