Preliminary shots

I was unable to reach my destination for my project this week as it is in London, however, i wanted to ensure i developed my photography skills and had something to work with and manipulate in the class, therefore, i focused on my previous ideas of smoking, a form of addiction. It still Incorporated some of the close ups of hands etc that i wish to include in my project, therefore, i felt it would be good practise to experiment with indoor or outdoor light etc. Below are a few of the shots;


This was my first attempt at trying to capture the smoke as it releases out of the mouth, or lingers around the smoker. Unfortunately i would say this was the only one that i managed to get, that i was pleased with the outcome, however, i know feel i am capable and know the technique of how to capture and enhance the smoke as much as possible and will re-try this similar idea on my next little outing tomorrow.



This image was harder to manipulate than the one below, I tried to use a similar manipulation process on this photo, but i feel the quality of finish is not as good.. I wanted to enhance the darkness surrounding the individual, whilst also drawing attention to the smoke, as in this image it is the vital part of the theme. However, in wasn't possible to do that, as by increasing the contrast to create the greater darkness, it took away the grey clarity of the smoke. I was pleased with the greater shadows that were created above his head and in the background of the shot, however, to get the clarity of the smoke to be effective enough i had to increase the brightness around contrast a bit to much which you can consequently see in the glow of his neck. I feel if this glow wasn't so powerful the image would be very effective, as it incorporates the deep shadows around and on the face of the individual and also the smoke spiralling.

This is one of my favourite shots, even though on this night i wasn't even planning or thinking about taking photos. It is only with my own digital camera, rather than one of the D70, however, once i saw this i had to take a photo of it. I have cropped the image slightly as the original image was from further away and included a few random objects that i didn't like but didn't have the time to think about when taking this instant reaction shot. I feel this incorporates all my ideas of smoking/ addiction, in all honesty the poor guy looks a mess and i feel this truly highlights this idea that 'the cost of today's living' has forced him into this hole, (so to speak).

I then went on to experiment the effect of manipulating the image and to see whether this low, addictive, forced life would have more power/effect on the audience if it was in black and white etc. In the above image i lowered the saturation dramatically and slightly increased the contrast and brightness. In my opinion i much prefer this image and feel it holds more emotive power than the coloured original image. I feel the warm, bright colours on the original image don't create a sad/ emotive enough response in comparison to this one. It seems almost happy, whereas the darkness that surrounds the individual in this image, and the facial wrinkles and shadows that appear due to the manipulation, highlight a more emotive, struggling image which suites my theme more effectively.

Unfortunately i missed the opportunity to rent out a D70, therefore all of the following photos are taken on a Samsung digital camera, and unfortunately you can clearly tell that. Although many of the photos have nice angles, good compositions etc due to the flash of the digital camera many of the photos have too much exposure and unfortunately take the detail away from the cigarettes and smoke.

I felt the angles, poses and ideas i have captured are promising, however, the lack of quality due to the flash took away the effect of the photos. My favourite photos are; the first photo of the thick smoke coming out of the mouth of the individual. I feel this captures a sense of despair due to the thick smoke and the lazy way of blowing it out. My other favourite image is the higher angled shot looking into the top of the cigarette bin. It has the most detail and clarity of all the images and i feel the stained black dirt and ash, combined with the old crinkled and squashed cigarettes portrays the attitudes of the smokers that would have smoke these cigarettes. This attitude effectively portrays this idea of 'cost of living' and this is the reason why i like this image.