Daniel Mcgrath
Masao Yamamoto
Gallery
Artist Analysis
Masao Yamamoto was born in Gamagori City in Aichi Prefecture in Japan in 1957. Before he was a photographer, Masao Yamamoto wanted to pursue painting, studying oil painting under Goro Saito. In 1980 he transitioned into photography, but it is clear that his photographs aesthetics are influenced by his past in painting.
Masao Yamamoto has a very unique style. His images are almost always monotone, some being tinted to make the white look more like yellow. They are also often quite dark, almost always have low key lighting. Quite often the pictures are composed so that significant aspects of the pictures are in the centre, but this rule is not always followed. The shapes that appear in the pictures are often irregular because of the connection of the picture to nature and also to memory, which is often too distorted to be able to be represented by regular objects. The texture of the Photographs is quite rough because he would age his photographs by taking them outside, scrunching them up, and rolling them on his hands. This is all to link them back to the ideas of memory and makes the pictures especially powerful. Notable patterns do appear in the pictures- with photographs often being made up of either darker objects composed on a lighter background or lighter objects composed on a darker background. Line is also used in interesting ways in his work- with the branches of trees effectively pointing to the birds that sit on them, drawing the viewers attention to those birds. I think that all these aspects are what make Masao Yamamoto's work so interesting.
A specific piece of work that could be written about is Masao Yamamoto's photographs of Bonsai trees. These are pictures of bonsai trees that appear to be layered over a darker or significantly lighter background, after having their contrast adjusted to make the highlights stand out. The pictures do not contain any colour and are for the most part completely monotone, and the shapes that appear in the picture are very fluid and round. The lines in the pictures all lead to the leaves at the end of the trees branches, and the texture is rather grainy in the images, suggesting either a ISO or some kind of filter. The patterns produced are, like the lines, very fluid and often appear to extend of from a single point, much like a tree growing from a single point in the ground. The trees are often composed close to the center of the frame and are the most noticeable parts of the picture.
Photoshoot plan
Photoshoot plan annotations
This is my Masao Yamamoto photoshoot plan. In this plan I designed it to look like the kind of photos Masao Yamamoto produces. I used an eyedropper tool to make the background of the picture look like one of his works, and used a burn tool to create the effect that can be seen on the edges of the picture. This effect is supposed to simulate the picture aging, something that Masao Yamamoto simulate in his photographs by scrunching them up and exposing them to the elements. As for the composition, Masao Yamamoto's pictures often have areas of darkness in one concentrated areas, surrounded by light. I tried to replicate this by placing all the text in one area of the picture, and have it the title surrounded by a large amount of space. I think that this photoshoot plan was very successful, but if I were to do it again I would possibly print it out and scrunch it up to properly simulate it aging.
Contact Sheet
Contact Sheet Annotations
This is my contact sheet for Masao Yamamoto. I tried to take photographs of interesting natural things like especially beautiful trees or flowers. I also looked for trees that stood out of the background and took up a good portion of the frame. The images that were circled are the ones that I thought were the most beautiful and stood out the most. If I were to do it again I would make sure that the photograph numbers are readable because in the current photograph you cant see the pictures numbers. Also I think that I should have taken photographs from a lower angle to capture more of the sky.
First Developments
First developmeints annotation
These are my first developments for the artist Masao Yamamoto. I created them by first adjusting the levels and saturation to create an interesting and detailed picture. Then I used the brush tool to colour in the background, and then adjusted the colours to make the lighter tones a lot more tinted and warm. I think that these pictures were a success; they resemble the artists work but are also interesting in their one right. I would say that they convey the idea of a treasured memory very well and that this also contributed to their success. If I were to do them again I would try be more careful when 'drawing' on the photoshop document; If I had done that they images would have looked more professional which would have contributed to their success.
Highlighting Success
First Developments Highlighting Success Annotations
These are my most successful first developments. These photos were the ones that stood out to me the most, both when editing them and after. I feel that they resemble Masao Yamamoto's work and are interesting to look at if considered separately from the artist. For me the thing that separates these pictures from the others is the fact that, for one, the are the most professional, and that they evoke certain feelings beyond memory. The photograph of the bird, for me, evokes a feeling of loneliness because of how small the bird is compared to the rest of the image. The photograph of the tree with the white fog around it evokes a feeling of fear, partially because it was taken from a low angle making the tree seem bigger and more imposing, but also because of the fog, which carries association with nightmares.
