ORIGINAL WORK- INSPIRED BY VEE SPEERS

ASSIGNMENT 5- ORIGINAL WORK

PHOTOGRAPHS INSPIRED BY VEE SPEERS

FACTUAL: This is a photograph that I have taken myself of my best friend Beth. This is my interpretation of a photograph created by Vee Speers. In Speer’s photo, she uses a girl with slightly longer hair, a completely plain white background and a pair of scissors at the bottom of the plat. However I have made mine slightly different in that she is wearing a different outfit, her hair is shorter, the backdrop has small circles on it, and she is using her hands as a replacement for the scissors.

CONTEXT: This photograph is set in a house, or could be studio, using a white backdrop with small blending circles in it. The color in her hair and clothes show good contrast so that the whole photo isn’t all in white. This photo fits in well with Vee Speer’s ‘The Birthday Party’ and ‘Thirteen’ albums.

TECHNICAL: This photograph taken by a digital SLR camera ‘Nikon D3100’ with an 18-55mm lense. The scenery is a plain white backdrop. The lighting wasn't a very big part of this photograph; however I did use a flash that was pointing towards her hands when I took this.

AESTHETIC: I really love this photograph because I love Vee Speers original, and I love my own interpretation even more. It is one of my favorites of the photographs I took, because it works so well as a picture, and really ties in with the other albums. I especially love how her hands almost look intertwined around the bottom of her plat and her hair is shiny where the light has hit it.

ASSIGNMENT 5- POST 1

VEE SPEERS

• STYLE: Vee Speers has an extremely unique style. Her work is very different to most peoples. As she has written on her website "I don't like to follow the crowd" she likes to be unique. Her style is disturbing and beautiful both at the same time. Her images tell a story of something that is somewhere between fantasy and reality. Some of her photos are more complex than other like 'Bordello' and 'The Parisians', however 'Thirteen' and 'The birthday party' are very simple and are only taken against some sort of white background. Also 'Thirteen' and 'The birthday party' have been taken in colour, but 'The Parisians' and 'Bordello' have been taken in black and white.
• TECHNIQUE: Most of Vee Speers collections use very simple backgrouds, but this is very effective. She also uses very interesting costumes and hairstyles to bring her photographs to life. For example in 'The birthday party' Speers used subtle hand-tinted color techniques on top of the original black-and-white Polaroid prints to added effects. I think that in many of her photographs, she has used a digital DSLR camera to really capture the sharpness in each of the photos that she has taken. I also i think that she uses a very high quality piece of editing software like photo shop to make her photographs more supernatural.
• NARRATIVE: I think that there is a very in depth story behind every single photo taken by Vee Speers. For example in the 'Immortal series' Speers uses models with a saddening background. The photos from this album are the characters from the birthday party grown up. It is showing that the models are almost angels that have fallen from heaven. 

INSPIRING SLIDESHARE

Depth Of Field from maxaha
This slideshare has been very helpful. It is very to the point and is easy to follow. It is very precise and can be used well by anyone, even for beginners.

INSPIRING SLIDESHARE

Photography from Lyn Ross
 Although this slideshare is short and simple it is very good and to the point. I really like this slideshare as it shows you how to take pictures properly and it also teaches you the very basics if you are a photography begginer.

ASSIGNMENT 4- VEE SPEERS

THIRTEEN

During my daughter’s thirteenth year, I photographed her as her childhood was eclipsed by growing pains and a desire for independence. The transition was unexpectedly fast, almost like observing the opening of a flower on fast forward. After capturing the last days of childhood in The Birthday Party, I have visually linked Thirteen by photographing only my daughter as the muse, against the same grey wall. It is, however, clearly a different story – one that explores the transformation from child to young woman, and new found freedom.

By Vee Speers.

FACTUAL: This photograph was taken by the photographer 'Vee Speers'. It is a picture of a girl pushing round her shoulder blades with feathers stuck on them. This picture is from the album named 'Thirteen' and she has used her daughter as a model in this photograph. This photograph is number 1 in 'Vee Speers' portfolio and is un-named.

CONTEXT: This picture fits in with the album 'Thirteen' and fits in also with the album 'The Birthday Party'. The two albums are very similar in that they both have all the photographs taken of them all with a white background. All of the photos use children as well so it fits in with 'The Birthday Party'. This photograph is set in a studio or in front of a plain white wall. Her hair is the only thing in the photograph that is in color, this shows very good contrast. The white skirt ties in well with the theme, and blends in very well.

TECHNICAL: This photo was most likely taken in front of a plain white wall, or in a studio with a plain white backdrop. I think that this photograph would have been taken with a digital SLR camera, much the same as many of Vee Speers' photos. I think that the lighting will be of a large scale, i would imagine that there will be large lights that illuminate the wall behind her and then maybe a smaller light shining on the top of her skirt as you can see, the skirt is possibly the most vibrant part of the photograph. There isn't a set focal point in the photograph, obviously she is the focal point but there is nothing on her that Speers has specifically focused on.

