What Do I Need to Forgive?

Mood Board
Anonymous

AS II: Africa Through the Lens

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 Inspiration
A theme that is common amongst pictures on my Mood Board 1 is the theme of intense emotion. Image ‘A’ seems to be
portraying some
a sort of confusion. The photographer uses drowning to allude to an overwhelming amount of emotion.
Similarly, image ‘E’ has two girls turned away from each other whilst also using the low contrast, warm colours and hazy
lighting to portray a sense of warmth and sisterhood between the two girls. However, we are left thinking, ‘why are their
backs turned to each other?’ ‘Are they fighting?’ Similarly, image ‘M’ uses reflected light to get the viewer wondering
about what is on the other side of the camera. It represents curiosity, and the innocence of the emotion as well, by using
a
a soft colour pallet and children as its subject.
I felt drawn to these pictures because the question I am grappling with bears a lot of weight on my emotions. I was
drawn to images that represented the emotions that I am currently exploring.
In addition, to the emotion, the images also all highlight gestures (both in the form of body postures and in the form of
the subjects’ gaze). I am drawn to the ways in which these gestures have me thinking about what story the
photographer is trying to tell his audience with the images. They have a sense of mystery and exploration, which is what I e
plan to do in my portfolio. Similarly, a lot of the images also feature window or mirrors, which for me highlight the act of
looking or searching, because you look outside through a window and we can only see certain things that are difficult to
visualize through a mirror, like ourselves.
Lastly, the images all have low lighting or are in black and white. Sharp colours are eliminated to give the images a
dream-like feeling. The images that have some colour have low contrast and the high contrast images are all in black and
m
white, emphasizing the photographers’ focus on emotion, rather than exciting colours.
Aesthetic
What picture elements do I want to
include in my photography?
 I want to use composition in my photography. I want to
infuse composition of objects (by juxtaposing objects in
unusual settings in order provoke questions in my audience)
p as well as composition of characters (by curating my models’
gestures in ways that tell a story). My characters and objects
will serve as symbolism because I want to explore a question
that is very focused on emotion, and it is common knowledge
that emotions are hard to portray, but can be represented or
invoked by symbolism. For instance picture ‘O’ is especially
intriguing because it screams absence in a very subtle way.
q o
It is commonplace to associate things wrapped in paper,
bubblewrap of cling-film with something that isn’t new, but
isn’t being used often or anymore. As a result, having an
image that focuses on a woman’s shoes wrapped suggests a
Composition sort of absence or loss of a mother figure in the
photographer’s life. I plan to use such suggestive
Use of symbolism to tell stories composition in my portfolio.
 Low-Key Lighting
In a ‘distorted home’ setting
r I plan to use low-key lighting to portray the feeling of nostalgia in my photographs.
As seen in images ‘R’, ‘S’ and ‘T’, lowkey lighting gives an image a dreamscape feel,
making the images feel almost like a distant memory. I want my photographs to
have a similar feel. Because the question I am grappling with has to do majorly with
experiences in my past, and so, low-key lighting will really help me represent my
memories. Similarly, the windows in the images also suggest that the photograph is
taking a glimpse into a memory, because as we see the windows are the only
s sources of light in the buildings. I will use rooms that have small windows as the
setting of a lot of my photographs in order to capture this feeling of nostalgia, and
also to obtain an eerie low-key lighting that sets a low mood for the portfolio.
Lastly,the settings of these three images also resemble a home, albeit a distorted
one. The houses look dilapidated, like they have been neglected or abandoned for a
while. I plan to adopt such settings in my photography, creating a mood that shows
t that I felt like my father felt absent, distant or negligent in my childhood.
 In the images to the left, we see that the gazes of the
woman (image ‘W’), the young girl, (image ‘V’) and the boy
(image ‘U’), are highlighted by the lack of colour in the
images. The absence of flashy colours allow the viewer to
u
hone in on the directed gazes of the subjects of the images
on the left. I want to adopt this in my portfolio. Because
distracting colours are eliminated from these images, we are
forced to focus on the detail we are given. We end up
following the subjects’ gazes, leaving us to wonder, ‘what is
the boy staring so intently at?’ Similarly, the emotion on the
subjects’ faces are also emphasized, especially in image ‘V’.
v w The young girl is seen staring out of the train window with
longing. This leads the viewer to wonder if she just lost
someone or if she was separated from something that she

