This shoot has probably been the hardest to plan for because weather wise i needed a day where there was a really dynamic, angry looking sky as if its just about to rain but without it actually raining and with no wind what so ever. This is because in building dens out of umbrellas with even the smallest amount of wind all the umbrellas would fly away in opposite directions and i would then spend most of my time chasing them across the beach. In constructing the den we always used to simply balance the umbrellas on each other and therefore a lack of wind was an absolute necessity in building my den. The sky was also really important otherwise my beach den wouldn’t look at effective against a white cloudless sky and white sand. This den therefore took a lot of planning just because i needed to be ready to build it at very sort notice when the weather was perfect. I also want a day in which the tide is fairly high so that there isn’t a vast expanse of empty beach and the sea could create an angry/rainy atmosphere as well.

In building this den i am going to use only umbrellas and a windbreak. The wind break is pretty essential because the umbrellas need a strong sturdy structure to be able to lean on so they can then lean on each other. I am planning on using two main umbrellas and then loads of other smaller umbrellas. I have chosen the brightest and most vibrant coloured umbrellas to use in order to have my den stand out vividly in the surroundings. The tarpolan is what we would have had on the floor to sit on in our dens as the sand is wet from both the sea and the rain.  The umbrellas are a variety of sizes to be able to build the den with no gaps, filling all the spaces.

Below is the perfect sky that i need to take my photographs. I have decided to do this shoot down St Ouens beach as we would commonly build dens in this environment. It is also a large expanse of beach which will make the den stand out in the space and also provide an interesting landscape if there is a dynamic sky as the sky takes up most of the frame.

I managed to get the perfect weather to build my den in, i only wish there had been more clouds in the sky. The sunshine was bright and intense in shinning onto the environment and while this structure is very limited compared to the others i have built, that was the intention of it. It was even harder than i first thought to create a den in this location as the bushes were very far apart and the blankets only just big enough to expand across the distance. This created a major problem of creating one large structure which was connected in the middle and therefore i resorted to creating tiny pockets of covered areas. I actually think though on reflection this reflects quite well the types of dens i built in early childhood as these dens were more about the concept of having any kind of small space and then this being imagined into a great castle ect. I think this den works well in conveying how limited a structure can be and yet still a child can take it and transform it into the perfect home for their game in their imagination.

This time i only took one set of process photographs as there was only really one angle to take the pictures from. I wanted to include the vast expanse of the sky and the whole area of the bushes clumped together. I centered the den right in the middle of the composition. I think another advantage to this kind of den is that in the process photographs you can clearly see when each blanket is added into the structure as none of them shield other blankets from view. I did actually as you can see below edit the environment within these photographs. Everywhere, all over the field, except in the small area where i decided to do my photoshoot there were loads and loads of daffodils. I thought they would compliment the colours of the den to have little patches of yellow that were a similar colour to the blankets and therefore i picked some daffodils and staged them within the photograph as if they were growing. Overall the finished structure as a whole doesn’t look really incredible but i think some of the  more abstract photographs i’ve taken of the den work quite well. The process photographs while they do work because you can see all the individual blankets being added aren’t as dynamic as some of the other process photographs juts because the den itself as a final structure isn’t as impressive.

This blanket really went a long way in conveying the African vibe of my den structure. The bright vibrant orange and then the patterns in black just have connotations of being very tribal to me. I really like the composition of these photographs as well. I feel like the contrast between the bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds and then the green and orange is very suggestive of the African plains. When photographing this den i thought very carefully about about making the landscape seem vast through my compositions. The below two images convey this best.

The above two photographs are composed very similarly and give the same effect of the landscape. I composed the photographs so that the blanket created depth in the image by receding off to the point that it is tied onto the tree. In each image i used the rule of thirds to compose this point off to the side, different sides in each image. I personally prefer the first of the two photographs, though the cloud in the second photograph looks more dynamic. In the first image i was able to to capture the movement of the blanket in the wind, this texture adding a sense of life to the photograph which isn’t seen in the second image where the blanket is pulled taught. It is interesting that the texture of the blanket being moved in the wind almost reminds me of the rolling of water. I composed the photograph so that the horizon went straight across the background of the frame. The frame is almost divided so that the photograph  is half sky and half fields. The colours in the photograph are very complimentary with the golden yellows and greens conveying a real sense of an African plain. I quite like how the green is very sparse in the corner rather than in the second image where there is perhaps too much green. The clouds in the sky are incredibly flurry looking and the white streaks of them across the sky suggest both movement and also make the sky appear more intriguing. I think these photographs work so well because of how the material fills almost the whole landscape of the frame.

I quite like the above photograph for conveying the expanses of the spaces created by the blankets. This photograph really gives a sense of the spaces the dens create which you can go inside. I think it also conveys why the dens are needed as this photograph gives a real impression of the beating sun. The bright light source comes from the top right hand corner of the frame and is an intense harsh light that shines directly onto the stricture of the den. This photograph is interesting in having such a massive contrast between the light of the sun in the sky and the dark shadows cast by the shade of the den. The sky is almost completely washed of colour the light is so bright and it also washes out some of the colour of the dens material. I think the composition of this photograph also works quite well as the branch the blanket is tied to cuts across the top left hand corner of the frame and the blanket itself then cuts another line across the frame. I quite like how the light has effected the material of the blanket, to have elements of the material see-through as the light shines through it but also elements which are dense and a darker colour. The colour scheme in this image is the same as the others, the greens and the oranges complimenting each other really well. The sky in this images is less interesting as the bright light washes out all the colour and there are a lack of clouds but this bright light also does highlight some other colours.

