GCSE Photography Sketchbook 1 of 2

Barbara Kasten

Experimentation II

To create these images I used the same technique as one of my previous
experimentations with the previous artist, Francis Bruguière.
Using the same image, I placed a blend mode on the top image so the two
together created this colourful, rainbow-like appearance.
The technique I used is the same as Experimentation IV for my Bruguière
experimentation edits

Barbara Kasten

Experimentation III

To create these experimentations, I used the same technique of blending
the two images together, angling and rotating them so the colours
compliment each other. However, with these image I inverted them to
create a colour palette which still shows links back to some of Kasten’s
work.
The way the images are blended together demonstrates a collage-like
image.

Barbara Kasten

Experimentation IV

I created the images by using my previous blended and inverted images to create this
bloated, twisted effect on the images.

I did this by playing around with the features on Liquify (Filter>Liquify) and experimented
with more than one tool on the images. For these two images, I used the Bloat tool and the
Twist tool to created a whirlpool effect.

Cecil Touchon

Cecil Touchon
PDP718

(Post Dogmatist Paintings)

Visually:

Touchon's image has a limited colour palette: the only colours used are white, black and
red. The image is composite which has been collaged to look like it all fits in some how,
some pieces have been created so that they fit in with the piece around it. This image is
also geometric and quite abstract.

Technically:

Just like Kasten and Bruguière, Touchon's work is made physically with paper and paint.
This specific piece of artwork is known as an abstracted typography. Touchon reassembles
sections of billboard posters with fancy fonts and turns a symbol into a piece of visual
architecture.

Personal Opinion:

I chose this piece of artwork because I like that there is a limited variety of colour which
are equally balanced throughout the image. I also like how Touchon has mixed some of
the black symbols/letters in amongst the red which makes the opposing colours stand out
more.

Cecil Touchon

Introduction to the artist and Image Analysis
Cecil Touchon is an American contemporary collage artist, painter,
published poet and theorist.

Visual:
This image doesn't have a main focal point due to the colours in the
image contrasting each other quite distinctly. There is an equal
balance of each of the three colours within this image. The image has
bold lines where the images overlap and the right angles within the
image are sharp and strong. Touchon has explored the elements of
line and shape.

Technical:
This piece of art was physical as opposed to digitally. Touchon uses
the technique of collaging to construct this image. He gathers lettering
fonts from billboards and layers them on top of each other. The depth
of field is wide and the image is quite detailed.

Contextual:
In 1987, Touchon co-founded a group, which was created to advance
creative endeavour and encourage experimentation and diversity of
perspective, called the International Post-Dogmatist Group also known as
the IPDG. The group addressed itself to the artworld through a
presentation which created an official structure for the group.

Conceptual:

Cecil Touchon

Introduction to the artist and Image Analysis

Visual:
Just like the previous image, this image doesn't have a main focal point.
Each section of the image has a different attraction. The image has an equal
balance of tone which benefits the contrast of the image. The key formal
elements used in this image is line and shape.

Technical:
Touchon used the same technique as the last image, assembling lettering
fonts off of billboards, however, this image is created slightly differently.
Some of the line are curved and a lot of the pieces align with one another
and this piece of art is black and white whereas the previous image
incorporated red.

Contextual:
Not only is Touchon the co-founder of the International Post-Dogamist Group
but he is also the director of group's Ontological Museum and is founder of
the International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction.

Conceptual:
I like this image because the composition in the image is really unique, the
way Touchon has managed to align most of the pieces. I also like how the
composite image is clearly detailed where the images overlap. The equal
tone of black and white also gives the image a unique appearance.

Cecil Touchon

Contact Sheet
These images are scans and photographs out of a
typography book which contains a variety of fonts.

Cecil Touchon

IBcaresaitcedEtdhietsse images by using the images I took and opening them in Photoshop. By going Filter>Camera Raw Filter, I played around with

the images contrast, black and white and for a few of them, I increased the dehaze tool to help brighten the colours.



