The theme that I have chosen to focus on is Urban close up and observations. I have chosen to do this because I find it more interesting and different compared to the other options. I feel that I can get more images and different images rather than just of buildings. 

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The different ways that I could explore this theme would be by looking at a variety of different things to capture. For example, I may want to look at the following: Back Alleys, Black and White, Broken Glass, City Street Scenes, Close-up, Colours, Graffiti, Isolated Objects, Roads-capes, Textures and Urban. I feel that most of these will work well with my chosen theme because most of the above all have some aspect of an urban feeling and look to them. 

    

I would like to incorporate the use of unusual viewpoints into my work because I feel that it would work better with my urban theme. I also think that its important to incorporate close up and depth of field into my work considering I'm focusing on close up however I don't want my work to be too close up, I want my audience to be able to see the full image. 

I also feel that i want leading lines to be a part of my personal approach as they are all around us and one of the artists that i have researched are very keen on leading lines and the road markings so i would like to incorporate that into my theme. 

I would like to create the meaning of life through my images, not all of them but certainly a wide majority of them. I want to do this to show the audience the meaning of life and that you should just let life guide you rather than trying to change it. You were created for a certain journey and that journey can be changed in certain ways but it will always bring you back on the right path destined for you. 

I would also like to create a feeling that is unique to everyone through my images, whether they be in colour or black and white. I feel that black and white create more emotion through certain images because you can see near enough every detail of the image. 

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There are three artists that I intend to research in more detail. They are, The Boyle Family, Aaron Siskind and Martha Cooper.

I like The Boyle family’s work in regards to the road marking and leading lines because i feel that they tell a story that is different for everyone. 

I like Aaron’s work because he captures the detail of his images through close up and the use of black and white. 

I like Martha’s work because of the use of culture and colours. It is very rare for her to have a black and white image because she mainly captures graffiti and the urban life style of New York City in the 80’s.

 

The key features of The Boyle Family’s work would be that there work are sculptures. They are pictures of the sculptures that they have built. This is what makes they work different from the rest.

Aaron Siskind’s work is true-to-life and abstract. He found emotional joy and tension in the process of discovering subjects and then capturing the moment for those to see. 

Martha Cooper’s work is the absolute beginning of what you call street art today. She would sit for hours and hours waiting for the perfect opportunity for her to see some decent tags. She is famous for the graffiti photographs in the late 70’s to early 80’s. 

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For my first shoot, I intend to create my work like Aaron Siskind and start with the displacement of the environment. This will include rubbish on the floor, mould growing on objects, rotting metal, signs being defaced and then a small aspect of walls being defaced. I will also incorporate a small portion of leading lines and then texture. I intend to take pictures anywhere I see the key aspects above. I don't want to limit myself to one specific place as I want my work to show different environments around and not just the same one. I will record my images in a gallery and then move onto separate images for my edits and screenshots of my work. 

 

The compositional techniques that I will try and use are:

Simplicity, some aspects of symmetrical balance, rule of thirds and then framing. I may only use one or two of these techniques however, I think that its important that I try to incorporate them into my work.

I would like to use the visual language of meaning and expression in my work so that people can feel the emotions just like in Aaron’s Siskind’s work.