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Analysis, Development, Presentation

Dusk Photoshoot 5

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I decided to make a 5th shoot to expand on the narrative of my book. Similar to previous shoots I explored different exposures and white balance.

the light was constantly changing and even with the above photographs I was still using a longer exposure.

i like the dreamy, glowing appearance of the above photograph as well as the seemingly ghostly long exposures.

Here are some experiments where I used different filters as well as experimented with text.

Uncategorized

Projecting onto a den

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As i looked at the work of  Felicity Hammond i decided to create a den and then project my images onto it. Below you can see the structure of the den with no images projected onto it. I decided to build the den out of white material as i wanted the projections to be as clear as possible. I built the den to have loads of layers of material as i wanted the projections to be projected onto an abstract surface. I wanted my projections to look more abstract by having the material in wacky fold and curves. I used a variety of different types of white material as i wanted to see how the different opacities of the material looked with the different projections on them. The majority of the material i used was some sort of lace. I though that symbolically this could be quite interesting to consider the contrast between the old fashioned material and the dens made in childhood. My images of dens are essentially looking back in to the past and i used a material to construct my den which was traditionally used in the past. Lace has an extensive history, beginning to be made in 1500 AD. In my mind it is mainly associated with the Victorian ages and grandmothers houses. I simply though that as my whole project is about looking back in time, the material itself in this den should be a reflection of times past. 

Overall the idea worked better then i thought. I wasn’t sure how clear the projections were going to look when they were projected onto the material but they actually showed up really well. I was also able to make quite an interesting den structure as i made it inside and therefore had more walls ect to be able to attach the material to so that it lay right. This den more than any of the others really explores how material can be layered and folded over each other to construct a structure. 

The below image shows the setup i used. I simply used a normal projector in which i moved the distance towards and away from the den to project the dens onto the structure. The only thing was that the projector created quite an yellowish light which was not as effective as the white light i had been using to photograph my night time dens.

Above and below are the umbrella den projections. Some of the projections worked a lot better then others and this was one of the most effective ones. I quite like how there is the slight hints of colour from the projection but without it being a solid form or colour. I think this works better as the den and the projection therefore blend together better. The only annoying thing is the definite line where the projection ends as the light from the projector ends. This is frustrating just because i would have liked to have been able to take some pictures of the den as a whole with the projection on them but it doesn’t look very effective as you can see from the below image.  This is defiantly an instillation however which needs to be seen in person as it looks a lot more effective when you can see the projections in reality. 

The above image shows a close up of the projection on the den.

The beach den at St Brelades also worked really well. The way the material falls within the photograph in the foreground works really effectively. I think this image works so well as the colour of the sky has been washed out to become white and therefore it blends really nicely into the material. 

These images were the best as i started to project the material a bit more abstractly. I projected the above photograph on the corner of the den which was where the material fell in an abstract way. As i wasn’t projecting the material straight onto the structure and it wasn’t a flat part of the structure it created a more dynamic image. I quite like in this one how the projection ends and the rest of the frame is in darkness. It doesn’t work for other images but for this one it is really effective in emphasizing the abstract way in which the material falls. I think it also works because the angle of the purple material it at the same angle as the material coming down from the top of the frame. This creates the impression that the projection and den is more of the same.

The above and below images are close ups of where the material is curved and folded over itself and the projection appears in a more abstract manner because of this overall, i quite like the effect. 

The above and below dens were the ones which didn’t work very well. I think it was probably the photographs i choose to project from which just weren’t as effective.

 

 

 

 

