Here are my tutor's comments regarding Assignment 3 (colour)....
Overall
Comments
Once
again, this is a very well prepared and presented submission, with a range of
digital and hard print versions. All of
the images are supported by detailed and thoughtful reflection, with the
technical settings for each.
Your
approach to the assignment is very good, with a mixture of arranged and found
subjects and situations, and a couple of images from your archive, which is
perfectly suitable.
This
is a challenging assignment and one that you put a great deal of work into, and
as you say in the introduction, it is really a foundation for future work in
this area, and has opened up a world of possibilities, and one that you can now
be discerning about and exercise a level of creative and technical control.
The
prints you submitted are of good quality, demonstrating accurate tone and colour
control.
Feedback
Color
Harmony – Complementary
I
think it is just as important to explore the balance of intensity and hue as
well as the colour relationships, and you do that successfully here in this
opening shot of the set, a still life of freesias. The colours work very well
together and there is a good structure and balance to the image; although as
I’ve probably mentioned before, it is hard to get a good strong composition
with this type of detailed work.
The
following shot of the bright blue baseball cap with the orange ribbon also
works well, and here you have the opportunity for a much more controlled
arrangement of the objects, colours and their relationships. You capture the
very fine detail and textures in both objects, but I wonder if the image would
have been better with more context, or a less contrived set up – like hanging
then on a coat hook with an old jacket underneath? The diagram you supply demonstrates the
movement and balance in the frame very well (as do all).
The
problem with creating a harmonious composition (in the classical sense) is also
apparent in this shot of the spread of garden geraniums. The colours are strong
and the red flower heads randomly scattered over the frame, the detail and
texture in the leaf is very nicely captured, too. But there is no actual focal point to the
shot – and that is not easy to find with this type of subject. But a good example of complementary colour,
nonetheless.
For
the final shot of the set you return to you ‘favourite building’ as you call
it, and it is an interesting structure for a modern building – full of
character. I really like the flaking paint on the façade and that optimistic
sign ‘something for everyone’. There is a very interesting colour relationship
here, between the complementary orange walls and blue sky, and also the similar
reds and orange. The crumbling façade provides a barrier between the two. The
eye seems to scale the building from ground to sky.
Color
Harmony – Similar
There
is a good harmony of colour between the Gerberas, and you define the subject
well using a shallow depth if field to send the background into soft focus. I
might have tried to get a higher angle to look down more onto the flowers and
capture more of the smaller yellow.
There is some lovely detail here, the subtle markings on the petals and
the textural geometry of the centre.
I
like the following shot very much, not only do you capture the harmony of
colour in the greens and blues of this garden, but also a certain harmony in a
seemingly random environment. The old wheel acts as a central focal point from
which radiates all kinds of detail in this overgrow but rather beautiful space.
You shoot this at the wide end of your lens, but the composition is solid, with
the large leaves in the foreground and the diagonal trunks and leaves at bottom
right leading the eye into the frame. Looking at this, I’d be tempted to find a
way to get a higher angle and look down a little more thus reducing the amount of
white buildings in the background – although that’s a guess on my part.
You
compose the following shot in an interesting way with the flower to the right
and the large leaf to the left, and this works well. In addition to the
harmonious arrangement of the colourful petals, there is also a lovely range of
green tones in the shot, which at as a perfect contrasting background.
In
the following shot you also explore a different approach to composition with
the high angle position down the fence, creating a strong series of lines into
the image, and the adjacent shadows in the background, and positioned in-between
, softening the structure, an abundance of green and yellow. There is an even
balance between the colours here and the direction is radial, spreading out
from the centre of the image.
Color
Harmony – Contrast
You
revisit the baseball cap here and create more of still life context with the
addition of a baseball and this time a medal with a bright red ribbon, moving
from the complementary to the contrasting colours. There is a good balance here
between the two, with the ribbon leading the eye from baseball to medal, and a
nice twin focal point through similar shapes and objects of interest.
The
tulips are essentially the same as the freesias if the earlier shot, and more
evident this time is the intensity and contrast between the bright red and
yellow. Again, it’s difficult to find a strong way to compose this type of shot
with such close detail (unless you choose to isolate one flower head). Also, there
is a challenging exposure situation with the bright areas of yellow close to
clipping and losing some of their detail – but you get a good range of detail
here in highlights and shadow here.
This
is a good illustration of the balance between bright tones in a composition, with the eye drawn to the purple
and orange pots to the left of frame.
While this works well enough to illustrate that combination and balance,
what is it that you want the viewer to take away from this image?
The
composition of the subject in this final image of the set works very well. The
plant stands alone, and is fully captured here, yet you get close enough to
make the detail of lower and leaf clearly visible. The combination of colours
and balance of those elements works well, with the eye exploring the frame
taking in the flowers and buds. The image looks a touch desaturated, it would
be interesting to see this without the blue filter, and make a comparison with
some subtle saturation and vibrance adjustment in PS.
Color
Accent
How
bright the blue of the sign feels on the brick wall, a perfect example of how
colour accent is used in the everyday world to draw out attention to
information and directions. Yes, I think you have a point, the red brick does
lift the blue to a more intense level.
In
this riot of lilac, the singe red petal is bright and stands out clearly, again
demonstrating how accents and points of colour can be used to draw and guide
the eye in composition.
The
cluster of oranges in the tree immediately draws the attention of the viewer,
the bright sunlight lifting the colour embedded in the dense green foliage.
This shot looks a touch ‘foggy’ as though you have used a filter to create a
soft halo effect. Good to see that you
are exploring the use of filters in some of the shots, an extension of the work
you were doing in the one of the exercises.
You
certainly get a good level of saturation in this final shot, and because of the
background and proximity of the other flowers, you need something to enhance definition
and cerate a level of separation in the focal plane. The problem is the type of blurring which
often look a little false, and this, too even and consistent. When you get a chance, have a look at the
difference between using a blurring tool, and creating soft focus through depth
of field, with the same subject. The bright yellow eye of the flower certainly
sets off the lilac petals.
In
conclusion, this is a very good submission where you have used a variety of
approaches and techniques to achieve the colour relationships and balances that
you were looking for in the original subjects. You demonstrate a good technical
and creative working knowledge and application of the use of colour throughout.
Learning
Logs/Critical essays
You
completed all the exercises for this section of the course and uploaded to them
to your Blog. Working with a range of subject matter you produced some good
results – images and reflections – and demonstrate a clear understanding of the
various elements.
