Category: Photography

Sophia Evans Gallery 2022Sophia Evans Gallery 2022

SOPHIA EVANS

New Life

I wanted to show the rich texture in my images and the depth of nature growing within the empty, destructed buildings. This is because I wanted to incorporate the life of nature in my work, which is shown in my images by seeing the gradual growth of plants surrounding the buildings inside and out.

The abstraction and texture used in my images is the result of experimenting with techniques and colours around this idea – the colours popping out of these images wanting to catch the eyes of viewers, allowing you to place yourself in the environment as you are exploring it yourself in the beauty of nature taking its space back.

Abandoned buildings are a feature of our urban landscape which represent a post-industrial era of abandoned factories. These buildings have a history and a story behind them. It’s like I’m showing an historic landmark that has been standing for years, where the communication has been made accustomed to this and has allowed nature to grow and die around inside and out, year after year. The beauty of this can shout at you.

BTEC L3 EXTENDED DIPLOMA YR 2 2022BTEC L3 EXTENDED DIPLOMA YR 2 2022

BTEC L3 EXTENDED DIPLOMA YR 2

Watch This Video Exhibition of our Photography Students’ Incredible Work

The Diversity Project

A stunning gallery of work celebrating diversity by Year 2 students at Dudley College of Technology
























A-Level Photography 2022A-Level Photography 2022

A-LEVEL PHOTOGRAPHY

A-Level Photography allows learners the opportunity to express themselves creatively while exploring ideas and concepts that are personal and meaningful. This is clearly demonstrated across the wonderful work created by this years A-Level cohort. I could not be prouder of the work and achievements made by each member of the Photography group.

Learners often choose issues within society as a means to connect their Photography to an audience. The course consistently challenges them to problem solve and improve both quality and concept as they progress. This ultimately prepares them for both industry and Higher Education.

Industry-standard software and equipment are embedded throughout the course to again support progression, exploring the Creative Cloud Adobe Suite with programs such as Photoshop and Lightroom for image editing, along with InDesign to create their stunning portfolios and project work. To allow for a deeper understanding of photography, learners are encouraged to work with both modern and traditional techniques such as darkroom and Cyanotypes. This 2-year programme builds theoretical and practical knowledge to allow our learners the creative means to express themselves through Photography.

I hope you enjoy exploring the work from this year’s Photography learners.

Simon Morris, A-Level Photography Tutor, Dudley Sixth






PHOTOGRAPHY 2022PHOTOGRAPHY 2022

PHOTOGRAPHY

Watch This Video of This Year’s Artsfest Photography Exhibition

Against the odds, our second years have completed a physical and online end of year exhibition, as well as a yearbook publication;  first years and evening class students have showcased their Creative Independent projects here online. In addition, first years are showcasing their animal conservation project online. This marks our 10 year collaborative relationship with Dudley Zoo; for whom second years have created a publication, to be sold in their gift shop.

Our students have again represented the college in the Lessons from Auschwitz programme and Dudley Holocaust Memorial day. In addition, this year we have engaged in a collaborative project about family with Professor Gill Pasternak and Anand Chhabra. We have had attended workshops with the University of Wolverhampton, Coventry University, Staffordshire University and Hereford College of Arts, who have again kindly awarded special ‘One to Watch’ awards to final year students. Look out for the banners next to the recipients’ work.

Many have had work published in the Rotary Club Calendar and we have had students win Dudley Photographer of the year. One of our evening class students was awarded Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society and currently has a solo exhibition at The Dudley Archives. Another has been selected to exhibit her work at The New Art Gallery, Walsall. One of our students is college mental health ambassador, and another is a marketing ambassador. Some second years have even worked with a local butcher, making images for his website. Some first years have been working on an app for students with profound and multiple learning difficulties, to be used by local schools.

We are soon to travel to Iceland for the mid-night sun. Photography students are currently in the process of raising money for Refugee Action. This year we have been supported brilliantly by PGCE trainee teacher Milan Callaghan. We hope you enjoy our exhibition. It’s testimony not only to our students’ determination and resilience during testing times but also to the expertise and support we receive from our brilliant teaching team and technicians! Well done and thanks to all!

