After experimenting with organic matter with the fruit from the last Geometry shoot, I decided to try using a different type of everyday item to photograph. Pencils are used by most people everyday and are mass produced in a sturdy material like wood, which means that each pencil in a new pack should be the same shape and size and they are easier to arrange and compose. I arranged the pencils on some baby pink card that contrasted very effectively against the colours of the pencils. I placed them in the same order that they appeared in the original packaging, to keep them in the order of the rainbow which creates a sense of order in the photograph. Then, I photographed them from varying focal lengths and changed the composition to create variety in my images.

Below are some contact sheets of the original images from this shoot:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

I also took inspiration from Sakir Gökçebag’s images; in particular I tried recreating his image of the watermelon slices arranged in a circle by arranging my pencils in a circle, too, as both of them give an interesting “spiky” kind of texture to the image. Below is a comparison of Gökçebag’s image (left) next to one of my images (right):

 

 

Many of the images are underexposed and dark as I photographed them just before the sun was setting and I was losing light fast. I took the images into Camera Raw and Photoshop to try and brighten the images and exposure, and also add Lens Corrections to remove any weird curving and distortion of the images. The best images are below:

 

UPDATE: 23/11/2018

After the group tutorial today, I was given feedback on these images. My peers said that these images are more effective than those from the fruit photoshoot, however they aren’t yet “perfect” as the pencils are aligned slightly wonky and aren’t immaculately straight, whereas geometry is all about “perfection” and accuracy. Another thing that was pointed out was that the pencils aren’t all facing upwards with the writing facing the camera, therefore it would be even more effective and pleasing to look at if the images were retaken with the writing facing the same way, ensuring the pencils were even more uniform. I may retake these images if I have time, but first I will continue exploring new ideas and undertake a photoshoot with biscuits and similar items, as I feel like this will create an effective set of images, whereas it would be harder to create 4 interesting images with this single media.