My final pieces. 


These set of images are my final pieces. I have chosen four for the boy and four for the girl.

Slugs and snails and puppy dogs tails.
For the boys images i have chosen dark and contrasting tones from my research. I chose to do a body of four images so i can collage them on to my final piece with the girls.
I wanted to represent the muddy and un clean way boys are stereotyped. I chose using an older boy instead of a little boy just to give an modern effect. My images are all black and white and i have turned up the contrast so the light parts are bought out a lot and the shadows are dark. I think this effect brings out certain parts of the photos, for example on the ones with the bugs it brings out the mud and dirt on the hands.I kept the snails part of the nursery rhyme in which I shot a snail in the boys hands, using a constant shutter it meant i could get numerous shots of the snail as it moved, this also gave the snails a natural stance in the photo.  I chose to close ups of the bugs for the "slugs and snails". Although the poem said slugs i wanted to pick something smaller that i could really focus in on. I then chose two other photos which was the one in the rural garden. I like the angle of this photo as the for ground is all rural garden and the legs stand out in the back ground. My final picture is the football photo, I chose a photo that could again represent a young boys choice of activity stereotypically. The hand underneath has alot of movement and the photo seems natural. Again by playing with the contrast i could darken the trees behind which really bought out the boy in the for ground. Overall i am happy with my photos and the way they fit together, The two closer shots and the two less close. I think the black and white contrasts nicely to the girls work and really brings out the highlights and shadows in the photo. I think it represents the nursery rhyme well but also reflects a more mature side of it. I used my photographers with in such as Petr Drozdov by using the dark shadowing tones. But also the softer narrative of it through SuzyWwimbornes work.

Sugar and spice and all things nice

These are the girls side to the photos, i used alot more vibrant tones in these which bought out the colours in the ribbon and lollipop. However it also bought out the grass in the two which didn't really have any bright colours in it. I chose to show the sugar in the lollipop, i really like the use of the lollipop as the way i focused it i can really see the parts of it, it also stands out nicely, however the top of the lollipop is missing and if i were to re shoot i would make sure this was in as it is quite distracting in some ways. I chose the spice in the way the movement of the dress shows a bit of leg, I think it shows a way of representing abit of cheekiness within the photo, the bows on the hair and on the shoes show the all things nice, i think they are a simple symbol that stands out as being quite simple and sweet. I like the way in which again the photos are in different shapes and i want to slot them together with the boys to show a story board. The composition of the photos are to quiet central things which are the lollipop and hair and then the two of the legs are one off the middle and two not as close. Over all i am happy with how they came out. I like the subtle use of my photographers in it such as Suzy Wimbournes cute way of representing the nursery rhyme but also i-Antons use of bringing out sweet and vibrant tones like the ribbons. 

Practice for final shoot 

Now i have chosen to go for vibrant colours for he girl i decided ways of showing the poem, i did this through the ribbon and the lollipop. Like the boys i chose for shots four photos. 

In this photo i wanted to show the bibrant colours showing up against the green grass. I then wanted to get a girls innocent stance. I like the composition of the central position of the girl. i dont however fel its a strong enough piece to take forward as it just doesnt stand out colour wise in the way i wanted it too.







The second photo below i really like. i like the way in which the colours are quite hard hitting and i really like the composition of the way in which the hair and lollipop are central. I really would like to take this forward as it is quite different to the other photos.

In this photo i like the side composition, i think it brings the colours out  especially well. I like also how nice the plait stands out and loks really sweet and innocenty against the body. However again dont feel this has enough about it to be one of my final pieces.

This is my final practise shot, like the others the colours the brightness and contrast has been bought up a alot and the colours therefor stand out a lot, again i dont feel there is enough about it to stand up against the rest of the photographs.

Practise shoot for final piece

 

Now i have chosen where i am going to go for my boy and girl shots i tried some different shots to test out the skills. I chose to pick black and white with the contrast up to highlight the lights and the brightness down to darkn the shadows. I also decided they represented the nursery rhyme better when the are shot single and not together.

In my first photo i wanted to find a way of representing the part of the rhyme that is "slugs and snails" unfortunatly there were no slugs or snails around, instead i just used another little bug. However i think it doesnt stand out enough but i really like how the photo highlights the creases in the hand using the mud on the hands.










On this photo i wanted to play again with just developing my shots, in this shot i just wanted to represent the messy side of being a boy, and playing in the garden like a little boy should. i also like how grass sprouts up and it also represnts the rugud boyish side. The contrast of the skin comes through and this shadows the mud also.

 In this photo i wanted to represent the whole of the boy and show him in a messy more playful mysterious back ground instead of the grass. I like how the boys body stands out cause of the tshirt, and also the mud down the legs. I like the bare feet on here to show the way in which boys think they are invinsible.












 

In this photo i was just playing with the composition, I like how this photo has only one arm fully in and the bodies to come side. I also was playing with the use of brightness and contrast again. i like how the body is bought out by the darkness in the back.

