1. Experimental Photography
Task 6
Savannah Hardwick
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2. Photomontage Experiments

3. Final Image 1
For my first final image, a photograph
of an artistic map on the college walls,
I experimented with the brightness
and the saturation, as well as adding a
blue stroke around each separate layer
of image. The blue I used was the same
blue that is in the photo itself, so I
though it would be good to use that. I
also chose to move the separate
images around more, so that the
overall image was more distorted and
you couldn't’t see what the original
image was. I like this because using the
blue has helped to have the image look
continuous and not to miss matched
by using different colours completely.
This is my favourite of all my
experiments of this image because it
combines a lot of the techniques I used
on the other images, such as add a
coloured stoke to each of the separate
images, changing the brightness of the
image and moving the images around,
to change the image even more by
distorting it. I also like how the final
image looks very abstract, and you
cant clearly see what the image was to
begin with.

4. Evaluation
My original idea and intention was to take an series of photographs that made up one larger image, revolving around the
theme of locations, and to then create a photomontage using these images. I believe I have accomplished this with this
first final image because I used the images I took to create a photomontage, also adding further post production work to
it. Although the image isn't necessarily obvious that it is a map, which relates directly to my theme, I think that it is
abstract, and the post production techniques I have applied helps to further solidify this look. My main influence for this
technique was David Hockney, who specialized in creating photomontages and joiners. Although there are many different
photographers who specialize in photomontages, I chose him because when I was researching him images, I found them
all to be colourful, interesting and featured images that were great to look at, but also because some of them featured
the type of post production work that I wanted to try out. I think that although my work is influenced by David Hockney’s,
it is although very different because I have altered the brightness and saturation of mine to create an abstract look,
whereas Hockney’s work appears to always be very realistic, applying minimalistic post production to the images. The
reason I chose David Hockney as an inspiration was because I liked the way that his photos are creative, colourful and
that they are all very unique, even though there are many other photographers that work with photomontage as their
primary technique.
I think that my final first image is aesthetically pleasing because of the bright colours and the interesting layout of the
images. I think that because I moved the images around, creating more of a warped look, it instantly becomes more
interesting to look at because of the different layers of the image. I also think that the use of blue for the stroke helps to
make each separate image stand out, but also to be a part of an interesting bigger image. When looking at the final image
I am immediately drawn to the blues in the image, which was my reason for making the stroke of each separate picture
the same blue that is in the image, I think that it helps to make the image look continuous and distinctive. I particularity
like the brightness of the image, I think that altering the brightness and the saturation was one of the best post
production techniques I applied because it helps to drastically liven the image up and make the contrast of the colour
much more intense. I think that the strongest aesthetic quality of this final image is the brightness and the intensity of
the two main featured colours. I think that the blue and the burgundy really contrast against the bright white and draw
your eye further into the image. I think that the weak part of this image aesthetically Is the lack of colour in the
surrounding areas of the image (the white backgrounds, the pale brown frame) I think that if the image were to have
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more colours, it would be much more attractive and help to create more of an abstract look than the image has already.

5. Evaluation continued
I think that the main technical quality of my work is the post production work I applied to the image. I
decided to manipulate the image further after I had created the photomontage by manually moving each
section of the image around, creating a more disjointed look. I also altered the saturation and brightness of
each separate image in order to brighten the overall image, being careful not to alter them too much so that
you couldn't’t see aspects of the photo clearly. I think that the photos I took originally, before I edited them
could've been improved drastically, I think that that Is the aspect of the final image that I would change,
because if I were to take this set of images I again, I would want them to be more zoomed in a more in focus
with the map itself, not necessarily the wall it was on or the frame of the image. I think that the strongest
part of my final image is the colour intensity of the image and the layout of each of the images. I think that
because I adjusted the photomontage further, it helped to create a more collage looking final image, which
is what I wanted, and I think that the colours help to give the image the extra pop it needs to stand out and
be unique. When taking the image, i had the camera in auto focus and the ISO speed on around 800 and I
had my lens aperture on a larger number.
If I were to have a little more time on my work, I would improve It by first of all making sure my original
image was of a high quality and that I was happy with the placement of the subject, for example in the
image I have now, I feel that the subject is not central enough therefore there is a lot of background in the
image that doesn't’t need to be there. I would also try to cut the image up myself, creating my own smaller
images, so that I have more control over the sizes and shapes of the collage pieces, so that when they are
combined, It would look how I imagined. I could develop this piece further with additional work by working
further with maps, maybe using more traditional versions such as book maps and city maps that’s are
around york. I think doing something like this would be a great way to add to the locations theme, having a
specific section on maps, and turning them into more abstract images. I could further improve my work by
focusing on the shape of the subject itself, especially when applying post production techniques. I would
also consider changing the shapes of the smaller images that make up the photomontage, not having only
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square ones, but try out triangles, circles and other more interesting shapes.

