GCSE Photography Sketchbook 1 of 2

Cat Poljski
Edits

In Photoshop, I have been experimenting with Cat Poljski’s image
technique with my images from London.
To create images like this, open Photoshop and edit the image with
Camera Raw Filter to make the image more contrasted. Once you are
happy with how the new version of the image looks, you select filter
at the top of the screen and select Filter Gallery. Once it has loaded
you might have to zoom out on the image to show the whole image.
On the right side of the screen, there will be multiple different folders
and one of them will be labelled Sketch. Select sketch and it will come
up with multiple different images appearances. Select the one
labelled Photocopy



Dark Room Scans

Before I could make my prints, I did some test strips to discover which light exposure would reveal the most defined detail. Once I found the right exposure
time, I used light sensitive paper with acetate sheets with architectural line and layered the sheets to create a unique composition. I exposed the paper and
let it sit in the developer for around two minutes and then sit it the stop bath for approximately a minute. After that it sat in the fixative for around 5
minutes and then I rinsed the chemicals off the image.
Next time I would expose some of the images so there is more defined detail.

Dark Room Scans

Dark Room Scans

Advanced edits

Cat Poljski & Horst Hamann

Advanced Edits

Cat Poljski & Horst Hamann

Josef Albers

Josef Albers was a teacher at Bauhaus and taught in design and drawing. Albers’s
goal as a teacher was “to open eyes” for the students which attended Bauhaus. He
would argue that you are not an artist unless you explored key elements: line,
shape, colour and texture. He had the same beliefs that the organisation of
Bauhaus, which are that the students are there to explore the world of art, they
believe that there main goal is to encourage students to find themselves in art.
The formal elements that Albers explored when constructing his paper structures
is form.
Josef Albers’s paper structures/forms show a modernist aesthetic. This is
represented by the buildings, they are geometric. The more structure there are,
the more unique and abstracted the buildings look. The buildings also give the
images a very bold effect. His images were mainly black and white. This
contrasted the image giving the image a more detailed appearance.
Method of how to make paper sculptures which are similar to
Albers’s:
To make the paper structures you will need a piece of A4 paper, a metal ruler, a
craft knife and a cardboard mat to place underneath the paper. The reason why
you use a metal ruler is because plastic rulers easily shatter and scratch whereas
metal rulers are more sturdy.
Firstly, you need to draw the lines as to where you are going to score – lightly
pressing the knife against the paper to give it an imprint as to where it will fold –
and where you are cutting. I recommend either using tow different colours to
represent the lines you’re scoring and the lines you are cutting or use different
types of lines (eg, dotted lines for scroing and straight lines for cutting). Make
sure there is about 3-4 cm gap at the bottom of the template so the structure will
stay structurally sound. The lines need to aligned and evenly spaced out, but not
too much because you don’t want there to be any negative space. Once you are
happy with your template, using the metal ruler and the craft knife carefully score
the lines you are going to fold and using a bit more strength, cut the lines which
will give the structure the detail. It is all about accuracy, some find it easier to
score the lines you are cutting and do the rest of the cutting freehand using the
line you scored. Once all the cutting is done, fold down the middle. Make sure the
slits alternate which direction they go in. One by one, fold the paper slits that you
have cut and fold the at each end and in the middle, this will give it the unique
shape and detail. Do this for all of your slits. Once you are finished, make sure the
sculpture is the right way up,the larger end at the bottom making the structure
more stable. Make multiple more of the sculptures and create a little town or city
of them. You can experiment with what you put on them, eg: you can cut out
doors, windows, different sized lines.

Josef Albers Personally, I feel as though once I finished the easy sculpture, I was able to move onto the harder,
more complicated designs. By the end, I created an easy A4 sculpture as well as the more difficult
A4 sculpture. The lesson after this. I decided to challenge myself and created to rather complicated
but unique looking A5 designs. What I did differently was I measured the first few to be 1cm and
then about halfway down I made the measurement larger and made it 1.5cm. It looked as though
the paper had started to grow almost.
By the end of those two lessons – 2 hours – we had to create our own sculptures, I had designed 1
simple A4 sculpture to get me started, 1 A3 sculpture to challenge myself and 3 A5 sculptures I
created in the second hour of our time given.

