Extraordinary Objects

Extraordinary objects
here you'll find test shots and photographer research related to my idea of objects.  Research for high-speed photography ideas

Photo shoot planning  -  Extraordinary objects

This photo was one of the first of high-speed photography in liquid. Taken by Harold Edgerton, he experimented with high speed photography capturing bullets shooting through cards. Many people describe his work as 'seeing the unseen' as it was very extraordinary, freezing time as quick as this, and capturing what would happen anywhere all the time, for example milk splashing.

I am inspired how this photo has been taken so precisely, how all the milk droplets are repetitively shaped as circles equally, and how everything is so perfect. The area around the splash is completely clear and level, without even the smallest interference in sight. i also like the lighting, fading into dark at the back and harsh lighting over the splash presenting all the detail and reflections, explaining the shapes and precise movement.

In my work i will experiment using the same angle as this photo, as i think it's a really extraordinary and interesting way of seeing high speed in liquids.

 These two photos are a very interesting concept, which explains the motion of sports player movement,  they show different positions the objects they were holding are in, and leaving a trail behind showing what they did. i like the idea in these photos, it is very extraordinary.

This photo is one of the later from Edgerton, as it's i colour. It presents the movement very well, and what every spec of the apple is doing. Theres also a nice ripping pattern each side as the bullet is shot through. This is too advanced for my ideas, but i have thoughts of doing something similar.


The main aims of this photo shoot are to capture extraordinary objects, these objects being an unusual size for what it is, objects possibly in completely unrelated places, or objects doing something different, such as falling in water or in an odd position.

The props of course will be the objects, which i have a collection of at home, equipment for some of the photos could be a backing, if i decide a background would be to much of a detraction, or would absorb the light. The backing could be white paper, which brightens up the object creating a harsh light, or a black background absorbs light behind, bringing the object out well.

Secondary research

This image relates to my idea of 'unusual sculptures'. It is

a good example of the sort of thing i'm aiming at for this idea

This photo of mini objects in a lager object gives my ideas

for putting objects in completely unrelated places what could be

 bigger objects. 

This relates to ideas of objects that are minutures of the real thing

or strangely different sizes making them extraordinary. It also

gives me an idea of using macro mode too. 

This gives my the concept of being imaginative which i have used in several test shots.

it is perfectly ordinary objects and turning them into something extraordinary, by creating them

in the example above, or by situation, such as putting them in weird areas or positions. 

This is an example of a weird object, which the whole idea is based upon.  

More ideas

This photo is taken through a blind out to cars. What i experimented with
here is following the moving object, moving the camera
as the car went by. This resulted in the red car being in focus, whilst the parked
are out of focus and blurred in the  direction of which the camera is moved.
I like the result of this photo, the repetitive shape of the blinds and red car seeking
through make it extraordinary to look at. 

The next idea i will focus on is normal or weird objects focused in totally different places, such as objects in a completely unrelated places. 

Photoshoot using high speed photography with liquids. 

i thought this was an interesting concept, i was just playing around with

high shutter speeds to see what i could get. The outcome from this photo

i thought was quite unique, it has several splashes sharply captured, but

it was also the idea of the miniture diving helmat splashing into

the water. 

These are some of the test photos i took for this idea, these were with different objects resulting in different outcomes. All these photos were taken 1/200 shutter speed with a flash.

 This photo was a penny dropping into the water, creating some detailed bubbles inside, not so much splash out the top, which i was wanting to make.

 This photo was the worst, there is not much effect and it is out of focus resulting in non sharp movements.

 Agsin, not much activity, but well in focus and detail.

Another try with the pen and this was quite an interesting photo. theres a couple of bubbles at the bottom as well as a narrow upgoing splash above. this image captured the movement in which the pan fell which i liked. It also has good detail and focus i was happy with. I also like how the pen looks perfectly straight out the top, then having a jagged uneven magnification though the glass and water.

It was either this photo or the one at the top to choose from, finally choosing the one t the top for the more interesting detail.

I thought this picture was quite extraordinary as the stones

are quite sharp and still, displaying a good deal

of detail, whilst at the same time showing the rush of

the stones being chucked into the the air with the dramatic focusing. 

Again, this photo was using a high shutter speed and was

an imaginative idea. 

I thought this object was quite interesting mainly because of the texture

and the colours blending together. This object once hung from my ceiling

as a miniture moon and is made out of pottery making it quite unique. 

This was a totally extraordinary object, this is a glass sphere

full of cracks in a garden. The object is actually a solar lamp.

This photo was taken using macro mode.

Photos after Manipulation

I have made this image more brighter, and a slight boost in the contrast to remove the dull grey colours. 

the curves have been ajusted, making contrast and brightness more visable, it also makes the water splashing seem more sharp and pulls out the detail. 

slightly higher contrast and brightness to pull out the detail from the individual rocks. 

higher contrast

The image was cropped, to focus more on the desk objects. Slightly higher contrast. 

higher contrast, bringing out detail from the ball and blackening the background more.

Evaluation

Overall i think this photoshoot has been one of the most engaging. Firstly i came up with the idea to take photos of unusual objects around the house, i intended for all the objects to be on my desk or compared to something, possibly in someone's hand. During this photoshoot i became more imaginative 

and used ordinary objects in extraordinary situations. 

This was with the mask falling into the water, i wanted to capture water still, so i experimented with shutter speeds and lighting, using the flash. i also used paper backgrounds to remove distractions and possibly improve the focus. This also applyed to the stones and the note falling.

I was happy with the extraordinary objects i came across, especially with the glass ball. 

I think i could have improved by finding a wider variety of objects, or possibly experimenting with places or positions they are in, also keeping in mine about the lighting.

After all the interest flown out of this project, and ideas that are possible i am well thinking of using the 'Extraordinary objects' idea to produce final work. 

Paul Politis - reasearch for unusual /interesting objects idea

Paul Politis is a photographer famous for black and white photos. His whole collection is black and white, 

with no colour whatsoever. Paul has a collection of photos named objects, which inspired me in a variaty of ways. His photos have nice textures and meaningful atmospheres. 

This photo is quite interesting because of the contrast between the bike and 

the snow. 

This gives me ideas of 'patterns' in photography, using different objects

in a unique and interesting way. 

I especially like this photo because of the gray sky and lonely athmosphere with the small

plant at the bottom of the post. It really captures the feeling when looking around the 

scene, it introduces me into a great way of photographing larger objects outside, with a larger background

and not limited with inside areas. 

This photo caught my eye mainly because of the angle it has been taken at. I like the contrast between the radiator, creating an interesting pattern, as well as the windowseel nicely allined. The plants are what are different and create the interesting look. The have strong textures and contrasts between the sunlight and shadows. 

This is more of a close-up shot, which i liked because of the basic appeal, theres nice textures in the wood and all the detail in the leaf is nicly focused. Theres also no ditractive objects or backgrounds pulling your eye away which i have prevented in some of my photos, using a plain backdrop.