Once again i decided to take some close up shots of how the den was constructed. This den was made up of balancing blankets and also tying them to various branches in order to create my little spaces. I used a narrow depth of field to emphasis the tied material to the branches rather than the surroundings. The second photograph i composed similar to my photographs of the orange and black blanket as a whole as i wanted to convey the horizon of the sky and expanse of the fields. I composed the photograph using the rule of thirds and the angle of the blanket leads into the background of the frame and therefore the background of the image.

I quite like the above two images as a pair to convey how the material moves and changes. This image is all about angles, the changing angles of the blankets in relation to one another to create an interesting structure. The structure is composed to be in the top left hand corner of the frame, the main light source hitting the blankets in the background rather than the foreground. The angles of the blankets all compliment each other, going off in different directions and all the different shades of yellow and orange also work well together. Once again we have the contrast between the oranges and the greens, this time the contrast being even more evident as the sky only takes up a small portion of the frame. I quite like the dynamic of these photographs.

I quite like the above photograph as another close up photograph to show how the den is constructed. Most of the blankets in this den were simply laid over the various bushes and trees and due to the very minimal wind stayed where they were put. This photograph conveys this and also conveys how, the tread stuck on the branches conveying how the material becomes caught. The light in this photograph comes from the top left hand corner and its harsh light illuminates the individual threads caught on the branch, highlighting them against the blue sky. This is why i composed the photograph slightly from below as it allowed me to have the thread standing out against the sky and therefore not getting lost in the busy texture of the leaves. The brightest point of the image is the sun shining out from behind the leaves. The light also shines directly onto the blanket in the foreground. The areas of shade are those below the blanket and therefore where the blanket casts its shade.

The above and below photographs convey the same impression as  some of the earlier photographs. The blankets themselves almost look as if they are a part of the landscape. In these images they give the impression of rolling hills and mountains of various orange colours. Unfortunately the sky is once again fairly boring as it is made up of blinding white light and very little clouds. The light comes directly from above in these images which casts shadows on the structure which create more depth to the blankets structure. 

For some reason i really really love the photograph above. It is so simple and yet i think its one of my most effective images. It conveys the spaces created underneath the blankets as very simplistic and yet effective as they offer shade and do create a sense of being enclosed. This photograph is composed so that the little tree is almost in the dead center of the frame. The photograph is then taken from a really low angle which gives the impression that you are just about to enter into the spaces underneath the blankets. The angles of the two blankets go outwards in two different directions, the shadows in the image cast in the foreground. The background is really bright with the brightest point being a line along the horizon of almost blinding white light. The sky is then fairly bright blue. I think the contrast between colours is what works quite well in this image, with the intense blue colour, green, orange and purple all clashing but then also complimenting each other. 

These photographs are like my other photographs that i took of my dens with light shinning through the material. The orange and black blanket worked best in conveying the differing tones of the colour depending on where the light was shinning through the material.

 

As my den building skills and the complexity of the dens structures changed at the different ages i was when building the dens i wanted to try and make a much simpler version of a den. Looking back through my archive photographs the den i built when i was youngest was literally just a blanket over the trees. When i was really young even this really simple bit of shelter seemed like an entirely new world to play in.

I decided to build the really simple den in my next shoot down La Mielle as i was aware that it is mainly fields and therefore a hard location to create a den in. The areas of La Mielle that we used to play in are the fields filled with blackberries and in these locations there are very few starting points in which you can consider building the den structure off of. I therefore decided that this den design was going to be very different to my other structures, the whole point of the den being just to consider creating a roof and some shade. I wasn’t sure exactly how this was going to translate into the environment until i got there but i just wanted the den to be a lot more simplistic.

Remembering the environment of the location is very sparse and expansive i decided to theme this den around an African expanse of land. I therefore in my colour scheme chose to use bright orange blankets and a purple blanket. These colours for me are very reflective of an intensely sunny environment and also they all compliment each other. I learnt from my last den that bright colours work really well in making the den stand out in the environment and therefore all these colours are very bright but they also this time compliment the environment as well. The fields at La Mielle contain a lot of golden and green colours, orange and purple both clashing and complimenting these colours. As my colours were so bright i also decided i wanted the weather to reflect this sunny atmosphere that i was creating with my den and therefore i have decided to do this shoot on a really sunny day. I also think that i want the really washed out with light sky, to add to the feeling of being in the african heat. I will therefore plan to take the pictures at 12.00 ish when the sun is highest and their is the most intense amount of light. Hopefully there will be a few clouds the day i choose to go out, just to break up the expanse of the sky a bit but otherwise i am aiming for a washed out. sunny landscape to build my den in. 

In actually deciding where to build my den i had quite a struggle to find somewhere when i went to scout out the area. La Meille is made up of vast expanses of land and blackberry bushes which are obviously prickly and therefore we wouldn’t have built dens there in the past. There were quite a few locations that i really liked as a background but there was no way that i would be able to build a structure there, even a very simple one. I eventually found a spot in which some bush like trees were fairly closely clumped together and decided this was the location to build my den in. The first picture below gives an impression of the environment as a whole and the second picture is where i have decided to build my den. 

Once again i decided to photograph my process of den building from two different angles. It is quite interesting how when you build a den normally i wouldn’t really think about where the entrance of the den is gonna appear, it would just happen naturally depending on how the den structure comes along. When taking these photographs however it became important to consider that in order to convey as much of the den as possible, having the entrance in the frame conveyed more of a sense that the structure is a den. I also as i have already spoken about choose really bright primary colours to build this den which i think worked really well in standing out against the environment. I think this is something i’m defiantly going to carry on into my next photo shoot, the using of these bright intense colours. I think it works better than trying to get the colours to blend into the environment and it also more suggestive of the bright nature of children. 

