Adam Burton

Adam began photography in 2001, where he self taught himself by reading from numerous of magazines and trying different techniques he had discovered from these magazines. Thus allowing him to further develop his own style, standing out from other photographers. Adam's photographers are frequently published in newspapers, magazines, books and calendars, giving him more recognition for his work. Adam specialises in landscape photograph and travels frequently in order to capture a variety of photographs. Adam focuses on capturing natural light during the early hours or golden hour as he prefers to capture the light rather than enhancing the photographs digitally. 

Source: http://www.adamburtonphotography.com

The colour palette within this photograph is limited due to the surrounding area therefore the colours within the photograph are constantly repeated e.g. green. The foreground acts as a frame to view the background and I think this is the aim of the photograph. The light captured within the photograph creates highlights in different areas of the photograph as well as creating shadows. There are several colours used within this photograph, most of them being repeated such as green and brown. Due to the composition and the positioning this allows the photographer to capture the detail of the shapes found within the foreground such as the wooden fence and the tree. 

Source: http://www.adamburtonphotography.com

This is a representational landscape photograph as it shows recognisable objects such as trees, mountains and water. The colour palette within this photograph is broad as it uses a variety of different colours which are often repeated throughout due to the objects repeated. The water creates space within the photograph as this creates a reflection on the clouds and splits the image up from being too busy. The mist captured within the background is able to stand out due to the contrast within the light and dark colours. The mist suggests that the photograph was captured during early hours of the morning. There is a variety of different tones within the photograph due to the colours and lighting used. This also gives a soft appearance, especially the trees which are located in front of the mist. There are a variety of lines found within the photograph especially the outline of the mountains. 

Source: http://www.adamburtonphotography.com

Source: http://www.adamburtonphotography.com

Own Photographs

The positioning of the sun suggests that the photograph was captured during the morning. The positing of the sun helps give the photograph more detail due to the lighting provided and this has also allowed me to capture the glare from the sun as well as highlighting different parts of the photograph such as the grass. The lighting also provides shadows which helps to create different tones, this can be seen especially in the grass. The colour palette used is broad due to the mixture of different colours used. Soft tones can been seen in this photograph such as the grass area, especially on the bottom right hand side which gives the impression of a painting. The trees in the foreground also appear to have a soft appearance and this is mainly due to the lighting and the positioning of the camera. The aim of the photograph is to capture the glare from the sun from behind the tree as well as capturing the tree and the surrounding area. The photograph could be improved in terms of positioning as the tree is cut off and this may look better if the whole of the tree was captured. 

This photograph contains various lightening throughout such as the sun being captured behind the tree and different parts of the grass being highlighted. The light provided helps to create shadows on the grass which gives more depth to the photograph. The main focus in this photograph is to capture the tree with the sun behind it. The photograph has been taken in a natural environment and the colour palette within the photograph is very subtle, however the light from the sun helps to create different colours due to the glare e.g. red and green.

Black and White

After researching the history of landscape photography I noted that black and white photography was often used in the early years. The colour of the photograph impacted the overall outcome of the photograph and changed the viewers opinion on a photograph. Therefore I decided to incorporate the use of black and white photography as this allowed me to compare the difference between photographs in colour and photographs in black and white. 

This photograph contains a range of different tones which highlights the different areas within the stones on the arches. The photograph was originally captured in colour and a HDR effect was then added within Photoshop. Due to the HDR effect, I felt that this would work relatively well in black and white therefore the black and white option was transferred to the photograph. Overall I think this works well, mainly due to the HDR effect which gives the photograph a high dynamic range, producing a high quality photograph. The HDR effect outlines the texture within the stones on the arch, evidencing the harsh and sharp texture. The photograph also works well in terms of composition, the arches located within the foreground act as guide, leading to the arch in the background which acts as a frame, framing the background scene. I feel that the arches within the foreground are an important aspect of this photograph as this guides the view to the arch within the background, blocking out the rest of the scenes to focus on the scene within the background.

This photograph uses black and white effect which helps to create different tones throughout the photograph. This allows the contour of the photograph to stand out as well as highlighting the different areas of the photograph such as the bricks. The texture of the bricks contrast the texture of the grass, the bricks are harsh and contain rigid edges whereas the grass appears to be smooth, this is suggested due to how short the grass appears. The photograph focuses on capturing only the building and restricting the other elements by considering the composition of the photograph.

Further HDR - Own Photograph

Photograph Copy - Continuing HDR

Original 

In order to continue experimenting and exploring capturing photographs I decided to look at landscape photographs which have been captured nearby. The photograph shown above is a reference and below is the copy of the photograph which I captured. The photograph shown above has a very limited colour palette and this creates a very static photograph. The reason for the limited colour palette is due to the lack of different elements, thus resulting in colours being repeated throughout the photograph. There isn't a mass amount of light within the photograph and this effects the overall photograph as there is a lack of different tones. However due to the photograph being taken close up this allows the detail within the stones to be seen, which allows the texture to be seen such as the sharpness of the stones used within the arches. The photograph focuses on using the arch as a frame to capture the elements within the background, such as the rest of the buildings within the area.

