As the exam brief was “Environment” i feel like i fulfilled it well. My project revolves around making a home in the environment, reminiscent of childhood dens. When beginning this project i immediately had this idea in my initial brain storm and therefore i feel as if this has allowed me to fully explore this concept. I begin with photographing my dens during the day, then adding in a sinister notion by photographing them at night. I was also able to create a couple of portraits of the people i imagined lived in the dens as i child and explore the impact of slow shutter speed photography suggesting the presence of a person. I feel as if the final consideration of archival diary entries i made about dens adds the final element to my project as it ties it all together to suggest the intentions of building these structures. They link the dens directly to childhood dens, without overtly stating it. My final book contains images from the very beginning of my project and the very end as my ideas progressed. A real turning point was to consider Yury Toroptsov to lead me to create the photographs at night, which was undeniably my best photographs of the project.
After my experimentation of projecting onto the den i also wanted to print up some of my images like normal to display in window mounts. I choose three main central images to print to have as single images. All of these images are from the night dens as when i photographed my dens the night time version had a lot more of an impact. They work quite well all together as the blackness of the night creates a link between all the images. I choose images from all different dens so as to show the range of materials i used. I choose the woodland den, umbrella den and the garden one with material as each one being made of different material created a more interesting final set of images. 
Above is the best photograph that i took of the wood den as a whole radiating light. This image was taken in the blue hours after the sun has set which you can slightly see by the sky in patches through the leaves in the background. With this photo shoot as the photographs were taken underneath the trees, the den being built in the woods, the background is made up of the dark shadows of the trees rather then the sky like my previous shoot. I composed this photograph according to the rule of thirds with the den itself more over to the right side of the frame. I also positioned the light inside the den more to the right side of the frame and so the image is fairly weighted on that side of the composition. This contrasts quite well with having the bright blinding light of the den to the right and then in the sky the patches of light from the blue sky are on the opposite side of the frame, balancing the image. I took the photograph from a slight angle, not photographing the den straight on so you can see directly into the den but more from the side so the inside of the den remains more mysterious. By putting the light within the den you are able to see clearly how the structure of the den is made up of branches and leaves intertwined together and the light then shines through these gaps. The light quite literally radiates out from the points at which it escapes the inside of the den to create an interesting pattern of lines from the center of the den outwards. I think the effect is further emphasized by the light making the leaves it shines through a more vivid green, these bright green then contrasting with the red of the blanket.
The above image plays with the blur of the blankets in the wind. The impression of the photographs is that as the light is behind the blurred blanket, that it is rushing forward towards the camera and has a presence as the light suggests life. The light is intense and shines from directly behind the blanket in a circle. The rest of the image is slightly illuminated, the tree and some plants but the background is an intense black which only exaggerates the whiteness of the blanket further. The blanket is also just blurred enough to suggest a fast pace of movement but without being too fast to become transparent. The image is composed to consider angles, the blanket covering most of the frame but its straight lines being complimented by the straight lines of the tree also. The tree flanked on both sides by different blankets. The image is illuminated so that it included the light shinning onto the plants and also the light shines onto both blankets.
I then choose these two images below as a pair as they are a bit more abstract and i wanted to show the abstraction of the material and how it was layered over each other. These two images also show the imperfections of the den, with gaps in between the material.
The above photographs are more abstract compositions which focus on the point at which material is over-layed. The two colours being various shades of blue complimenting each other. The light in the photographs comes from the top left hand corner to shine directly onto the material. The points at which the light shines onto the material is washed out with colour which shows the harsh intensity of the light. These bright sections of light then contrast with the dark shadows in sections where the blanket has slipped and therefore leads into the inside of the den. Both these contrasting lights and dark’s then make the colours themselves more intense. I quite like the contrasting angles in these photographs alongside the vivid lights and darks as the material runs alongside each other but then has different folds and patterns on them which adds a dynamic to the photographs. They also show the process of the den breaking and then being rebuilt. When considering Goldsworthy’s work this was a key part of his process, to rebuild and continue to re-build until the structure becomes sound. This is as much about the den being created as having a final product as the den comes undone because of the environment, be it wind or the un-ablity to get a blanket to balance. The above photographs focus in on the tiny points of the den which have become to come apart, where holes have developed in the structure. I quite like these photographs in showing the layering of material and the tiny holes giving an insight into the inside of the den. The photographs are composed so that the break in the den is right in the center of the frame. The light in both photographs is intensely bright.
The next two sets of images show more of the process and how the dens are constructed. The set directly below is held together by pegs which shows how the images are put together.
The above photographs are all small details which held together the den. I quite like them as detail shots to go alongside the photographs of the main dens. So often with dens people look at the final structure and don’t consider the process. As these photographs in this section of my project are all about process and how the structure comes together, as much as the final product i think these photographs work really well as part of the series. In particular i like the photograph which suggests the movement and tensions of the material in creating the den. I composed the photograph according to the rule of thirds, the peg which joins the material positioned to the left top corner of the frame. From this point the material billows out at an angle which suggests it is being blown from behind. I quite like how the background is over exposed as the light outside is so bright as it causes the material in the foreground to be more prominent. You can also see to an extent the light shinning through the blanket which adds another dimension to the photograph.
This image below then shows the process of each element of the den coming together to create the structure. It shows how each individual umbrella is an individual which comes together to make a den.
