Lost In The Echo - Linkin Park

The music video for 'Lost In The Echo' by Linkin Park is set in an abandoned and decaying building. I think that there is a degree of props used to put more interest into the rooms in which the parts of the videi have been shot, however, I watched the video through and screen shot different points of the video where I thought there was a good use of establishment. From these still shots I have created a detailed analysis about each of the rooms. I think that I may be able to take ideas from the video, in the form if adding props and the use of lighting, to bring more interest to my own photographs when exploring urban environments.

The first shot shows the main building that the video has been set. This is an establishing shot, taken from a high angle, showing a man walking through the scene. By using this high angle, the videographer has put emphasis on how small the man is, in comparison to the surrounding building. There is a strong contrast between the light from the sun and the shadows inside the window frames, cast by the crevices in the building.

Artist/Inspiration:

Sean Galbraith

Lost In The Echo - Linkin Park

Photoshoot 2

This was a very small photoshoot taken in Beamish open air museum. The photographs cold have been better quality as I was not using the same camera I normally would have. I aim to go back to the museum to shoot again because i feel it could have been much better than it was. I have identified my most successful images by highlighting them with the yellow.

Although the shoot was very small, I created a few successful images that have been edited and displayed below.












This is my final image after I followed a Photoshop tutorial to give the illusion that the photograph was taken and printed in the Victorian era.

Matthew Merrett

Matthew Merrett
Urban Decay

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The image above shows an abandoned corridor from what I guess was a shopping centre or something  of that kind, judged on the layout of the windows and doors. A low saturation on the image gives the sense of sadness and sorrow after the place has been left to decay. I imagine that this was a once happy place where lots of people visited but it is now left to rot. The piece has been taken with the compositional strategy that breaks the rule of thirds. The effect this gives is it puts emphasis on the length of the corridor and the natural lighting. A large depth of field has been used to show the door in the middle of the corridor in focus. Natural lighting is used to illuminate the corridor, adding shadows to the rooms as a result of the central lighting. There is no additional lighting in this image and no digital manipulation has been done to make the image as it is. I particularly like Merrett's work because I like the lack of colour which adds atmosphere to his work.


Below are a selection of his urban decay images:

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Proposal Of Ideas

An interest in history and exploration of places has lead me to a theme of ………………I think that this theme will give me the opportunity to work across different genres of pho­­tography including: landscape, digital manipulation and surrealism and portraiture.

I would like to be able to look at places that have been a victim of decay over time, thus changing the appearance of the building through abandonment and state of disrepair, bringing together the past and the present. This is just a small aspect of my personal investigation as I know I will not be able to visit these places on a regular basis; however I wish to show my photographs through a travel diary of someone from the Victorian times. For example, visiting places that have great historical meaning, particularly in the North East as it is the area I have always grown up in. I can visit places like Beamish and Whitby to take photographs and give the sense of a journey through my photos. I feel that displaying my work through a diary will be a good way to add context and narrative to my images, which will lead up to a stronger final piece.

Throughout my personal investigation I plan to experiment with the use of equipment and editing once I have taken my photographs. To do this I will make use of tripods, Photoshop, iMovie, Final Cut, Digital Negative development and manual camera settings. I think that by doing this I will develop my camera techniques and further improve my experimental aspects of photography.

I have taken inspiration from local photographer Paul Anthony Wilson, who owns ‘The Victorian Image’, photographing people in the style of photographs that would be taken in the Victorian times. Although I do not plan on a heavy focus on portraiture I like the way he recreates a Victorian image and I think I will also be able to learn a lot from the landscape images he has taken too.

I feel that possible outcomes from my personal investigation can include stop motion videos, which could contribute to a video style journal that is created through photographs. I would like to look into creating post cards for the different places I visit with a vintage feel (something that is likely to be bought in the past, not in the present day to fit in with my theme). Prints can accompany my possible outcomes to strengthen the vintage style images I will have created, either in the form of a simple print, or a poster style advertisement for the places I have visited. This will allow me to enhance my professionalism skills in Photoshop to create a final outcome that looks authentic.

Photoshoot 1

The images below are a series I had taken for my first photoshoot. I tried to bring out the character in the old building by taking photos of the main features. I particularly liked the architecture of the building and tried to photograph the building's fine features. These photographs were taken with a Nikon D3000 but I would like to try and use an SLR at a later date and develop the photographs myself. 

I have identified 3 successful images and edited them. Below are those chosen photographs:

Paul Anthony Wilson

Endeavour 'The Homecoming'
Paul Anthony Wilson 

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This image above is one that was taken at the present time period, as opposed to how the image looks like it had been taken many decades ago. Wilson's intention was to use effects to create an old looking photograph as it fit in with the conventions of such a ship. The portrait format of the picture puts emphasis on the height of the mast on the ship, making it look a lot bigger than it would have in the form of landscape. I think the other boats and people in the image are important because they put the ship into scale, again making it look important and mighty. In terms of colour, the slight sepia keeps us focused on the ship as there are no distracting colours and it adds to the vintage effect. There is a deep depth of field to make the people more a part of the image. It has been important that the people in the background of the image are still in focus because if they weren't, then it may be difficult to see what they are. As a result of this, we again get to compare the shit to something that is tiny, giving the perception of size. The photograph has been taken from a slightly higher angle, which would suggest that the photographer was trying to show he has a certain degree of power over the mighty ship, however the ship takes the dominating role as it is much bigger than the surrounding boats.

 

 

Below are images of Wilson's that I think will inspire my work:

 

 

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