Phil Brooks, course leader, photography

Watch this Video Diary of Dudley College Photography Students on Their Trip to Ilam, Derbyshire in 2022

BTEC L3 Ext Diploma Yr 1


BTEC L3 Ext Diploma Yr 2


Level 4 Evening Class

Level 4 Photography Evening Class 2022Level 4 Photography Evening Class 2022

L4 PHOTOGRAPHY EVENING CLASS




Richard Paul Calvert










Sarah Millington


Sahar Mohammadikoochi








Jemima Tshiangala

Dudley-college-artsfest-photography-farm-animals

Rhiannon Westwood: Best Six ImagesRhiannon Westwood: Best Six Images

RHIANNON WESTWOOD: BEST SIX IMAGES

Animals in Britain

For my project I had the intention to display ‘Animals In Britain’ and the beauty surrounding us. I have been heavily inspired by my zoo project and aim to capture photographs of animals in the wild and in farms. This gave me a newfound respect for other animal photographers such as Will Nicholls, who also inspire me. My photographs would be appropriate for wildlife documentaries, calendars and other commercial outlets. It has never been more imperative that we act against deforestation and other forms of wildlife destruction, as so many animals are becoming endangered and are suffering due to our greed; I wanted to bring awareness to this by showing how beautiful nature is in the hope of inspiring others to appreciate what lives along side us.

Dudley-college-artsfest-photography-perfume

Danielle Williams: Best Six ImagesDanielle Williams: Best Six Images

DANIELLE WILLIAMS: BEST SIX IMAGES

Empowerment of Women

For my project I wanted to focus on the empowerment of women. 

To do this I took a perfume (Daisy by Marc Jacobs) that is stereotypically considered a ‘feminine’ perfume (especially in the adverts that I researched). 

I kept to the Marc Jacobs brand and mixed the Daisy perfume with another one of Marc Jacobs perfumes, called Decadence. This perfume is seen and shown as a more mature perfume, meaning more for women who are perhaps of a mature age and with a business / power ethos.

Caitlin Barham: Best Six ImagesCaitlin Barham: Best Six Images

CAITLIN BARHAM

Rediscovering Nature

I want to show the beauty and detail in objects that we often miss due to not being interested enough to look and just miss the details or we can’t see the subject’s detail fully with just the human eye. I wanted to pick a topic to photograph that is somewhat relevant to today, so I chose the topics of nature and household objects. This is because, due of Covid, we have all been trapped in doors for months and everyone is trying to find ways to cope with this and their mental health, so a lot of people have turned to nature. Being locked in isolation all year has made people appreciate the smaller things in life, so I wanted to capture this through the lens of a camera.

Level 2 Creative MediaLevel 2 Creative Media

LEVEL 2 CREATIVE MEDIA

Aisha Anam

Nature

The theme of my final project is “Nature” looking at different techniques and different views. I took six pictures that I edited myself. I decided to do something that is based around landscape photography. I went to a park in Luton and took photos of the varied landscape including images of a river and trees. My aim for this project was to improve my editing skills and learn new and different techniques.


Dana Carter

Project X – Nature Photography

My plan was to create a nature photography video, so I edited and compiled the images into short movie and added a cross dissolve effect to have the images transition from one image to another as smoothly as possible. I added nature sounds and calm music to the video to have an atmosphere which would appeal to the audience. At first the video was too short but after feedback I made it much longer by adding more images, sounds, improved editing and included title cards. I chose to do this idea as I have watched plant videos in the past on YouTube, I feel people do not appreciate plant/wildlife enough and I love collecting crystals, rocks and seashells.


Bradley Finch

Bumblebee

The main aim was to have three posters that link together. The first one has a lot going on, making it stand out so that the first image attracts the attention for the others in the series. The second one is probably the main one that stands out as being a “remake” as I have combined two of the leading roles to make one character. Finally, the last one was originally going to be Disney inspired however I changed it into a minimalistic, simplified piece of art as I wanted the sunset and the silhouette to be the only things that caught your attention. The final poster is also supposed to encapsulate the final part of the movie as Charlie parts ways with Bumblebee to go back to Cybertron. Overall, I feel that I have captured the main characters and the setting quite well.   