I composed the first set of process photographs so as to include all of the tractor and boats within the composition. This allowed enough of the beach to be seen to convey that it is a beach. You can see in the far background the line of rocks across the beach as well as the pier and far rock structures. I really like this composition as it shows the diversity of the beach by having the beach itself but then also having the lines of trees on the hills. I also quite liked how this composition really shows the impact of the weather on the environment. The foreground is clear and sunny but the background is foggy as the mist is descending down onto the beach. The lack of any bright colours in the environment also works well, with only the red of the tractor. This lack of other bright and distracting colours works well in emphasizing the den against the environment. The beach dens we created were all about being bright and vibrant as those are the colours you associate with summer and sunshine so i really liked how this composition allowed this to be recognized.

I therefore really liked the first set of process photographs. I think they work better then my first garden shoot in conveying how each blanket is added as you can see more clearly the different each element of the den makes. The lighting also stayed the same throughout the photographs which worked really well in creating a sense of unity for the photographs.

I also quite like the second set of process photographs though they have none of the impact that the first set of images has. The problem with my den building in this location was having this wall in the background that conveys quite a sad impression of the den and almost takes away from the bright colours of the den. I think it just goes to show how the right environment to photograph these dens is really significant as it can completely change the impact that they have.

 

Above and below are the two best photographs that i took of my beach den and they defiantly work so well because of the weather of the environment. Both photographs are very well lit using natural lighting. The lighting however is not intensely bright, harsh lighting. It is instead fairly soft lighting which works really well in illuminating the colours of the den against the environment. In both photographs the rest of the environment, both the fog in the sky and white of the sand causes the dens to stand out vividly within the frame.

The top photograph is composed very similarly to my process photographs, only slightly closer to the den so that you can see inside. In this composition the den is in the center of the frame and the photograph is taken from the same level that the den is built at. The brightest point of the photograph is the sky in which there is the sun behind the fog shining down onto the den. As the sun is directly above the den your eyes begin with this really bright light and then go immediately to the den as the part of the photograph most influenced by the light.

I really like the composition of the below photograph as well to convey more of a childlike sense to the den. This photograph is focused more exclusively on the den itself rather than portraying the whole environment that the den is in. The composition is framed from a lot lower down than the other photograph to be suggestive of a child entering the den at a lower level. The angle of the photograph is also different to give more of a sense of being about to go into the den through the entrance. You are able to look straight through the den at the entrance which gives an impression of the space inside the den which isn’t something you maybe consider as much from the other photographs. The light in this photograph is a lot brighter than the one above, the sky a white blur of fog and light. As the photograph is taken from lower down this causes the bright colours of the den to stand out further against the environment. The light in this image seems to come from above and also the right hand side of the frame as the light is so intense that it reflects directly off the windbreak. This bright intense light shining on the outside of the den then contrasts with the shadows the den itself casts onto the surroundings and shade inside the den. I quite like with this composition how being able to see into the den causes you to be able to see the blanket inside the den.

I cant decide which of these two photographs i prefer as both convey a different impression of the den due to their different compositions.

Above is a different angle to the den, a closer up version of my process photographs. It is really interesting to consider this composition of the den in relation to the other composition as they convey completely different impressions. This photograph is composed to look through the other entrance of the den. The same bright colours are used in the material and yet this angle of the den lacks a dynamic that the other photographs composition has. I think it is partly to do with the environment surrounding the den in this composition. In this image the orangy colour of the concrete wall doesn’t really add anything to the photograph or highlight the dens colours like the whiteness of the foggy sky. I feel like in this composition the colours become lost within the space. This composition does show a completely different side to the den but i just don’t think it has any where near the same impact as the other compositions.

The above and below photographs are some close up photographs to go alongside my process photographs. Like with my previous garden den i wanted some photographs which convey how the den itself is put together and structured. With the beach den there was a lot more tying of material and balancing of blankets as down the beach i wouldn’t have brought in my childhood pegs or any rope. The main structure of the den all revolved around the windbreak acting as a wall to have all the blankets coming off.

The above photographs were taken looking down on the windbreak as a supporting pole with the blankets and material tied around it and therefore coming off in bright swirls. I composed the photograph to have the pole in the center and the black top of the pole in focus while the rest of the image out of focus. This created quite an interesting impression of the material as a blur of folds going off from the center at different angles. I quite like how in both photographs you can still see the sand and therefore get an impression of the beach . The light source is fairly soft in the first photograph but in the second one the lighting is fairly harsh and comes from the left hand side. I think this could be because red reflects more light as a colour than blue which is what makes the real difference between the  two images

The below images are exactly the same two poles only photographed in a different composition. I composed these images to have the line of the pole in the center of the frame so you can see in these images more clearly how the material is tied to the pole. In both photographs i used a short depth of field so as to blur the background and have the emphasis on the pole and tied material rather then the den structure in the background. In both i  centered the pole right in the center of the frame. Again the first photograph has less light then the second as in the second photograph the light is reflecting off other colours in the background of the frame and also the white in the foreground. I think the first photograph works better as  conveying the material as being tied, as it is a perfectly tied piece of material but the second photograph conveys better the mixture of all the materials and colours of the den.

I really like the above and below photographs compostionally. As well as tying material i also used rocks to weight the material down to keep the various walls of the den in place.  The first photograph i think works the best as like the very first picture i took of the entire den, the background of the photograph is intriguing and better emphasizes the den.  The light in the first photograph comes from the right hand side of the frame and is a bright and harsh light. This light directly shines onto the dens furthest point within the frame, washing out the colour from the point of the den that it reaches. I think its quite interesting in this composition how the material of the den in the foreground reflects the sea. The dens materials almost looks like its trying to imitate water with the various shades of blue and the different folds of the material. The background of the den being such an intense white colour/pale blue also contrasts with the blues of the den and makes them stand out more vividly. The entire colour scheme of the photograph seems to revolve around different shades of blue which creates a calming asthetic. The exception is the rock which i composed using the rule of thirds to be in the bottom right hand corner of the frame. By composting the photograph in this way it weights the frame with having this heavy object both weighting the den and weight the material to have a solid presence. I also really like how in the background the curves of the materials and hills compliment each other with the lines of the rocks and sands breaking up all these curves.