AESTHETICS: This image is one of my favorites, i love the way her back is bear and displays two single feathers, and her skirt is very vibrant which although she is also against a white background, it still provides a very nice contrast between the shade of white on the wall, and the shade of white on her skirt. I also love the way her head is slightly turned to the left.

IMMORTAL

Vee Speers’ photo-based art, Immortal, 
is at once alluring and disquieting with beautiful youths set against backdrops of Eden-like natural beauty, or scenes of post-apocalyptic destruction. These Immortals are real people, young and beautiful, but they seem isolated, exposed and vulnerable, trapped, distant, on guard, defiant, and confronted by echoes of subliminal fears and insecurities.



With the smooth gloss sheen of fashion-model perfection Speers has created a new world that merges Mona Lisa charm and mystery, with the melancholy of Dorian Gray. The surface is loaded with reference both to classical art, and to the airbrushed Photoshop perfection of youthful beauty that has become the everyday obsession of western culture.

These Immortals are all like tragic fallen angels, eyes opened with animal intelligence, looking out onto an uncertain future, not even aware of how perfectly beautiful they appear to be right now.

By Jim Casper

FACTUAL: This photograph was taken by Vee Speers. It is a photo from her album of photos name 'Immortal' This is #1 in the album and is un-named. In this album, the guests of the birthday party have grown up. As Speers tells us "The escape of adolescents into fantasy is just as important as in childhood, only as young adults, the escape is quite often into the virtual world of film, television, and internet. So the imagery i have created, is an isolated world unique to them. Somewhere between fantasy and reality. I want them to be alone, standing like fallen angels, but still part of a common world.

CONTEXT: This picture is very different to the albums 'Thirteen' and 'The birthday party' also created by Vee Speers. This one is set in a place that is outside. It is near rocks and trees and rubble. It looks very cloudy and foggy, it has a very strange background which may well symbolize her life, and maybe even the dark route she took to get there.

TECHNICAL: I think to make this photograph possible, speers has stood this women in front of a green screen and created some trees and rocks and fog behind her. I think that this photo will have been taken using a digital SLR camera. It looks as thought there is some light shining off her skin so there will be some lighting pointing towards her arm and the side of her body. Her eyes and body may possibly have been enhanced on some editing software to make her eyes more vibrant and her skin more pale.

AESTHETIC: I am not sure about this photo. I think that it is creative, but disturbing at the same time. I am still slightly confused with this album because i don't understand the lack of clothing or the background but none the less it is very different. I can't help but feel that this girl is in some sort of pain, maybe emotionally, or maybe physically but that is the message that this photograph gives across to me.

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

The immediacy of Vee Speers’ imagery is overwhelming. Faces look directly at the viewer creating a quietly dramatic tension urging a reaction from the viewer. Speers earlier work in a series entitled ‘Bordello’ constructed elaborate filmic interiors of fantasy. Her new series, ‘The Birthday Party’ still presents us with a façade of fantasy but with a pared down aesthetic that amplifies the visual intensity through its simplicity. These portraits of children confront us with reminders of our own childhood, whereby a homemade costume can transform you into a superhero, princess, cowboy or soldier, poised for adventures and hours of fun and excitement. The escapes that these worlds of play can provide disclose the underlying realities of the modern world, wrought with conflict and violence. Child psychologists use observation of play to decipher underlying traumas and issues that a child may be experiencing. Looking at these photographs, Speers strikes a chord within us to trigger our own concerns in relation to today’s paranoid society. The emotive responses to her work divulge more about the viewer than the viewed.

By Laura Noble

FACTUAL: This photo was taken my Vee Speers. It is from 'The birthday party' album, and is a picture of her daughter. In this photograph her daughter was 9 and Speers had gotten the inspiration for this photo shoot when her daughter had a fancy dress party. She used her dress from a previous dance show she had performed in. The taking photo's was just because Vee Speers wanted to take some photos of her daughter, but then her thoughts grew and she ended up photographing her daughters friends so that they could form the album 'The birthday party.

CONTEXT: Vee Speers's daughter is standing in front of a white wall. Her pink dress is a very good contrasting color against the pale white background. This photo was most likely taken in Vees house or in a studio. Speer's daughter is facing away from the camera.

TECHNICAL: To make her hair possible, Vee Speers had to hire in a professional hairdresser who stuck a balloon under her hair, and sculpted the hair that was the same color around the balloon. You may wonder how Speers managed to get the picture of the bubble, well it has a chemical in it that doesn't make them pop for about 3 minutes. I think that this photo was taken along side others with a digital SLR camera. There is some lighting shining on her bubble because you can see the reflection and i think that her skin has been enhanced. 

AESTHETIC: I think this is an extremely amazing photo. This is my favorite photo that i have seen! It is very clever the way that she is standing and how she managed to stay still. I really like her velvety pink dress and i really love her big bun in her hair.