Final Product

Dark Room Scans

Final
Product

Photograms

Final Product

Colour Compositions

Final Outcome

Annotation

My final outcome is a combination of Cecil Touchon and
Barbara Kasten’s work. I have combined the coloured
composition of Kasten with the typography of Touchon.
First, I selected two of my colour composition images, which are
shown on the previous slide, and using CTRL + A, I selected the
image, copied it onto the second one and used a blend mode so
you can see the geometric shapes and colours of the two
different images overlay and create an interesting appearance.
(This is shown in the image displayed at the top of the screen to
the left.)
Second, I selected one of photograms, which I created in the
dark room with stencils of different lettering fonts and shapes,
and using Levels, I adjusted the contrast and the black and white
tones. Once I was happy with how the image appeared I copied
the image onto my new blended coloured composition and
lowered the opacity. Using the Polygonal Lasso Tool, I selected
one of the shapes and by going Select>Inverse, click the
backspace key and then CTRL + D, you will discover the text or
shapes in the shape you selected, making sure the right layer
was selected.
I then repeated this method on multiple different shapes and
using the different blend modes, I went through each mode and
decided which blend mode revealed the best colour as well as
the most detail to the shapes and lettering.
Once I was finished, I went to Layer>Flatten Image to merge the

Final
Outcome

Outcomes I & II

Final
Outcome

Outcomes III & IV

Evaluation

For my mock examination, I explored the theme of Abstraction and I
looked into the artists Francis Bruguière , Barbara Kasten and Cecil
Touchon. I selected pieces of each artists work and reviewed them by
annotating the different analytical aspects of the images. I began by
reviewing Bruguière’s paper sculptures and worked on developing a
range of my own paper sculpture images. I then analysed Kasten’s
acrylic sheet canvas artwork. Finally I explored Touchon’s
typography and scanned a variety of texts from a Letraset book.
I have explored multiple techniques when experimenting with all of
the artists’ work. The techniques including making paper sculptures,
composing geometric shapes and playing around with ways to
combine two of my artists pieces of work together.
I like how my work turned out because I organised my time and put
in about 5 hours outside school to help benefit my work and improve
the work I had done in class. The composition of the images
combined with the colour schemes I used compliment each other.

SUPPORTING WORK
AND EXPLORATIONS

• Architecture - buildings (style, form). Key words
• Scale - the ratio of the distance between two points on an image/ size of something. (Homework)
• Contrast - opposite (e.g.: black and white).

• Angle - the direction/way you take the photo so it gives you the best result. • Shutter – covers the lens capturing the picture.
• Viewpoint - position you take the photo (e.g.: looking up or down a building/ architecture.
• Abstract - denoting/ indicate the quality or state of the work instead of the concrete object. • Aperture – the focus and light in the image.
• Environment – the surroundings of where humans, or animals, live.
• Structure – how something is built/constructed. Controls the how much
• Line – a long, narrow streak which can be straight, curly, wavy.
• Tone - how dark or light an image is. light gets through.
• Shape – the outline of an object, how it looks.
• F – Stop – how the shutter speed is measured.

• ISO – The sensitivity of the sensor, or film.

Brighter it is outside, the lower your ISO film

would be.

• Blending – combining two colours together to make

a new colour.

• Dynamic – difference between the darkest and

lightest tones in an image.

• Form – the shape/configuration of an object.

• Shadow – shaded section reflected of someone facing the direction of light.

• Light – a bright illumination which gives the image a lighter appearance.

• Reflect – a copy of an object by being shown against a reflective surface.

• Mirror – a piece of glass which helps reflect objects, almost copies what is sees.

• Transform – starting off as your first image and turning into something new.

• JPEG – a format for compressing image files.

• PSD – Stands for Photoshop Documents.

• TIFF – Tagged Image File Format, a computer file format for storing graphic images.

• Layer – one thing on top of another

• Lighting – how/where the light should shine in a certain direction to show the details in an image.

• SLR – S ingle Lens Reflex, associated with cameras and digital cameras. SLR cameras use a mirror between the lens and the film.

• Lens – a piece of glass concentrating on a certain object to show what your image will look like.

What is photography to me?
(Homework)

Photography is my way of exploring.
I can discover new places through photography and explore different views of places I've been before.
When there’s a camera in my hand i feel like a different person, i feel like I’m not invincible but i am not afraid of what im doing. If
anything I have gained confidence doing photography and developing new skills. Ever since I started doing photography at school, I have
discovered more places and have a different aspects of most things about nature and the outside.