Contextual Investigation: Bauhaus

Bauhaus was a German Art School which contained a multiple of different types of art schemes. It combined both crafts and fine arts, you could apply to
do carpentry, architecture, graphic design , interior design or any one of the hundred of art scheme they had. Bauhaus was operational from the 1st April
1919 when its was first discovered and got shut down in 1933 due to the Nazis because they saw artists as misfits and deviant. At that time the Nazi's were
dominant and was almost over-taking Germany. The Bauhaus style became on of the most influential in multiple different art schemes. No more than
1,250 students attended the art school with 155 who were awarded a Bauhaus diploma.

The aims of Bauhaus was to create something that was universal and encourage more people to really find themselves in art and find something they love
and enjoy doing. They wanted to explore more types of art and design from artists from all around the world.

Their choice of Bauhaus was considered a
political party was because if you lived in
Germany, you were considered to follow the
Nazi’s rule. Everything had to be traditional
and approved by the Nazi’s. However,
Bauhaus was against the Nazi’s and they
wanted to different and unique so they
created their own font, a font that was brand
new and was like nothing anyone had seen
before. They continued to do this causing the
Nazi’s to start getting frustrated and furious
towards Bauhaus and wanting to shut them
down. When it got to the point where they
couldn’t handle anymore, the Nazi’s banned
Bauhaus and eventually shut them down in
1933.

Bauhaus created fonts as a part of their
art, the fonts were the total opposite of
each other. One of the fonts are called
Fraktur, it is extremely different if you
were to compare it to a lot of other fonts.

Examples of Bauhaus design

Contact
Sheet -
Paper City

Paper City basic edits







Paper City Advanced Edit

Francis Bruguière

Francis Bruguière

Introduction to the artist and Image Analysis

Francis Bruguière is an American photographer who is famous for his black and white paper structure imagery.
His images are tonal and show creativity.

Visual:
The focal point of this image for me is the sculpture right in the centre of the image. Depending on
how you see it, the sculpture looks like the capital letter ”A” or something totally different. The
image has a strong angle where you can see everything in the image . This image has an equal tone
balance showing the contrast between the light and the paper which is spread throughout the
whole image. The black and white colour scheme explores the tone and shades deeper and in
certain places you can see the 3D and abstract aspect of it.
Technical:
Bruguière has made this piece of art physically and explores the different paper sculpture designs.
Judging by the photo, I would say the light produce is either proper studio lighting or it could be
more natural lighting but when turned black and white the warm coloured aspect disappeared.
The image is very focused and shows a wide depth of field where the image is presented clearly.
Contextual:
Bruguière grew up having an interest in poetry, music and painting. As an artist, he admired a
variety of arts which could advance his career and build up on his work due to him having
experience and developing an idealistic preferred style of work.
Conceptual:
My personal opinion on this piece of work is that the technique Bruguière has chosen to use is
unique and quite out of the ordinary. I also like how he has combined physical and digital work
together to achieve this appearance. This image is relaxing in a way because the light specifically
isn’t too exposed and looks calming.

Francis Bruguière

Image Analysis

Visual:
This image doesn’t have a specific focal point, however, just like the last image,
this photograph has been taken at a strong angle where you can see the
different shapes and forms presented in the paper which then shows the
shadows created. This image is extremely tonal: there are strong dark tones in
the lower right and the more lighter tone in the top left, there is an equal
amount of each tone but it isn’t spread throughout the whole image like the
previous image.
Technical:
Bruguière has used the same technique as the last image where he
experimented with different shaped sculptures and different lighting angles.
The light used in this image , personally, I would say it is either studio lighting
or possible a torch because the light is almost coming from one specific place at
an angle and the light is rather exposed. The depth of field in the image is
around the middle because you can see the outlines of the shapes but it is
unclear when trying to focus on specific details if you were to zoom.
Contextual:
In 1912, Bruguière experimented with multiple exposures which then led to the
artist opening a studio in New York where he began his famous paper
sculpture series.

Francis Bruguière
Light Abstraction

Visually:

This image explores a tonal range of black and white through the use of
shadows and highlights. The way the paper models are twisted and the
position that the light is in the appearance of the artwork looks almost like
waves out at sea. The light peaks through the spaces in the paper which stand
out through the contrast of the light and the dark shadows spread throughout

the image.

Technically:

This piece of artwork has been created by paper sculptures where the paper
has been twisted in different directions and then the sculptures are lit by a

lamp which is then placed in different positions, at different angles to try and
capture the perfect lighting for the image.

Personal Opinion:

I chose this image because I like how Bruguière has used physical objects, like
Kasten, which shows that you don't need technology to make a creative and
unique piece of artwork. I find this aspect of photography really interesting
and intriguing because you can create different designed sculptures and
explore which is best as well as where the correct lighting would need to be
placed to fit with the image. The contrast in the image is obvious but where
the lighter tones are it almost blends into darker colour as opposed to a
straight change in tone.

