Everyday Objects first work, looking at that of Peter Keetman

Peter Keetman was a German photographer who lived from 1916 to 2005. His work on everyday objects, using things such as water and car parts, really brought out the magnificence of the detail and structure they carry in which the naked eye may not acknowledge to the maximum.

Back in 1953, Keetman was given the opportunity to photograph inside a Volkswagen factory. The photographer hoped it would help promote industrial photography and with that he produced a set of images that really bring out the good of everyday objects. For example these two featured examples show parts of a car and it's clear to see that the composition Keetman has adopted really shows us the great shape and texture of these metal items. The shadows connote a commanding and dominant feel which reinforces the industrial sense behind Keetman's work. His work isn't completely black and white but more of a black and silver idea which not only helps bring out the detail of the objects but the sharpness also gives the images more of a professional feel.

This is an image from Keetman taken in 1950 in which he has captured drops of water. From the naked eye, this isn't something we would notice in our everyday life however Keetman has helped us recognise the versatility water droplets actually carry. For example all the bubbles are different in size with a similar circular shape. The reflections also contain different features within them, with a small minority of the droplets appearing to show the reflection of a human.

When aiming to replicate the technique of Keetman, instead of looking at bubbles and car parts, I chose to look at something that we would be more likely to see in everyday life. Through the inclusion of the trays and the fan, I believe the patterns and depth within the oven is quite intriguing. The different layers of trays in particular add great height to the image and we get to see the inside of an oven in a different light. Obviously I couldn't turn the light of the oven on, for obvious reasons, I chose to use my camera flashlight instead and I believe it's added a professional feel to the photo. The light reflecting off the metal creates a quite metallic and crisp feeling to the image which I think works well with the other elements and forms.

With this image, I took it a tray above the previous piece of work and once again it creates great depth. The addition of shadows within the image makes great contrast to the shiny nature of the metal. The line forms within the photo are all very straight which I believe makes the image very visually appealing as the different lines draw our eyes into several different places.

Other images from this shoot:

https://uk.pinterest.com/burdettolly/a2-photography-everyday-objects-peter-keetman/