Contact
Sheet





Dada

The Dada Art Movement was created in the First World War in Zurich, Switzerland in 1916. The art movement was a
negative reaction due to the technological welfare and the First World War being the deadliest war ever to occur.
The technology used back then were planes, tanks, machine gun and a bunch more technological objects. They also
used photography as a part of their technological welfare because the opposing side would go over their opponents
land and photograph what was happening to try and figure out any changes and plans made that they weren’t aware
of.
It also brought together a range of artists that shared similar disgust of the conflict. These artists are Marcel
Duchamp, Hannah Hoch, Kurt Schwitters and Francis Picabia. The aim of the movement was to destroy any
traditional values in art and was to try and create a new type of art which was unique to them. The reason why Dada
had a big impact was because the First World War was the deadliest war where millions and millions of people died.
From the 1916 to the mid – 1920s, artists came from New York, Cologne, Hanover and Paris to be included in the
arts movement.
In my opinion, their artwork is extremely amazing. They have used layering and different colour schemes. Each
artist has explored a different technique, Kurt Schwitters has collaged old magazines and newspapers an the
occasional plain, solid coloured paper/card. Hannah Hoch has photoshopped faces onto animals or has used
someone's face on someone else's body. Raoul Hausmann’s work is almost a mix of Hoch’s and Schwitter’s work. His
work is collaged people, he has added things onto people and changed their appearance. Out of the three, personally,
Hannah Hoch is my favourite because her work is so different and unique. Her work is nothing like any other
photographer or artists, she developed her own style and technique.

For all of these collages I used the same technique of copy and pasting secondary images, such as the newspaper, the envelope etcetera. The spanner,
hammer and the box in the top right corner of the first collage are primary mechanical images. For the word ‘DADA’, I used the quick selection tool to copy
the letters, pasted them onto my document and using the magic eraser, I erased the inside of the lettering – the gaps in the d and a – and then played
around with the blend modes until I was satisfied with how they all looked together. I used the same method as the lettering for the mechanical objects on
the left. I used this same method for every one of my DADA collages.
I’ve ordered them which, in my opinion, is not so good to the best of the three.
I like all of the collages but my favourite is the last one of the three. I like the colour scheme of this collage but this was my first collage I did and was just
experimenting with all of the tools on Photoshop.
The second collage I like the background I created with all the vintage styled newspaper and envelopes. I also like that I added secondary images.
The third collage is my overall favourite because I like the layout of the newspaper in the background, the arrangement of the lettering is a mixture of both
the previous collages’ lettering combined.











ANNOTATION & EVALUATION Annotation:
I started off by opening a new document on Photoshop
by going onto File at the top and clicking new. A new
page will come up in the middle of the screen and you
will need to click Print and select A4 and which ever
orientation you want, in this case mine is portrait. I then
found a primary image of a bunch of headlines all
collaged and layered on top of each other. I copied the
image three times and rotated the image at different
angles and changed the blend mode. Once all of them
were in place some areas looked a bit messy where two
images overlapped and the words were over each other
so I selected one of the layers and used the eraser tool to
erase some of the words so the collage didn’t look so
crowded. Once I was happy with the background, I
found an image of Boris Johnson and opened in on a
new document and using the Polygonal selection tool I
roughly cut around his shoulders and his hair and copy
and pasted it onto the background image I created. Once
I copy and pasted the image and was satisfied with
where it was positioned, I half-toned Boris Johnson,
half-tone gives the affect which can make your images
look like newspaper print. To do this you open images at
the top of the screen and select the options Image
Adjustments and desaturate. You then open Image
Adjustments again but this time select
Brightness/Contrast and increase the brightness and
contrast to whatever fits your image. Select ok when
you’re done and at the top of the screen, four options to
the right there is an option which says Filter. Select
Filter go to Pixelate and select Colour Half-tone. The
max radius should be anything between 5 and 15 and all
screen angles must be set to 45 degrees.

Evaluation:
I like how it turned out because the background reflects
what’s going on in the world and what Boris Johnson
could be thinking about. I will say t is quite easy and
basic and I do, personally prefer my second current
affairs piece of work. I like how the half-tone worked out
but it would have been better if a changed the colour of
him but still stuck to the colour scheme of blue ,black
,white and the occasional red here and there.



Schwitters vs Rotella: Making visual connections

Kurt Schwitters’ work was made in the 1920’s & 30’s. This is one example of many collages by Dadaist, Kurt
Schwitters.
The collage is made of clean cut pieces of newspapers, magazines, advertisements, receipts and other pieces of
paper materials. The colour scheme is mostly primary colours with sections of red, blue and yellow. Schwitters
intended for his work to be nonsensical and abstracted. His artwork was meant to comment on how World
War I didn’t makes sense. His work is very clean, tidy and bold.

