Texture and Pattern

Texture and Pattern

Definition & Theory

Texture: Refers to the tactile qualities of the physical surface of the object.

The challenge of seeing and capturing texture is mostly based on one element - light.

Texture can be accentuated by the side light of early sunny mornings or early, evenings or by overhead light when the sun is vertical and high in the sky.

Pattern: Repeating shapes, colours or objects ordered in either regular or irregular formations.

As a photographer, using pattern is key to good composition and when used effectively, can transform an otherwise bland image into something dramatic and eye catching.

 Patterns are formulated all around us, in both natural and man made settings.

Research of artist

Ansel Adams was born on the 20th February 1902 and died on the 22nd April 1984. He was an American photographer and environmentalist. Most of his photos are black and white landscape. His black and white landscape photographs of the American West, especially Yosemite National Park, have been widely reproduced on calendars, posters, books, and the internet.

 

All the above images are in black and white which means you can see more texture in the images. This makes the photographs more detailed and interesting as if there is a story behind the image. The black and white set a mood, such as sad or depressed, the black is a bland colour with lots of emotions behind it. Ansel Adams has a very interesting way of photographing what's in front of him, he manages to access the light and dark colours easily which makes the images riveting for the viewer. The first image is of a long road, because there are mostly dark colours, this brightens the white and makes the road look further away. The second image is of some leaves - I chose to present this one in my work as this is very basic and I feel I will be able to achieve a similar photograph to this, I like how the lighter colours are shown in the more visible leaves and the darkness emphasises this.

Image bank

The following images were added as part of my visual research...

The above are a collection of images that contain either texture, pattern or both. The reason I chose these images is because I feel I could capture similar photos around Harlow and elsewhere. I feel as if it will be difficult to capture both texture and pattern in one image but I will attempt to do so. The first image was chosen more for the texture of the wood and the pattern of them individually - I can attain something similar but I will be photography trees. The second image is of a drain and there is a very clear texture and pattern in this image, for me to do a similar style/type of photography to this then I will have to get on the floor and get the right settings. The last image is of what I think is a beach/sand, the the patterns are not as appealing but it gives the viewer a sense/knowledge of what the bumps in the sand would feel like.

(A01: You must ensure that several of the visual ideas/inspirations within the image bank are pursued)

Selected images - CONTACT SHEETS

I enjoyed taking pictures of textures and patterns because I feel that it is everywhere. So I took a variety of images. I found that some things were more difficult to capture as the texture was not clearly seen or focused. I'm pleased with most of these images because the texture came out really well. I feel as if I didn't get enough pattern images because I mostly concentrated on capturing texture. 

All of these images were taken according to what I thought texture and pattern was about and I am pleased with the outcome. By taking these photos, it has widened by opinion of texture and pattern as drastically changed as I am using my creativeness to show these formal elements.

My best images

This photograph shows pattern, you see this with the recurring pattern of windows which are all the same size and shape. I like this image as it shows that pattern is everywhere, and can be seen differently depending on how you look at an object. This pattern is very clear and noticeable as it is simple yet interesting. When editing this image I will crop out a bit of the road so the focus is more on the building, I will also use the filters to change the settings to black and white as this is what Ansel Adams has done to his images.

This photograph shows pattern. This is seen in the wheel and how the lines are all symmetrical and equally apart. This image was taken to capture the details of a car wheel, and how precise these details are. The details on the car wheel have to be precise in order for the car to be seen as "the best made". Also, these lines all combine into one blur once the car starts moving. This was taken in the Asda car park and I got level with the car wheel to get this photo, I am pleased with the outcome because you can see the detail on the tire and the rest of the wheel.

 This photograph shows texture. The visual texture is the roughness and unevenness of the bark. I really like this image as the surroundings really compliment the tree, so the tree is the main focus as the background is quite bright and the tree is grey/green. The colours on this image are very vivid and bright which makes all little details stand out the most. The tree is clearly the main focus as the composition was done well - the tree is centred. When editing this image I will turn this black and white so my final edited images are in a series, all linked to my researched photographer.

This photograph shows pattern. Pattern is seen in the spider web and on the spider itself. The pattern on the web is disruptive because there are holes and some lines are uneven. There is a symmetrical pattern on the spider. The composition of this image was okay, but I felt that the spider could be more centred to be this photograph more pleasing - but how it turned put is good because you can the spider web clearly and you can see the detail on the spider. I will edit this to black and white and change the sliders on this filter so some colours are lighter or darker.

