Personal Study

I am going to be looking at Brian Wells; he is a fine art photographer who specialises in black and white photography and decay photography. He likes to use these two elements together, as he says ‘Black and white can convey both a sense of drama and tranquility; a monochrome print lures the viewer into the image while often retaining an air of mystery.’ I chose to base my work on decay, as I thought it would be an interesting subject and one that I would very much enjoy photographing. I soon had ideas of different shots I would like to take, but one main idea that I very much would like to work on. This is the idea of going to old buildings, derelict buildings, and putting the people who should or would have been there, back. When I found the photographer Brian Wells, and read through his web page, I realized he would be perfect to concentrate on and get inspiration from as he does similar photography. Although, he doesn't always put the people back in the picture, he leaves it to the imagination of the viewer to do that. He said, 'I feel one of the most powerful aspects of a ruin is the subject that's missing in the photograph - the people who once worked and lived in these places - their presence can still be felt.'

'Ruined church at Bawsey'



This is a photograph that I chose from early on in Brian Wells's career. The building is framed in the bottom half of the image with some of the towers reaching further up to the centre. The contrast of the sky's bright white clouds and the dark tumbling down brick really caught my eye.  I also really liked the positioning of the photograph, how the camera is looking up at this once grand building. Your eye gets drawn upwards from the grass, to the decaying brickwork and then up again to the dramatic sky. The building is framed in the centre to focus the viewers eye. Everything is drawn through the image because of the angles and direction of the remaining towers. There are a lot of different textures in this photograph as well, I like how the hard bricks are sandwiched between the soft and flowing grass and the still white clouds. I was also drawn to this picture as it was in black and white, which Brian Wells prefers to work in, and which surprised me as I always thought I was more drawn to colour, but this photograph doesn't seem to need colour, the textures and contrast is enough.

'Moreton Corbet Castle'(Ruined Church at Bawsey recreation) 

Above is a recreation that I did of Brian Wells' 'Ruined church at Bawsey'. I photographed this old castle ruin in black and white and tried to recreate the same contrast and texture as Brian Wells did in his. I also positioned this particular part of ruin in the centre of the image and tried to recreate the dramatic angle, which draws the eye up the photograph to the sky. This angle makes the building look tall and grand, but also I wanted to get the sky in the frame, like Brian Wells' image as the contrast between the sky and the building is like the huge contrast between nature and man made objects. I did edit my photograph using Photoshop, to try and get the same effect as the sky in the 'Ruined church at Bawsey'. I adjusted the contrast and brightness of the photograph to enhance the patterns of the clouds and make them stand out a little more. I also tinted the image slightly, to give it the very subtle hint of brown that Brian Wells's photograph has. I am happy with my final image and think it has turned out successfully by using a similar process to Brian Wells, when photographing the 'Ruined church at Bawsey'. 

Photographing in black and white has never really appealed to me before, but I am glad that I experimented with this and tried it out, because it actually gives a really dramatic effect, also the shadows and highlights look much stronger creating a much more dominant picture. I have learned that there is much more to a photograph than just what's in it, a lot of it is about, contrast and texture, and how the photograph is set up, how your eye is drawn across the image or to a certain point. I found that you can make a huge difference to a photograph by just making the slightest changes to colour, brightness and contrast. It is definitely worth editing the photograph for the best final outcome.  

'Petrified tree nr Smallburgh'

 I have chosen this photograph from the middle of Brain Wells's career, it is another black and white image as this is his preferred technique. I like how this is such a simple and common every day image, taken from the side of a road. It is one of the many things people pass everyday and dismiss, but when it is noticed and photographed in this flattering way, it becomes a very striking and brilliant photograph. He has placed the stump of the tree just left of centre, but the main body of the tree draws you through the image. I was drawn to the sky in this image, all of the different textures and patterns, and the way the harsh black branches of the tree stand out against the bright sky. The high contrast lighting reinforces the life and death aspects in this image and again, it is about nature colliding with man made. The modern looking road along side the decaying tree somehow gives the impression that the road is responsible for the death of nature, the death of the tree.