Black&White loved. I want to use black and white images to provoke

similar questions in my audience. I want my photographs to
portray the fact that I am grappling with and questioning my
To highlight gaze
emotions.
 References
A. Murray, Lisa, ‘for Parts Not working’,https://www.lensculture.com/articles/lisa-murray-for-parts-not-working
B. Hashempour, ramin(Man seen through Mirror),https://www.photoawards.com/winner/zoom.php?eid=8-122387-16
C. MACK, ‘Another Online Pervert’, 2023,https://www.lensculture.com/articles/brea-souders-another-online-pervert
D. Cristóbal Cobo, Juan, (Graffiti of Man on a fence)https://www.bandwmag.com/articles/juan-cristobal-cobo-an-opaque-light
E. Schell, Adali, (Two Girls in a car).https://amateurphotographer.com/latest/photo-news/sony-world-photography-awards-2024-professional-finalists-announced/
F. Marrades, Sol, ‘La Vie, Quotidienne’ https://www.artmajeur.com/solmarrades/en/artworks/11933414/la-vie-quotidienne-13-16-17
G. Taylor, Rashod, ‘LJ and His Fort’, 2022, https://www.bandwmag.com/articles/rashod-taylor-little-black-boy
H. Harabarska, Hannah, ‘My Mom Wants To Go Back Home’,https://www.lensculture.com/articles/hanna-hrabarska-my-mom-wants-to-go-back-home
I. Zackman, Patrick, ‘Boy staring in black and white’,https://www.magnumphotos.com/photographer/patrick-zachmann/
J. Nativio, Andriana, ‘As We Rest In The Shadows’,https://www.andriananativiophotography.com/current-work
K. Dessaigne, Christophe, ‘absence’,https://www.artlimited.net/midnight-artwork/art/photographie-absence-montage-retouche-gens-divers/en/202932
L. Khouadiani, Oliver, ‘Mi Ti. The head the advance of the new Goli in the village’,https://www.lensculture.com/articles/olivier-khouadiani-golikro
M. De Santis, Ludovica, (children reflecting light),https://www.lensculture.com/photo-competitions/art-photography-awards/2024/winners
N. Zackman, Patrick, (Asian men in tophats),https://www.magnumphotos.com/photographer/patrick-zachmann/
O. Cori, Claudia, (Heels wrapped in cling-film),https://www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-galleries/
2018/professional/shortlisted/contemporary-issues-0
P. Di Pietro, Maurizio, (A hand in a container full of
Bees),https://amateurphotographer.com/latest/photo-news/sony-world-photography-awards-2024-professional-finalists-announced/
Q. Ballen, Roger, ‘Jackpot’, 2016, https://www.rogerballen.com/articles/roger-ballen-the-enigma-of-organised-chaos-talking-pictures-2/
R. Herrmann, Peter, (House with eerie brown wallpaper),https://unsplash.com/photos/brown-wooden-door-in-green-concrete-building-RdQXRpqNrzc
S. Wright, Nathan, (Dark room bareilly lit by window on right),https://unsplash.com/photos/white-wooden-door-xUa8c_ecUus
T. Herrmann, Peter, (Dilapidated dining room),https://unsplash.com/photos/a-dining-room-table-in-front-of-a-window-q8-Q4ZmlVpA
U. Riene, Katie, (Young boy tucked in a man’s trench coat), https://www.theclickcommunity.com/blog/best-emotion-photos/
V. You, Daren, ‘Chaos’,https://www.worldphoto.org/zh/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-galleries/2018/professional/shortlisted/creative/chaos-daren
W. Cristóbal Cobo, Juan, (Woman with long hair staring at camera) https://www.bandwmag.com/articles/juan-cristobal-cobo-an-opaque-light