Research - Theme One - John Shaw

John Shaw will be the next photographer who I am going to be researching. After this piece of research I will also be going out on a photoshoot to attempt his style of photography. This will also be great practice for me to attempt this style of photography which I feel is very important when taking nature photographs. His style is similar to Ansel Adams. The only real difference between the two is that John Shaws work is mainly in colour and Ansel Adams work is mainly in black and white. Below are ten of my favourite photographs from John Shaws collection which convey a strong colourful visual message in which I will be attempting myself.

This first photograph displays exactly what I mean. As you can see his style is similar to Ansel Adams photography. The main focal point is centred in the photograph showing it’s dominance. This means that the viewer will know what this photograph is displaying. Like normal colour is also concentrated in this photograph with two very different colours split in the photograph from the greens i the tree to purple field leading into the background.

The second photograph I have chosen is a little different to the first but uses the same style. Again the main focal point is developed due to the tree placed in the centre of the photograph but what makes this photograph different from Johns other work is that it is taken at dusk. This creates a silhouette of the main focal point making it stand out even more thus creating a completely different feel to the photograph to if it was taken during the day.

These two photographs both have a pattern feel to them but both use the pattern style in different ways. The top photograph has one tree bark centred in the photograph and then starts to span out wider with the other tree barks. This is great as this is what the viewer will notice when looking at the photograph. I would also say that lines to guide the eye were used here with the trees leading out further into the background of the photograph. The second photograph also uses patterns but they don’t span out into the background, instead they almost slope of diagonally from right to left. This effect appears with the tops of the trees being yellow and how the photograph was taken. It was taken at a certain level to get the trees at a correct height starting with the small trees on the right to them growing to the left and then to the right again. The top photograph is also very similar to the work of Ansel Adams. This photograph is very similar due to the patterns evolving from the trees where they expand out deeper into the photograph.

The next photograph I have chosen is a close up style photograph but again he manages to make the main focal point stand out by placing it right in the middle of the photograph. Again this is great as it shows the viewer what the photographs visual message is displaying without the viewer having to look around the photograph for it. Again like normal colour was also concentrated here with the yellow from the petals on the flower. A low F-stop would have been used here as nothing in the background is in focus making the close up of the flower stand out a lot more. This also helps convey a stronger visual message showing the dominance of the main focal point.

These two photographs have both been taken by myself. I have taken these to copy the style of some of John's work. As you can see both are close ups and both main focal points are centered in the photograph just the same as John Shaw. Both include a high concentration of colour (top photograph more darker natural colours, second photograph using more natural light alongside brighter colours) the colour from both flowers brighten up the photographs which is needed especially in the top photograph where natural light is quite low. I had to watch what I was doing here in terms of health and safety because I had to lean over other objects to get quite close to the flower. This was taken into consideration as I could have easily fallen over and not only done damage to myself but done damage to the environment.

This photograph highly concentrates on lines mixed with colour. He has stood square on to the subject which is involved in the whole of the photograph creating a lines effect from the different colours of the flowers in the field. Colour with natural light is mixed together here to create a warm colourful photograph.

This was my attempt at the photograph above. As you can see it wasn't taken in a field but I have tried to re create the same concept with the different colours mixed with lines. A medium amount of natural light was used here so the amount of colour involved boosted the photographs brightness.

This photograph is the style of photograph that I am going to be aiming to achieve on my next photoshoot. As you can see he uses the same style as Ansel Adams. The main focal point is the tree in the distance of the shot without any distractions or interruptions in the photograph. This makes the main focal point stand out alot more than if there were other trees in the shot. This immediately draws the viewers attention to what the photographer intended the viewer to look at. This shot would've been completely different if there were no tree involved. Again as normal colour is also concentrated here with many different bright colours mixing with the bright natural sunlight creating a bright and colourful photograph.

Patterns mixed with colour is concentrated in this photograph with the different Autumn colours blending in with the position and structure of the trees. Nothing else is included in this photograph so this suggests he may have zoomed a little to only include this in the photograph. He would've been postioned square on to the trees to also create this effect.

These two photographs both include more than one object that create a main focal point. Again this is all down to where they are positioned and how little interruptions there are in the photographs. As you can see in the bottom photograph the three palms are placed directly in the middle of the photograph with nothing but the background supporting there postion. This is great as it directly places the viewers eye to these three palms first and nothing else will be distracting them. It is the same situation for the top photograph, the two trees are placed in the photograph one to the left and one to the right. The one of the left would probably be more of the main focal point due to its size and dominance. As you can see from the position this photograph was taken from the trees almost look like they are touching each other creating a small frame within frames effect. Both photographs highly concentrate on colour. The top photograph having a darker sky making the main focal point look alot more bolder and the sky in the second photograph being a pinkish/blue colour creating a warm photograph.

Above is a video I have found on youtube about John Shaw where he talks about his natural history of photography and what has kept him shooting for so long.


All John Shaw's photograph were found from this website http://www.nikonusa.com/Learn-And-Explore/Photography-Tips/g1attuky/1/The-Essential-John-Shaw.html