Friday Inspiration - Julien Vallee

DanseDance

I love this stop motion video by Julien Vallee and Nicolas Burrows.  The video is reminiscent of how each day, we are surrounded by seemingly insignificant objects, taking them from one place to the other, or leaving them on a table for weeks, without paying any attention to them.

"We ignore or forget them, using things only when we need to, making sure they don’t interfere or inhabit our space. But what if they were not so stable and subservient? What if they could swivel, bounce or even fly. And what if they did so all at the same time? We want to imagine a place where objects could live and move, harmoniously, and of their own accord. Without interfering with each other these objects would bounce, roll, turn and cross each other’s paths."

Pinhole 2

I took some additional images in a room that was full of chairs inside the university.  I chose to do this because the sunlight coming in through the window was amazing, and there were a lot of really interesting, and constructivist like shadows being cast on the chairs.  However, if I get the opportunity to, I would like to retake some of them again, as they are very dark and you can't really see the detail that I was looking for. 

Pinhole 1

This week we were taught how to make our own pinhole cameras using a biscuit tin. Instead of traditionally capturing the image on negative film, and getting it developed, we captured it on light sensitive paper inside the tin. The image is created through a small hole in the front, centre of the tin as light passes through it.  

The photographs were taken inside the university due to the nature of the technique; the photographs had to be developed in the darkroom after exposure to light. 

These are the images I captured that came out decent.  

Origami Jewellery

French designers Claire & Arnaud have replicated the art of Japanese paper folding with rhodium-plated silver to create these stunningly beautiful jewellery pieces.

                                      

Constructivism

Our latest photography was to take a series of six constructivist inspired images that use light and shadow to describe form and composition. 

A lot of my inspiration came from the photographic works of Alexander Rodchenko.  His work was normally socially engaged and challenged formality.  He often shot his subjects from odd angles—usually high above or below—to shock the viewer and to postpone recognition. He wrote, "One has to take several different shots of a subject, from different points of view and in different situations, as if one examined it in the round rather than looked through the same key-hole again and again."

I decided to focus on one subject - a coil of paper.  I took multiple images of this subject, changing my perspective, and used a small torch light to illuminate distinct areas.  The final images have a steel like appearance which is conforming with the constructivist ideals.  

Happy Apple'ween!

Happy Apple'ween guys! From Gary & Hannah. I hope Steve likes it!  =]

Please Do Not Touch The Exhibitions... Thank You.

Last week we visited the GT Gallery, and Ormeau Baths Gallery in Belfast as part of a group project.  We documented the visual experience both individually and as a group by taking notes, photographs, and sketches of the exhibitions.  Over the 2 days we had to bring our ideas together and design an 8 page publication that displayed how we could work as part of a design team. Some of my favourite pieces were exhibited in the GT Gallery by artists Una Walker, and Justin McKeown.

These are some of the photographs that I took that day.  

Tim Flach

How can you not laugh at this photograph? British photographer Tim Flach sees animals in a completely different way. Flach shoots stylized animal portraits that look more like fine art than framed shots of your puppy. Flach “delves deep into the psyche of this enduring bond with Canis familiaris to present an exquisite study of “man’s best friend.”

Carl Kleiner

I love everything about the new IKEA book of baking recipes, Hembakat är Bäst (Homemade Is Best). Styled by Evelina Bratell and photographed by Carl Kleiner, the cookbook’s photography eschews only presenting the finished dish in favour of also capturing the ingredients in artfully arranged still life imagery. It’s a little like deconstructed food photography where intricately displayed piles of sugar, egg yolks and vanilla pods are works of art. 

Friday Inspiration - Matthias Heiderich

Wonderful, colourful, composition based photographs of Berlin by photographer Matthias Heiderich.

What Type Are You?

Pentagram have created a simple What Type Are You? test to identify what type you are. I am the modern, elegant Archer Hairline. 

Clipper Alice Tea

Over the past two weeks I have been asked to collect samples of a particular brand that I like as part of my design class.  I have always been a fan of Clipper's Tea illustrative packaging, but this collect of Alice Teas rekindled my love.  There's Alice which combines malty Assam with Citris Ceylon, White Tea for the White Rabbit, and Bergamot for the Red Queen.  I love the simple shapes and the bold typography of the packaging.  Here are a few screen shots of the packaging from their website. 

Photography - Light

This week we had to take photos that showed how light can change the narrative of an image.  It can determine the mood of an image.  By keeping a constant subject/location and composition I was able to experiment using various light sources to produce my images.  My subject was an old porcelain french clown.