'Petrified tree nr Smallburgh' recreation

Here is my recreation of Brian Wells' 'petrified tree'. It really stood out alone in the field with its twiggy branches and spooky look. I saw this from the road, similar to Brian Wells's photograph, which was taken from the side of the road. I got as close to it as possible, and tried to get the best angle I could in the small area I was in. Again, I took this photograph in black and white and then edited it in Photoshop. I changed the contrast and brightness to try and pick out the branches a little more. This also accentuated the clouds in the sky, making it a little more interesting than just a plain white sky, also making it more similar to Brian Wells's photograph as it had a very interesting and textured sky. I compared my photograph to Brian Wells's through out this whole process trying to get the best and most similar look as possible. In my photograph the trunk of the tree is slightly off centre, to the right rather than the left as it is in Brian Wells'. Also, in the background of Brian Wells' picture there is a hedge which cuts behind the tree. My picture is very similar, in the way that the sky and trees in the background meet low down in the picture creating a line running horizontally through the image in the bottom half of the frame.

From choosing Brian Wells's photograph of the 'Petrified tree nr Smallburgh' and creating my own version of this, I learned that there are so many things around us everyday that can be photographed and hardly changed to create an interesting image. I also found that taking quick snap shots of things when I could as well as spending time photographing something is very useful, as it gives you something to work on, or sometimes it just happens to be a great shot.

'Petrol Pump with Phone box'



This final photograph that I have chosen is most recent in Brain Wells's career and is in colour. I chose this photograph, not just because of the obvious decay in it, but also I really liked the light in it. The rusty old petrol pump and telephone box, with peeling paint and dirty glass, are lit up by the sun shining on to the photograph. This as well as making the photograph look nicer, also creates shadow's in the picture from the branches of the trees. It's framed just left of centre with the telephone box in the background. The pump is surrounded by dark foliage, possibly representing the fact nature is responsible for the decay. The colours in this photograph look as though they have been toned down and dulled a little, which seems to fit this picture well and make it look as though it has been taken years ago rather than a modern photograph. There is a lot of contrast in this photograph, the petrol pump is light and stands out from the dark background with the telephone box barely visible in the background making the petrol pump the main focus of the image. 

'Petrol Pump with Phone box' recreation



Above is my own interpretation of Brian Wells's photograph of a decaying petrol pump and telephone box. As I couldn't find a petrol pump and telephone box like Brian Wells did, I decided to take his idea and do it in a way that I could. So when I found this old telephone box, decaying, and took many photographs of it at different angles and distances, I decided that this one was the best one to work with. I tried to create the same sort of lighting as best I could on the cloudy day that I took the photographs. Also, I Photoshopped this image to dull down the colours and enhance the brightness, to try and convey the same feel in this photograph as Brain Wells did in his.

I am pleased with my final outcome on this image and the way I decided to go about it as well. Even though this image isn't exactly the same as Brian Wells's, I am glad that I learned that sometimes you have to improvise and just work as best you can with what you have got. I also learned that choosing interesting angles and trying out lots of different things pays off as I did with this image. I barely had to Photoshop this image, due to the way that I took the photograph. I think this final image has been a success.

Through out this personal study, I have found out a lot of new things, about how to photograph different things and how to make a photo more interesting. I learned that there is many elements to a good photograph, textures, colour, lighting, positioning, being some of them. But also that these things can be very subtle and yet the photograph still looks very good. I found that the way you position the objects in the frame effects the way the viewers eye is drawn around the photograph, or what it is drawn to. I discovered this myself by questioning the way I viewed Brian Wells's photographs. A theme of high contrast runs through Brian Wells's work, he uses black and white to emphasize this in many occasions and shadow to highlight certain elements of the photo that he wants the viewer to notice. There is also a theme of man made versus nature throughout his work, in some cases man made decaying nature, for example 'Petrified tree nr Smallbrugh', where it looks like the road has caused the tree to decay. Also the opposite, where nature has taken over man made and caused its decay, like the 'Petrol pump with Phone box'. From taking the first and second images in black and white I found that I actually very much enjoy black and white photography and I hope to go on to use this in my project this year. As well as this I will also use shadow a lot more, as it can be very powerful in an image. This means choosing correct lighting, so if it is natural light that I am using then timing is crucial and I can't afford to be unorganised. I have also learned how handy it is to have my camera with me at all times, as there have been so many times that I have driven past things that I have wanted to photograph that I wouldn't get the chance to again. Overall there has been many tings that I have learned while doing this personal study that will very influence me and help as a photographer and that I will use through out this course and after I have completed it.