Photographer Research Vera Petruk

Vera Petruk
https://www.shutterstock.com/g/vera+petruk
(Last looked at on 28/02/2020)


She is a Russian Photographer and Illustrator. Her style of photography is Still Life, Line Art and Mixed Media. She also works with an occult theme and believes in the power of the human mind.

She is more well known for her tarot cards and decks that she makes.


The series of her work that I am most interested in is her work 'Esoteric and occult' which finished on the 10th January 2019. The reason I am interested in this part of her work is because it to the theme that I have set out to look at.

https://creativemarket.com/VeraPetruk]
(Last looked at on 28/02/2020)

This web link to one of her many websites allowed me to name a few of the photos below.

'Herbal magic'

In this photo the space is lit up by the candles and highlighting the main colour palette which is green and browns. This gives off really earthy tones and even though the image is rather closed due to the foliage it feels cosy and like it can open up. I really like how it feels like you could reach into the space and start touching and interacting with everything.  

'Esoteric sill life 7'

This photo again is lit up by candles however it is much darker and more stereo typical to what people expect. The use of the older looking book or tea stained book adds to the more older traditions a commonly thought of by people when they think of Wicca, witches. The viewer is almost scared to look at whats written in the book due to the incorrect association between witches and hexes / curses. 

'Alternative medicine concept' - purple lighting

'Alternative medicine concept' - green lighting

The 2 photos above are very similar however the main difference is the colours. This was achieved through the use of editing the white light to cast a different colour. The more purple lighting makes the image more wondrous, were as the green lighting makes the image appear more inviting and clean. This could link into the idea that colour tint can have a bearing on how and photo is interpenetrated.   

'Old apothecary concept'

In this photo there is only the one source of light, the one candle. In all the different containers are different flowers, berries, herbs and spices creating a multitude of colours. I really like how the fire makes the glass stand out but then forces the viewers eye to look in every single glass container.

The influence and summary section should only be completed once you have completed your shoots and will require you to explain how the photographer research influenced the way you executed your project.   You should include an example of your own work to show visually how your work relates to theirs.  This could relate to e.g. the way you used similar lighting, composition, etc.

·         the influence can relate to the visual approach of the photographer or technical /conceptual approach.

·         technical approaches e.g. lighting, composition, camera settings, etc.

·         conceptual approach e.g. follow similar ideas.

Photographer Research Suren Manvelyan

Suren Manvelyan
http://www.surenmanvelyan.com/bio/
(Last looked at on 06/03/2020)

He was born in 1976 and has interests in Marco, portraits and Creative photo projects. He works in Armenia and is published worldwide. He became a professional photographer in 2006, with his latest and newest popular series entitled 'Your beautiful eyes' becoming a hit. It it uses Macro photography of the human eyes and is similar to his series on animal eyes.





The shoot that I'm most interested in is his fairy light portrait shoot as shown below:
http://www.surenmanvelyan.com/people/fairy-lights-portraits/

(Fairy lights portraits)

The fairy lights are behind her are causing a speckled look in the background due to them being completely of of focus. In the foreground the focus is on the side profile of the face. This is highlighted by a white spotlight. This creates and interest in the viewer to know what is in the background and how the subject actually looks.

(Fairy lights portraits)

In this photo the background fairy lights appear to look like rain behind the subject. This affect is created where the lights behind are out of focus. I really like how this highlights the subject with the faecal expression portraying that maybe this is someone who is going to walk away from something they love and start crying symbolised by the effect of rain behind them. 

(Fairy lights portraits)

The lights behind this subject almost act as if they are going to warm her like a fire would. This idea of being warmed is created by the fact they the subject is wrapped up in a hood, scarf and gloves. This is highlighted more because she is rubbing her hands together and looks cold due to her nose also being red.

(Fairy lights portraits)

In this photo the subject is looking at the camera almost as if she is about to turn and allow you to focus on what is causing the lights behind her. The background use of the out of focus lights on the left hand side really add to the mystery of what is this thing causing the speckling effect.

(89093)

For this photo the speckling reminds me of the photos taken with a city behind the subject due to the colours that have been produced. It feelings like if the camera was zoomed out you would she the subject standing on a balcony smiling at the person taking the photo with the city light behind them. The gives some many possibilities to what could be there that it allows the mind to create its own ideas and story with in the photo.

The influence and summary section should only be completed once you have completed your shoots and will require you to explain how the photographer research influenced the way you executed your project.   You should include an example of your own work to show visually how your work relates to theirs.  This could relate to e.g. the way you used similar lighting, composition, etc.

·         the influence can relate to the visual approach of the photographer or technical /conceptual approach.

·         technical approaches e.g. lighting, composition, camera settings, etc.

·         conceptual approach e.g. follow similar ideas.

Photographer Research Liza Head

Juniper Spring Photography - Liza Head
http://juniperspringphotography.com/fine-art-photographer-halloween-candle-portrait/

(Last looked at on 28/02/2020)


She is a Fine Art photographer that specialises in Wedding Photography however in her own time looks at different ideas and concepts. One of these is the shoot that I want include as inspiration for my work. Its a Series made for Halloween, October 29th but fits well with my idea and is really inspiring to work with the idea and see how i can expand on it.

In some of the photos from the series I am looking at she does use natural light however I wanted to include them as they are part of the series and in my opinion inspirational in giving me different angles or ways to look at what I am photographing.

The series that I want to look at is called 'Halloween Candle Portrait'. Where she has a witch theme to the photos as well as the artificial light using candles.

In this photo I really like how the posture and moment captured emphasises the creative idea, with the facial expression drawing in the eyes of the viewer. This creates the idea of what are they looking at and this adds to the wonder of the photo. The uses of focus also really highlights which part of the photo you should focus on as the F stop allows the blur to be in the foreground as well as the background.  

For this photo I really like how there is only one candle lit and therefore the composition evolves around that as the focal point. The candle being the only thing highlighting the face and the expression of wonder on the woman's face. This could invoke the idea that there is something special in the flame which causes the viewer to also be fascinated in what could they possibly be seeing.

In this photo the subject is sitting on a chair at a table surrounding by candles. Due to the high ISO setting as it is was dark when the photo was taken the photo is grainy however I think that this really adds to the effect and spooky theme. The photo make me think that at any moment all the candles are going to go out and then re-light but the subject will not be there. 

In this photo the gold painted bottles holding the candles act as a tunnel for the viewers eyes. Having the face and position of the woman at the bottom makes it seem like she is looking at something and due to how low she is it almost like a cat. This creates the feeling that she is about to jump like a cat onto prey. The candles add to this as they create a more spooky colour which is picked up more by the gold paint. Due to the foreground being out of focus  it forces the eyes to focus like the camera has on the subject.

I really like this photo because it still work with the theme and the series of photos due to the way the photo has been taken. The fact that she isn't looking at the camera really makes the viewer wonder  what shes looking at behind her. The fact that the light is also coming from the direction she is looking, it could mean that shes looking into the light and turning away from the darkness or vise versa. 

The influence and summary section should only be completed once you have completed your shoots and will require you to explain how the photographer research influenced the way you executed your project.   You should include an example of your own work to show visually how your work relates to theirs.  This could relate to e.g. the way you used similar lighting, composition, etc.

·         the influence can relate to the visual approach of the photographer or technical /conceptual approach.

·         technical approaches e.g. lighting, composition, camera settings, etc.

·         conceptual approach e.g. follow similar ideas.