Analysis, Presentation, Recording

Documentary: Energy from Waste – Results

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Since being invited to have a insiders look of Jersey’s ‘Energy from Waste’ facility, I set out to meet with them at our arranged time. Before completing this shoot I have researched the facility located at La Collette and gathered amazing inspiration from topographic photographers Bernhard and Hilla Becher. As I explained in my planning, my main aim for this shoot was to capture the scene and show exactly what happens to Jersey’s household/commercial waste once it is thrown away. By doing this I hope to get across the message of the importance of recycling which I will back up in my next shoot depicting La Collette’s recycling centre. To complete this shoot all I needed was my camera and the safety equipment that was provided to me when I got there. Upon arriving at the location I headed up to the reception, signed myself in, and had an initial explanation of what we were doing during my tour. Fortunately, this opportunity turned out to be a great success as I was actually shown around the entire facility for 2 hours and explained exactly what happens to Jersey’s waste and how we can reuse it for energy. To take these images below I used a slightly faster shutter speed than normal, capturing as much light and detail as possible using the limited natural and artificial light. Below are some of the original unedited photographs from this shoot presented in a contact sheet…Because of my original plan to take as many photographs as possible of every aspect I was shown, the contact sheet above only shows 47 out of the 500+ images I took during my visit. To narrow down my outcomes from this selection above was quite difficult as I really liked many of the angles and compositions that I managed to capture. Below are the 14 images I have chosen as my final outcomes, although I won’t be using every image in my end result, I wanted to include them in this post for future reference to my efforts. As well as this, as requested by the manager of the energy from waste facility, Ian Williams, I have edited and saved about 16 more images to send to the department for unknown reasons. This shoot, much like my previous documentary shoots, shows a mixture of colour and black and white photographs depending on their style. Below I have displayed my final 14 outcomes along with four other images presented at the bottom that helps me to tell this documentary narrative…

This first group of my final outcomes above depicts the waste before transformation, the burning of the waste, and the ashy result of the process.  The first two images on the top row depict the difference between the amount of household and commercial waste produced on our Island. The image on the left presents an average sized machine transporting commercial rubbish from one spot to another whereas the image on the right shows a gigantic claw machine, capable of moving up to 3 tonnes of household waste.  For use in my project, I love the photograph on the right because of it dramatic intensity as well as its ability to give my viewers an idea of how much we produce.  This image is one of my favourites overall and was taken through one of the ‘rubbish shoots’ after the operator kindly positioned the claw for me.  The two pieces on the bottom row can show what could be seen of the burning process alongside with the final outcome of this waste. I love the orange glow and intriguing composition/aperture of the image on the right whereas the one on the left shows an important part of what happens to Jersey’s un-recycled waste. – this ash is actually re-purposed to be used in Jersey and England to create buildings and roads.

This next image is one of my favourite topographic style outcomes which was taken from inside the ‘Energy from Waste’ facility during my tour. This image depicts two massive pipes coming up from a lower floor and curling around the edge of my composition. I love the perfect symmetry I have captured in this piece and the topographic/straightforward style it was taken in. The reason I have decided to edit this image in black and white is to emphasise it dynamic features as well as resemble the many blast furnaces captured by my inspirations Bernhard and Hilla Becher. The meaning behind this image is to show a specific section of the massive machinery that combined, works to process the safe disposal of our island’s waste and turn it to clean energy.

These next group of final outcomes from my shoot show more specific details from inside the ‘Energy from Waste’ facility. The meaning behind these images, along with the final outcome above, is to show exactly how much work and complicated technology goes into this process. These images can give an idea of just how difficult it is to cleanly produce only 7% of our island’s energy at the same time as disposing of our waste. The first and largest image on the top left is my favourite from this and depicts a scene through the building completely filled with pipes and machinery. I love the high contrast and dramatic overtones of this image and I think the intricacy of the pipe work really helps prove my point. The next two images on the right of this piece depict a few close-up detailed shots of specific parts of this extensive setup. I love the simplicity of these images as I feel they share a very strong topographic style. Lastly, the two photographs on the bottom row depict some amazing shadows and angels looking through the facility as well as more intricate pipe work hanging down from the ceiling.

Next are some important outcomes depicting a few of the elements that go into the purification of the smoke produced from burning the rubbish. According to CSBC, the La Colette ‘Energy to Waste’ facility meets the highest air quality standards in the whole of Europe. If their emission levels are outside of the licensed limits the plant is shut down and any underlying problem is rectified before the plant is started up again. The fist three images on the left depict some features that help keep track and purify the smoke before it is released. First is the point where samples are taken for testing, next on the top is a monitor for viewing the levels of each element and finally, the bottom image shows a very small part of the machine that acts as a filter. Lastly, on the right of this contact sheet is the view from outside the window looking up at the JEC chimney and the pipes that connect the two facilities.