Copy

This is my version of the photograph shown above, my version is slightly different to the original as it captures more of the surrounding compared to the original. A different technique and has also been used, giving the photograph a different feel. HDR has been used when producing this photograph and this provides a high dynamic effect which overall works well due the location and the colours. I decided to use this when referencing the original photograph to continue to expand on experimenting with photographs. The colour palette is limited as there isn't a range of objects however this works well with the HDR as it isn't too overpowering. This stone arches within this photograph are very detailed as you can see the different colours and textures within them. HDR has allowed the photograph to stand out in terms of the tones used which helps to creates outlines within the photograph. Scenery hasn't been captured within the background therefore this allows the foreground of the stone arches to further stand out as there are no distractions in the background. When capturing the photograph I considered the composition therefore I felt that it was best to capture this in the centre as well as capturing the photograph from kneeling down rather than standing. This allows me to capture the shape and the slopes which appear in the foreground. I decided to continue experimenting with HDR as the last results turned out better than expected, as well as this I thought due to the subject matter this would be suitable and would work relatively well. 

Photoshop Exposure and HDR

After researching Ansel Adams background and work, I decided to experiment with HDR, a technique which Adams often experimented with through the use of the Zone System. The outcome was expected to be differently as this would be carried out differently, through the use of a digital camera and Photoshop to combine the layers. The technique would involve taking 3 different photographs in the exact same position, these would be different due to the exposure levels, exposed, overexposed and underexposed.This would allow me to adjust the outcomes by altering the levels of brightness and exposure. Whereas Adams was unable to do this and was unable to predict how the final outcome would appear.

Exposed

The photographs brightness is very subtle therefore the shadows created within the photograph are also very subtle. Due to the quality of the photograph being average the detail within the photograph is very low such as the grass and the different tones within the photograph. Lines can be found within the photograph such as the outline of the grass, the wooden fence and the grass. The lines also allow to capture the vanishing point of the scene. The photograph focuses on capturing the lines within the scene such as the grass area and wooden fence, to show a sense of direction and depth within the location and as a result I felt that this would be a suitable location to experiment with HDR.

Under Exposed

This version is an under exposed photograph due to too much light being captured within the photograph which decreased the detail of the photograph. The detail within this photograph is also very low due to too much light within the photograph. The colour palette is also very limited and this is also because there is too much light in the photograph therefore the colours are often repeated. Due to the lack of detail and colour this decreases the amount of tones used within the photograph for example on the fence. The amount of light captured also impacts the shadows found within the photograph and the light gives the photograph a hazy appearance. 

Over Exposed

This is an overexposed photograph due to the colours being dark and hardly any light being captured. Most areas of the photograph is dark however some shadows can be seen within the photograph. The detail of the photograph is again low and this is due to not enough light being let in within the photograph. Therefore the colour palette is also restricted due to not enough light being captured and gives a dark appearance. Due to the photograph being extremely dark this has resulted in a lack of detail and makes the grass area have a soft texture. 

When editing this photograph I wanted to create a dark tones and shadows to highlight different areas of the photograph. Therefore the brightness of this photograph was slightly low to create the shadows within the photograph. The shadows captured within the photograph allow the photograph to have a sense of depth within the grass areas. There is contrast found within the photograph due to the light captured which is mixed with the darkness from editing the photograph. The balance of light and colour allows the photograph to have a variety of tones and highlighted areas which creates depth within the photograph. This effect gives a dynamic feel to the photograph and allows the photograph to stand out rather being a static photograph. 

This show the development in experimenting with editing different photographs taken at different exposures within Photoshop. This involved combining the photographs together and changing the levels and exposure to create different outcome.

The photograph shown above has a high amount of brightness levels which gives the viewer the impression that the photography was taken in early hours. The photograph captures the distance as it shows the field getting narrow towards the end. The colour palette within this photograph is very limited however not as limited as the previous photograph. The colours are often repeated especially green and different shades can be found due to the angle and light captured within the photograph. As well as focussing on capture the scenery and the vanishing point the aim of this is to focus on the use of colour and how this impacts the overall outcome. The exposure and the brightness levels give the photograph a soft contour and this gives it a painting like appearance.

Ansel Adams Copy

This photograph is my own response to Ansel Adam's photograph which can be seen in the previous post. The purpose of capturing this photograph was to try to copy Adam's work as best as possible, this would obviously include differences in terms of location and the composition. However despite the differences I think that this copy has worked well as I have approached the photograph in a similar manner e.g. capturing the sun behind the tree in the background, using black and white as well as capturing the tree in a silhouette appearance allowing me to focus on capturing the detail of the branches. The photograph was originally captured in colour and transferred to black and white to follow Adam's same approach. Unlike Adam's photograph, this photograph captures the reflective glare of the sun, making the sun appear slightly bigger. This photograph is also slightly different in terms of composition such as capturing the grass within the foreground, this area is highlighted due to the tones used from using black and white.