Initially, I thought about creating a shoot similar to the graphic regularly seen of human evolution, but using babies, through to school children, teenagers, young adults and so on but I decided that to get some kind of symmetry to do what I visualised would be difficult.
I then decided that I could do something similar using food and I decided that the life cycle of fruit would work well.
[SHOOT PLAN]
[1/50, F4.5]
For this photo, I struggled with making sure the background was the same shade, to overcome this I played around with the exposure and highlight in photoshop.
I really like the contrast between the crisp white background and the bright red apple. Another issue I faced is that I didn’t think the bite looked very good at first, therefore I used a knife to artificially carve more out.
The most difficult element for this shot for me was making sure the apple was the same size because I had to move my camera at one point during the shoot.
[1/50, F4.5]
This photograph is of a pear decaying that I took in my studio setup.
I was attempting to portray the way the fruit decomposes over a period of time. For this specific shot, I took multiple images over the course of a week.
I am particularly pleased with the way in which I captured the textural change of the inside of the fruit. The most difficult element for me was trying to get the backgrounds a similar colour, because I was sometimes taking the shots at different times in the day, meaning the lighting was different.
In order to improve this photograph, I could have left it out a bit longer to further enhance the mould.
[1/50, F4.5]
After I bought this clementine, one of the leaves fell off so I had to lean it on the orange.
For this shot, I used a shallow depth of field to capture the different textures from the outside and inside of the fruit, This image relates to the theme “events” because of it starts whole and then peels open and then becomes mouldy. I like the contrast in this image because initially, it looks like a juicy clementine, but over time it withers.
This could have a deeper meaning and be a metaphor for the decay of humans and how we all inevitably die.
[1/50, F4.5]
This photograph is of a peach rotting in my studio setup.
I was inspired by the word “events” for this shoot and image because of it literal meaning of a process which happens through time. I am really pleased with the amount of mould I managed to captured on the fruit. It could symbolise how someone looks happy and joyful on the outside, but on the inside, they are really sad, hence the mould on the inside.
The most difficult element for me was focusing the camera on the mould to ensure I capture the tonal values, I overcame this with persistence and altering the focus until it was suitable,
[1/50, F4.5]
This photograph is of an avocado decaying that I took in my home.
In this shot, I was attempting to convey a depressing mood through the grey like colour the avocado turns when it rots, which can represent sadness. I am particularly pleased with the way in which I captured the different textures, through the use of a shallow depth of field, which also allowed me to capture much more distinctive textures from both the inside and outside of the fruit.
The most difficult element for me was making sure the avocados look the same size in the final image. In order to improve this photograph, I could have waited longer for some noticeable mould to form.
[1/50, F4.5]
This image is of a banana rotting over time. This is one of the fruits that had the most significant visual difference in its rotting process. I had to take this shot last because I knew the banana would change the colour of the background, as the fruit is exposed to the white background, thus staining it.
I am pleased with how I captured the erosion of the banana because it shows how things can change and in some cases go wrong, just like how this banana has rotted to a point of disgust.
[1/50, F4.5]
This image is of different levels of toasted bread going from non toasted to burnt.
I took these pictures on a whiteboard to ensure I get a fresh white background. One issue I had while taking these shots is that if I were to leave the bread on the whiteboard my dog would come and eat it!
Another issue I had is that sometimes my toaster doesn’t work properly, meaning some pieces of bread would burn when I didn’t want them to.
I wanted to limit the shadowing I captured in the images, so I took the shots looking down on the bread and had it set-up on the floor.
[EXPERIMENTAL]
This experimental is of all the items fresh and then of all the decayed items. This shows how inevitably, with time everything decays. This also allows the viewer to see from one extreme to another.