Assignment 211 - Presenting Photo Images

 Statement of Intent:
This assignment requires assessing and presenting finished versions of images from each of my themes undertaken in Assignment 208; namely "Reportage" and "Aircraft". The two tasks are:

• Task 1a: Use a presentation method to present 10 thematic images.
• Task 1b: Explain my reasons for choosing my presentation method, the methods used to present the final images and to contrast the chosen presentation method with an alternative method using different materials.

Presentation Options:
By way of identifying options to present my final images I firstly wanted to review the benefits and downsides of alternative methods. By doing this it will enable me to decide on the best way of presenting my images for both themes. I have divided these options into two categories; namely

• Hard Print
• Digital

Hard Print Option:
This option involves printing the image onto either paper, canvas or a range of "novelty" materials including clothing, mugs and coasters. The traditional option for photographs is to print them on paper of differing surfaces and finishes. This would lend itself for the images to be framed as a picture in which case the surface of the paper would be important for the finished item. Standard framed images, the traditional picture, can use a range of paper finishes but this decision would need to account for the positioning of the picture. Using high gloss paper, especially behind glass, can produce a dramatic image but can also create a great deal of reflection. The reflection would be especially noticeable when the image is either dark or includes large areas of block colour.
My "Aircraft" theme would lend itself to this option ("Hard Print") especially when looking at the commercial options such as RAF Cosford where the images were taken. A range of printed versions of the aircraft could be made available, including:

• Framed or unframed prints of specific images - These could be any of the images and would not be restricted by the size or shape (landscape or portrait) as they would be individual prints. The paper finish could also be varied but for commercial reasons I would tend to look at a flat satin finish as this would prevent many of the potential issues identified above such as reflection. Many of my final images could be used for this purpose including the Red Arrows Gnat, Spitfire and the Catalina.
• Calenders, cards or notelets - Again the size and shape of the images could vary dependent upon the layout especially in the case of the calender. The only restriction would be that it would be difficult to mix portrait and landscape within the same package. In the case of cards and notelets, both portrait and landscape options could be incorporated ie. equal numbers of either layout. For a calender you would have to look at a single shape to allow for the overall layout; a mixture of landscape and portrait would be extremely difficult to combine. This would therefore limit the options of the images available. In my case looking at the final chosen images from RAF Cosford there would not be the number of photographs of the same shape to look at developing a calender.
• Book, portfolio or magazine - Many of the books on sale in the shop at RAF Cosford are specific themes; either specific to an aircraft type, WW1 or 2 or the Cold War for example. An option may be to develop a book that provides images of aircraft along with specific details, such as those featured on the notice boards located by the planes. In this case, many of my images could be used either as single images or as collages of overlayed images based on a specific subject eg. Catalina.

PBY-6A Catalina Flying Boat
Insert showing close-up of landing gear

• "Novelty" materials - Any of the images could be used on mugs, coasters or T shirts. For T shirts those images with a big impact would be the primary focus, such as the close up of the Red Arrows nose cone and the Spitfire. For mugs, landscape images would be better suited to provide the wrap-around on the mug. In the case of coasters, the criteria as described in the case of the calenders, cards and notelets would apply.

Red Arrows Gnat Nose Cone
T Shirt image providing impact
No PhotoShop editing required

Spitfire Fuselage
Edited in PhotoShop; Final T Shirt Image

Spitfire Fuselage
Original image

My original photograph of the Spitfire fuselage from the tail could be used for a T shirt image. My image has had the background removed using the magnetic lasso tool. This was used as there are distinct hard lines for the tool to follow. Minor errors were corrected using the ordinary lasso tool. The original background was replaced using the Shift F5 keys to open the "Fill" option. This was set to "White" to produce the final image above.

• Leaflet - This final option would allow for many of my images to be used in a variety of sizes and shapes dependent upon the final layout of the leaflet. RAF Cosford does have a number of leaflets based on the RAF Cosford itself or advertising future events. Images of the the RAF Cosford leaflet can be seen on my Blog.