Images that require improvement

The first image is of a feather. The reason I dislike this image is because the camera did not focus properly on the feather and the my shadow was ruining the lighting. Also, I found it difficult to hold the feather and also try to focus & hold the camera to take the photo. During the taking of this photograph it was a windy day so the feather kept blowing and the camera was not able to focus properly, making it difficult to capture the photo that I wanted. If I were to re-shoot this image I would use a tripod so the photograph is not affected by the shaking of my hand, also I would wait until the wind stops because then I the image will be acceptable.

The second image is of a waterfall. This didn't turn out well because I didn't use the right shutter speed setting or I didn't have it on, so the water is blurry and not focused. This was taken in Gran Canaria when I was on holiday with my family, this is a swimming pool waterfall for decoration. I took this because I thought it would look interesting and you could see the texture and detail in this photograph - but sadly I did not have the settings correct and I was not able to capture the photo I wanted. If I were to re-shoot this image again I would concentrate on picking the right shutter speed and taking the photograph at the right moment. 

(A03: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress)

My idea of recording texture and pattern is to look at buildings, pavements, animals, etc in more detail and analyse where I can see a pattern or a texture that you can't see with just a quick glance. I was inspired by Ansel Adams and his way of photography, by looking at different angles. Also, because of his use of the black and white setting I am inspired to use this to make my images more textured. When first shooting texture and pattern I was concentrating on trees, leaves and flowers (nature), so I need to explore a wider variety of objects and items which I feel I can do. 

Even though Ansel Adams photographs a mix of things, his work nature work stands out the most to me because I like how, once the image is turned black and white, you can see the detail and the specific lines on the leaves which is interesting to me.

(A02: Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops)

Most of these photos was taken using a Fuji Fineopix S9600 and the rest were taken with a Samsung NX20 20.3 MP SLR. I have got myself familiar to using the Fuji Fineopix camera so some turned out better than my previous work. I'm still working on improving my skills with the Samsung camera. I used mainly the manual focus. I need to start using a tripod more often because this will clearly refine my work as my hand shaking will not affect the result of the image. To improve my images I imported a few into photoshop, to make the textures and patterns more distinct...

The first image is of me using the blemish tool to get rid of the shadow behind the tree. Next I selected the tree and inversed it so the whole image is selected. I then used the black and white filter which turned the background black and white and left the tree as it is. After this I changed the hue/saturation of the tree so it is more vibrant and more detail can be seen. The last image is of the final product and I am pleased with it because the tree is clearly where I want people to focus on to see texture and pattern. Also the texture of the tree looks 'stronger' and you can visually see what the bumps on the tree more clearly. This image shows my ability of what I can do on photoshop by showing what colours I change and how I have done that. I feel I could have editing the black and white part a bit more by making the trees a bit more clearer and I should have used the spot-healing tool to get rid of any abnormalities.

I believe I have presented a really good image and I have very pleased with the outcome. Too make this image better I could have experimented with some of the filters and see which one appealed the most to me, so I can widen my skills. 

(A01: Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding)

I found researching photographers for texture and pattern quite difficult because most of their work was very exotic and abstract. I feel like a photographers intake on texture and pattern is very unusual as they are very creative. I have not achieved that creativeness yet as this is my first time I'm being serious about photography. I was inspired by all of the photographers I looked at because they all had different intakes on how to capture texture and pattern. I enjoy researching different photographers and their style of photography because it inspires me to be more creative and try to come up with a similar idea or access new ideas. 
In this formal element I don't think I completely accessed my creative side as I am still looking at the basics and taking photographs of basic things - I can still maintain some really good images but I feel I need to focus more on what I am photographing and take my time so my photos are pristine. 

(A04: Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements)

I found texture and pattern quite easy, as nearly everything has different textures and patterns. The camera and composition is really important because if the camera does not focus properly or doesn't have the right settings then the photo won't turn out right and you won't be able to see the details of the pattern/texture. I feel that I could have taken more texture photos but I found it difficult as I wasn't to sure how I could describe a specific texture, or if the camera would focus on the texture. I made some edits of my images, I attempted to make them relate to my photographer Ansel Adams. I believe I have achieved this as most of Ansel Adams' work involves nature (leaves and plants) which is what most of my images are. The more I learn about these different formal elements and these different photographers, the more I want to understand the distinctness between these photographs and how they make/do what do. The following images are the edits I made...