Lastly are some images I have taken that are not intended to contribute to my topographic photography style like the images above. Instead, I have chosen to add them to my blog simply to give a little more insight into how the facility actually works. The first two photographs on the left depict the building releasing steam from the perspective over the top of Mount Bingham. I have included these images to present the clean white steam that is let out of their small chimney which has just been through a system of turbines to create energy. The black and white image situated in the middle of the contact sheet represents how we still have a long way to go before beating the use of fossil fuels and powering the whole island cleanly. The last two images on the right are just quick snapshots of some of the tables and graphs the operators use to carefully monitor the waste disposal emissions and make sure they are under the licenced limit. By looking closely at this information we can start to understand just what types of chemicals are released from the burning of waste and exactly how much is being pumped into the atmosphere. 

Planning

Photoshoot 5 planning

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I decided to do a 5th shoot to tie together the photographs I have previously made, also combining techniques I have used previously. I plan on making these portrait photographs. These photographs will feature similar locations and buildings featured previously but featured with different lighting. I also plan on taking photos from inside the garage I have previously photographed as well as the white house. I plan on working with different lighting such as light from at light as well as unnatural lighting. I really like the warm lighting contrasted with the cool shadows in the first photograph by Todd Hido, this use of colour is something I plan on emulating in my own photos.

Research

Mirror/reflection Research

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I have been experimenting with the use of a mirror in relation to environment and performance. I have also seen how they have been used by artists such as Francesca Woodman, Claude Cahun and Clare Rae as well as many others who have utilised reflections.  Psychologically mirrors attract viewers attention because they reflect the “another us” and gives the impression of having a “perfect” twin.  I have done some more research about the symbolism of mirrors in culture focusing on art, literature and mythology.

Physically mirrors reflect light and the surrounding environment which has connotations of illumination and truth. Mirrors have often been compared to the human mind with the Greek root for Plato’s word idea ‘eidos’ literally meaning not just ‘image’ or ‘likeness’ but an image reflected in water or mirror. Mirrors in art suggest that the viewers should turn inwards to gain self-knowledge rather than outwards to the natural world.

Reflections are central devices in some of the great European paintings. A famous example is Jan van Eyck’s Wedding Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini from 1434. Here, the mirror is situated centrally in the painting, directly above the clasped hands of the wedding couple. The mirror has a slightly curved form that not only reflects the objects in the room, but things happening beyond the picture’s frame, as well. The mirror shows a clear view of the couple’s back and  two witnesses standing in an open door frame. It presents something that would be occurring where the viewer is ‘standing’ and therefore they assume the position of witnesses. The mirror removes the gap between the pictorial space and the viewers space and makes them appear part of the story. 

This painting is  likely to have influenced Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez from the year 1656. This shows a large room in the Royal Alcazar of Madrid during the reign of King Philip IV of Spain. The Infanta Margarita is in the middle of the picture surrounded by her entourage. Above her head on the back wall of the room, is a mirror, although opinions vary on this and some people think it could actually be another painting . The artist himself is standing on the left side of the painting at his canvas and the painted surface is facing away from the viewer. The mirror could be reflecting two figures standing outside the picture’s borders. This would be King Philip V. and his wife Marianne, at whose court Velázquez was employed as a painter. If the royal couple are standing in front of the mirror, then they must be standing where the viewer is so that the viewer becomes part of the painting in a similar way to in that of Jan van Eyck’s Wedding Portrait. The interplay between observation and ”being observed” is caused.  The king and queen are supposedly “outside” the painting, yet their reflection in the back wall mirror also places them “inside” the pictorial space. 

The Rokeby Venus by Diego Velázquez  depicts the goddess Venus   lying on a bed and looking into a mirror. She is often thought to be looking at herself in the mirror however this is physically impossible since viewers can see her face reflected in their direction. This is known as the ‘Venus effect’ which is also seen in film when an actor will be shown  apparently looking at themselves in the mirror. What viewers see is different from what the actor sees, because the camera is not right behind the actor, but the position of the person is normally chosen so that their image is correctly framed in the mirror for the camera.