This is the same picture as before, however i kept the colouring in it, but played with the contrast again. I then added a burnt edge to mimck i-antons soft playful work. I then added the light spots of the girl just to add an even more innocent touch to it. I like how much they show up becuase of the dark background.

In this photo I wanted to try out having them both in the photo and highlighting the innocence through the colours. So I turned the saturation down on the photo completely and then turned up the brightness and up the contrast. I then erased the black and white with the colour. I like this photo but i think you look quite alot of the nnocence to it through the loss of colour. however I like the pose as i think its quite sweet.

 
In this photo i was developing my ideas for the colours in the photo, in this top photo i made the photo back and white and played with erasing it and bringing out the colour, i like this idea as the colours stand out alot more vibrant, however i think soft tones show more the nursery rhymes.







 

In this photo i softened the colours and added the light spots from the photo editing software. I think these soft tones show the nursery rhyme alot better. I really like this image and would consider taking it into my final piece, but possible playing with the composition.










The use of these photos was to decide on my colours and ideas for the girls photographs, i think i am going to go for the bottom one which brings out the soft innocent girly tones. This also mimmicks the photographers i have used such as i-Anton as the colours are bought out nicely specially in the things such as the bows and lollipop.

In these photos I was making decisions of how I wanted to represnt the photos colour wise, and after doing these i have decided this style is most appropriate for the boy. These are my second lots of developments, i tried again making them both stand out for being the boy and the girl, however i think the girls one makes her legs not look that girly, it shows out the bruises on her legs, and my plan was to make her look pristine and girly, however i do like the effect of how it the contrasting the light tones are. I really like the boys though as it has darker shadows and this brings out the muck on his knees. i find the branch in front of his leg quite distracting but i do like how it adds the effect that he's in a muddy kind of forest. I like the composition and how they are both very central, and the position of the girls legs are softer and slightly raised but the boys are quite firm, The style of the dark tones almost comes across like a drawing out of a childs book, i like this effect and want to try and practise this more. I feel this represents the work by Petr Drozdov as the colours are dark with the lights bought out and the shadows turned down, this is like the response i did to his work.

 

Initial Experimentation.


I then went on to develop where i took the photos, in this one i used just the girl infront of a hedge. I then tried playing with the tones. In the first one i played with the hue to make the grass stand out more. I like this look and i think the shadowing on the legs look nice, however i think some of the tones done come out for example the movement in the dress.
The second photo i turned black and white and then i played with the colours taking away and putting back. I really like how it makes the grass look rural and almost makes the girl stand out more. I like this photo and the shadowing that has gathered under the dress.
The third photo i darkened the black and whitye filter. I like this photo as i think the firl stands our most because of the dark background. I played with the contrast so that the background was darker and the girl was brighter. I like the shadowing at the sides opf the leg which gives it a more young girl kind of look to it.
I like the photo because i think the hand pose on it makes her look sweet and innocent, i like also the background on it also and the way it helps for the body to stand out more.

Research into the nursery rhyme.
when looking into the nursery rhyme i learnt that the stanzahs actually come from another poem as a whole, called "what are folks made of?" It dated back to the early 19th cenurary. other versions may describe boys as being made of "frogs", "snakes", or "snips", rather than "slugs"




Initial Ideas

Here are my initial photos when i was exploring the nursery rhyme and how i wanted to show it. I used a boy and a girl to represent each side of the poem. I used them in natural surroundings to cover the poem. I wanted to show the girl and boy side of them poem through the way they look. i think i need to scuff up the boys knees more and add some exrta items to the girl to show the different sides more.

Statement of intent.
For my title I picked Nursery Rhymes. I want to look at the innocent and child like side of the topic, but using older models. I want to explore the chance of still being innocent regardless of your age. I want to explore this through the two nursery rhymes below. I want to use the skills of the soft work by I-anton. I want to explore using bright colours in my photos but maybe also dark tones to show more emotion.

 

What are little boys made of?

What are little boys made of?

Slugs and snails

          And puppy-dogs' tails,

 

What are little girls made of?

What are little girls made of?

Sugar and spice

And everything nice

 

This is my response to i-Antons photo, i like the photo as i think its quite an innocent sweet photo. I took the photo on the studio with a harsh light on the left side. I then Also had to take a picture of clouds to merge with the other photo. I really like how the red bow stands out in the hair. I played with the contrast to then highlight to shadowing more on the right side. I used the "through effect" to put the clouds on top of the original photo.  On Photo plus i found a tool which burned the edges to mimic the original photo. If i was to improve this i would define the shoulders more. I like how something quite simple can represent something in this photo for example to innocence the red bow brings. I want to take this technique forward of the innocence of the photo.

This is my response to Suzy Wimbourne, it represents the nursery rhyme three blind mouse. I like the innocence of the aninmal. I took a range of photos of Reena and then chose three. I then copy and pasted them on to the under layer and played with the opactiy to have the look of them on top of each other. The tones are quite soft and the colours are quite dark. Overall i like he photo but i think its abit predictable.

