Saturday, March 30, 2013

Why aren't my photos crisp and sharp?

While I feel I'm a fairly competent photographer, there is still many things for me to learn. My DSLR is packed full of settings that I still don't fully understand.

One thing that has been bugging me lately, is that I can't always achieve the focus/sharpness I want out of my photos. Because of my desire for tack sharp images, my 50mm 1.4 lens is my favourite. But even using that, I don't always get it right.

I found a really good article that explains things to do with focus and sharpness. For example better techniques in using auto focus - how the orientation of the focus points can actually affect how it works. And what the hell does "One Shot" and "AI Servo" mean? One is for stationary objects and the other is for moving objects! I feel much better informed now and will have to try playing with these new found settings.

http://photo.tutsplus.com/tutorials/shooting/achieving-better-focus-and-sharpness-in-your-images/

Monday, March 25, 2013

Tracey Moffatt - Laudanum - ACM204 ESSAY

Here's an essay on a photography series by Tracey Moffatt, that I wrote for ACM204 - one of my photography units. At a first glance I actually didn't think much of these images, until I thought about more deeply how they could all be connected to make a story. I read various reviews for clues and then let my imagination wander. I ended up liking it after studying the series.




















Tracey Moffatt was born at Brisbane in 1960. She graduated with a degree in Visual Communications from the Queensland College of Art in 1982. She debuted on the Australia art scene with her first solo photography exhibition in 1989.

She is well known for her photography and short films that tell fictional stories in constructed scenery. She often plays a character in her own photographs. Two of her films (night cries and bedevil) have been selected for the Cannes Film Festival and her photography has been exhibited in museums worldwide. A recent series titled "Under the sign of Scorpio" has her impersonating famous Scorpio women.

The Laudanum series was created in 1998 yet look like the photos could have been taken 100 years ago. The whole set is presented in black and white, printed on rag paper with the photogravure etching technique. The negatives have been digitally altered to look weathered on purpose giving the impression that you are looking at a very old photograph. It draws upon the themes and imagery of German Expressionist film from the 1920's. In those harsh economic times after World War 1, the Germans could not directly compete with the higher budget films being made by Hollywood at the time and instead explored the darker sides of life with tales of sadness and betrayal, paving the way for the modern day Horror movie genre. Australia's dark history of racism and cruelty connects with the subject matter of film noir and German expressionist films that had a departure from the action and romance stories made by Americans. Despite the Laudanum set being shot in a colonial mansion in Australia, the scenes that take place could have taken place in any western country in the late 19th and early 20th century where race and class segregated people.

The first image in the 19 piece series of Laudanum shows a scene that immediatly brings the issues of class and race to mind. A maid in a completely subserviant position seems to be almost flat out on the floor before the feet of her mistress that is declining the staircase. The series of images that follow seem to be out of order but when the title of the series is taken into account, the story begins to emerge.
Laudanum was a drug made from Opium that was used in the early 20th century for a variety of ailments. It was used by women as a calmative and was known for having hallucinogenic properties. And thus, this photographic series portrays a drug induced fantasy of domination, torture and sexuality between a mistress and her servant.

Some images obscure parts of the scene or the characters faces, creating a voyeuristic feeling in the viewer. An image of a woman leaning against a wall is presented in both an oval and a keyhole. It is not clear what she is doing but the expression on her face seems wistful. It is not clear if she is one of the women from the previous picture or not, as she is wearing different clothing.

In the third image the same woman appears, dressed as the mistress thus making it more obvious who she is. Her hair is down and she seems to be undressing. The young woman behind her is naked with a blissful expression. The image of her face has been ghosted into the background that swirls and wavers, perhaps indicating that both these women are experimenting with drugs and their sexuality.

Pleasure seems to be laced with pain as the scenes become more sinister. The maid seems to be held down and tortured by her mistress. The image of the house next to this one is a juxtaposition as it seems so  peaceful compared to what is happening inside.

While the maid seems to be dominated and tortured by her mistress in previous images, she does not seem to be resisting or distressed by acts that seem cruel. It seems as if she has resigned herself to this submissive role. Even after having all her hair cut off, she still lays face down on the table, seemingly held down by nothing. Her face is never shown in these scenes, you may feel a little sorry for her but since no signs of anguish are portrayed you wonder if perhaps she enjoys it.

In fact it seems like the mistress becomes more disturbed by her acts of cruelty as she buries her face in her arms in image 10. The maid is reclined on the sofa, posed like an artistic nude. Her face is so serene that I wonder if she is dead or just sleeping. Is this perhaps why the mistress looks so distressed.
The mistress seems to further spiral into insanity and continues to torture her victim. Warped silhouettes of hands over her head, look like horns of a monster. Even the staircase and wall is warped. It's like a scene out of a horror movie.

A scene looking through the crossed bars feels like looking into a cage or dungeon. The maid is slumped against the wall but her face is obscured by the bars. The other woman seems to be leaning over a bench, her head also covered by the bars. Has this gone from an S&M fantasy to a murder? Is image 10 perhaps the end result of this power play, an accidental murder?

The final image showing the woman in her underwear crawling up the stairs brings us full circle. It parallels the first image in the series with the same location. However these scene perhaps shows us the reality of the story - a weakened woman (from illness or drug overdose) has conjured up the whole master/slave scenario in her mind. The maid was nothing more than a pillow on the floor. A menacing black cloud swirls around the floor signifying the womans delusional state of mind.

REFERENCES

http://www.eniar.org/news/moffatt.html
http://nga.gov.au/dreaming/Index.cfm?Refrnc=Ch9
http://about.nsw.gov.au/collections/doc/laudanum-9/
http://flighthotel.ca/2010/02/03/tracey-moffatt-birch-libralato-toronto/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_expressionism
http://www.van-horn.net/tracey-moffatt
http://www.smh.com.au/news/arts/the-secret-lives-of-tracey-moffatt/2005/07/29/1122144006147.html
http://www.artnet.com/artist/11933/tracey-moffatt.html
http://www.roslynoxley9.com.au/artists/26/Tracey_Moffatt/
http://www.kaldorartprojects.org.au/education/move-moffatt.asp



Sunday, March 24, 2013

ACM126 - Internet Arts - Webdesign Inspiration

Screenshots of various websites using anime, cartoon and illustration ideas as part of the layout.





Friday, March 22, 2013

Typography - To change fonts or not to change fonts? It's up to you!

Mixing it Up! - An example of multiple font faces working. Usually there's a rule saying you shouldn't use this many but the designer made it work by alternating your usual serif & sans serif fonts with more decorative/handwriting styled ones.


Keep it Simple! - In this example the same font has been used but the text is still interesting to read. Different font sizes have been used as well as alternating the colors from white on black to black on white to highlight important parts.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Bag Tag Posters










Bag Tags
UK-based illustrator and graphic artist Neil Stevens has created a series of beautiful minimalist posters that are inspired by old airline baggage tags.