Charlotte George

Nature Photography Montage

Circle of Sorrow: For the first photo, I decided to take a picture of bluebells. I’m fond of this image because of how they are grouped around in a little circle together; they are the centre of attention in all the green grass. I particularly like the way they slightly turn down due to the way they grow which makes them look slightly sad which is contradictory because bluebells are a symbol of humanity, gratitude and everlasting love; all very positive things. The darkness surrounding the image though does create more focus to the flowers.

Field Day: My idea for this image was to capture more of nature. Keeping it simple by only having green, blue, yellow and white. I took this photograph because I like how the clouds looked in the sky coming out from behind the tree and with the sun appearing through the trees as well creating the shadow. This photograph is very bright which makes it look like its pouring with happiness, then the clear view with clouds just lightly flowing though the sky giving it a more relaxing feel. The sun very lightly peeking through the trees makes some parts of the grass brighter to the rest creating different shades through the shadows which is very intriguing to the eye.

The Field of Yellow: For this photograph I wanted to be able to get a close-up of some of the flowers so you could see detail while still getting a shot of the flowers across the whole field. Therefore, I chose to take the photo at a slightly lower angle to get that effect. This was a darker image so the yellow of the flowers really brings a staple colour to the image.

House Over Sunset: For this image I wanted to get some of the village below so I got a slightly lower angle allowing you to look down on to the houses. I composed between the trees to give the houses more attention, then having the sunset off to the side in the distance gives the image more of a relaxing tone. Seeing all of the houses gives the picture more of a homely feel. I liked this photo because the trees around the image frame the picture very nicely to give more focus on the centre and sky. Then the almost clear sky fading from dark blue to orange gives you a nice change of tone as well. If you look further in the distance, you can see more hills showing how the village is surrounded by nature.

Light in Darkness: My idea was to take pictures of nature so e.g., sunsets, trees, flowers, scenery. Then put them into a montage to show all the photos I have taken together. I like this photo I took because of how the sky, grass and trees contrast each other. The softness of the orange fading into blue is relaxing contrasting from the darkness coming from the trees in front of them, but still having red/orange glow around them. However, the comparison of brightness and darkness do complement each other. Lower down from the dark trees you can still see the green of the grass displaying along the bottom of the photo seeing the colour come back to the image.

Mother Nature’s Glow: The focus for this photo was the sky and sunset, I wanted to be able to capture the sun setting and all the colours it is displaying. You can see the sun glowing in the distance, having the yellow and orange surrounding it amongst the clouds, trees and grass in the foreground of the sunset gives more colour to the image and the natural feel of the image. In addition to this above the trees you have the blue sky with clouds glossing over it with the natural transition from the blue to orange/yellow.

Orange Horizon: For this image I wanted to capture a sunset. This image shows a lot more orange tones because it was taken during the golden hour when the sun was starting to set which gave the image a lovely orange/golden glow to it. The difference from the cold tones of the blue fading into the warm orange tones really brings out the silhouette of the trees and emphasizes them and shows more detail and texture to the trees and the ground. The two trees framing the sunset focuses more attention to the sun. 


Thomas Hendrie

Retro-Portraiture

A merging of traditional portrait photography combined with a faux retro style known as Synth/Retro/Neonwave. This project professionally hand-picked images, editing them to bring out unique, nostalgia-inducing imagery in waves of pink, yellow, and purple.


Teigan Hoult

Nature Photography Montage

Bluebells of Kindness: I have loved photographing this piece of work, mainly because it’s my favourite flower. The colour in this piece of work stands out. So, I decided to change my shutter speed on my camera, so it gives a blurry effect in background and keeps the flowers at the front in focus. The meaning behind this photograph is gratitude. Just look at this photo! The reason behind it, is to be thankful for everything in your life, like your family, friends, yourself and to always stay positive no matter what challenges you face in life. I like how the purple stands out more in the background. The imagery is there to show you always have kindness in your heart.