This is my response to Petr DrozDov, the photo was taken in the studio. I illuminated the one side using the studio light. With a large apperture it ensured me toget the shallowest depth of fiel possible. When it was on the computer I changed the contrast so it illuminated the left slightly again. I like this photo and the way in which it shows a sinister eerie effect. I tried to make the collar bones quite prominant. I like how much detail are in the lips and the small fine details like the freckle on the cheek. I cropped the original to make it the square of the original photos. Although the original was on a black background mine was on a white background. I tried playing around turning that corner above the sholder black but it just didnt look real. Ii am to take this forward i would again capture the sinister scary aspect of the photographer and use a better suited background to give it a even more scary feel to it.

This is the adaptation of my response with the black corner, i dont like how you loose the natural jaw line on this photo, it also makes the face look lumpy.

This photo is again by my third photographer Petr Drozcov, think its quite sinister and scary as some parts are illuminated and some arent. The coller bones are really soft and quite childlike. I like how the chin is the only thing in focus and it is in the top 3rd of the photo, it also seems like it is floating. I really like the use of lighting and how it softly illuminates. If i choose to copy this i really think its important to get the softness and correct illuminations.

I like this photo as it looks quite rhytmaic in the hands, it has a really beautiful softness to it. I like how it looks like i could have even been taken on a film camera. Its very simple but the hands are so beautifully places and focussed on. The mood of the photo is quite scary and lonely. The composition is basic with the hands just simply in the middle with the rest out of focus round the edge. I would respond to the photo quite similarily but maybe more twisted, i would try it on film and on digital SLR.

This is my mood board on the phtoographer i found during my research Petr Drozdov. I like his work because its so contrasting to my other two photographers. I think his work is quite scary and sinister.

The Queen of Hearts she made some tarts all on a summer's day;
The Knave of Hearts he stole the tarts and took them clean away.
The King of Hearts called for the tarts and beat the Knave full sore
The Knave of Hearts brought back the tarts and
vowed he'd steal no more.

I like this photo alot, the model in it has a childlike feel to it, like a little girl holding a dress, but i also like how the hearts give a make beliefe to the photo. I like how the shadowing covers all of the person and think its a really good technique i may explore. This also relates to the nursery rhyme the queen of hearts. However the dark person shows a hidden maybe scary side to the photograph, like again the twisted scary themes to the nursery rhymes.

What are little girls made of?
What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice,
And all that's nice;
That's what little girls are made of



I really like this photo as it has a real innocence to it due to the ribbon and the child like bones on the sholders. The clouds layered at the top also adds a sweet and innocent side to it. The dull tones add a sinister scary side like a nursery rhyme and its initial innocence but with a more dark twisted meanings. The Bones are really beatifully defines and have lovely shadowing on them.

These are a selection of my next photographers work. I found this Man "i-anton" on flickr when doing initial research. This is a selection of his portait work. I think alot of his photos have a child like innocence to them such as the bows in the hair, this connects to the theme through nursery rhymes being a child hood song. However i also like the bubbling sparkle effect he uses aswell as it gives the photo a make belief feel to it, like the magicalness of nursery rhymes.

Jack Sprat could eat no fat
His wife could eat no lean
And so between the two of them
They licked the platter clean

I like how this photo relates to the nursery rhyme, I like how in the photo she decided to explorethe both sex's in one photo. The attention to detail on things such as the males facial hair and the hair change. The slight shadowing behind the man shows he is more dominant than the women. The main focus of the photo is on the person and i like this because the face is the first thing you see.

Hickory dickory dock
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck one
The mouse ran down
Hickory dickory dock



This photo relates to the nursery rhyme because of the theme of time. I like how the photo seems simple but the clock adds a whole new dimension to the photo. I adds more layering but also a narrative. I like how the girl is central and all the colours are quite simple and neutral. I think this brings out the black numbers and hands on the clock. I also like how the hands shape the clock as they seem natural and not staged or put on. Under the clock is alot of shadowing and I like how this makes the clock seem like it is blended in on the face.  

Suzy Wimbourne

Suzy Wimbourne is a portrait and wedding photographer based in Manchester. She says she approaches her photography with a “romantic and artistic affection” After studying fine arts at university she suggests her strengths are story telling through a lens. On her flickr i found this selection of photos she had taken, they were all based on nursery rhymes.

Mood Boards

These are my mood boards,
they explore alot of nursery rhymes and childrens narratives. I like how alot of the images i have chosen have explored a twisted side to a nursery rhyme. I liked this exan topic as it had a strange twisted theme i want to play around with. I liked how some of the photos used children as this gives an innocence to the photo. However i like playing around with using adults but in whats meant to be a childs position.

Itsy Bitsy spider climbed up the water spout. Down came the rain and washed the spider out. Out came the sun and dried up all the rain. Now Itsy Bitsy spider went up the spout again.

 

 

Peter Peter pumpkin eater. Had a wife and couldn't keep her. He put her in a pumpkin shell. And there he kept her very well.

 

 

This is my mind map, i researched the word and this will helps me make decisions of where into nursery rhymes i want to go in my project