Digital Option:
This option includes all aspects of the "electronic" era. Images are stored, transferred and presented electronically either on a blog or website but also using portable means such as IPod or new styles of mobile phones. In all cases the images can be of any shape but the size is dependent upon the screen size of the device. Some of these options also use software programmes that can enhance the quality of the image so that subtle imperfection in focus can be altered on the screen.
There are a couple of potential issues with this format; namely:

• Time to load - The time taken to load the image is dependent upon the size of the digital image and the capacity of the electronic device on which the image is presented. If the capacity of the electronic device is limited, digital images will either be presented in a pixillated form, take considerable time to load or completely crash the device.
• Security of images - Images are freely available for all to copy. Control of electronic images is difficult to secure although there are means to restrict the size of image available to prevent high quality images to be copied.

A major benefit of this method is the ability to transfer images. Images can be supplied and sold for use in books or magazines. The size, shape and quality of image would  be dependent on the requirements of the publisher but all can easily be transferred electronically within seconds to anywhere in the world.
The final images for my Reportage theme have been modified where necessary using various methods in PhotoShop and presented for electronic display. These images could easily be used in books or magazines and as such cropped or adjusted in line with the publishers requirements; but displayed and transferred electronically.

Pricing of Options:
Hard Print:
Using Google search I have looked at several possibilities of Companies who can produce the final prints looking at the variations eg. plain prints, portfolio books, calender, notelets, etc..Screen shots of these are listed below to provide the range of options and associated costs.

DS Colour Labs Ltd Home Page listing options of printing undertaken

DSCL Photo Book Option

Examples of Photo Books produced by DSCL

DSCL Price list for Photo Books
10 page single book: £10.99
Luxury Photo Book from £20.00

DSCL Price List for Large Photo Books
Prices based on page size & number of pages

DSCL Website - Calender options

DSCL Calender Options showing size options

DSCL Price List for calenders based on size of calender & number produced

DSCL Price List for a Year Planner Option

An alternative option for producing calenders could be to use a site such as "Bobbooks" where the calender format is available for you to drop your own images in place. This allows your calender to be tailor-made. An example is shown below:

BobBooks: Calender Options.
Choose the calender format and load your images producing a tailor-made calender.
Pricing ranges from £7.99 to £17.99 each dependent on format.

Bobbooks Calender showing one image loaded.
Your image is loaded to your computer Desktop.
Using the options to the left of the screenshot images are
loaded and placed accordingly.

Screenshot of loaded image.
Lincoln Heavy Bomber with Open Bomb Bay.

A third site reviewed is Kodak Gallery. This provides the standard options for prints, calenders, etc but also offers the printing of T shirt, mugs, mouse mats and "fun" commodities. Some of these options are provided below. All of these options could be used for the "Aircraft" themed images and produced for sale at RAF Cosford. Some graphic designing may be required to provide the name "RAF Cosford" or captions  specific to the image.

Kodak Gallery: T Shirt Option.
£10.99 each: Create your own.

Kodak Gallery: Options for different mugs.

Kodak Gallery: Details of Photo Mug.
£8.49 each: Single image.

Kodak Gallery: Magic Photo Mug Option.
£12.99 each: Single image.
"Mug looks black becoming visible when containing hot liquid.

Kodak Gallery: Home Decor Options.
Provision of novelty options specifically tailored to your requirements.

Kodak Gallery: Mouse Mat Option.
£7.99 each: Single Image.

Kodak Gallery: Clothing & Accessories Options.

Kodak Gallery: T-Shirt Option 

Kodak Gallery: Tote Bag Option.

Kodak Gallery: Baseball Cap Option.

Digital Images:
For the Reportage Theme, there is a need for a higher quality of final photograph as this would enhance the image. The final image needs to be of the highest quality presented well as many of the decisions as to whether images are used depend upon perception.
"One Vision" is a website offering a range of high quality photographs in a range of formats: some are shown below.