Mimmo Rotella’s work was created in the 1950’ & 60’s. This is one example of his collages.
Rotella’s work is a decollage as apposed to a collage, this is the process of revealing layers instead of adding
them. The artist has used larger scaled images such as billboard posters. The colour scheme has a larger range
of colours compared to Schwitters’ work, there has been primary, secondary and tertiary colours used in his
work. This was Rotella’s reaction to mass production and mass media and was also associated with the Pop Art
Movement. His artwork is more composite than Schwitters’ and is more brightly coloured.

Even though both artists use different techniques and their artwork was created in different time
periods, there are quite a lot of similarities. Both artists have used everyday materials and incorporated
it into their work. Both artists have created a new visual language of art as well as both of their artwork
being abstract and textural.

Mimmo Rotella

Mimmo Rotella is an Italian Pop Artist and his artwork was created in
the 1950s and 60s. He was fascinated by the popular culture of art. The
technique he used was creating decollages. The technique of decollage is
the opposite of a collage, you reveal layers as opposed to adding them.
Rotella uses large scaled images such as billboard posters off of the walls
just around the corner of his studio in Rome. He layers the posters over
one another but as he layers them he reveals the top layer/s revealing the
under layers .

This is a piece of Rotella’s art work. It is very colourful and saturated.
The juxtaposition of the colour on the surface and the colours
underneath really contrast. The image is very layered and textured due
to the rips in the top layer.

Mimmo Rotella Roy Lichtenstein James Rosenquist
Andy Warhol
Mimmo Rotella was apart of a Pop Art Movement.

The Pop Art Movement began around the early 1950s. A
group of experimental artists, writers and architects formed a
group called the Independent Group. They were interested in
relationship between popular culture and visual arts. The key
artists who link with Rotella’s work are Andy Warhol, an
American artist, Robert Rauschenberg, an American painter,
Roy Lichtenstein, an American artist, and James Rosenquist,
an American artist. On this slide there is an example of at
least one of each key artists artwork.

There is a link between Rotella’s artwork
and the Dadaist’s approach to making art.
Both of them wanted to question what art
actually is, most people see it as the artist
already created something completely
themselves. Rotella wanted to show
everyone that everyday materials, such as
newspaper, can make art, or larger scaled
images such as posters and
advertisements.

Robert Rauschenberg

Idris Khan
‘Memory and Monuments’

Idris Khan creates his artwork by photographing and scanning secondary sources and builds
up the layers digitally which allows him conscientiously control minute variances in

brightness, contrast and opacity. When the images are produced, they present a remarkable
opacity intensity.

I think the idea of memory is produced in Khan’s work through the blunt blur of the
architecture. Memories aren’t always clear, there is always something missing and these
images show this through the silhouettes of the architecture but is shown as blurry and hazy.
You could create a response to his work by using transparent acetate sheets and work in the
dark room, scan them in and then on Photoshop you can play around with all the layering and

you could explore the different layering styles and opacities.

TEXTURE

Crusty Rough Prickly
- Burnt paper edges • Road Paths • Pinecones
• Stones • Thorns
Grainy
• Sandpaper (loose) Soft/Smooth
• Silk
Fluffy • Cotton wool
• Furry
Texture Torn
Animals • Ripped newspaper
• Blankets Rigid • Ripped magazines
• (Sand)
Lumpy/Bumpy
Waves • Vegetables

- Cabbage leaves
- Peppers

Ralph Gabringer

Ralph Gabringer’s work is constructed of leaves, Hosta leaves to be exact.
Hosta leaves are extremely detailed and the way Gabringer has arranged the
leaves so that they overlap. The images appearance is quite abstract and is
shown clearly that some of the leaves are demonstrated as on top of each
other. The leaves that have been used in some, if not most, of the images are
neutral and warm toned. On the other hand in a few images the leaves which
have been used are green. The layout of the leaves is different in each
individual image, this causes so of the leaves to look firm but flimsy or small
and fragile.

