My project is all based around urban style photography. I started off by exploring Birmingham and taking photos throughout Digbeth and the city centre. I wanted to create emotion in the images by capturing the movement and fast paced motion of the city. I did this by using different camera techniques to create light streams, as well as using Photoshop to layer some images to create a more busy and chaotic effect, representing the feeling of being in a bustling city. I then wanted to contrast this with the more isolated areas of a city, for example at the top of buildings away from all the traffic, as well as abandoned places which have been filled with street art and expression. I wanted this contrast of emotion to be part of my final piece however the pandemic has limited my ability to take photos in the city. I have had to adapt my theme slightly to look at isolation but as an effect of the lockdown. I have gone around my local area to find abandoned areas as well as finding new graffiti which has grown as a result of the lockdown. I have also taken some images looking out my window to the world outside which we can’t have free reign on anymore. I experimented with a zoom lens to capture the sunsets as well as cityscapes I can see in the distance. All the images are a lot more simplistic and less cluttered which creates quite a sombre feeling, similar to the emotions we are all feeling whilst our freedom is limited.