PARISIANS

One senses the photographer’s keen eye for detail and symbolism as her subjects perform dramatically for the viewer, or pose against a backdrop, Speers’ dramatic set-ups are reminiscent of the early touring circus shows where peering voyeuristically into another world touched on all the senses. Speers met and photographed all her subjects in Paris.

‘Paris is one of those cities where people can express themselves as they like, and no-one bats an eye-lid. It’s easy to be inspired here.’

FACTUAL: This photo is from the 'Parisians' collection taken by Vee Speers. It is #1 in the collection. This photograph is of a women named Amanda, and was taken in 2005.

CONTEXT: This album of photos are based around the 'Parisians'. The people in this series from what i can see were very quirky, and unconventional. As long as everyone is standing in a different way, and everyone creates a different picture, it will always be very interesting.

TECHNICAL:I think that this photo will have been taken using a digital SLR camera. I think there is a possibility that she might have used a black and white film camera placing her model in front of a black studio wall paper, however i think that as this has been taken recently and with regards to the quality i think the chances of it being a digital SLR camera used are very high. This would allow her to view the image both in color and in black and white so that she can see which one is best, and then she would develop her image further using some editing software such as photo shop.

AESTHETIC: I really like this photograph because of how intricate and precise the tattoos are, that are placed on Amanda's back which is facing the camera. I think that the fish in her hair and the fish tattoo create an under sea theme. I especially like the way that Amanda is the very clear focal point of interest. She is the only thing that is in the photo so there is nothing else to pull away your eye due to the blank background.

BORDELLO

The twighlight of Vee Speers’ great photos of beautiful women causes the viewer to merge with the surroundings of the image and enter a kind of dream-like vision of an often sordid reality. Shapes lose definition and imagination over weighs perception. Real life is left behind… the boundaries between subject and photographer become more and more indistinct. She shows beauty where beauty can be terribly absent. 

By Karl Lagerfeld

FACTUAL: This photo was taken by Australian photographer Vee Speers. It is from the album 'Bordello' and is number #66. Bordello is very similar to the 'Parisians' in that the colors that are used are the same. They are both black and white.

CONTEXT: This photo is set in a room with a step and a bench where the women are both sitting.There skin is very white compared to the rest of the sections of the photo which adds contrast in color to the picture. It is set in a time that is different to how we are now.

TECHNICAL: I think that much like the 'Parisians' this is a very effective photo. I think that either a black and white film camera or digital SLR camera was used for this photograph. I think that this photo was most likely taken by digital SLR camera, and then edited to make it the colors that it is by using an advanced editing software. 

AESTHETICS: I really like this photo because it is so simple, yet so complicated. I like the way that the women are positioned in the photo however i do think that there is too much excess objects and patterns going on around them because when i look at them my eyes aren't drawn naturally to the women which is obviously supposed to be the focal point of interest.

This is the slideshare i produced on Vee Speers and some of her work.

POST 4:LEARNING HOW TO RESEARCH EFFECTIVELY

DEPTH OF FIELD
                            


DEPTH OF FIELD DEFINITION: Depth of field is the amount of distance between the nearest and farthest objects that appear in acceptably sharp focus in a photograph. A preferred selection of depth of field in an image, can be quite subjective. It varies depending on the type of camera you are using.

FACTUAL: This photograph was taken by a very talented photographer named Vee Speers. This from her album called 'The Birthday Party' and is image number #22. The birthday party is a collection of children's portraits. In this album, Vee Speers has stripped away the stereotypes of children, and has re-created what are supposed to be 'The happiest days of our lives'. These photographs reveal the cruelty, vulnerability, and duplicity of children.

CONTEXT: This fits in with all of Vee Speers work, because it is set in front of a white background and has the child in the photograph displaying his top half of his body and wearing an interesting hat. This fits in well with Vee Speers collections 'Thirteen' and 'Birthday party'.

TECHNICAL: I think that this photograph would have been taken with a digital SLR camera much the same as Vee Speers other work. I think that the lighting was pointed at the top of his helmet as it stands out as the most shiny part of the photo. I think that she may have edited this photo, to make the boys skin look paler than it actually is. This photograph was most likely taken in a studio.

AESTHETICS: I really like this photograph because it is very unusual. It shows very good contrast between the boy's shorts and hat, against the white wall. This is very effective because it shows that he is very skinny and his ribs are sticking out. In this photo you can not see his whole face, this is effective because it makes you wonder what facial expression he has, and i like it very much because it leaves me with a sense of mysteriousness.

I found this presentation from slide share very good, and easy to understand:

Other websites that i found useful for Depth Of Field were:
http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/how-to/tech-explained/536453/depth-of-field-explained
http://www.wikihow.com/Achieve-Depth-of-Field-in-Photography
http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2012/05/31/3-ways-to-affect-depth-of-field-free-cheat-sheet/