In this image I can see a man with a relaxing body posture looking out his window while on the telephone. We are unable to know who he is on the phone too, but I would be inclined to think it’s someone he’s close with because of his relaxed expression. This unknown man if wearing a jumper which some shorts and you can really tell he feels relaxed and free while he is at home. The focus of this image is definitely this man but most importantly his head. His head is very centre dominant, and this means that we can see his emotions more in depth. Yokomizo might have done this on purpose so that we feel a connection to this however his eyes that are directly looking into the lens presents a daunting aspect to the photography. The lighting in this photography is very contrasting as on one hand we have a very lit room were we can see everything very clearly, however outside the window its completely pitch black presenting a more haunting and frightening setting. This is an example of light vs darkness and how the two feeling they present juxtapose each other. This photo is from the perspective of an outsider which creates a sense of mystery and an isolated perspective which is similar to a cctv camera when its spying on other people without them knowing. This is picture is a portrait, however this single image feels like its split into six separate images which portray a different part of his body or room. This is achieved by the window frame segregating each section of the picture. This inevitably makes it easier to understand the image and we are able to look closely at each section. This picture links to the theme openings as it presents an opening into his life though a two second snapshot which doesn’t directly tell us.
I think Shizuka Yokomizo created this image by ensuring that this man was centrally dominant so that he was the main subject of the image. I also think he purposely made sure the window frame splits the image directly in half and splits the bottom half of the room and the top half. Additionally going back to what i said it creates six separate images within the picture itself. However this image could be a complete accident but we are unaware of if it is or isn't. If I was changing this image, I would make his body posture was more up right so that he fits perfectly into the two middle sections of the window. I also think he could have manipulated this image by using the dark room to make a dark room print which would turn in black and white. Alternatively you could take three different photos and turn it into a tryptic. This would be effective as it creates more of a narrative within the picture and shows the specific subject (the man) through different perspectives. When trying to recreate this i would look carefully at match the light colour from the image to my image as i think its a good staple to keep throughout my recreations and keeps them consistent.
This picture makes me feel a sense of claustrophobia as his small compact room mixed with the draughting eyes peering into your soul present this idea and also feels quite frightening. However this feeling is also contradicted because of this mans relaxed posture. This makes me wonder if this man is a dangerous person or a friendly person. Furthermore the fact that this image is taken from an outsiders perspective could tell us that the person taking this image isn't welcome into his home which creates a feeling of an outsider looking in. If i could talk to Shizuka Yokomizo about this particular photo he took i would as her, What gave you the idea to present yourself as an outsider? I would ask him this as it would give me more of an insight into her theme of openings and how he presents them in his photographs. Secondly i would ask him, was the man aware he was being photographed, or was that his natural position? This would help to show wether or not was a planned photo or if Yokomizo got lucky with the positioning of the man being exactly central in the image. And my final question i would ask would be, The eye contact in this image if it was done to create a certain emotion or just done without planning? This would really give me an insight in how he structured this image and how he wanted it to be presented and perceived.
After doing some research into Yokomizo's work i realise that this picture was part of a series of picture where this was the first one she ever got. All the photos in the series all link to the theme openings an all follow similar patterns in which the subject is looking towards the lens through a window or glass. She would do this by sending letters to strangers and they would stand outside their windows in the evening and have photos taken of them. This give me the understanding that it was planned but their positioning and knowing towards each other were nonexistent. This links to the theme of openings because we don't know anything about these unknown people however we feel like we get to see into these peoples life for a split second. The window resembles this opening and we get to see into there home and personal life where we wouldn't have been able to before because of the walls blocking the openings.
I think Shizuka Yokomizo created this image by ensuring that this man was centrally dominant so that he was the main subject of the image. I also think he purposely made sure the window frame splits the image directly in half and splits the bottom half of the room and the top half. Additionally going back to what i said it creates six separate images within the picture itself. However this image could be a complete accident but we are unaware of if it is or isn't. If I was changing this image, I would make his body posture was more up right so that he fits perfectly into the two middle sections of the window. I also think he could have manipulated this image by using the dark room to make a dark room print which would turn in black and white. Alternatively you could take three different photos and turn it into a tryptic. This would be effective as it creates more of a narrative within the picture and shows the specific subject (the man) through different perspectives. When trying to recreate this i would look carefully at match the light colour from the image to my image as i think its a good staple to keep throughout my recreations and keeps them consistent.