6. Evaluation continued
When looking at my work, I can see a lot of formal elements within the image, lines, shapes and
patterns all feature within the final image. The main features of the image are lines and shapes.
Due to the subject being a map, the images features alt of lines and shapes that run aross the
image. These elements are also the most colourful part of the image, and are essentially the
part that draws in the audience. The colours in my final image are very bold and eye catching, as
well as being very bright which is due to me experimenting with the brightness and saturation of
the image. I think that because the image features bright colours, it helps set the tone of the
image, that it’s fun and bright. I do think that the composition of my work could be improved
however, I think that because I took the original image slightly off centre, the entire final image
also looks that way, so if I were to re-create this image, I would consider the placement of my
subject more. I think that after doing this experiment, I also would like to try doing a David
Hockney styled joiner, so instead of having the images collaged on top of each other, having
them side by side creating the bigger picture.
I feel that my final image fulfils the brief because I think it works within the theme of ‘discovery’,
with my own personal theme of ‘locations’, and the image itself is an experimental photograph,
because I have chosen to use photomontage. I think that my theme of locations fits very well
with the bigger theme of discovery because people are constantly discovering new locations,
and specifically through the use of maps, which is the first image that I chose to photograph.
The style of experimental photography I chose to use was photomontage, because I felt that this
would give me a lot of freedom to edit the image however I wanted to.
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7. Photomontage Experiments

8. Final Image 2
With this experiment, I wanted to try and create a piece of work that looked closer to the work of David Hockney. I
began by taking images of a corridor, having it be slightly on an angle so that you could see down the image, as if you
were looking down the corridor. I then looked at David Hockneys work more closely and found an image I wanted to
base this piece off of specifically. When I found one, I looked at the way the images were layered onto each other, and
whether or not I would have to manipulate the images further. I then looked at the colour, and decided that I would
have to edit the saturation and brightness of the image so that I could create a similar colour scheme in my image as
what Hockney had in his. The main reason why I chose this image as my second final photo is because of the colours
and the layout of the image, I think that photographing a corridor was a good choice because it enabled me to capture
the different shadows and the changes in colour throughout the scene in front of me.

