Assignment Two – People & Activity
The object of this assignment is to demonstrate my understanding of what I have learnt throughout Part Two of this course.
With relevance to this assignment the brief asks for a set of images of people in some form of meaningful activity such as sport, a stage performance or at a social event. Also asked from the brief, is that in the assignment we have the option of choosing a single person (or small group of people performing different activities) or different people at the same event.
Considering the current time of year and the amount of outdoor events (local within 30 miles) that take place during the late autumn and early winter, is almost non existent and even after looking through the papers and performing several Internet searches there was nothing happening in or around my local area. I then took it upon myself to look further afield and come across this particular event of switching on the Regent Street Christmas lights (London). Although this was going to be a much bigger event than I had initially planned for it had everything going for it and would provide excellent material for this assignment.
This years Regent Street event was based on the soon-to-be-released film “Night at the Museum – Secret of the Tomb”. Locally this area of central London is known as the “Mile of Style” and during the daytime prior to switching on the lights, there were several other activities happening along the whole of Regent Street. The street was closed off to all road-going traffic and pedestrianised for the event from midday onwards where family activities and events kept visitors entertained throughout the whole day. Establishments such as the City Academy, one of London’s creative and performing arts academies showcased a series of talents on the Camper Stage and Dance Space areas. This took place at the top end of Regent Street (close to Oxford Circus) and whilst continuing my walk in the direction of Leicester Square, there were three more stages to be seen, two similar in size to the above mentioned and the final being the bigger main event stage. It was along the two smaller stages where children had the opportunity to meet some of their favourite animated characters including Skipper and Rico from the up-and-coming DreamWorks animation “Penguins of Madagascar.” As the day progressed there was also opportunity for visitors young and old to take pictures of various film characters in costume walking along the street from the up and coming film “Night at the Museum – Secret of the Tomb.”
The main event stage was programmed to go live at 5 PM and it was at this time that Heart Radio presenters Jamie Theakston, Emma Bunton, Toby Anstis and Jenni Falconer opened and introduced several celebrity guests and performing acts. First up was the cast of award-winning West End show “Jersey Boys” with a medley of hits from their popular musical along with some festive jazz classics. Following close behind was soul singer Jessie Ware who took to the stage and sung an acoustic version of her latest single, followed by hit boy-band “Union J” who belted out a selection of their own hits. As the time approached 6 PM (official switch on time), all the previous performing artists and guests reappeared with the band “Take That.” After a brief introduction and roar from the crowd, they continued into a Ten second count down and upon reaching Zero the Regents Street 2014 Christmas lights were switched on under a haze of stage snow and fireworks.
Note – All pictures have been compressed hence there might be a quality reduction when enlarging.
Unfortunately I had to increase the cameras ISO during some of the night time shots and some of my images contain slightly more digital noise than I like and normally accept.
Picture 1 – Introduction team (City Academy)
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
My thoughts at the at the time of taking this picture were more to do with not only a moment but also an introduction to this event. In the picture we can see two compeers captured at a moment whilst talking to the audience and about to introduce a trio of singers.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D810
Speed 1/90th sec
Aperture f2.8
ISO 125
White Balance Setting Custom 6500°K
Lens 24/70 mm
Focal Length 70 mm
Comments – This was one of my first pictures of the day and after several more clicks I looked around me and suddenly felt like I was working for a local newspaper being in and among a whole host of amateur and press photographers. What I like about this image is the captured expression on the lady’s face whilst telling a joke to the audience backed up by the smiling face of her fellow orator. I also like the depth of field used to separate the two speakers from the public and the way that the picture has been framed showcasing the street environment. It’s a picture where, the more you look at it the more you gain from the captured surroundings, for instance we can gauge the road width and that it’s either side of an island, we can also see temporary fencing where the street has been pedestrianised advertising the event and location and also if we look carefully at the section of road between the two speakers we can see the yellow markings which read bus lane not to mention the PA system and distant crowd in front of the shops.
Future Considerations – It would have been nice to have two camera bodies with two different lenses, one with my trusty 24/70 the other with a wide-angle attached, for comparison.
Picture 2 – In the mood (City Academy)
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
This image is the follow on performing act having been introduced by the two speakers show in the picture above. We can see a moment captured where the three singers are dancing and singing to a Glenn Miller classic “In the mood.” I did consider de-saturating this picture to black & white and introducing something of a Vivian Maier look and feel about it.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D810
Speed 1/90th sec
Aperture f2.8
ISO 80
White Balance Setting Custom 5800°K
Lens 24/70 mm
Focal Length 70 mm
Comments – I like the way this picture has captured the singers dress movement whilst dancing and also the facial expressions whilst singing.