Mirrors were significant for the development of self-portraiture in painting and were also used for this purpose in the early days of photography . For example the photograph below is from the Edwardian period and shows an unidentified women  using her dresser mirror and a box camera to take a self-portrait.

Vivian Mainer is also well-known for her street photography from the 20th century and many of her photographs are self-portraits which were taken on the street using the reflections of windows in buildings.

I also came across the use of mirrors when researching Earth Art as an approach to the theme of ‘Environment’ for example by Robert Smithson. He critiqued art history’s ability to create static objects and remove them from the real world  context to museums  or galleries. His project ‘Yucatan Mirror Displacements’involved arranging mirrors in various landscapes. The mirrors reflected and refracted the surrounding environs, displacing the solidity of the landscape and shattering its forms’.  The purpose was to contemplate the moment with the mirror recording the passage of time and the photograph suspending time.

Smithson also created sculptures using mirrors such as the example below. He thought that taking natural materials out of their original contexts abstracted them and in this example coral has been arranged with mirrors so that it is multiplied and fragmented in the reflections. These reflections change in relation to the position of the viewer, so no two people experience it in precisely the same way.

Mirrors have also been significant symbols in literature. For example “The Lady of Shalott”, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson was a poem that inspired many artists. I came across this when studying the  Pre-Raphaelite movement for an earlier project featuring some contemporary responses to this style of art.  The poem is about a woman who is condemned to watch the world indirectly through a mirror that shows to her the changing scenes of Camelot. The reflected images are described as “shadows of the world”. If she does look at the world directly she will be cursed. One day the Lady sees the reflection of a man Sir Lancelot and breaks the rule and looks out of the window. The mirror cracks and she realises the curse has come true and she escapes the tower she has been living in and gets in a boat but dies before reaching the town. This representation of women has been viewed by some in the context of changing women’s roles in the 1880s and 1890s and it has been suggested that this served as a warning of imminent death to women who stepped from their restricted roles and explored their desires. William Holman Hunt has depicted the moment when the Lady turns to see Lancelot in his painting and some of Waterhouse’s most famous paintings were based on scenes from this poem. I think it is interesting to consider these connections between art and literature because in my own work I am considering combining by images with writing for the final presentations.

The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde is another famous example of literature with the theme of a mirror. The character Dorian takes a mirror up to the locked room containing his portrait and compares his reflection with his painted portrait which ages instead of himself. When he realises the person he has become, he smashed the mirror “He loathed his own beauty, and flinging the mirror on the floor, crushed it into silver splinters beneath his heel”.

In the poem “Mirror”, by Sylvia Plath the object is described as uncanny. “I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions. / Whatever I see I swallow immediately / Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike”. The poem describes the life of a young woman growing older as she looks into her mirror.  The poem could span years or alternatively the women could be seeing a reflection of her future self. It appears that she wants to discover who she is by looking into it.

Stories about mirrors are also common in mythology and folklore with the well-known example being that if you break a mirror you will have seven years bad luck. This superstition dates back to the Romans, who believed that life renewed itself every seven years, and that breaking a mirror would damage the soul it was reflecting at the time for that duration. Many cultures believed mirrors reflected the ‘shadow soul,’ and could show the true nature of the person being reflected. This  contributed to the legends about vampires having no reflections as they are said to have no souls to reflect. Ancient Chinese believed that mirrors frightened away evil spirits who were scared by their own appearance. In Greek mythology there is a man named Narcissus who falls in love with his own reflection in a pool of water and unable to leave the beauty of his reflection loses the will to live. Narcissus is the origin of the term narcissism (a fixation with oneself and one’s physical appearance and/or public perception).This myth has inspired several artists as well with the most well known example by Caravaggio who painted a young man admiring his reflection in the water. Other artists who have explored this myth include Dali and Waterhouse.

