Category Archives: Research
Filters
Landscape Photography
The are two main meanings for Landscapes, these are:
- the visible features of an area of land, the land forms and how they integrate with natural or man-made features
- to an example of the genre of Landscape painting that depicts such views of an area of land.
These two definitions tell us that a landscape geographical elements that makes up an area of land. Elements may include waterfalls, tress, woodland, oceans and many others. However landscapes does not only have to be formed by natural elements it can also be made by man made features and many modern day photographers capture images of urban landscapes situated in towns or of architecture which makes up a piece of land.Combining both their physical origins and the cultural overlay of human presence, often created over millennia, landscapes reflect a living synthesis of people and place that is vital to local and national identity. The character of a landscape helps define the self-image of the people who inhabit it and a sense of place that differentiates one region from other regions. It is the dynamic backdrop to people’s lives. Landscape can be as varied as farmland, a landscape park, or wilderness.
Below is a variety of natural,urban and original landscapes:
The history of Landscape photography
The history of landscapes goes way back through time when Artists started painting landscapes in ancient times. The Greeks and Romans created wall paintings of landscapes and gardenscapes. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the tradition of depicting pure landscapes declined, and the landscape was seen only as a setting for religious and figural scenes. This tradition continued until the 16th century when artists began to view the landscape as a subject in its own right. The artistic shift seems to have corresponded to a growing interest in the natural world sparked by the Renaissance.
Landscape with a Calm, Nicolas Poussin, 1650–1651
The term ‘landscape’ originally comes from the dutch and then was developed in the netherlands were it became a popular subject for painting. By the 17th century the emergence of classical landscape was seen, In a classical landscape the positioning of objects was contrived; every tree, rock, or animal was carefully placed to present a harmonious, balanced, and timeless mood. The classical landscape was perfected by French artists Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain.
Classical Landscape with Figures and Sculpture, Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes, 1788
During the 18th century, Italy continued to be a popular source of inspiration for landscape artists. Then Engalnd and france became popular withlandscape art. The 19th century held many milestones for the history of landscape art. As the Industrial Revolution altered the traditions of rural life, the old hierarchy of subjects crumbled. This era was also the era that saw the birth of landscape photography which greatly influenced the ways artists painted.
Irises, Vincent van Gogh, 1889
As photography in the 20th century gained acceptance as an art form, artists used the medium to create interpretations of the land through pictorialist effects and, later, through formal compositions of close-up, cropped views of the landscape. In America, photographer Ansel Adams captured the country’s attention with his breathtaking views of the wild beauty of the American West.
Ontario, California, Robert Adams, 1983
Ansel Adams
Introduction Landscape Photography
History of Landscape Art and Photography
Landscape art and photography is where the essence of nature is captured without a human presence using the landscape itself through various locations such as mountainous, forest , beach, architectural and other places.
Through the centuries, landscape art has developed massively through different influences of the time. With the Medieval ages, there was much more of a Gothic presence, whereas with the renaissance artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci were being somewhat more expressive by influences such as classic poetry; artists expressed themselves more. Within the 17th and 18th centuries more styles such as bracketing whereby an object along the side of the foreground that directs the viewer’s eye into the composition were more commonly adopted. This style still has a strong presence in today’s photograph.
With further developments through the 19th century in landscape, people started to build upon the idea of romanticism to capture the essence and beauty of nature with abstract color with the natural light from the sky, working in cohesion with the composition of the environment of the photograph.
With the turn of the 20th century and early photography being introduced, landscape adapted and took off from where landscape art was at the time. However artists did somewhat make an effort to separate landscape photography from art. From here, the natural environment was seen as inspiration. Artists such as Edward Weston and Ansel Adams took hold of this, expressing their moods and emotions.
Instructions >>> Week 15 | Jan 9-14 onwards 2017
Amended Mock Exam Schedule!!!
Monday 6th March Pds 1 – 5 = 12D
Tuesday 7th March Pds 1 – 5 = 12A
Wednesday 8th March Pds 1 – 5 = 12E
Friday 10th March Pds 1-5 = 12C
Photographing Urban Landscapes
- Research and explore The New Topographics and how photographers have responded to man’s impact on the land, and how they found a sense of beauty in the banal ugliness of functional land use…
- Create a blog post that defines and explains The New Topographics and the key features and artists of the movement. Analyse some key imagery (COMPLETE BY FRIDAY 13 JAN)
- As a response to Alliance Francaise Climate Change : State of Emergency at Jersey Arts Centre you must produce a blog post that includes examples of ARCHIVAL IMAGES of a local landscape that you have photographed. Compare these images and describe and explain the changes. Does the imagery connect with any of the artists we have studied??? How and why??? You can look at housing areas, industrial areas, erosion of the coastline, reclaimed land etc.(COMPLETE BY FRIDAY 20 JAN)
- You can then begin to make contrasts and comparisons to your imagery (for example if you have a sense of repetition) you may want to focus on Bernd and Hilla Becher’s TYPOLOGIES (COMPLETE BY FRIDAY 27 JAN)
- You can make links with The New Objectivity movement and their approach to industrial features eg Albert Renger-Patzsch / Karl Blossfeldt : what was The New Objectivity and what was it a reaction to ??? (try to set the context) (COMPLETE BY FRIDAY 27 JAN)
- We will then be looking at ABSTRACTION and FORMALISM and you will be expected to explore shape, pattern, colour, line, symmetry and texture and present a range of blog posts that show your findings, experiments and links to suitable artists as a point of reference / influence. (COMPLETE BY FRIDAY 3 FEB)
- You must complete a homework task that tackles the techniques involved in producing night landscapes, using long exposures and slow shutter speeds. You can photography light trails, townscapes, stars and star-trails etc…. (COMPLETE BY FRIDAY 10 FEB)
-
Skills Checklist above and complete by Friday 17th Feb to ensure you have confident skills using photoshop…
Ensure that you include an analysis of a key image from artists and discuss the following key terms…
- Composition (rule of thirds, balance, symmetry)
- Perspective (linear and atmospheric, vanishing points)
- Depth (refer to aperture settings and focus points, foreground, mid-ground and back-ground)
- Scale (refer to proportion, but also detail influenced by medium / large format cameras)
- Light ( intensity, temperature, direction)
- Colour (colour harmonies / warm / cold colours and their effects)
- Shadow (strength, lack of…)
- Texture and surface quality
- Tonal values ( contrast created by highlights, low-lights and mid-tones)
Previous tasks
All students will be expected to engage with a range of initial approaches to Landscape Photography…
- A brief history and overview of landscape art and photography
- Romanticism in Landscape painting and photography
- Ansel Adams and Edward Weston and their impact on contemporary landscape photography
- A site visit / guided walk (see Psychogeographies blog-post)
- Havre Des Pas Photoshoot = Period 5 lessons starting next Thursday 8th (12D MM), Friday 9th (JC 12C), Tuesday 13th (12A MM) & Wednesday 14th (12E JC).