The second photograph follows a similar composition but it less interesting because once again it features the concrete wall rather than the beach in the background. This image is also composed to have one of the rocks in the right hand bottom corner, almost pointing you into the rest of the frame. The brightest point of the image is the white line on the wall which actually takes away from the den. I like the composition of the material but the background doesn’t really work.

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.

The below photograph works the same with having these intense lights and darks which bring out the bright colours of the den.

I took a couple of photographs from inside the den as well, wanting to again consider the material as the light shone through it. As the thinnest material the windbreak was the main source of light within the frame. In this photograph the light source is on the other side of the windbreak shinning directly through . The sky is a really bright and intense white from the light which washes out all the colour. I think it is the angles of the above photograph which makes it so interesting as the windbreak curves round in one direction, your eyes beginning with the brightest point behind the windbreak and then moving round, following the curve to then let your eyes travel along the material at the top of the frame. There also appears to be a tension in the photographs in which the material is pulled taught from the windbreak. I think the main thing thing that makes this image work however is the light as it makes the colours appear more intense and vibrant in the environment.

The above and below photographs 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 below photograph was just a quick set of photographs i decided to take to show how parts of the den could fall down and then be rebuilt. 

I quite like this last photograph because of the way the colours compliment each other. The bold bright yellows and blues then contrast with the blacks and whites, including the tire and the white of the sand. The image is also composed to use abstract angles, the wheel of the cart at an abstract angle and the blankets as well at jaunty angles. The brightest part of the photograph is the light in the background which is a bright intense light. The whole image is made up of very bright colours, the light shinning directly through the material and intensifying the colours. 

 

 

My next shoot i decided to create was a beach den as this was the most common den i made as a child. I spent pretty much my entire childhood down the beach building dens so it was really important that i included a beach den within my project. I decided to use St Brelade’s beach as we had a spot up by where the boats are parked that we would always go to. This was key in inspiring our beach dens. The boats and tractor trailers provided a basic structure to began to build our dens coming off the sides of them. Otherwise down other beaches such as St Ouen’s we struggled to have a starting point to build the dens off. I have mentioned previously how important it was in den building to consider the  environment and to find the perfect part of the location where you had a starting point. I thought it was therefore really important to build a den in this location. 

For my beach shoot i didn’t really want to take my photographs on a sterotypical sunny day. I wanted to get a different atmosphere to the photographs rather then just sunshine. The most memorable dens on the beach where the ones when there was weird weather or i used something slightly different to build the dens. As we have been having so much fog recently i thought it could be quite interesting to create a den on a day which was really foggy. It actually turned out that i got the best of both worlds as the day i choose to take the photographs was a sunny day and also very foggy as it rolled in as i was taking the photographs.

When choosing what materials to use to build my den i wanted to use those that i would have used at the time to build dens. I therefore thinking about the basics of the structure decided to bring a wind brake to act as a wall. Down beaches where we had very limited places to build dens as there was no beginning point to the structure we would always use wind brakes to create walls and then drap material off them. The material i decided to use were sarongs as these were the things i used down the beach as a child to lye on and to dry ourselves after swimming. They were the best blankets to use as they are very light weight and can be folded up small so many could be taken with us down the beach and then used for various things. I have also decided instead of pegs like i used in my garden den i will use rocks to weight down the blankets as they are a material that is readily available down the beach. 

Below is the location in which i have decided to build my den. I wanted to choose a part of the location which conveyed that the den was built down the beach but without the photographs appearing like a sterotypical beach photograph. I therefore decided to take the photograph looking back towards the less extensive side of the beach. I had to take the photograph at the end of the line of tractors and boats in order to have enough room to take the photographs from far enough away from the den. 

 

Below are the photographs from my first shoot where i experimented building a den within my garden. Overall i quite like some of my final images and it has made me consider quite a few elements of my dens in order to plan better for my next den project. I did however manage to get the perfect weather as it was sunny but then also slightly windy.

After completing this shoot i have learnt firstly that i need to consider the angle in which i plan to take my process photographs more carefully so as to be able to capture as many elements of the process as possible. I do think this will change depending on the environment as other environments will hide the dens structure less than this first garden environment. I also think it did work really well to have bright colours within the environment as well, the yellow blanket looking the best within the den. I therefore think i’m going to experiment a lot more with using really bright and vivid colours for my dens rather than matching them to the environment. Having a bright sunny day also worked really well within the photographs as the colours of the materials became more intense and created an almost childlike wonder to the den. The close up shots of element’s of the dens also worked really well as a compliment to the process of building the dens. I quite like the focus on these smaller elements of the structure as well as the process photographs of how it all came together. 

The first two sets of photographs are the process photographs that i took. I composed the process photographs from two different angles because of the first learning curb that i found when building my den. When i composed the tripod so that i could take photographs which would be a little series, i positioned the camera in such a way that it got the bet composition of the environment as a whole. I didn’t really think about how the den might be hidden too much by elements of the environment which is what i found after doing the first progress photographs. While they do work it is very difficult to see all of the different stages as elements which are added are hidden and therefore you can see little change in the photographs. Therefore as i took the den down i moved the camera and took a second set of shots which considered the den and trying to show how all the elements were added within my composition. The second set of images are face on to the entrance of the den and therefore you can see the walls being added in a lot easier then the other composition.

