Research Tasks

Task 1)

Neil Aldridge's Image of a Fera employee vaccinating a badger of bTB

This image was taken in Gloucester shire for BBC wildlife magazine Autumn 2011, The story is based on the vaccination of badgers to reduce the spread of bTB to cattle in the UK, Neil joined the team for three days along side BBC environmental editor James Fair and members of The Badger Trust, Wildlife Trust and NFU. The image is straight to the point and the lighting works well but the main quality featured in this image in my opinion is the great use of depth of field the focus is predominantly on the vaccination syringe and the badger receiving it, letting the viewer know as soon as they see it what the story is about. The set up would have been rather simple, I think Neil only used natural lighting and may have used a tripod. The photo is simple but effective not needing high tech equipment to produce the piece just the striking subject that draws you in and the clever use of formal elements. Neils view on this subject speaks through his images he seems to be pro vaccination and to me I get a feel of him wanting to preserve the lives of the badgers instead of supporting the cull.

In my opinion this image is brilliant it does what it is made to do and also has some cleaver but simple camera skills that make the photo. With out The use of a shallow depth of field the image will be quite the opposite and would be boring and bland. The colour of the Fera employees glove is bright and eye catching which is another key factor of this photo.

Man mutilated Rwanda World Press Photo of the Year: 1994 James Nachtwe (MAGNUM)
This incredible image by James Nachtwe shows a victim of Hutu militia who suspected he was a supporter of the Tutsi rebels the image was taken with black and white film in 1994 which in my opinion has given the image a gritty powerful feel. James says "my speciality is dealing with ground level realities with a human dimension. He feels that people need photography to help them understand what's going on in the world, and believes that pictures can have a great influence on shaping public opinion and mobilising protest". I think that James has more than likely used natural lighting for this shoot due to the fact that the photographer must have been traveling when he saw this shot and therefore would more than likely be carrying next to nothing other than a film camera films and a selection of lenses. His shot has a great feel to it which in my belief is because of the shallow depth of field which only leaves the scared face in focus this leads the viewer to the point in which he is trying to explain in the story that went along side. "I have been a witness, and these pictures are my testimony. The events I have recorded should

not be forgotten and must not be repeated." this is a quote that is on the welcome page to Nachtwe's website it shows the reason in his motivation and approaches to the subjects he so follows and works.

Tony Phelps BBC Wildlife Mag April 2013 pages 66-71

This article written and shot by Tony Phelps on the subject of Cape Cobras and how to study them caught my eye when I was reading my monthly issue of BBC Wildlife magazine, I picked this photo journalists work because of the striking images he captured by being risky in our eyes but really he was just using his knowledge to his advantage. In this article Tony has used his images and his story to try and explain the beauty of these animals and not just the ongoing fear that people have of them, the Images are more from a research point of view than a artists point of view and is aimed at nature lovers and people who work in the field. The other issue that Tony brings up is the way man is having an effect on the population, the top middle image is a photo of "Goldie" a Cape Cobra that has lived in the same grave yard for 8 years Tony has writ that "luckily the farmer who owns the graveyard is snake friendly" the image is a good one it seems that even know Tony is not a professionally photographer he has used some formal elements in the images, in this one there's a good use of lines that lead to the main subject (Cobra) a use of rule of thirds in the way of having the snakes head coming into the top left power point and the colour is well used in the factor of the golden yellow of the Cobra that jumps of of the bland grey gravestone, he also uses a good use of alternative angles for his images such as in the image I have just been talking about he has got down low to a worms eye view this gives you a feeling of the Cobras dominance and makes the snake look bold and powerful. Tony evidently uses digital cameras for his images for these images I don't think he used much equipment, there may have been use of a wide angle lens but I believe he was more likely to use a standard 18-55mm. The layout of this article is quite typical of BBC Wildlife magazine it has a two page spread of the most capturing image to entice the viewer to read this image has a small profile on Tony and a paragraph to introduce the story, big bold images on the next pages keep the viewers interest accompanied with the rest of the story wrapped around an image of Tony holding one of his beloved Cobra's. Seeing this layout has inspired  me to use one similar to this one, I think it must have had a lot of PR thought go into it and is tested to be used in regards to the target audience. All in all I know that this style has worked because I read this myself and both learned and enjoyed Tony's story.

Robert Adams: Robert Adams is a photographer who done a project on the deforestation of North-West America. His work featured in a book called tracing steps