He specialises in action/adventure and sports photography.
He also specialises in the photography genre photojournalism which is capturing
the moment. He is a commercial photographer and will pick up any jobs when they
become available. He also spends a lot of time Instagram; this is how he
promotes himself and also where his some of his work will be posted. It’s also
where he posts his own personal projects, this is where he builds his fan base
and how well known he is. As well as Instagram he has his own website
broadcasting his work to be found easily by company’s hoping to find him, it’s
also a perfect place to find all his work all in one place. As well as taking
photographs for his job, he has to participate in a lot of paperwork, this is
for him to be paid and sort out all the different costs and planning. He also
participates in landscape photography of the sky in the night time to capture
the beauty, he also specifies in street photography while he was in New York. He
also tried a bit of light trails, he does this by altering the shutter speed
and letting in light more and less light to produce this effect.
When taking photographs angles and viewpoints are very
important, they make the photograph what it is, and depending on the angle it
can give different perspectives and present different themes and outcomes. He
mentioned that when producing an advertising job, taking photographs that will
be used for advertising, it’s best not to make the photographs look manipulated
or photo shopped in any way, this may present the idea that product is
misleading.
When working to a brief, he prefers to have a more open
brief as he isn’t as restricted as what he will present. When given a brief he
has a short amount of time to plan and actually take the photographs. When
given a brief he has to take a series of photographs depicting certain aspects
and themes. When trying to work to a brief even though sometimes he may be
restricted he said he likes to put his own personal spin on the project,
because sometimes the company’s like this better than what they asked for.
Briefs and Software's
In the first brief he was asked to do he was asked by the
Sheffield City Council to produce a series of photographs depicting Sheffield
as an urban, diversified, outdoor city and that also is seen as an attractive
destination. He took over 3,600 photographs in the short week he was given to
complete the brief, he had to shorten this list down to 5 photographs
broadcasting each sport as well as showing that Sheffield is an attractive
destination. There was a lot of planning involved in these brief, including
location scouting where he scouted out the locations for the photographs, since
he knew Sheffield well he already had a rough idea where to take the
photographs, he used google street view to plan even further and to preview the
area. He then scouted in person before the actual photoshoot; he did so much
planning for the locations as this is a very key aspect when taking a
photograph.
He uses Bridge to organise and rate his photographs; he also
mentioned that Light Room could be used. Bridge has a very helpful rating
system in which you rate your photographs out of 5 stars, this could be very
helpful when organising your photographs, and this is how he narrows the list
down. These software's can also be set to rename on feedback. When taking a
photograph he adjusts his camera to be perfect for that specific photograph,
having long and short lens. The short lens is used when you want to bring the
background closer. The long lens brings the background more in focus.
The second brief he worked towards was Nike Instagram. To be
ready for this shoot, he participated in lectures, he had to have some
training, be a part of a 15 man team and then license the images as an end
result. For this photograph specifically he felt it was important to have a
frosty feel on a cold morning for a realistic effect. For this photograph
light, exposure, contrast and location are key. The Nike Instagram is a very
inspirational feed and the photograph needed to work with that aspect, the
photograph had to be unique and original and inspire people. For this brief he
had taken many photographs as part of the project, in the end Nike chose the
most unique photograph.
The third brief we were told about is the “Won’t back down
promo” he was asked to take a black and white portrait, that makes the model
seem approachable. With this project he had to work to a specific brief, he
mentioned that a specific brief can be restricting, but this is where he likes
to put his own aspects and ideas into his work. This was a piece specifying in
emotion and facial expressions.
Licensing
When licensing images it’s geographically and media
specific, as in if you want to license an image in more than one geographical
location the rules are different and it will cost more. Licensing being media
specific means that if a company wants to advertise a photograph on different
accounts or on different media platforms it will cost them more. Even though
they pay for the use of the photograph on a specific media and geographical
location, you still own the photograph.
When talking about how he gets out there and spreads the
word about his work, he talked about Blogger, Instagram, introduction emails
and events and tradeshows. Blogger being a popular place to post all of his work,
Instagram also being a popular place to build his fan base. He writes
introduction emails in his spare time, instead of waiting for work to come to
him he writes introduction emails to propose projects; this allows him to be
more creative and inspiring. He attends events and tradeshows to broadcast his
own work and to meet new people and hoping they will spread the word of his
work, in the hopes that he will get more work.
The positives of being a photographer are that they get to
travel around the world and attend events; they spend their time travelling and
visiting beautiful places. Also being a photographer means that you’re doing
something that you love, if you want to be a photographer. Being a photographer
is perfect for people that love the outdoors and would prefer not to have a
desk job. The negatives of being a photographer are; no job security, no fixed
income, hurting yourself and long hours.
Duncan has worked with many famous photographers during all
of his projects including; Joey L, Lara Jade and Camp 4 Collective. Lara Jade
is a very successful photographer and specialises in fashion. Camp 4 Collective
is made up of Chris Burkard who is famous on Instagram with 1 million followers,
he was lucky to become popular on Instagram at the start, making him famous and
building his fan base early.
Analysis, Meaning and Purpose
Duncan’s work is very creative and original, I like his use
of composition and light and colour. He always manages to make each photograph
different to the last; each photograph is original and beautiful. He has worked
with many genres including; photojournalism and landscapes etc. his work with
landscapes are beautiful, the use of colour and light in those pieces are
perfect. When doing landscapes he prefers to be there at night or catch the sun
rising. Also his use of what is in focus and not in focus is amazing, the
blurred effect creates a very interesting piece and makes you focus your
attention on the important things. His use of viewpoints is interesting, he has
taken a lot of photographs for biking events and the angles of the photographs
he gets makes the piece original and interesting and gives it a different
perspective.
Analysis, Meaning and Inspirations
I would like to use some of Duncan's style in my own piece, create pieces for the millennium gallery inspired by Duncan's work in terms of identity. He incorporates light into his work in almost every piece, focusing on where the light should and shouldn't be, the light and dark areas. I want to focus on light and colour in my piece, such as the piece above, the colour and light in this piece adds to the beauty and meaning of the piece. in terms of identity, I could use the light and colour to highlight the important areas and focal point in terms of identity. Also he likes to incorporate landscapes and nature into his work in some form whether it is the background or the focus, I would like nature and landscapes to be a focus in my photographs, I feel landscapes can relate to identity, as it is can be incorporated into every day life and its full of life and emotions. Duncan's work is very composition focused, he likes everything to be in a certain place and look a certain way, whether this is getting the right angle or re-arranging things if possible, I would like to incorporate composition into my work, I feel it is a very important aspect. The meaning of his work has various different meanings, it could connote; adventure and excitement, life and health, it could even connote beauty and identity, I would like for my work to present these various themes and connotations.
No comments:
Post a Comment