I do really like the composition of my first progress photographs i just think its a shame you cant really see all the different elements being added in. I composed the frame using the rule of thirds so that the den was more to the left side of the frame. I also composed the distance from the den so that the den was in the background of the frame and therefore it gives more of an impression of the den blending into its surroundings.

While i prefer the first composition better the second set of process photographs give a better sense of the den making process. I composed the camera closer to the den but once again used the rule of thirds to an extent to create the photograph. In these second set of photographs there are more elements in the immediate foreground of the photograph which i think adds a different element to it. In the composition of both photographs included in the framing is the house on the other side of the fence as it gives a garden feel to the photographs. I think the cobble stones also add to creating the environment as i haven’t really included any elements heavily associated with gardens within my composition.

I quite like the composition of the photograph above in giving a general impression of the outside of my den. I took the photograph from below looking up at the den as i wanted to exaggerate the scale and grandeur of the structure. As children when building a den there is always a sense of pride and even awe at what you have created. I felt like by taking the photograph from below i was mimicking both the sight line of a child entering the den as a smaller person then me and also conveying how magical the structure is. I photographed the den from this angle as it is the entrance of the den and you can clearly see the opening. I quite like how the inside of the den is dark and so you can’t see inside completely. I feel like this makes the inside of the den appear more mysterious and therefore creates a snese of intrigue. The inside of the den is the darkest point of the photograph and is in the center of the photograph so the darkness sort of draws you into the den. I also used the really bright yellow blanket at the entrance of the den as i really like how the colours match the leaves. The golden yellow colours of the leaves in the foreground emphasis and bring out further the colours of blankets in the background. I framed the image with the little tree plant right in the center of the photograph as if it is the main subject of the image but then the blankets of the den in the background are what cause the plant to stand out and therefore they become the focus. The colours within the photograph all compliment each together perfectly with the greens, blacks and yellows.  The brightest point of the photograph is the middle of the frame in which the light from the sun is hitting the stones. The foreground of the photograph is almost over exposed as the focus of the camera is on the background which is darker. The over exposed foreground works really well with the viewer’s eyes beginning in the foreground and then working back into the background and into the entrance of the den. In this picture you can’t really see the movement of the den but you do get the tension of the material in how its hanging. 

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 den. 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 3rd 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. Most of the blankets were held up by pegs but i also tied parts of the blankets to trees which is what the last photograph shows. I think the last photograph also works quite well in showing how the structure comes together. I used a very small aperture to blur the background of the photograph to have only the knot itself in focus but the point at which the blanket flowed out the picture as blurry.  I quite like the angles within this photograph as you have the angle of the branch going in one direction and then the blanket goes off in another direction but with not such a harsh angle because of the flowing material. 

The above and below photographs show the inside of the den looking out. I composed the photographs in this way because i wanted to give an impression of what its like to be inside the den, the whole point of building a den to be inside the space you have created. The light and movement is what makes these pictures really work. The above photograph is composed to look towards the entrance of the den from an angle. The blankets on the floor of the den are in the foreground suggesting that the photographer is in some unseen cosy space further inside the den. I really like how this composition doesn’t remove all the mystery of the inside of the den as you still don’t get to see the entire inside space. I think a big part of the intrigue of these dens is the imagined cosyness and safeness that you feel inside of them. I think this is more an associated feeling rather than a reality you can see in a photograph so i want to keep this element of intrigue. The light in this photograph works really well in creating this magical impression as it shines through the blankets to the inside of the den. The impression of the photograph is that the light is trying to intrude into the space inside the den, both by shining through the materiel and also under it to fall upon the blanket as well.  The light shining through the blanket creates an orangy yellow colour which matches the yellows and reds of the leaves on the floor. This works really well in creating a sense of unity of colour throughout the picture as there are these flashes of colour throughout the image. The greens of the blankets then also match the green flashes of colour in the picture throughout as well. The light in the picture is also fairly bright to the point of over exposure in places.  The composition of the picture also suggests movement as the blankets are not hanging straight and are instead at odd angles due to the wind.  The blankets even cover each other as they blow which give a more snug impression. The picture also has a lot of texture to it as it has the contrast of the soft material with the stones. 

I also really like the above photograph in showing the varying angles of the den. I think the above composition is really interesting as it shows the angles of the material at abstract angles. The main light of the photograph comes from the background. Once again it is an overexposed background as the light is really bright from in the background. The angle of the photograph is really different to my other compositions as it has from the left hand side of the den and therefore gives a slightly different perspective. You can see more clearly through the  entrance of the den to the outside space then in my other compositions. The light once again also shines through the material to make it more vivid colours than it normally is. The light is also trying to seep into the den through the entrance which is apparent from the areas of both light and dark shadows. I think the balance of the composition of the material is what works in this picture as the material frames the top half of the photograph through being low hanging and me having photographed the entrance which is obviously created by blankets to either side. The roof of the den billows downward which i like as it suggests the imperfections of dens that not all elements are perfectly structured. I feel like the lower roof also creates a more cosy atmosphere. To the left hand side of the frame there is then the material held together by a peg which you can see is being pulled taught by the gaps and lack of the material matching up perfectly. This creates more interesting shapes as the material is curved where it billows out and the straight sides of the material don’t match up which means the den doesn’t have a rigid feel to it. 

 

 

I have decided to create my first structure within my garden as it is my most accessible environment. I thought it would be a really good place to start to get back into den making as i could take my time building the structure and not have anyone staring at me in some random environment. It also means that i don’t have to transport my materials anywhere to build the den and so can consider exactly what materials would work best within the environment and the space.

