Research

Chris Phillips is a photographer employed by Merseyside Fire and Rescue department to document the work that they do in a visual format for the past 12 years. 20 years after completing a degree in photography and having worked as an industrial photographer, his new position in the fire department makes him feel 'a lot safer than portrait or wedding photography' which he has never liked in comparison to his current job which isn't routine office work; every day is different.

Initial Idea

 I have chosen to use a rose to represent 'Beauty' and fire to represent the 'Beast' in my images as by using flammable substances such as nail varnish or rubbing alcohol on the petals of the rose, when they are set on fire, only the liquid will burn and leave the rose in tact and not burned by the fire. I will experiment with different substances before hand to see how well they burn and which gives a better, more intense colour and flame. I plan to use either a bright red or a white rose to emphasise the purity and beauty of the flower taking the role of Beauty contrasted with the background which will be very dark and moody with only the flames as a source of light. I may also experiment with a flash gun and reflector to hi light one side of the rose, leaving the other side consumed by the darkness of the night as I believe that the combination of the night and the black sheet that I plan to use as the back drop (a safe distance away from the fire and taking the wind direction in to consideration) will provide good conditions to allow the rose and fire to stand out.  I will experiment with using a fast shutter and a slow shutter speed as I like the effect of both sharp flames in the image as well as the soft flames that are captures with the slow shutter speed. I also want to use a small f/stop number so as the focus is mainly on the head of the rose and the flames to make them sharply in focus.

Introduction.

For this assignment we will have three weeks in which we will enter the Harman's 'Beauty and the Beast' competition where we have to produce three images in response to the Beauty and the Beast theme that are both thought-provoking and stand out from other images. The images must portray the diversity and contrasts that surround us in every day life. We can find inspiration from the world around us such as nature, people, culture or structures and be as experimental as we can with our ideas both with camera skills and creativity.
We will also have to produce a blog of in depth research about other photographers and about our chosen theme as well as comparing our images to another photographers, commenting on influences and ideas that the other photographers gave us.
By the end of the assignment we will have to have all 3 images printed on to A4 paper in colour.