Andrew Newson is well known for his short-day journey shoot, where he goes on a short journey and captures objects or scenery he comes across. This is a documentary-like shoot, which allowed him to use different techniques in order to illustrate his journey and almost tell a story. His work contains a lot of greenery, which risks his work being repetitive, however the photographer has used different angles and lighting so that each image is unique and shows different elements of journey, highliting the objects he comes across. Additionally, although there's a lot of green colours, it shows a significant contrast between the rest of the images, where dark brown is also shown a lot. This contrast adds tone and diversity in his images.
This image is very ambiguous - it is unclear what the article is about and the viewer may not be sure why the article is in a forest. This creates contrast through connotations as the surroundings give out impressions of an empty countryside setting, whereas the article illustrates a city environment. This confuses the viewer and forces them to pay more to the image and figure out the context. Moreover, it also looks as if the newspaper article has been placed there purposely, implying that the picture is staged - this makes the image even more mysterious and makes the viewer wonder about the context, allowing them to explore the image in more depth. The white colour of the article also creates contrast through colour as it stands out from the dark brown soil; this ensures that the viewer focuses on the article more than the actual background - Newson has done this deliberately. Furthermore, he made sure that some words on the article were unclear or blocked, preventing the viewer from seeing the whole text. By doing this, he has created a mysterious atmosphere and continues to add to it throughout the whole picture, such as with the framing, allowing the viewer to only see the ground and not the surroundings.
Andrew Newson has chosen an interesting angle for this particular image, it is high enough for the viewer to have a restricted view of the river as it is covered by the trees, but the angle is also low enough so that the viewer can see some of the river, not completely ruling out the view. The fact that the river starts at the bottom centre of the picture and continues throughout before being cut off by the trees, the photographer has ensured that feelings of curiousity have been evoked in his viewers as they wonder where the river lead to. The river adds the element of lines to the photograph and acts as a guiding line, leading the viewer's eyes through the picture before they can focus on the rest of the scene. This makes sure that the river is the focus of the picture, and this is further emphasised through the framing of the image, placing the river right in the centre. A technique of depth of field has also been used here, highlighting the theme of journey and exaggerating the river, making it look longer than it really is. This gives out connotations of an adventure and almost invites the viewer to join the image and imagine themselves in the forest.
The use of colour in this image is very smart. The red car is the only colour that is out of place; the green and brown colours belong there but the red seems out of place and looks artificial - this highlights the importance of the car and further emphasises on the fact that it does not belong in the forest. The photographer has deliberately chosen this particular angle so that the car is surrounded by trees, creating a vignette effect, ensuring the car is the focus of the image as it is placed more or less in the centre of the picture.
This is another image produced by Andrew Newson on his short-day journey. The colours in this image has been used in a smart way, allowing a huge contrast to be created, highliting the doll. The green grass forces the viewer to focus on the dark brown doll and wonder about the context of the image. It suggests that a child has previously been in the forest and has forgotten her toy behind. However, once again, the doll looks as if it was placed there deliberately - this is further emphasised by the use of a straight angle, making the doll look as if it has perfectly been placed there. Moreover, the angle also allows the light to be focused straight on the doll, making the scene bright and making the colours even more attractive, allowing the image to stand out. The white flowers compliment the clothing of the doll, making it seems as if she belongs there and ignoring the fact that she has been left behind by her owner.
I have recreated this shoot and produced image from my own short day journey. Similarly to Newson's work, I have tried to capture objects which look out of place, such as in the image above. The yellow colour of the sunflower enables it to stand out and ensures the viewer's attention is drawn to it so that they may notice the flower. By placing the focus on the very right of the image, I was able to let the viewer see the scene clearly, which further highlights the flower, whilst still showing the theme of journey through the paths in the background.
Overall, I enjoy Newson's work and his techniques are very useful when trying to put certain objects as the main focus of an image. His use of colour is very well planned as the framing allows him to show off the different tones and shades that are available, automatically making his images more appealing and attract viewers. Being inspired by his work, I have also completed a short day journey, which has allowed me to experiment with angles, whether they be close up or wide angles and to work with colours that are found in the countryside. I also enjoy how Newson uses these objects to add meaning to his work, showing signs of life in a deserted forest - by using colours and angles, he suggest connotations that make the viewer wonder and put significance to his images.
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