Creepy Hollow: I loved this photo because I like how the church is positioned in-between two trees which makes the church look haunted and creepy at the same time. It also looks like it could be a very quiet place. The process behind this photo is that I tried to capture the church at the right angle so I photographed from behind the bush allowing the church to stand out more. Also, I like how church could possibly be used for a horror type film because of how spooky it looks behind the trees. My favourite thing about this photo is how the trees look lifeless and have no energy in them which gives off a ghostly look.

Enchanted forest: I enjoyed taking this photograph. You see sun beaming through the trees making a silhouette shape on the ground. I wanted to capture an ionic moment whilst on my walk through the forest, it gives out a feeling of being in a peaceful world. As I walked around the forest, I tried to capture more photos which looked like a magical scene from a film. It could also show a side of horror which is relatable, in addition this image could represent nightmares and not fairy tales. I’m fond of how it can be place that has birds chirping away and planes going through the sky.

Heavenly Dreams: This piece was taken by my house, and it is so unforgettable. I have decided to call this piece Heavenly Dreams because you can see the emotions in the clouds, so it gives out an expression that they are peaceful and relaxed. I wanted to create this piece as it represents goals in your life that you want to achieve. Finally, the process behind this picture is that I had to go behind a graveyard into a field so I could be high enough to capture the shot. I like how the clouds stand out more when they are on a blue background because you can see the detail of every single cloud in the sky.

Pink Carnation: I loved photographing this piece of work. The colour makes the photograph stand out more. I decided to take a photograph of a bunch of pink carnations which turned out to be so beautiful. The flower is to represent never ending love and a perfect flower for your own mother. This might be my favourite photograph so far due to the reason I took photograph, it symbolizes gratitude which means to always be grateful for life and to always say “thank you”. I like how you can see the texture and every little detail of flower which makes the photograph way better.

Winter magic: This photograph just speaks out Winter wonderland. Why? As you are drawn into the winter experience and just picture yourself dancing in the snow just like in a movie. I love how it gives out a sense of a peace, so soothing and calming, I want to show the importance of a positive mindset. I was inspired by a photographer that I saw online doing winter/landscape photography, so I decided to have a go at it myself. However, the first thing I did was to find the perfect place to take the photos. I decided to walk up a hill to the main road and I like how there was trees bunched together with snow on, so I decided to find the ideal angle to take this photo and I feel I have captured the perfect shot.


Caitlin Morton

Project X

My idea originally started as nature photography mixed with ‘dark’ elements, the final products designed to be displayed in a museum/art gallery. When taking my photographs, I changed my idea to focus only on nature. I used flowers that I had brought in from home and a variety of busts to combine. After taking a few photographs I decided to experiment with the lighting, moving the 2 lights that I had with me around to find a position that makes the photograph look a higher quality. The lighting style that I decided on was similar to ‘Rembrandt’ lighting. Additionally, I experimented with various techniques, such as spraying water and using fabric.


Tafari Pettitt

My Project X idea was to produce a set of action photos specifically being ‘in the moment’. The moment I wanted to attempt to capture, was finding different models and showing their ‘experience’, that were varied. I tried to get different topics, so I was varied. So, it would successfully looked like a collection of live action photographs.

Hayley Wright: Best Six ImagesHayley Wright: Best Six Images

HAYLEY WRIGHT: BEST SIX IMAGES

The Power of a Portrait 

Over the course of this last year, I have developed a deeper understanding and a true passion for portraiture. This is now something that I want to go into professionally. In this selection, I’ve stepped outside my comfort zone to try self-portraiture.

Using a range of different lighting, from natural sunlight to the studio lights, I have been able to work and experiment with multiple styles of lighting and how they overall affect the final image. Some of my images offer a ‘story telling’ element, for example, the photograph of the adult looking at the barbie doll was from my final project and was part of a theme of work titled “Childhood Influences”. 

My work over this last year has slowly begun to develop, along with a new sense of confidence and I wanted to be able to choose images which reflected these statements.