"One Vision" - Home Page

"One Vision" - Option to Download Price List for prints & albums or Photobooks

"One Vision" - Product Selection Web Page offering digital prints,
fine art prints, finished products& wedding albums.
Each entry provide initial marketing of the product option.

As an example I progressed through the One Vision catalogue to review the options within Wedding Albums. This focuses on high quality magazine style albums.

Clicking on the Wedding Albums icon, you are greeted with four options:

• Acrylic Ice Albums
• Parisian Albums
• Photo Cover Books; and
• Acrylic Ice Panoramic Albums

he icon is used to market the album range focusing on the use of acrylic and soft touch leatherette materials. This offers the additional sense of touch to enhance the quality of the pages housing your photographs.

Further clicking on the Acrylic Ice Panoramic Albums icon provides further details of the make-up of the album. Your photographs would be reverse mounted onto acrylic and then mounted within the leatherette material and bound into a book. This would not only maintain the sharpness of the image, make it appear that it is behind glass and in doing so protect the photograph.

Unfortunately, individuals needed to sign up to the website in order to get a price list download.

Within the Parisian Albums icon the site offered examples of colours of the leather material used. It is always difficult comparing colours against specific tones within your photograph but this option does go part way to achieving this.








My attention was pulled towards the Finished Products range as I was looking for an option that would enhance those photographs of mine that were aiming at matching Danny Santos's theme of "The Street is a Catwalk". From the marketing images used in this website there was the option to produce a series of images presented in high quality; this presentation would enhance my photographs which had been modified in Danny Santos's style using PhotoShop. Details of my prints that would be presented using this type of finished product are shown below.

"Waiting for a Message"
Photographed in Green Park, London.
Option to be presented in One Vision's Canvas
Product Range

"Coffee on the Move"
Photographed in Green Park, London.
Option to be presented in One Vision's Acrylic Ice Range.

One Vision's Finished Products icon.

Icon offering One Vision's Finished Products Range.

Conclusion:
My final images for the "Aircraft" and "Reportage" Themes are held in the next Post. This contains both the original photograph along with the final images of these.

This post summarises "Task 1b: Produce a written account" describing methods used to present my final images. The chosen methods for my two themes are:

• Aircraft Theme:

Several methods of presentation would be used for the images portrayed in this theme. Many of them are able to stand alone and as such could be used in generating a calender or notelets. Some of the key photographs eg. Spitfire and the Red Arrows Gnat would produce extremely strong images for use produced as "novelty" items. These would produce powerful T-shirts, mugs, mouse mats and tote bags; producing finished items sort after by a range of ages in the RAF Cosford shop.
One final option worth discussing with RAF Cosford, would be themed books. Many of the books currently in the shop focus on either a type of aircraft, WW1, WW2, Cold War. etc. There does not appear to be a book that captures details of some of the key planes of the exhibition. The details provided for viewers alongside the aircraft could easily be modified to fit within a book; this is where my photographs would be used.

• Reportage Theme:

In this case, the quality of the presentation is far more important as it could be used to enhance the images. Rail travel images would lend itself to being captured electronically/digitally on computer or IPad. Specific images could also be used within magazine articles. For this purpose, the images would need to be of a high quality but able to be transported electronically.
Many of my "Reportage" Theme images are of individuals. I have in many cases used similar techniques to deliver images in the style portrayed by Danny Santos. To enhance the quality of these images I would either print specific photographs using acrylic or canvas techniques. When producing hard print copies I would tend to use silk/satin finish paper; high gloss may prevent the final image from being seen without dodging the reflection.
Producing a themed book would also be the way to present my images. This would use high quality prints (again either silk or satin finish paper) and bound in a high quality cover such as the options researched from One Vision. For display purposes this book could also use the acrylic printing option discussed earlier.