Second Photoshoot
This is my second photoshoot for my second developments. I took photographs of mainly birds and trees, trying to find things that stand out from the background that could be used to make interesting edits. Something that I noticed about Masao Yamamoto's work was that it is made up of objects surrounded by negative space; this idea was something that I wanted to replicate by taking photos of obje cts that stood out from the background. Trees and wildlife seemed like the best kind of things to take photographs of because they are the kind of things that everyone knows about so it would be easy for the audience to associate these pictures with memory. I think that the photoshoot was a great success because the images were in focus and well composed, as well as being large in number. For future photoshoots, ensuring that a variety of angles were used would be a priority because that would make the images more interesting.
Second Developments
Second Developments annotation
These are my second developments for Masao Yamamoto. For these developments I decided to make physical edits using paint. I created these pictures by printing out the best pictures from another photoshoot after editing them to have a higher contrast and be monotone. After printing them out I paint ed around the subject of the photograph with black until the surroundings were not visible. After this I used water colours to tint the subject yellow to give the photograph some age. I think that these pictures were relatively successful, but if I were to do them again I would print them out a little bigger, and do my best to be more consistent with the water colour that I used,
Highlighting Success
Highlighting Success
These are my most successful Masao Yamamoto second developments. I think that these pictures had the most interesting composition and I think that the painting is the most consistent for these pictures. I think I got a good balance of water colour as well in these pictures, and that most of the shape of the subject was retained. If I were to do these specific pictures again I would possible use better paper so that I could do more things with paint before the paper became too heavy with paint.
Third Developments
Third Developments Annotations
These are my third developments for the artist Masao Yamamoto. I made these images using layer masks, and cut out pictures using the quick selection tool and layered them over other images. I tried to arrange them in interesting ways, either composing darker shapes over lighter pictures or light shapes over darker shapes. I did not do this in two cases, where I layered two or more images of the same shade over one anther. I think those pictures were the least successful. I think that these pictures were fairly successful, but if I were to do them again I would most likely try to create a larger variety of shapes.
Highlighting Success
Highlighting Success Annotations
These are my most successful third developments. The thing that sets these apart from the others is how the two aspects of the image contrast; the darker bird on the lighter aspect of the image is almost memetic of how certain aspects of memories stand out against others. Some memories stand out more than others even when they are from the same time or place. This connection to the artists concept is what makes these pictures, to me, so special.
AO4
Ao4 Annotations
This is my AO4 for the artist Masao Yamamoto; these are black and white photographs of projections of double exposures of my third edits in the style of Masao Yamamoto. I think that these images were fairly successful, both technically and conceptually. The photographs are visually appealing and in focus, which is a success for the images technically. Conceptually, the images are a success because I think the fact that they are projections means they further convey ideas of memory. The images appear 'ghostly' and the association people have with ghosts and the past strengthens the pictures connections to the concept of memory.
Formal Elements
The fact that the pictures are in black and white does a similar thing; people associate black and white photography with the past. This association strengthens the pictures connection to memory. That is how the images use color to strengthen their connection to the concept. As for tone, the pictures contain a large contrast; the lights are very bright and the darks are very dark. This highlights the variety of memory and how it contains both good and bad. Peoples memories contain great amounts of sorrow and joy, just as these pictures contain great amounts of darkness and light.
As for texture, the texture of the picture is the texture of the curtain; this texture again carries associations relating to the past because of how familiar it is. This idea of familiarity is very close to the idea of memory because memory is a very subjective and familiar thing; this 'chain of connections' does aid the image in conveying the relevant themes. As for shape, the pictures contain irregular rather obscure shapes which alludes to the same kind of familiarity as with texture.
I do not think there is very much to be said about the use of line and form in these images because they are not sculptures (which is the art form that form is most concerned with) and the pictures 'content' is composed entirely in the center; there are not any 'lines' pointing in any direction. That brings me to the textures composition; the images 'content' is composed in the very center of the frame which emphasizes the vulnerabillity of memory.
In Conclusion
In conclusion I think that these images were a great success. They certainly did have shortcomings; I think that these pictures would have benefitted if there were more of them. However I think that, other than that, they were mostly a success.
AO4 Highlighting Success Annotations
These are the most successful images of the ones above. I think that the things that set these pictures apart from the others is the fact that the content of the projection (i.e. the bird) is very large in the frame; I think this makes the pictures more visually appealing because it is different from the usual edits made in the style of this artist. Previously, the pictures would contain a small very detailed 'edit' in the center; this change in style makes the images refreshingly varied which to me adds to their success. I do like how the bird in these images is much darker in the center and is brighter on the outline; I think that this again adds to the pictures success because it makes the bird see like it is almost glowing which makes it more visually appealing, and also further connects the picture to ideas of memory because it makes the bird seem 'ghostly' which, as mentioned in previous annotations, connects the picture to the idea of memory. I think that these pictures were a great success but if I were to do them again I would again try to do more.