 

Presentation

Art Student – Presenting

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Here are the final images I have selected for the art student stereotype. I selected these images to be presented as a diptych due to the masculine and feminine connotations of both the archetypes and coloured back drops. I selected the image on the left because it depicts the scruffier more laid back side of me, the state of concentration i often find myself in when I am painting. Although this image is constructed in a studio setting, it is a fairly accurate depiction of what I look like on days where I stay inside and work on my art, no makeup, hair uncrushed and covered in paint. I selected the image in the right to depict my more fashion conscious side because it displays all the colours I chose to wear as well as my novelty backpack which I think captures my fun and childlike side. Although the images are not strictly masculine and feminine, i think the two different coloured background work well to emphasise the contrast between the two images despite the subject being the same.

Planning, Research

3rd Photo Shoot (Planning)

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Destroying Negatives, Shoot Plan

After doing some research into different was that people have of destroying negatives to create new artwork I have decided to do this for a shoot (I don’t think “shoot” is the right word but I’m going to use it). I’m going to start off by taking a roll of film and shooting all of the images on it of the coast and possibly reservoirs and other water sources (the images will more likely be of the sea because that is the main focus of my project), and then I plan on getting the roll of negatives developed before using water to destroy, corrode or otherwise alter the negatives. By using different water sources and looking at and comparing the different ways that the images are distorted I can show how water is not all the same.

Fungus Damaged Film Slide

I have two plans for how I am going to go about this. The first is going to be involving the negatives from the roll that I will have taken, the second is going to be done using printed images that I have already taken on my digital camera. I am going to collect the water from 6 different sources for the project (about a buckets worth for each), some of the locations will produce different types of water and others will produce similar types of water. Despite this I am still looking forward to seeing the different results, the locations that I am going to source the water from are listed below:

  1. Queen’s Valley Reservoir
  2. Sea water from long beach
  3. La Rosière Desalination Plant
  4. Stream in St. Catherine’s woods
  5. Pool water
  6. Tap water from my home

Once I have collected the water I am going to bring it back to my house, once here a small amount of each sample is going to be poured into a tray that I have borrowed from the school’s science department, these are what will hold the printed images, I will use some blue tack to hold the images under the water and I will be keeping an eye on them to determine how long they should be kept in there for. I am expecting the images to run but I am not sure on specifically what will happen, this again lends to the uncertainness and ideas of the unknown and random that I am looking for in my project.

The trays that I borrowed/stole from the science department

The negatives are going to be done slightly different and will require more time and thought given to them. I have looked into the different ways to use water to edit negatives, and for the most part, simply submerging the negatives in the water will likely not do much due to the fact that negatives need water to be developed. The main cause of water damage to negatives is from fungus/mould that grows on the negatives and eats into the gelatin layer thereby destroying the image. This will make the process more involved because it will involve me removing the negatives from the water and drying them out before submerging them again. To involve the environment more I am going to also take pieces of the environment like sand or dirt, leaves and seaweed to keep in the buckets also.

To help me get the best out of this process I have been doing a lot of research online into water damaged film. Almost all of the results that came back were about how to recover film from water damage and cleaning them up afterwards. With this in mind however I will try and employ the opposite techniques to what they suggest, so this means that I will need to let the film dry to induce growth of fungus on the film and when they are drying I will not have them free floating, I will let them dry face down and curled up to induce distortion on the images. To try and understand a little more about the process of doing this I emailed someone who used to be a specialist in film restoration to see what he could tell me about this. the first thing Mick (I didn’t get his full name) told me was that:

“it’s not actually water that damages film, film is born and bred in water during processing, the issue is bacteria that will start to colonise the film once it is wet and remains wet for some time and these are responsible for the effect that is called water damage.”

He then suggested

“leaving some negatives (colour film may work better as the silver ions in B&W film are highly toxic to bacteria) in a bowl of pond water (no chlorine etc added that will impinge on the rate of growth) somewhere not too light (but it needn’t be dark) for a while.”

He could not give me specific time frames but he said anything from a few days to a week depending on where the images are stored. He also gave me one final piece of advice for possible health issues that I may encounter;

“careful, you are dealing with a potential biological hazard (known moulds on film include aspergillus fumigatus – Google it).”

Taking all of the information that I have gathered into account I have come up with a plan for how I am going to create this part of the project.