Theme 1: Reportage - Green Park, London

Statement of Intent:

My aim was to utilise the opportunity of being in London, having a spare hour before attending a meeting and being presented with an opportunity of having what felt like half of London moving past you. From my early research on photographers involved in Street Photography and Reportage, several images took my interest. These were:

• Thomas Sullivan - Images of a wide range of sport; often portrayed in full colour but capturing the feeling of the moment.
• Ian Tindale - Reportage images of individuals or small groups and real-time events; capturing the moment and the mood of the event.
• Danny Santos - In particular his work on "The Street is a Catwalk" theme where his photographs caught individuals, often women, looking like they were on the Red Carpet. Many of his images have been adjusted using a variety of methods to emphasis the focus on the women.
• Martin Parr - Images that capture the unusual. Some of his photographs were aimed at portraying the event through only capturing part of the event eg. a couples arms interlocked.
• Patrick Lichfield - Photograph of Jacqueline Bissett leaning against a wall providing a contrast of texture.

My aim was to capitalise on the moment and capture a number of photographs of individuals, couples or small groups making the most of a warm and sunny lunch period away from the office and in the fresh air.

Health and Safety:

I positioned myself by some low railings at the side of one of the entrances to Green Park. Some of the people noticed me taking photographs but simply continued about their business. Health and safety turned out to be a minor matter but my initial concern was whether someone would challenge what I was doing. This did not happen.

My photographs are divided into the two themes that duplicate the work of the three photographers noted above.

Record of Image Capture:
My objectives and range of images were captured in my notebook along with the camera settings.

Image of notes recorded at Green Park.

Running Activity:

The opportunity of capturing images of people jogging during their lunch break allowed me to mimic the sporting photographs of Thomas Sullivan. His objective to "capture the emotions of the present as they happen" provides the opportunity to portray the feeling of energy, tiredness and determination. An example of one of the sporting images found during my research is below to use in comparison.

Thomas Sullivan sporting image

 Thomas Sullivan's image captures the flow of the runners, the movement of each runner and the energy being expended. My photographs taken in Green Park, London also captures this movement and energy as well the effort being expended by the runner.                                                   

Having the line of bollards provides a sense of distance with those in the foreground being out of focus, progressing through focus in line with the predominant subject and then returning to a blurring of the background.

The next four photographs concentrate on the actual runners to capture the determination, the effort being expended and the tiredness. The single male runner captures all of these factors and again the line of bollards along the grass edge allows for the distance perspective through the use of a restricted focal distance.

The sequence of three images of a pair of ladies running together captures the movement of the individuals. They are exercising but also conducting a conversation depicting the friendly relationship between the two.

Runners slightly out of focus to depict distance.

Runners in focus capturing the motion.
Background blurred to accentuate distance.

Close up of runners to capture determination  and the conversation.

"The Street is a Catwalk":
The images below by Danny Santos and Ian Tindale are examples of the Reportage photographs that I am striving towards. Danny Santos's photograph below has been adjusted to exaggerate the focus on the lady. The subject is central within the image, the background has been blurred and the side edges have been darkened thereby making the central portion appear as though additional lighting has been used.

Danny Santos - "The Street is a Catwalk"

The example taken from Ian Tindale captures a group of young people squatting on a pavement area talking. The photograph is in black and white and captures the mood of the intimate conversation.

Ian Tindale - Black & White Image

Ian Tindale - Queuing Image

Martin Parr - Interlocked arms.

Patrick Lichfield - Jacqueline Bissett

My photographs below were taken over a lunch period at the entrance to Green Park in London. The weather was warm and sunny and people were making the most of getting out into the park for lunch. My photographs attempt to capture the images of both Ian Tindale and Danny Santos; although my focus was very much on the individual which is more in line with those images of Danny Santos. His theme of "The Street is a Catwalk" was very much alive. Having high light levels allowed the use of high shutter speeds (between 1/250 and 1/400 with ISO 100) thereby allowing the subjects and the moment to be captured.
Many of the images have been rejected as they were either slightly out of focus or did not capture the moment. The camera was hand-held to enable rapid movement and manual focus was used to provide the means for specific focus on individuals. Some of the subjects were aware of my camera being pointed in their direction but nothing was said. This did however ensure the capture of individuals looking straight at the camera. The images capture the flow of people through the park, couples talking, individuals making phone calls or grabbing lunch on the move or simply waiting for friends.
Focusing on the fashion aspects, a couple of my photographs captured the clothing and in particular what is being worn on the legs and feet. The dress code of the individual has been captured in these photographs; by looking at the clothing and footwear you have a picture of the individual.