I have decided to build the den in the same area that the dens within my garden were commonly built. I think this is because i know from experience that this area has  three tree structures which work well to begin my structure from. The area has actually changed significantly in the last 5 ish years since i was making dens as it is a bit more over grown because my sister and I don’t play in that space anymore. The massive tree we always used to use as a part of our den was also cut down. I still however think it is the best space in my garden for a couple of reasons. Firstly as we haven’t played there loads the overgrown nature of the area would work really well in the photographs to convey a wild jungle like feel. The den will look hidden with in the environment which could be a really interesting photograph to create. Secondly while i do want the environment to convey it is a garden i want to avoid having really man made object obvious within the frame. This particular area can be photographed from angles which show the fence and houses in the background but doesn’t include cars. Depending on how well this shoot goes i might then consider another den in my garden which revolves around a more man made environement.

I have decided for this shoot that i want to choose a day which is sunny so as to experiment with the blankets becoming see-through in the light. I think in my garden is the best place to work out whether the idea of the light through the material is going to work and i can also experiment with using different materials. I also want it to be slightly windy so i can have some movement to my structure. The area i am photographing however has no cover to it and so if its too windy this may become problematic as the structure wont stay up.

The next thing to consider is exactly which materials i am going to use. I need at least two very large blankets as these are to make up the roof and the back wall. The rest can be of varying sizes and i can patch work them together. Below are the photographs of the materials i’m planning to use. I think 5 blankets is about average for what i used to use to create when i was younger. I’m thinking about the fact that i need to have 4 walls and then a roof. I decided to choose blankets which blended into the environment to an extent. I choose blankets in colours of green and blacks but then also choose a vivid yellow blanket to incorporate. I think having this one really brightly coloured blanket might be quite interesting as wherever it is is going to stand out more vividly. The yellows will also bring out the yellows and oranges from the environment which are still left over from autumn. As well as choosing colours which match the environment the colours also compliment each other. I think this will be my first experimental shoot where i can see whether my ideas really work and come together. I might later do a shoot in which i use all clashing colours of blankets but as the area I’m photographing is overgrown and the den is going to appear like its hiding within the environment i wanted it to blend in.

I have also photographed some rope from in the shed and some pegs to hang the washing. Whenever we would create our dens in the garden we would use whatever we could get our hands on in order to  create our dens. I therefore simply looked around the garden to consider what was available to hand which i could use to build my dens.

I think this shoot is going to be a lot of experimenting to get back into how to build dens and whether my ideas are going to translate into a good photograph. I think i might end up changing a few elements after this initial shoot but i will need to consider this later.

 

I have decided to also consider Andy Goldsworthy in my artists research because while he also doesn’t build dens/homes in the environment he uses his natural surroundings to create structures and patterns. He uses an extreme variety of materials to create his structures from snow to petals to clay.  Goldsworthy is considered part of the Environmental Art movement as both a sculptor and a photographer. His work become instillation’s within the environment as they are created for the space in which they are made from elements of the space. Because they are created in such unpredictable locations his work is deliberately ephemeral. I like the concept that he leaves his designs within the environment and allows nature to naturally make them disappear. With many of the dens we made as children out of branches we left them as they were, sometimes even coming back to them a week later as they were natural and therefore would just disappear back into their surroundings. This is the whole point of many of Goldsworthy’s designs that they are fleeting and are only around for a shot period of time. I guess this also links to how with den building you become so absorbed with the process but then you always have to leave them behind in the environment they are in or at least partially dismantle them, taking back all the blankets.

“I enjoy the freedom of just using my hands and “found” tools–a sharp stone, the quill of a feather, thorns. I take the opportunities each day offers: if it is snowing, I work with snow, at leaf-fall it will be with leaves; a blown-over tree becomes a source of twigs and branches. I stop at a place or pick up a material because I feel that there is something to be discovered. Here is where I can learn. “

The main idea behind why Goldsworthy creates his pieces are that he wants to understand nature better by participating with it. He feels closer to nature and as if he can understand it by manipulating it. Goldsworthy talks about how to him the process is as important as the final result which is what i am also considering within my project by photographing the process of the den building. He talks about how he considers the material as important as the final piece as each action of creating his structures are not independent of each other. When he picks up a material to place it somewhere else he is not just considering what he can create with the material itself but the space and influence he creates on the place the material has been moved from. Goldsworthy then finds it significant of how when he makes a change to the environment and then leaves, changes continue to happen because of the first change that he initially made, that nature always carries on. He therefore considers movement to be a key part of his pieces as the piece will change as time moves forward. I think this is really interesting to consider with my natural dens and has given me another idea in photographing them. I could photograph the process of building the den and everything i was previously going to do but then i could keep coming back to the den over a couple of weeks and photographing how it falls apart and once again becomes reverted back to being a part of nature.

“Each work grows, stays, decays. Process and decay are implicit. Transience in my work reflects what I find in nature.”

“Failure is really, really important, but failures have to hurt. … And if I start making this work with the intention of it collapsing, then I’ve lost that intensity of the will for it to succeed, which makes the failure that much more poignant and significant. So there’s a really odd sort of state of mind that I guess I get into when I’m making these works, that is necessary for me to extract the finished piece [and] extract the right kind of feeling for the work as I’m making it. … To achieve what I want, to achieve the works that I make, I have to be fully committed to them succeeding. I couldn’t make them otherwise. And you cannot feel that commitment without feeling or having a deep sense of loss when they do collapse or fail, and that’s inevitable.”