Future Considerations – I would have liked the opportunity to have been able to move more freely amongst the busy crowd and it is unfortunate that I was unable to do so.
Picture 3 – Another street stage of performing people
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
Normally this busy road within the heart of London would be open to every manner of road going traffic and in this picture I wanted to capture the pedestrianised atmosphere of a street event. I deliberately included the traffic lights and road sign in this shot to bring further emphasis to the meaning “street event.” Without the temporary yellow traffic sign and traffic lights shown in this picture this scene could have been on any normal pedestrianised high street.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D810
Speed 1/90th sec
Aperture f4.0
ISO 250
White Balance Setting Custom 6500°K
Lens 24/70 mm
Focal Length 48 mm
Comments – Shown in this picture is another Street Stage a little further along Regent Street, if we look at the way the buildings lie above the roofline of the stage we can see the curvature of Regent Street leading up to where it intersects with Oxford Street (Oxford Circus) my starting point.
Future Considerations – This picture would have been very charismatic if taken at night time with the overhead Christmas lights switched on and the warm glow from the shop windows either side of the street.
Picture 4 – Street juggler
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
All along Regent Street on this particular day were various street artists not performing on the main stages but on street corners and outside shops and this image was one of those moments I just had to capture. With this particular type of shot if the camera speed is too slow the artist himself would not be sharp, on the other hand if the speed is too fast there is no dynamics or movement in the picture thus the performed activity is lost, it was therefore my objective to capture the movement of the street juggler whilst performing in his art.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D810
Speed 1/90th sec
Aperture f4.0
ISO 640
White Balance Setting Custom 5800°K
Lens 24/70 mm
Focal Length 70 mm
Comments – I took several shots of this particular street artist from various angles and looking at him full-on produced the best results, this is due to being able to see both his hands clearly whilst performing his juggling acts. Juggling is a very visual act and in the pictures I took from different angles at least one arm or hand was not visible which in turn spoilt the whole visual effect. One of my other reasons for trying to capture this street artist at different angles was to try and capture him away from the distracting background. Again I considered this shot to be more charismatic in black and white, something like one of Eugene Atget character portraits, but upon conversion I was not convinced so decided against it.
Future Considerations – It would have been nice to have taken this particular artists picture without such a distracting background, but to ask him to move would have meant him losing his spot during this very busy occasion and crowded street.
Picture 5 – The penguins of Madagascar
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
My immediate thoughts when I first saw these costumed Penguins was the perfect contrast of colours between the penguins orange feet and purple carpet, it immediately brought back moments from when I was studying my previous course (TAoP). Once again in framing the picture I wanted to capture the street environment and thus chose not to single out the four penguins by zooming in to close whilst framing.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D810
Speed 1/90th sec
Aperture f4.0
ISO 400
White Balance Setting Custom 5800°K
Lens 24/70 mm
Focal Length 24 mm
Comments – As mentioned above I adore the way the orange and purple colours complement each other and in framing this picture I deliberately included a little more carpet than perhaps necessary to enhance this contrasting effect, should the carpet have been a different colour I doubt if I would have included as much carpet.
Future Considerations – I would have liked the opportunity to photograph these costumed penguins from other angles but due to crowd I was unable to, another option would have been to take this picture with a wide-angle lens. I did have a wide-angle lens with me but only the one camera body and the time taken to change lenses would have meant missing the moment as this was at the end of their act.
Picture 6 – Sir Lancelot
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
The theme of this year’s Regent Street Christmas lights ceremony was related to the up-and-coming film “Night at the Museum – Secret of the Tomb” and not only were there Street Stages with performing artists but there were also people in costume representing the characters from this film and here we see a character posed and dressed in costume as Sir Lancelot. My thoughts and approach at the time of taking this picture were more to do with capturing the brief moment of this person’s face and body posture as the parade of costumed people walked past.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D810
Speed 1/180th sec
Aperture f4.0
ISO 2000
White Balance Setting Custom 5800°K
Lens 24/70 mm
Focal Length 62 mm
Comments – During this brief parade of costumed people passing by I was standing in a crowded area with several people in front of me and it is credit to this course that has led me to notice opportunities like this. As practised in the exercises building up to this assignment my camera was held to my upper chest, ready and poised to shoot regardless to the distractions of people and crowd either side of me.