  • The first step will be to take the exposures on an appropriate roll of film, as Mick suggested I will not be using black and white film, from here I have chosen to use a roll of Fuji Superia 200 that expired last year. I chose this roll over some of the others that I have have for the main reason that it was the cheapest, because it was a little expired I got it at half price and it is not that expired so the images will turn out fine I’m sure. And as long as it is bright when I decide to shoot then I can use that film.
  • To take the exposures I will load up one of my cameras and will travel around the different waterways in Jersey (depending on time constraints I may have to just stick to photographs of the coast).
  • Once I have taken all of the exposures I will need to get the film developed, get the negatives back and cut them up into 6 sets of 6 or individually divided into 6 groups.
  • Then I need to collect the water from all of the different sources, bring them home, and submerge the negatives under the water.
  • After about an hour I will take them out and suspend them just above the water, making sure to splash them every 12 hours or so to make sure that they don’t completely dry out.
  • Other than this there is not much I can do except for handling the negatives roughly but while still wearing gloves and letting the gelatine surfaces stick to each other. Possibly touching the wet gelatine layers will distort the images but I’m not too sure.

To help me with this process I have got some negatives off a friend, these were almost all completely exposed and so are perfectly blank, this will allow me to see if there could be any changes that I might not be able to see on frames with images on them.

 

Analysis, Development, Experimentation

Photoshoot 4 Todd Hido/ Bill Henson Portrait Interior photoshoot

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In response to Bill Henson and Todd Hido’s portraits, I wanted to explore the use of interior scenes and the use of natural lighting to build narrative and add emotion and feeling. In relation to my starting point, the natural light contrasts the dark spaces created by the walls and  small light sources. I took over 50 photographs, each experimenting with different ISO’s and exposures and I also left it on auto focus, this evoked a sense of depth without creating overly blurry photographs, I also tested long exposures to give the photos a ghostly effect. I did not use a tripod and in hindsight this would have been more beneficial for creating a sharper image especially when working with longer exposures. I decided to not use multiple exposures or HDR techniques unlike many of my previous landscape photographs as I wanted to keep the strong contrasts of dark space with the warm light. The composition of the photographs features closeups as well as shots that feature more of the open space which reflects a bigger sense of environment. I have also made the compositions to work with a book layout so they could possibly work with a double page spread but also just on a single page, complimented with a text on the opposite side.

I first edited the photograph in Photoshop by using the spot healing brush tool to remove lights and posters that cluttered the image.This would also enable more room for accompanying text. I then used the adjustments> Shadows/Highlights to add more light into the image without the lighter points being overexposed.

The strong contrasts reflect Bill Henson’s work with his use of chiaroscuoro. I wanted to keep most of them in colour as I wanted to reference how Todd Hido had created warm tones photographs with natural light, I adjusted the original images only slightly to give a slightly more even, cooler effect. I like how the light bounces off white surface which gives the photographs a softer effect.

I wanted to capture the light reflecting off Ryan’s face with Ryan facing the window, so each would be opposite each other. In the first photograph I like how the white wardrobe has reflected light into his neck, adding a sense of depth to the image. I set the image to a slower shutter speed for the second above image, creating this ghostly movement effect, I found this photograph worked best in black and white to bring out the tones and shades more. For the third image I used a quick exposure time to capture just the light that hits his face, also evoking a sharper image, the huge amount of black space creates similarities between Henson’s dark chiaroscuro style portraits.

I really like the above image for its use of Rembrandt lighting and how the lighting evokes an interesting glowing texture. I also like the contrast between the warm tones in the highlights and the cool shades in the background such as from the window. I decided to keep the window as I found it added a sense of depth to the image.

I decided to create a closeup portrait featuring only the light from he window and a plain background. I used the preset features to show experimentation, the last two images are two different cross process settings with add an interesting tint to the images inspired by how Bill Henson will often change the image white balance.

Below is an experimentation image inspired by Bill Henson. I added lots of contrast and clarity to give the photograph a grainy texture. I also added vibrancy to bring out the colours as well as changing the white balance to an overly cool tone.