“When I make something, in a field or street, it may vanish but it’s part of the history of those places,” he says in another interview. “In the early days my work was about collapse and decay. Now some of the changes that occur are too beautiful to be described as simply decay. At Folkestone I got up early one morning ahead of an incoming tide and covered a boulder in poppy petals. It was calm and the sea slowly and gently washed away the petals, stripping the boulder and creating splashes of red in the sea. The harbour from which many troops left for war was in the background.”

Above are the most den like structures that Goldsworthy has created that i could find, But after really considering his work the concept of all his pieces really does fit in with the process of den building and even the end product. To summarize all the similarities;

-Firstly they are both created from the materials on hand at the time in the specific location. Goldsworthy will use elements of the environment around him to create his work like when building a den you will use  down the beach rocks but then in a wood you would use branches. This then influences the environment you are building in as you are moving things around and creating new things.

-Next the structures are then left behind within the environment and become once more apart of the land. The den structures decay slowly and become once again part of the surroundings much like the work of Goldsworthy in which he creates the structures and then leaves them.

-Both are also all about the process of creation and can be in need of constant repair which makes the whole point of the den being the process and not the final product. When creating dens they constantly fall apart and some of Goldsworthy’s work is never completed as it cant be.

-Another point is that you use the surroundings around you to create the structures, as in with den building there is no official plan or structure which you know you are going to make you consider what you have and what can be achieved with it.

I think by considering Goldsworthy’s work it has made me consider den building in a more in depth way then before. I didn’t realize when i set out to research Goldsworthy’s work that all the concepts for his designs match up so well with den building. I will therefore have to consider them when i create my den.

IMAGE ANALYSIS

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Below is one of my favourite of Goldsworthy’s photographs. I think it will be significant to consider how he photographs his work just as i did with Christo and Jeanne-Claude. His structures are on a lot smaller scale then any of Christo’s work and i am going to be working on a scale in between both artists so it will be good to consider both to find a middle ground. Goldsworthy seems to take photographs of his structures in a very formal and straight photographic manner. I think this is because for him the main element of the photograph is to act as a documentation of the act, as my photographs are going to do. Goldsworthy’s therefore must be considering through out the process of creation where he is creating the piece in the environment and how it would look photographed. The photograph for him however is definitely a secondary element and it is the act of creation which is the point of his work.

The structure below is small which we can tell from the surroundings and the angle of the photograph looking down. I think it is an interesting design in which Goldsworthy has taken sticks which are straight and created a circular structure. It is very reminiscent of tipi’s and seems to rely on the same structural principle that all the sticks weight is placed at the center of the design and by all leaning together they counter balance each other. What makes this structure so interesting is the identical nature of all the sticks. I’m not quite sure what kind of tree or even whether the sticks naturally look as they do in the picture but i would assume they do in reference to Goldsworthy’s concepts. Therefore it has taken Goldsworthy time and skill to find sticks in which the gradient of dark wood to light wood all match up to create a structure with a dark circle in the center. Colour wise the photograph works really well in having the light brown of the sticks bringing out the light brown from the leaves in the surroundings. The lightest point of the photograph is the background of the frame and also the flecks of light colours of leaves scattered across the moss. The darkest point is then the dark ends of the sticks which ties in with the darkness of the moss in places. All the colours with in the photographs are natural and therefore compliment each other . None of the colours in this particular pieces are bold and bright to stand out, they all work together and give the piece an overall appearance. The photograph has been composed so the structure is in the dead center of the frame.

I think it is quite important to consider how the structure has been photographed from the side and not above. By taking the photograph from above the scale of the piece would have been harder to identify and also the texture of the sticks placed together may also have been lost. Also you can consider that the structure may not be a perfect circle, from this angle you can not tell but from above yo would be able to notice tiny details which are slightly out.

 

 

When i started thinking about my den project and how i am going to recreate my structures within an outside environment i also wanted to take inspiration not just from my old archive photographs but artists which explore the concept of adding to the environment. Christo and Jeanne-Claude are not artists which build dens like the ones i am intending to make but i thought it would be really interesting to explore their work as they add material to the environment. I want to consider how they photograph these structures that they create and how the concept behind their work isn’t just all about the final photographs but also the whole process of creating the projects. Their pieces are about the act of making the structures and the structures then being present to be seen by people and interacted with. All of the locations they build in are public places and the structures are made to be among people. This is exactly the same as my dens which are created to be interacted with and played in by children. I really really love all of their pieces of work, the photographs are incredibly captivating and i can imagine the pieces are even more magnificent to see in reality and all their scale. All the pieces come from the minds of both the artists in collaboration and they have created around 20 projects. Interestingly they have ideas for many more but the structures take a lot of time to plan and then it is very difficult to get permission to be allowed to created them. Many of their projects have been re-jected as they couldn’t get permission to create them.  The Wrapped Trees project took 32 years (1966-98), to get permission and then plan to have it created while The Gates project also took 26 years, (1971-2005).

The Wrapped Trees

This project is my favourite of theirs as the photographs are seriously enchanting and as i love light i love the way it effects the structures. In 1998 Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped 178 trees with 592,015 square feet of woven polyester fabric and 14.3 miles  of rope. The trees were situated in Fondation Beyeler and Berower Park in Switzerland, a key part of the project being that people could walk along the line of trees and the structures could be seen. Each tree was individually designed to have their own pattern and eight teams of 33 individuals put together the designs. The wrapping was removed on December 14, 1998 and the materials were recycled.

