Documentary

Roger Bradley:

Roger Bradley is a photographer who seeks to capture the richness and beauty of Northern Ireland, its people, culture and it's historic interest. His photos generally cover historical and cultural themes related to life in Northern Ireland. He has lectured and taught widely across DeMonfort University. He has produced documentary photographs for Home Start and TYAC, teenagers and young adults with cancers, a national group for professionals.

These photographs show a different perspective of piers across Northern Ireland, Bradley shows different people and areas to show the different cultures across the country. For example, this photograph has no people in it which suggests the area is isolated, this could give a sense of beauty as it may be an unknown area. This photograph uses leading lines which draws your attention negative space of the sea.

This photograph has one single elderly man walking along the pier which could show peace within the man and area he lives in, Bradley may have photographed the man on his own to suggest he doesn't need other people to give him a sense of home. The man is off centre and Bradley follows the rule of thirds and leading lines to draw your attention to the man. 

Jenny Harper:

Jenny Harper is a wedding photographer from Staffordshire, she believes that it is important to show a more natural version of people than forced smiles. 

This photograph is of two children running through a woodland, this could be a metaphor for the way children run toward adulthood. The photograph has been edited to black and white which makes the woodland area look eery as the details of the trees stand out more. 

This photograph is effective as Harper used a low depth of field to make the young boy stand out from the leaves even with the coat he is wearing being a similar colour to the leaves in the background. The photograph looks like it has been edited to enhance the colours, it also looks like there may have been unnatural lighting used as the boy has a flash in his eyes which allows them to stand out. 

This photograph may have used a fast shutter speed to take the photo of the girl as she moved, it has then been edited into black and white. The photograph is effective as it shows the fun which childhood can create and the way her hair has been captured moving could suggest the freedom which she feels.

Clare Gallagher:

Clare Gallagher studied photography in London, Belfast and Canterbury, earning a MFA in photography with distinction. Her work focuses on the experiences of the home and explores the ordinary and everyday. Her work has been exhibited in Europe, America and Asia and has been featured in The Guardian, Lenscratch and Source Photographic Review.

This photograph simply shows some sticky notes on a wall however it is effective as the low depth of field only allows some of the notes to be read, this could be a metaphor for how we block out some things as to prioritise others and do them first. this photo looks like it may have been taken with studio lighting at the is a circle of bright light on the wall and a shadow is created behind the notes.

This is a simple photograph of some rubber gloves on the side of a sink, this is such an everyday normality which may make the viewer overlook the photograph. However the composition of the photograph is effective as it uses the rule of thirds and there is a low depth of field meaning the background is out of focus.

This photograph shows a young child peeping through a door. It uses leading lines as the lines of the door draws your attention to the child. It is also effective as the rule of thirds has been used in the positioning of the child in the photograph, this creates a pleasant and aesthetically pleasing image.

My Response:

I chose to explore the theme of childhood (taking inspiration from Jenny Harper.) These photographs were all outside which meant I had to focus on the aperture and ISO as to not let the photographs become overexposed. I also had to use quite a fast shutter speed as the children were often moving and therefore the quick shutter allowed me to capture their movement and create a more natural image. I felt as though capturing the movement would allow me to photograph the freedom which childhood brings and the venerability children allow themselves to have. My photos can allow people to relive their childhood memories as it is timeless as well as being reminded that they should allow their own children to treasure their time as it is being taken away from them more quickly as time goes on and the pressure to grow up increases. On each photo, I changed the brightness and contrast, levels and used curves. I also added a photo filter, either the warming effect, black and white or sepia and then used the gradient effect to draw the attention to the child as this is the theme of the photographs. 

In this photograph, I added the sepia filter and then created a gradient effect from each side to create a walkway for the children, I also blurred the photograph and then rubbed this effect off the children as this make them stand out in a 3D effect and therefore draws the viewer's attention to the freedom they have.