- M:\Departments\Photography\Students\Resources\Landscape Photography\Mr Cole 12A, 12C, 12D, 12E
You must complete the following tasks in Weeks 13 + 14 (before Christmas)
<<<Research and Analysis>>>
- An introduction to landscape photography, including a definition and mood-board of influential images
- A Case Study on Ansel Adams and Edward Weston
3. Create a blog post that defines and explains what Romanticism is in Landscape Photography…include examples and make reference to Romanticism in other art-forms eg painting
4.Create a blog post that shows your understanding of what Psycho-Geography is and how we can use this concept to help us respond to the urban / rural / sea / land scape (s)…
Homework Assignment
- Between December 5 2016 and January 5th 2017
- Take 150-200 photos of romanticised landscapes
- Try to keep to natural / rural settings with minimal human impact
- We will show you how to “EXPOSURE BRACKET” and you must try using this technique for at least some of your photographs
- We will then show you how to convert these images to HDR using photoshop
Here is a link to the BBC Website “in-pictures”…The British Isles 2016
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-3816943
The New Topographics
Analysing Your Images
The Formal or Visual Elements
Photographers are usually aware of the ways in which they can create interest in their images regardless of the subject. This is sometimes what separates successful and less successful pictures of the same thing. The following list describes some of the formal or visual elements in any photograph. These are mostly shared with other kinds of pictures, although photography has some that are special:
|
Light: Line: Repetition: Texture: Colour: Composition: |
Which areas of the photograph are brightest? Are there any shadows? Does the photograph allow you to guess the time of day? Is the light natural or artificial? Harsh or soft? Reflected or direct? How does light fall across the objects in the photograph?
Are there objects in the photograph that act as lines? Are they straight, curvy, thin, thick? Do the lines create direction in the photograph? Do they outline? Do the lines show movement or energy? Are there any objects, shapes or lines which repeat and create a rhythm or pattern? Do you see echoes or reflections within the image? Do you see geometric (straight edged) or organic (curvy) shapes? Which are they and how do they relate to each other? Is there depth to the photograph or does it seem shallow? What creates this appearance? What is placed in the foreground, middle ground and background? Are there important negative (empty) spaces in addition to positive (solid) spaces? If you could touch the surface of the photograph how would it feel? How do the objects in the picture look like they would feel? Is there a range of tones from dark to light? Where is the darkest part of the image? Where is the lightest? Are the tones in the photograph balanced or does the image tend towards darkness or lightness overall. How does this affect the mood or atmosphere? What kind of colours can you see e.g. saturated, muted, complementary, primary? Is there a dominant colour? How would this image be different if it was in black and white? Does the use of colour help us understand the subject or does it work independently? How have the various elements in the picture been arranged? Does the image seem balanced or unbalanced? Is it possible to superimpose geometrical shapes on the image to better understand the composition e.g. a pyramid? Has the photographer used the Rule of Thirds?+ |
Final Ideas for Identity project
Chosen Photographer-Identity
Artist study
Mood Board- Identity
Definition of Self-Portrait and Identity
The definition for Self-Portrait is – “a portrait of an artist produced or created by that artist”. Self Portrait to me is where portraits are taken of one’s self depicting them in a certain way to create a specific effect. It can be used to focus specifically for how influences around us can lead to a loss of identity. Therefore to create these effects, within the self portrait you can show these influences having a direct effect on the person. Or on the other hand you can leave these out and focus on the person, in their own surroundings focusing on the loss of identity building upon the idea of isolation. With these influences you can focus upon them to create almost a mad setting where they can be pestering the person into madness. The isolation theme where the person is by themselves could possibly focus on more of the impact of these influences of society that can lose people’s Identity.
Therefore, the definition for identity is “the fact of being who or what a person or thing is”. For me personally, identity can represent the most accurate and recent of someone who feels a certain way. I believe one of the most interesting ways of how artists such as Herbert Bayer and Jerry Uelsmann have done this is expressing how the loss of identity has impacted the subject. This can lead the viewer to believe that the subject is in their own surroundings, facing their problems with no help. Loss of Identity is where something or someone has caused us to lose our identity and this can lead to confusion and uncertainty of who the identity of someone is. Loss of Identity can pose questions such as who we are? If we don’t know who we are, what is the point in us being here? What has led us to be hear? These questions can be asked and answered subtly within a photograph, with various editing effects and photographic techniques incorporated.