Future Considerations – In this particular shot I was able to react fast and single out the subject, this is not so much a future consideration but certainly something for the future in that I must keep up this technique and practice more often by getting out to such events like this.
Picture 7 – Main stage during the day
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
Quite often at crowded events like this the pictures and moments we generally see only involve the event highlights. It is with this image I wanted to capture the busyness of expecting and waiting people (seen on the other side of the street) prior to the event happening amidst the stage organising crew and yellow jacketed police and crowd control.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D810
Speed 1/90th sec
Aperture f4.0
ISO 160
White Balance Setting Custom 6500°K
Lens 24/70 mm
Focal Length 40 mm
Comments – Although this is a busy picture showing the Main Stage with crowd control barriers, police in hi-viz jackets and lots of anxious people it is quite easy to overlook the beautiful architecture of the Regency buildings. It is with this in mind that I see two pictures here, the hustle and bustle of the days event happening at street level but above head height the beautiful lines and gentle curve of the buildings taking us from the picture foreground and steering our perspective into the distance. It’s just a shame the opposing building on the other side of the road has scaffolding everywhere whilst undergoing maintenance.
Future Considerations – It would be nice to have access and opportunity to one of these buildings upper floors to take a similar shot especially on an eventful day such as this.
Picture 8 – Main stage event build-up
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
Moving on from the previous picture showing the event build-up we see a different view of the stage and surrounding buildings illuminated at night. In this image I wanted to capture the mood of night-time and the anxiously waiting people waiting for the main event to start.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D810
Speed 1/60th sec
Aperture f2.8
ISO 800
White Balance Setting Temperature 6300°K
Lens 24/70 mm
Focal Length 24 mm
Comments – What I like about this picture is it shows a street scene at night of hundreds of people waiting anxiously for an event to start amidst the illuminated Regency buildings and shop front lights.
Future Considerations – Again my comments here are the same as my last, it would be nice to take some elevated shots via access to one of the surrounding buildings upper floors at an event like this.
Picture 9 – Toby Anstis Jenni Falconer and Jason Donovan
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
This picture shows the opening of the main event and my main concern here with my camera held above my head in live view mode was to try and capture the subjects on stage in focus and sharp.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D800E
Speed 1/180th sec
Aperture f5.6
ISO 900
White Balance Setting Temperature 3550°K
Lens 28/300 mm
Focal Length 300 mm
Comments – I like the captured moment of this picture showing three well-known radio broadcasters each holding their clipboard and introducing acts to follow.
Future Considerations – At events like this there is always someone who is ‘six foot six’ standing in front of you and it would be nice to bring a box to stand on … but back in the real world and to give my camera more elevation perhaps I could improve my pictures by using a monopod elevated above my head with the camera in live-view mode, set to continuous focus and a remote trigger in my other hand.
Picture 10 – Jersey Boys
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
In this picture we see the cast of award-winning West End show “Jersey Boys” who sang a medley of hits from the popular musical along with some festive jazz classics. Again my thoughts and approach towards capturing this particular picture were of firstly the moment followed by sharpness and focus.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D800E
Speed 1/90th sec
Aperture f5.6
ISO 360
White Balance Setting Temperature 3550°K
Lens 28/300 mm
Focal Length 300 mm
Comments – I like the way we can see the energy in this picture from the artists faces whilst singing and also performing.
Future Considerations – Again my comments here are much the same as previous, it would be nice to take some elevated shots through having access to one of the surrounding buildings upper floors at an event like this.
Picture 11 – Take That switch on the Regent Street Christmas lights – 2014
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
This was the big finale, Take That came on stage amongst all the other celebrities and flicked the switch turning on the Regent Street Christmas lights. Like the previous two pictures above, my main concern was to capture the big moment whilst holding the camera above my head for a clear shot and keeping the picture sharp and in focus.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D800E
Speed 1/250th sec
Aperture f5.6
ISO 2800
White Balance Setting Temperature 3800°K
Lens 28/300 mm
Focal Length 300 mm
Comments – This picture does capture the mood and atmosphere of the big moment, I would have liked it to have been sharper though.
Future Considerations – For the chosen press people and official photographers a elevated scaffold bridge had been erected, it would have been nice to have access.
