Research
CONTEXT/LIGHTING RESEARCH
Jody MacDonald

Jody MacDonald doesnt photograph dead things, instead she's more of a documentary photographer, but she uses lighting to her advantage to enhance her images in such a way that they look quite peaceful. I especially like the lighting in her humpack whale photos, the way that you can see the rays of light shimmering through the ocean.

MACDONALD, J "Untitled" (2008)

I like the way that the rays of light impact into one area, and the way that they reflect off the whales. I also like the way that the whales appear to be in a sequence, and even though they are dark in colour their contrast doesnt take too much from the image. The way that the surface of the water is still visible makes the picture seem more real.

MACDONALD, J "Untitled" (2008)

I like the way this picture is angled towards the whales, giving it an interesting composition. I still like the rays of light on this photo as I did in the previous one, and I also love the slightly darker boarder and the way it improves the impact of the piece. I like how the background is empty, no other creatures or disturbances around, so all attention is drawn to the whales. This research is in relation to the lighting and peacefullness that Im going to inherit into my artwork. 

Vadim Trunov

Vadim Trunov takes absolutely beautiful macro photos of insects, usually playing with lighting too. He seems to enjoy taking photos that reach an almost fantasy element with the lighting and the environment around them. He could take these photos for people to see the beauty in the small creatures that are often hated or disliked. He also uses water to capture reflections of the creatures and make his pictures almost tranquil and divine.

TRUNOV, V "Untitled" 

I like the way that the background on this picture is really bright on one side, the angle of the lighting really improves the picture. I also like how the lighting is behind the butterfly, shining through its transparent wings. I love the way the greens and purples make the piece really natural, giving the piece an all around peaceful feel, almost like the butterfly has overcome something.

TRUNOV, V "Ants" (2011)

I like the way that the intense red of the ants in this piece makes them stand out from the background, and the way that their reflections are extremely clear in the water. The way the water blends into the background too. I like the little yellow stems mixed in with the green ones too as they add a little flare to the piece, too. The depth of field is incredibly shallow, only being in the area where the ants are. This makes them the only focus of the image. The way one ant is touching the water could represent the fact that theyre trying to overcome something and trying to think of how to do that.

TRUNOV, V "Snail and the raindrop" (2012)

This is my favourite picture by him. It almost has an imaginary fantasy feeling to it, the inquisitive snail, the mushroom, the water droplet, and the soft lighting. Aside from the droplet, the water is otherwise still, and I really like the way that the light is shining through the snails shell. The way it is using the mushroom to bend over the water really shows the curiosity, and how clear the reflection is in the water, like the snail is admiring itself. 

PHOTOS OF DEATH/ON TOPIC

Sally Mann

 "Immediate Family and Death" 

(left) MANN,S "Untitled"

(right)MANN, S "Jessie and the Deer"(1985)

Sally Mann takes really quite expressive photos of children with dead animals. I especially like the way she makes the pictures almost innocent, like the kids have no real idea whats going on. Like the photo below, for example, the deer has been bled out, its throat slit, and the child is stood there in a rather innocent pose, unaware that theres a ghoulish dead animal beside her. The pictures bring awareness to the innocence of children through the contrasted desaturated scheme and the intense blacks and whites.

"Body Farm"

(left) MANN, S "Untitled" (2001)

(right) MANN, S "Untitled" (2001)

These two pictures are extremely ghastly pictures that Sally Mann took at a body farm, where decomposition is studied. The pictures are extremely ghastly, with the steam coming off the bodies and the way they look like they are screaming. They could be taken to show the horrors of death, yet at the same time they could be seen as beautiful and almost magical to another person, the way they are positioned on the ground, especially the second one. She could have taken these photos to express people to something they find shocking, but the desaturation if the pieces takes most of their grotesqueness away. 

Haarala Hamilton

I like the way that Haarala takes their photos, with the very dark background and the low key style. I also like the way that the black is very intense, and the white contrasts with it quite a lot. They also catch the movement of the animals quite well, making them look more like x-rays of living beings than beings that are dead, showing off the articulation well.

HAARALA HAMILTON, L&M , "Immortality","Untitled"

I like the way the spine is exactly central through this piece, and the ribs are almost symmetrical. It makes it look quite abstract and like something is growing from the depths. The way the shadows play with the light is also very impressive, the ribs casting quite beautiful shadows onto the vertebrae. I also enjoy the way the cartilage seems pitch black, leaving distance between the bones. 

HAARALA HAMILTON, L&M  "Untitled"

I like the way that these two pieces are of articulated animals, looking like they are emerging from the depths of the darkness with their white purity. I also like how the skeletons are articulated in an interesting manner, they are given life rather than looking static. This further adds to the effect of the image. 

HAARALA HAMILTON, L&M  "Untitled"

Marian Drew
Marian Drews still life contains dead, stuffed roadkill animals usually resting beside fruit, using quite impressive compositions and elements in her work, like lighting and creased blankets, the way they play with shadows. The fruit is bright and light colours, and seems to draw away the grotesque dead animal, creating a shock factor when it is finally noticed. The lighting on her images always seems to be focusing on the fruit to enhance this.


DREW, M "Wombat and watermelon" (2005)

Meanwhile, the bandicoot in the second picture is white, like the plate underneath it to help it blend in. The vegetable, however, is dark coloured and stands out significantly.

DREW, M "Bandicoot on plate" (2007)

She also uses animals from her home country, making them quite personal to her as it is something from home.

David Bailey

BAILEY, D "The skull beneath the skin" (2007)

This picture reminds me of the High Key photographs I did last year, a dark, rusty coloured and broken skull on a light coloured environment, and a shallow depth of field. The way the jaw is positioned gives the photo a little more artistic merit, instead of the entire thing just facing forwards. It has a certain emotion to it, as the skull looks upset and down.

BAILEY, D "Now" (2010)

This picture reminds me of the High Key photographs I did last year, a dark, rusty coloured and broken skull on a light coloured environment, and a shallow depth of field. The way the jaw is positioned gives the photo a little more artistic merit, instead of the entire thing just facing forwards. It has a certain emotion to it, as the skull looks upset and down.