I think this project is very significant to consider in the creation of my dens as i am going to have to explore material in trees to create some of my structures. I think by chance i have chosen the perfect time of year to create this project as in spring the environment is just starting to regrow but is not overgrown where it would be difficult to create structures. Christo thought carefully about this within his wrapped tree project, creating it in autumn when the branches would be leafless and therefore the material would cover a more minimal structure allowing more light to shine through the structures. He also very carefully chose to use a very transparent material when exposed to light so as to create an elegiac quality to the work. The transparent material allows for the structures, even not in bright sunlight to be transparent enough to see the skeleton of the branches underneath. This whole project to me is very reminiscent of the trees becoming like bodies, the branches the skeleton and the material becoming skin covering them. By using material as the covering for the trees it is also able to move in the wind which i can imagine gives the impression that the trees are breathing and pulsating. I would really love to be able to create this impression of movement within some of my own dens, to have flowing material which suggest a life to the structure despite the absence of people. I also really want to explore the use of semi-transparent material and light. I will have to create one of my dens on a really bright, sunny day so that i can explore taking photographs with the light shining through the material.

I also within his project really like the sketches he made before he created the den of how he wanted the project to come together. Alongside the photographs they create a very powerful visual image that every element was planned out and the impression Christo wanted to give with his trees was calculated. All of the photographs available of this particular project are when the sun is shinning through the branches which leads me to believe that it is probably best to photograph the material in sunlight for my project too.  I also quite like how the photographs are taken from a distance away which creates a perspective with the images of the scale. This is something i also need to consider with my project.

The Umbrellas 

As i am considering making a structure out of umbrellas, this is another one of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s projects which is perfect to consider in relation to how I’m going to create my own. This project was on an absolutely massive scale, linking both Ibaraki, Japan and California, America together. One artist was present at each site on October 9, 1991 when the 3,100 umbrellas began to open.  Both projects were created in similar valleys in opposite places and the project was all about celebrating the similarities and differences between the two places coming together. All the umbrellas were made in California before half being shipped to Japan. The umbrellas were colour co-ordinated, Blue for Japan, symbolizing how the land is enriched by water to grow the rice and yellow for the uncultivated grazing land of California. The umbrellas were available to interact with for 18 days, their removal beginning on October 27th 1991.

I think this project is important for me to consider in relation to how colour works within the environment. When i initially thought about building my dens i wanted to use bright vibrant colours so that they stand out against the landscape. Seeing how effective this in within this project has convinced me further that this is a good idea so that my photographs are as effective as possible. The two photographs above have also inspired me for how I’m going to take the photographs as one of them is taken from slightly below so u can see inside the umbrellas and one is taken looking down on top of the umbrellas. After seeing how effective these two different designs are i am going to experiment a lot more with different angles when photographing my umbrella den to see the different perspectives i can create.

The Gates

As with the other two projects these structures were also made on a massive scale with  7,503 fabric panels being put up within Central Park in 2005. The size and scale of each panel depended on the different width of the paths around the park as each panel was made to frame the walk from beginning to end perfectly. The pieces of material are free hanging from the structure to create almost like an archway as you walk along the path. The material in every panel was a bright Saffon colour and 60 miles of the material was needed to create the whole design. 600 workers were required to install the Gates. The Gate structures were created to reflect the rectangular structures of the city blocks surrounding the park and making up New York. From these high up tower blocks surrounding Central park The Gates looked like a golden river.

I think this project is really significant to consider in relation to my project because of how the material moves in the wind and this flowing quality gives a completely different presence to the structures in the photographs. The golden material which stands out vividly within the environment has different tones depending on the light shinning through it and the shape the wind has made it into. I feel like this quality gives the structures more of a presence within the photographs and is something i would like to achieve in my structures. Weird as it sounds i feel like the movement of the structures like the Wrapped Trees project is suggestive of breathing and life and therefore gives the structures a personality. I want to make each structure differently so that they do have this element of individuality and i want each to have a character to them; i feel like movement would be very helpful in conveying this. 

 

 

So after considering these projects by Christo and Jeanne-Claude there are elements of their work which i am going to strive to convey within my own. Firstly i think light is very significant in photographing the structures. The light shinning through the material creates different tones of colour which overall adds more character to each structure. Light can also allow the bare bones of the structure to be seen underneath the structure which creates very beautiful photographs. Colour is also essential; using bright and vividly coloured materials stand out a lot more against the natural environment. The colours used can also be symbolic such as with the Umbrellas project which is something i may consider with some of my structures. I was also planning to take photographs of my structures from different angles but seeing these photographs has informed me of a variety of other angles i can consider. Lastly movement of the material seems to be very important in conveying a life to the structure and a personality which is something i really want my photographs to achieve. I really love Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work and the scale it is created is incredible. 

 

 

 

 

After looking back at the archival photographs of my childhood dens i also wanted to look for inspiration for my new dens through other dens made by other people. It was actually quite difficult to find photographs because i think the creation of dens are normally very much in the moment and you get so wrapped up within the game that you forget to ever take a photograph. I found this with my own archival photographs that the best dens which i can actually remember making still all this time later are not photographed. This is simply because they were very much for the moment. I remember that i have heard someone that when asked what the best memory of a persons childhood was that featured no adult interference the most common answer is den building. Within my project i am only really considering den building outside in different environments but dens could be structures built at home or built literally anywhere. I’ve created a small mood board above just to consider some of the common features of dens. 

All of the dens i have seen have a roof. The whole point to them seems to be to create a space which is separated from the environment around them by a wall of material. I think a massive part to it is to create something, a space which is exclusively yours and for those others that you let inside. Another key feature seems to be the adding of blankets and pillows into the den so that it is comfy and cosy. This seems to have a lot to do with feeling safe and creating an environment in which the individuals feel protected. Most of the dens above are pretty much free standing which is why they all seem to have this tipi or tent shape to them. I’m planning on using the environment a little bit more within my structures so to have the blankets hanging off the trees and other elements of the environment incorporated into my structure. Colour also seems to be a big part of the dens, though this probably isn’t particularly planned but it is something i want to incorporate into my dens.