9. Evaluation
For this second experiment, I wanted to look at scenes within locations more closely, so I chose to photograph a
corridor and some other signage on walls. I think that I could've gone into more detail and photographed more
scenes around co0llege, such as the library and outdoor areas. I think that although I didn’t take many photographs
revolving around ‘scenes’ the images I took were still relating to locations, therefore they still fit within my brief. I
really like the final result I got with my final image because I tired very hard to base this photo off of my influence,
David Hockney, and more specifically the colouring and layout within his images. I think when comparing my final
pieces and the work off his that I based it off, you can see how they are very similar, both are of a scene in front of
you. Although I think that a very obvious different aspect of the images is that I applied a lot of post production
work to mine, as Hockney probably applied very little, if any at all. I chose to edit my image further, changing the
brightness, saturation and the levels of the image in order to create the look of the work I was influenced by.
I think that this piece of work is aesthetically pleasing because of the layout and the colour combinations. I really
like the final choices of coloring in this image because I think it enhances the look of the overall image, and makes it
look kind of burnt out and rough looking, which is what I think some of Hockney's work looks like. I also think that
the scene I chose to photograph is very effective at making this image more interesting to look at. I decided to shoot
the image from the left hand side of the corridor, I felt that this would help to enhance the corridor somehow,
making it look as though you were looking further into the corridor as if you were about to walk down it. I think that
the image is very realistic and contemporary. I decided to make the image more of a yellow tone to create a more
burnt and well worn look, I think that I accomplished this and I feel that the colouring is the strongest part of the
image, as well as my favourite part. I think that the colours used are the strongest part because even though it is a
very yellow based image, you can see every shadow and change of colour within the image itself. For example the
red carpet becomes a more burgundy colour and the grey from the lockers is almost white. I think that the weakest
part of this image is the photography aspect, I think that when I was taking the images, I wasn’t fully concentrating
on the placement of the camera and the size of the images I was taking, I think that if I had focused on this a lot
more, I could’ve had an image the same size, but made up of lots of smaller images, which I think would enhance
the colouring even more, because each smaller images would have different colour changes within it.
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10. Evaluation continued
I think that technically this image is very good, which I think is mainly due to the post production work and
the fact that I wanted to base the image off of work already existing, which gave me a good bench mark to
begin from. I decided against further moving the images around in the photomontage because I felt that
they came across the way I wanted them to already, Photoshop created it the way I would’ve expected it to
look, and I think that if I were to have edited it further by moving the image around then the final image
would have look much more distorted and messy looking, and I like that this image look neat and well put
together. I think that the technical work that could be improved comes from my limited knowledge of
Photoshop, I think that if I knew more, then I could’ve done more post production work to the images, and
done more specific editing of each separate image, instead of applying the same post production work to
the entire image. I think that if I were able to do this, it would’ve helped me to further improve the technical
quality of my work, as well as helping it to be more aesthetically pleasing at the same time. Due to me using
the camera in its ‘standard’ settings, it was set to be in auto focus and the ISO speed on around 800 and I
had my lens aperture on a larger number. I have found that for taking this type of picture, these settings on
the camera work very well, especially because the places I have chosen to photograph have been well lit and
clear.
I think that there are many ways I could further improve my final piece, I could improve the quality of the
original images that I take, I could’ve chosen a different scene to photograph which will have changed the
final outcome. I could change the setting on the camera I use and I could change or vary the amount of post
production work I do. I think that the main improvement that I would want to make would want to make
would be to edit each image within the final image separately. I think doing this will help me to make each
image unique but also make it obvious that they are all still part of one image. I think that this final image
would be difficult to take further into other additional work because it is a unique image on its own. It is a
piece of scenery from college, and unless I were to stand in the exact same spot again, I would be unable to
create this image again, the images on the wall would also change, making the image different. Further
experiments I could do with this image would be to further manipulate the placement of the images on the
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page, I think it would be quite interesting to move them about and to see the results from it.

11. Evaluation continued
I think that the second final image features a lot of formal elements, specifically lines and shapes. I think
that because the image is a shot of a corridor, the eye is drawn to the centre of the page, which is further
emphasised because of the lines within the image itself which are all pointing towards the end of the
corridor. I think that the colouring is one of the strongest points of the image, I feel that the yellow
undertones change the overall look and have a positive effect on the overall look. I think that the use of
lines within the image draw the audience right into the photo, you feel although you could be stood there
looking down into the corridor and into the white squared area at the bottom of it, which is the atrium. I
think that the final composition of the photo is one of the better parts of final image.
The red arrows on the image show
where the line elements are, and
how the draw your eyes to the center
of the page, the end of the corridor.
The blue squares in the photo also
show the use of shapes in the image,
and how important of a role they
play as both of these elements draw
the audience straight to the center of
the image.
I think that this final image fulfils the brief because I am using experimental photography to
create an image which represents discovery, in this case I have shown discovery of a location at
the end of the corridor. I think that this image matches in well with my other final image,
making them part of a set, and showing them all to be photomontages done in the style of11
David Hockney.

12. Photomontage Experiments

13. Final Image
For this experiment I chose to work with the idea of Hockney Joiners, having the image
separated in a grid like formation. I then chose to edit the image further by adding colour
overlays and changing the opacity and brightness of each individual square. I also decided to
block out some of the squares with a white colour overlay, I chose to do this to make the image
more individual and unique, showing how I have based my work off of someone else's but also
how I have made it my own. I chose the colours I did because I felt that they were muted but
bright enough to draw attention to each square. The main reason I chose to experiment with
this style of photomontage was to have more varying images into my final pieces.