Francis Bruguière

Contact Sheets - Set 1: Paper Sculpture

I created these images by making my own paper sculptures and
placing them in different positions and angles whilst shining a studio
light onto the sculptures which create a shadow onto the background.
I chose these images because they have the right amount of exposure
so you can see the buildings but they’re also not too exposed.
These are related to the my chosen artist because Francis Bruguière
focuses on a variety of sculptures which are all created differently and
have been exposed by light, however, the images have an
underexposed appearance.

Statement of Intent: Experimentation

I aim to explore Francis Bruguière's paper sculpture and try to incorporate colour, physically or digitally. I was also thinking about
combining Francis Bruguière's art with another artists technique such as Horst Hamann or Cat Poljski. I could use the paper sculpture
and acrylic sheets of colour to create the coloured artwork and I could use images I've taken, in colour or in black and white, and use
Horst Hamann' technique of thin portrait architectural imagery and experiment with that technique or using the magic wand tool,
copying a set of lines from the sculptures onto another layer, change the colour and blend mode them onto the original image and adjust
the size and angle.
These ideas still link with Francis Bruguière's work because I'm experimenting using the paper sculpture as well as interpreting other
artists technique on top of his.

Inspiration

The coloured paper image is a way i could explore interpreting
colour physically whether that be through using coloured paper
or using sheets of coloured acrylic and placing in front of the light
source to reflect onto the sculptures.
The Cat Poljski images shows how i could explore the use of lines
and overlap and angle them them differently and possibly
adjusting the size as well.
The Horst Hamann image shows how i can experiment using
photoshop and exploring the geometric shapes and maybe
sectioning an image into three/four pieces so there is different
sized sections.

Francis Bruguière

Basic Edits



Francis Bruguière

Advanced Edits – Experimentation I

I used Camera Raw Filter to increase
contrast, exposure. When I finished that, I
went onto levels to play around with the
tone. I used this technique to create the
basic edits as well.
To create these advanced edits, I used a
tool called Liquify and experimented with
the variation of tools. If you select Filter on
the top of the screen a list will show below
and select Liquify. I experimented mostly
with the Twirl Liquifying Tool.





Advanced Edits – Experimentation II

I created these coloured images in Photoshop.
I chose my image and when it opened, I created a new layer by selecting
Layer>New>Layer. Making sure you are on the new layer, use the
Polygonal Lasso Tool to create a shape and go to Edit>Fill and a box will
pop up. Select the drop down box and select the option Colour. You then
choose whatever colour you desire. Repeat this with more layers and
explore different shapes and colour schemes.

Once I was happy with the colour and where they were positioned
and angled, I flicked through the different blend modes to see
which effect I liked the best and which fit the best. All of the colour
layers have the blend mode Darken which I liked because the
colour wasn't too dark or too bright and you can see the detail of
the original image. Once you are satisfied with your final product
go to Layer>Flatten Image and this will turn all your layers into
one.

Advanced Edits –
Experimentation III

I created this image by combining
Horst Hamann’s technique with
the paper sculptures. I kept the
black and white effect because it
explores the tone and contrast of
the image

Advanced Edits –
Experimentation IV

I created this image by duplicating
the image onto another layer and
angled is differently and changed
the scale of the second layer and
blended the two layers together.



Experimentation V

I created this image by creating a plain A4 document on Photoshop
by going File>New>Print>A4. I minimised the image and using
CTRL + J I duplicated the layer, flipped it and move it to mirror the
first image.

I used the same
technique for these
two images as I did
with the image on the
last slide where I
copied, flipped and
mirrored the image. I
kept these two black
and white because
Francis Bruguière’s
work is in black and
white and I wanted to
experiment with
different colour
schemes.

Francis Bruguière

Contact Sheets - Set 2: Mirror Prism Images

Francis Bruguière

Experimentation VI - Basic Edits

To create these images, I photographed pieces of art through a mirror prism.
To create these edits, I opened Photoshop and played around with the contrast and
cropped a few images and left some full images. I like that the images fit in with
the abstract subject but I have experimented by adding colour into the images to
create a more colourful appearance.





Barbara Kasten

Barbara Kasten
Progression Fourteen

Visually:

Kasten’s collage is very bright and has used a variety of warm
and cold colours together. This piece is geometric and abstract
which shows multiple shapes and cool designs when placed
under light at different angles. The overlapping of the colours
create a selection of new different colours when blended
together on top of each other.