Gabringer uses a digital camera when photographing the leaves. When it
comes to printing and editing techniques techniques, he does not use
Photoshop. Ralph gabringer uses traditional techniques, such as:
- Cropping
- Contrast and colour control
- Lightening and darkening/tone adjusting

I think Ralph Gabringer tries to show multiple things in his images.
One of things Gabringer tries to show through his images is that there are different
views on nature. People have different views on nature because of the different
aspects they consider. Some find nature beautiful, it calms them because they are
filled with the fresh air outside as apposed to being stuck inside a house which is all
stuffy. Some find nature not so wonderful, they would rather stay inside and admire
the nature and the outside world from their window. There is nothing wrong with
either of those choices because at the end of the day you are the one who decides
what you choose to do, it is your life and you have a right to do what you want to do.
Anothet thing Gabringer tries to show through his photography is that when you
take photographs you can use the most simplest things and they will still turn out
amazingly.

The link between these images
and Ralph Gabringers images are
the over - lapping leaves and the
nature theme. This was a bit of a
task to complete baring in mind
Gabringer had a lot more facilities
to do his work.

Basic Edit

What makes this
image successful is the
amount of exposure
and the tone of the
image. What could
have made it better is
if I used more leaves
to cover the wood
flooring in the
background.

Basic Edit

What is successful
about this image is
how the leaves are
layered.
What could make the
image better is if a
added/replaced a leaf
with a brighter
coloured leaf so it
distracts the attention
off of the cold colours
and adds a bit of
warmth.

Basic Edit

What is successful
about this image is
that, like in
Gabringer’s images, I
used a leaf with a
flimsy appearance.
What could make this
image better is if I
increased the
exposure slightly.

Basic Edit

What makes this
image successful is the
mixture of warm and
cold tones leaves.
What could makethe
image better is if I
angled the leaf in the
top right corner so
you could see more of
it.



“Light glorifies everything. It transforms and ennobles the most commonplace and ordinary
subjects. The object is nothing, light is everything.”
— Leonard Missone

There are four elements of light:
• Colour
• Angle
• Intensity
• Quality
These are shown through
different types of lighting.

The element of art produced when strikes on an object and reflects into the eye.
Colour occurs “when light strikes an object and it is reflected back into the eye, a reaction to a hue arising in the optic nerve.”

There are three properties of
colour, which are:
• Hue
• Chroma, or intensity
• Value

Hard/Direct Light: Soft/Diffused Light: Reflected Light: Window light: Dappled Light:

Hard/Direct light is Soft/Distilled light comes Reflected light is the Window light would be Dappled light is the
produced from the sun from the sun on an result of the light used if you were result of sunlight that
on a cloudless day at overcast, a covering of grey source bouncing off shooting indoors. is filtered through tree
noon or a couple hours cloud, or cloudy day or as an object and • Colour – depends on leaves and projects on
before sunset. It offers the sun starts to set. What creates a softer a nearby surface. It
multiple possibilties to helps to soften light is colour cast or glow. the time of day and gives your image
create striking images. snow, fog, air pollution or a The rougher the colours around your interesting shadows
• Colour - neutral shaded area. surface, the softer workspace from and could make it
• Colour – cooler the reflected light. which light might more compelling.
white midday, • Colour – inherits bounce off of. • Colour – depends
brighter/more cool throughout the day, • Intensity – depends
toned early in the more warm toned in the surface on the distance and on the time of day.
day, and warmer the afternoon and cool colour. angle the • Intensity –
later in the pastel at twilight, dawn • Intensity – low photograph is taken
afternoon. and dusk. contrast, fills from the light depends on the
• Intensity – high • Intensity – low shadows. source. filters distance,
contrast and contrast, softer light • Direction – • Direction – depends closer the filter,
produces sharp, and dark areas, roulghly to angle on where the higher the
define shadows produces mild shadows of reflected window is, it is contrast.
and edges and soft edges. light. normally side • Direction – best in
• Direction – vertical • Direction – low to • Quality – lighting. the morning and
to low below horizontal. soft/diffused. • Quality – can be late afternoon.
• Quality - hard • Quality – soft/diffused both hard or soft • Quality – can be
both hard or soft.

Twilight:

Transition between day and night (before sunrise and after sunset). It gives your image a cool colour, a low contrast and has a soft/diffused light
appearance.

The three twilight catogries:
Civil Twilight

• Occurs right before sunrise or right after sunset.
• Closest to horizon.
• Biggest and most intense form.
• Sky is cooler.

Nautical Twilight

• Reference from when the time sailors used stars to navigate at sea.
• Sky darkens significantly .
• Best time to capture moon silhouettes.

Astronomical Twilight

• Light is farther below the horizon, the sky will get even darker.
• Most likely have to rely on artificial lights.