Plenty More Fish In The Sea- Connecting essay 4

Photographers Image- Kyle Thompson

My Image

I am interested by the above image by Kyle Thompson as he is a well respected surrealist photographer who specialises in careful visual symbolism and imagery in order to achieve striking and meaningful pieces.  I was particularly interested by the use of fish hooks and the blue background to give the image an aquatic feel without including any actual water.  The hooks used carry violent connotations and give the image a dangerous or sinister undertone.  A sense of mystery is also achieved through the obstruction of the subjects face whilst the positioning of the subject in the centre of the square formatted piece draws the viewers eye directly to them further amplifying the idea that element of mystery as the viewer is forced to stare at an unknown subject.  The tilt shift used allows for specific elements of the image to be drawn into focus an effect which could be replicated to some degree using depth of field however is far more successfully achieved through the use of tilt shift further pushing the viewer to look at the images subject.

My image focuses around similar aspects to the image by Thompson however there are core differences.  I have included fish hooks in my piece however have chosen to embed the hook into the mouth of the subject in order to give the image a more raw and emotive appearance.  The real reasoning behind this choice of hook placement was to better drive display the link the the idiom which I was working around "Plenty more fish in the sea".  I hoped to convey the emotions centred around the idiom through the use of sombre blues which convey both sadness as well as creating a link to water and the sea in a similar way to the way that Thompson used the tones in his piece however I have created my coloration using blue gels and low key lighting opposed to the bright blue background used by Thompson.  Over the shoot I experimented with various lighting set ups which can be seen through my contact sheet the set up which I finally found to be most successful featured the use of a macro lens in order to capture maximum detail as well as the use of a singular snoot and blue gel to cast the colour of the subject whilst creating shadows and tonal contrast through directional light.  The placement of the string in the piece is also significant as when the string is hanging limp it carries connotations of freedom however when it is pulled taught in other images in the series this can be associated with being constrained by the past.  Over the shoot I experimented with various lighting set ups which can be seen through my 

If I were to revisit this shoot I would consider experimenting more with image orientation and square based compositions.  I would also be interested in creating a GIF or a sequence of photographs of the subject escaping from the hook and line however I would have to re-stage the shoot to achieve this so will be unable to complete this at this time.

To conclude I feel that the images from this shoot were on a whole successful and that the lighting alterations I made over the course of the shoot were vital in creating the final images.  I also feel that the message which I was attempting to convey through these images was ultimately successful.