Technically:

This collage is made physically out of sheets of acrylic which
have been placed onto a canvas at different angles. When the
light is shone onto the artwork work, the sheets of acrylic apply
a geometric, 3D shape onto the canvas but the colours
complement each other. When the blue and yellow are placed
next to each other, they complement each together even more
because they are on opposite sides of the colour wheel. Kasten
has used this technique in a variety of ways to explore different
colour combinations and which colour would be near which.

Personal response

I have chosen this interesting piece of work because I find this
technique unique and out of the ordinary. I like how the light
reflects onto the canvas and shows all the different shapes and
colours and how the light creates a 3D appearance.

Barbara Kasten

Introduction to the artist and Image Analysis

Barbara Kasten is an American artist who trained as a painter and textile artist. The
artist was influenced by the Bauhaus movement, an influential modernist art
school which had a major impact on Europe and the US long after it was closed in
1933.
Visual:
This image doesn't have a subject matter or focal point. The different areas of the
image attract different elements and present a variety of different colours. The
angles the acrylics stand on are strong and the edges of the acrylic produce
leading lines. The image is geometric and plays around with composition.
Through this image, Kasten has explored a wide colour scheme through blending
colours together in some areas.

Technical:
I would interpret that this image was taken with studio lighting due to the light
appearing whiter than natural light. The image has a wide depth of field,
however, where the colours overlap they produce a coloured blurred shape onto
the base. I believe that the shutter speed is 1/500 which helps give a clear image
and widens the depth of field. The artist has also forced a perspective and
zooming in on the image creates the effect of the artwork being bigger than it
actually is.

Barbara Kasten

Introduction to the artist and Image Analysis

Contextual:
Barbara Kasten is an artist who worked for over 40 years and the artist was inspired
by the idea of depicting a 3D shape onto a 2D plan. Kasten is a successful artist who
has exhibited and lectured her artwork worldwide. Kasten taught many
photographers and artists.

Conceptual:
Kasten has shown through this specific image that the opportunities given to you
when playing around with colour and composition are endless.
Personally, I really like this image. The artist has used a wide range of colour, but
not that wide that the image appears overwhelming. I also like how primary colours
have been used to produce secondary colours through overlapping the acrylic
sheets. The image is extremely detailed and the blurred images produced onto the
base of the artwork have a distinctive outline. I like how Kasten has composed the
image and I also like how the light aperture helps detail the image.

Barbara Kasten

Introduction to the artist and Image Analysis

Visual:
Kasten has played with composition in this particular image and explores a wide
colour range. In certain areas two colours, which are opposite on the colour wheel,
are placed next to each other which ensures a bold contrast in the image. The
artwork has no focal point or subject matter but there are multiple attractions
scattered in the image. The key formal elements used in this photograph are line,
colour and shape, all of which reflect one another.

Technical:
Kasten has created these images in a studio. She has made sculptures, physically,
out of everyday materials and has used stands to compose the sculptures into their
arrangement. There is a medium depth of field in this image due to sections being
blurred and others being detailed. The angle that the image is taken makes the
sculptures appear larger than they are in reality.

Contextual:
Barbara Kasten has created a few series of images throughout her career as an artist.
This image is a part of her Constructs series. Another famous series of hers is
Architectural Sites and her most recent series, the Progressions.

Conceptual:
I like how Kasten has used a variety of colours and hasn't limited her colour palette.
I also like how every aspect of this art is physical, however, the appearance of this
image would suggest it was made digitally through Photoshop. Kasten has shown
through this image that physical artwork can produce the same benefited outcome
as if it were made digitally which is a unique lesson.

Barbara Kasten

Contact Sheet

I created these images by
cutting geometric shapes
out of coloured pieces of
paper and played around
with the composition of the
shapes and explored which
colours looked best next to
each other.
To advance the
composition, I tried to make
mini sculptures out of the
paper and explored
different lighting angles
which produced interesting
shadows onto the base of
the image.

Barbara Kasten

Basic Edits

To make these edits, I used Photoshop to play around with contrast, clarity and using the
Cropping Tool, I cropped so of the images down son there was less negative space.



Barbara Kasten

Experimentation I

To create this experimentation
edit, I used Photoshop to create a
mirror reflected image which
shows multiple geometric shapes
and a wide colour scheme.
The technique I used for this
experimentation is the same
technique I used for Francis
Bruguière’s images,
Experimentation V.