This picture makes me feel a sense of claustrophobia as his small compact room mixed with the draughting eyes peering into your soul present this idea and also feels quite frightening. However this feeling is also contradicted because of this mans relaxed posture. This makes me wonder if this man is a dangerous person or a friendly person. Furthermore the fact that this image is taken from an outsiders perspective could tell us that the person taking this image isn't welcome into his home which creates a feeling of an outsider looking in. If i could talk to Shizuka Yokomizo about this particular photo he took i would as her, What gave you the idea to present yourself as an outsider? I would ask him this as it would give me more of an insight into her theme of openings and how he presents them in his photographs. Secondly i would ask him, was the man aware he was being photographed, or was that his natural position? This would help to show wether or not was a planned photo or if Yokomizo got lucky with the positioning of the man being exactly central in the image. And my final question i would ask would be, The eye contact in this image if it was done to create a certain emotion or just done without planning? This would really give me an insight in how he structured this image and how he wanted it to be presented and perceived.
After doing some research into Yokomizo's work i realise that this picture was part of a series of picture where this was the first one she ever got. All the photos in the series all link to the theme openings an all follow similar patterns in which the subject is looking towards the lens through a window or glass. She would do this by sending letters to strangers and they would stand outside their windows in the evening and have photos taken of them. This give me the understanding that it was planned but their positioning and knowing towards each other were nonexistent. This links to the theme of openings because we don't know anything about these unknown people however we feel like we get to see into these peoples life for a split second. The window resembles this opening and we get to see into there home and personal life where we wouldn't have been able to before because of the walls blocking the openings.
Evaluation No1
The first set of photographs I took were a direct adaptation of Yokomizo's work however I manipulated them slightly to make them my own.With these photographs I had an idea to gather as many photo frames as I could and connect them to follow a similar pattern in the original photo. Once I gathered the frames I duck taped them together and had my friend David being the subject. What I like about the frames being in a collection like this is that it creates many different picture and stories within another picture. This inevitable makes the person really think and evaluate what the meaning of the picture is. When taking this image I really wanted to recreate the lighting of the original photo as it thought it was a good staple to keep throughout my images. Having said this I had to try and recreate this so I started playing with different gels which you can put over the light to change the light to a different colour. So I started by trying a range of reds yellows and oranges because I thought they would be the closest I would get to the original and this worked. I ended up layering to different shades of oranges which created the same shade. However the problem was is was really focusing on one particular point instead of lighting the whole background which made it come out like this. Additionally it would have come out better if the blinds were down to ,match the darkness in the original image however I didn't think of that at the time. Furthermore something which really made me wonder was the subjects hand. As you can see the subjects hand which is holding the frame doesn't look natural and wasn't supposed top be there but I think it challenges the theme of opening as his hand is breaking through the barrier and is offering an opening into his life. Furthermore the frame splits off different sections of David and this d=creats a sense of mystery towards it and it seems like he's hiding something internally.
Evaluation No2
The second set of images were taken the following week and this was all about taking picture similar to Yokomizos idea of not knowing the other person but more directly inspired by the theme of openings. This was very enjoyable as they weren't aware I was taking photos of them which meant the were in there natural positions. However the first picture in the set of photos contradicts this as she caught me taking a photo of her mid way through. I think that photo is very interesting as it links to the original photographs and really gets that eye contact directly at the lens. The idea of openings is really interesting in this case because images are presented through windows the majority of the time which means we capture a single part of someones body or a certain feature. If i were to change or manipulate these images i would use the dark room to process my photograph. When doing this i would use the first photograph in the dark room as it would heighten the sense of mystery and create a sinister feeling towards it. When taking these images I struggled with the range of which photos i could take. With being in are school taking photos i felt quite limited in the amount of photos i could achieve, so if i was to attempt this again i would look at going into the city centre as i cold take photos of people while doing there jobs and getting their raw emotions.