Picture 12 – The main stage from a street view perspective
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
Following the moment that the lights were switched on saw festive display of fireworks. It was not my intention with this picture to capture the fireworks but more so the electric blue lighting of the Main Stage against the backdrop of illuminated buildings with the crowd all paying attention to night sky and fireworks overhead.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D800E
Speed 1/250th sec
Aperture f4.8
ISO 4000
White Balance Setting Temperature 3550°K
Lens 28/300 mm
Focal Length 28 mm
Comments – This picture captures the crowd overhead and away from the Main Stage at a display of fireworks even though the stage is still occupied by celebrities. In this picture I particularly like the electric blue emitted from the Main Stage lights which initially grabs the viewers attention but then viewer is forced to avert attention from the Main Stage upon noticing the heads of the crowd and their direction, this in turn promotes interest in another part of the picture (namely the fireworks out of shot) and in doing so forces viewer to follow the crowds direction of gaze.
Future Considerations – It would have been nice to have had my monopod with me for some of the shots as I could have lowered the ISO and brought the shutter speed down perhaps as much as two stops.
Picture 13 – After the event
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
Here I have captured the mood of the crowd after the event, but my thoughts at the time of capturing this moment was not the attraction of the main bulk of crowd but the way they had individually colonised themselves into small groups and each group sharing their own personal moments from one common event.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D810
Speed 1/60th sec
Aperture f2.8
ISO 6400
White Balance Setting Custom 6750°K
Lens 24/70 mm
Focal Length 24 mm
Comments – I like the jovial mood of this picture and the way it has captured a multitude of people all still excited from the finale of the Main Stage event. In order to obtain this pictures ambience and mood, I reduced the cameras shutter speed but at the cost of the Main Stage being blown out and overexposed.
Future Considerations – With a tripod I could have bracketed this particular picture and edited the overexposed stage for a correctly exposed stage, but even in a thinning crowd as shown in this picture the risk of setting up the camera on a tripod without it being kicked or nudged is chancing fate even though I did have my tripod with me.
My Reflections
Upon starting the exercises for the second part of People & Place I immediately became very anxious, to the point of almost giving up. I really didn’t feel comfortable taking pictures of people in the street I didn’t know or even worse who didn’t know me but I persevered and slowly overcome my fears and developed a personal technique of my own. Although I still have much to learn I am gaining confidence and I do recognise in myself that I have come a long way. Having said that I must not rest my laurels here, I must and will continue practising street photography to the point of where I feel at ease and comfortable not only wearing a camera around town but using it.
To summarise, this part of the course has really helped me overcome certain phobias and camera fears whilst photographing total strangers and with it I have gained new technique and experience. I wouldn’t yet say ‘I’m a chameleon who goes around totally unnoticed’ but at certain events I am able to hold my own and feel confident about using a camera amongst total strangers.
Current Books I am Reading
- The Photograph / Graham Clarke / Oxford History of Art. – This particular book is an on-going book which I have found very hard to get into, it is written quite well but I find it very laborious from chapter to chapter. I tend to pick it up between books and read a couple of chapters before having to put it down and move onto something else. It is quite detailed in the way it describes the humble beginnings of the Daguerreotype to the early pioneers of photography. One particular paragraph in the early stages of this book really grabbed me and it reads – Although, as Beaumont Newhall declared, what we know as photography is the combined application of optical and chemical phenomena long known to man, this does not take away the essential element of surprise and fascination that any photograph engenders in a view who, for the first time, finds himself able to record, rather than paint, trace, or draw, an image of what he sees before him. No wonder, then, that the daguerreotype was called a ‘mirror image’(chapter 1- what is a photograph). The book then goes on to mention the 20th century famed photographers such as the likes of Diane Arbus and the great Henry Cartier Bresson to mention a few. Moving on from the greats the book then traverses into various subjects (to the chapters of where I have currently read up to) namely those of ‘city photography’ and ‘body photography.’
- Leni – the life and work of Leni Riefenstahl / Stephen Bach / Abacus. – This is a book written about one of the 20th century’s most incredible female photographers. Although she is best known as Adolf Hitler’s filmmaker which tainted her entire life from her early thirties and onwards but there is much more to this woman than she is credited for. Although I have not yet finished reading the book, it is written as an autobiography about Leni and in parallel tries to iron out or discuss the lie to her lifelong betrayal of herself as an apolitical artist, a seeker of beauty who declares she knew nothing of the Holocaust and firmly denied her connection to the Nazi regime that she had helped to promote in her films titled Olympia and Triumph of the Will. That said, the incredible determination of this woman and unstoppable enthusiasm toward film, photography and in her early years dance is remarkable. It should also be noted that (although financed by Nazi monies) her production techniques and modern approach such as positioning cameras on moving dollies to the brainchild of using several multi-positioned cameras positioned about a set were the forerunners to modern filmmaking.
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