These photographs capture the moment!

My image of the crowd
(Reference Ian Tindale's queuing image)
Blurred foreground and background emphasising distance

"Old Navy 94" - Brother and Sister

Couple in conversation
Blurred background to emphasis focus on the couple

Enjoying the experience!
Colour image
B&W image reference Ian Tindale's young group squatting

"The Street is a Catwalk"
Movement, focused and fashion

"The Street is a Catwalk"
Couple in conversation

"Sharing the joke."
Laughter captured; pair framed by the background.

"Something has captured his attention."
Lady in foreground is blurred to emphasis the focus on the man.

"Catching up on the reading."
Focus is reversed; crisp foreground and blurred background.

"The Street is a Catwalk." - Mamma Alta

"The Street is a Catwalk." - Mamma Alta
Focus this time is on the lady behind.
Photograph contrasts differing fashion and colour.

"The Street is a Catwalk" - Close-up to capture the moment.
Image is framed by the actual cropping by the camera.
Colour suits the image providing life and energy.

"The Street is a Catwalk" - Close-up to capture the fashion .
Blurred foreground to emphasis the bright colour of the fashion.
Background is blurred and dark again emphasising the individual.

"The Street is a Catwalk" - Coffee on the move.

The following two photographs are a variance of the theme "The Street is a Catwalk"; looking at legs and fashion. From these photographs you can create an image of the individual. 

"The Street is a Catwalk" - Fashion Jeans
(Reference to the images of Martin Parr)

"The Street is a Catwalk"
Fashionable footwear depicts the subject.
(Reference to the images of Martin Parr)

There were options to capture images of executives at lunch either catching up on the mobile or grabbing a quick sandwich whilst on the move.

A slave to the mobile.
Captured against a brick wall to provide an opposing surface.
Well groomed clothing v's a regimented wall that has seen better days.
(Reference to Lichfield's image of Jacqueline Bissett)

Lunch on the move.
Smart fashionable dress code of an executive with a pack of sandwiches in hand.
Background blurred to emphasis 

Lunch on the move.
Close up of executive.
Short focal distance blurring the background to emphasis the image.
People in the background provides an alternative image.

An alternative option was provided by people waiting for friends or partners. The following photographs portray the "waiting".

"Anticipation"
On tip toe looking for her friend; drinks in hand.
Large focal distance to capture a crisp image throughout.
Subject is in the distance emphasised by the other people passing.

"Anticipation" (2).
Close up of subject peering for her friend.
Large focal distance to capture the depth of the imaGE.

These images capture a young lady waiting for a message on her mobile. Leaning against a lamp post in line with a series of bollards provided an opportunity to use a reduced focal distance to emphasis the scenario. The intense light and shadow also provided a complex foreground that adds atmosphere.

By zooming in on the subject a different image is produced. Positioning myself low and in line with the tops of the bollards offered a different perspective and draws the line of sight onto the subject. The background is out of focus intentionally to keep attention on the subject.

Review:
My objective was to capture the atmosphere of individuals, couples and groups in a variety of situations as portrayed in researched photographs by Thomas Sullivan, Ian Tindale, Danny Santos, Martin Parr and Patrick Lichfield. Their images captured real time situations in a way that provided the on-looker with a sense of atmosphere. In the space of an hour I was able to use the range of events unfolding around me as "Londoner's" capitalised on a warm sunny lunch period. I was able to capture a similar range of images as those found during my research.