Landscape & Environment
1st strand - Natural environments
Rodney GrahamA Canadian artist, Rodney Graham is known for his film, video art, photography, paintings, drawings, scultpures and installation art. The artist's ongoing fascination with optical principles is reflected in his models of a camera obscura and inverted photographs of trees. My inspiration for my first experiment with landscape and environment was Rodney's inverted photographs of trees. I liked the intricacy in the detail of every branch and I wanted to see how I could interpret this idea.
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Natural Environment Response - Negative Space/Tree Silhouettes
For my first experiment with landscape & environment photography, I wanted to specifically look at the natural environment and take photos that are very organic. I noticed the interesting silhouette's of trees during winter; without any leaves and very bare. The complicated and detailed outline of the branches, looked even more intricate in front of a clear, blue sky. I then tried the same trees but with a darker sky; I didn't like these as much because the silhouette of the tree almost faded into the background and wasn't as interesting to photograph.
Evaluation: These images were interesting and kept to the natural feel of the landscape. The images that were taken from a different angle were my favourite, where the short depth of field meant that the foreground was in focus. I could further this by making a panorama version of these images by stitching them together on photoshop. I could also move to different locations.
Development - Environment Textures
Still concentrating on the natural environment but focusing more on the textures created when zoomed in. I used the close-up setting on my camera so that I could zoom into the setting without having a blurred photo. I choose settings that were intricate, had interesting colours and textures and that when close up effectively didn't look like what it is originally.
Evaluation: I liked the detail of the images and the colours and textures that arose from these landscapes when zoomed and focused in on. I edited these images to enhance these details and brought out the colours more using photoshop. Had slight problem at times with the focus of the photos as being close sometimes put the photo out of focus and so came out blurry. Avoided this by getting close up using the zoom and using a manual focus on my camera so I could control the focus independently. If developed I would find alternative landscapes and textures and introduce the idea of contrasting environments, for example, industrial and natural landscapes.
Final Outcome - Presentation
I chose this set of photographs as my landscapes and evironments final outcome because I thought the intricacy and texture of the photos are eye-catching and interesting. The satisfy the concept of landscape and environment as they showcase the varying textures and colours of contrasting environments.
When presenting them, I printed out each image at an A5 size and mounted them onto foam board before sticking them symmetrically onto card. This method is simple but works well when presenting various, different photos at once.
When presenting them, I printed out each image at an A5 size and mounted them onto foam board before sticking them symmetrically onto card. This method is simple but works well when presenting various, different photos at once.
2nd Strand - Silent Environment
Karen HoytA Chicago based photographer, Karen Hoyt's work is largely editorial magazine or events. Her body of personal work comes from the moments in between; when some moment reveals itself.
"As I photograph I react to broad themes that interest me, and only later do I, or others, notice details in one image that reinforces another; thus the structure of the body of work has emerged upon reflection." http://www.karenhoyt.com/info/ I liked the eary, atmospheric feeling you get from some of Hoyt's landscape photographs, which inspired me to experiment these concept as a strand and produced my own interpretation of 'silent environments'. |
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Silent Environment Response
I used the natural light, but different shutter speeds on the manual setting in order to absorb different amounts of light. For example, some of the settings were incredibly dark so I used a longer shutter speed so that the lights were brighter and therefore lit up the picture better. I preferred the orange/yellow, warm light from the outdoors lights that gave a chilling, empty effect to the photos. Here, I am showing a variation of the photos with different shutter speeds, ranging from 1/125 of a second to 1 second.
Evaluation: These photos had the creepy, chilling atmosphere that I intended. However, I would not choose to use them as a final outcome as I feel that they do not stand out enough and would not be striking to the eye. I could develop these by finding a different location e.g. an abandoned school or hospital or church that would be more obviously dark and chilling. I could also maintain the concept of using the street lights at night time but in different locations over London in order to create creepy, atmospheric photos.
Highgate - Charing Cross - Piccadilly
I used the work of Dominic Harris (specifically his Journey portfolio) to inspire me for several of these photos. He uses a long shutter speed and a tripod in order to keep the background very still but blur the lights or people or vehicles etc. that are moving.
Response
Evaluation: These images represented Dominic Harris's work well. To further this concept, I would use a longer shutter speed to create a harsher blur and also so that the colours of the street/train would merge together and create a more interesting photo. I experienced certain challenges when shooting these photos, for example not having enough people or cars in the street; I went to Charing Cross Road hoping that there would be lots of cars and buses, however the roads were practically empty, resulting in there being no light for me to capture.