Green is often associated with nature. I thought it would be an interesting angle to complete a photo shoot based around solely the colour green. Photographing in the field, I have looked at a range of sceneries, all linking back to my theme of diverse nature. In order to capture a variety of images, I had to complete my photo shoot over the space of multiple days and a number of locations. I have increased the contrast and saturation slightly on the majority of my photographs, in order to emphasize the vibrant colours and shades of green. I am very happy with my outcomes of shoot 7 as I have a variety of photographs that differ in terms of subject focus and visuals but are interconnected by the colour green.
I am going to be looking at movement photography for my exam. Specifically looking at tidal movements and how the landscape changes and contrasts between low and high tide.
My photographs and photo shoot ideas are inspired by the work of the photographer, Michael Marten, his series of images that look at the differences between the high and low tides and looking at the ebbs and flows of the sea.
Michael Marten Bedruthan Steps, Cornwall. 25 and 31 August 2007. High water 4.30pm, low water 2pm
Another photographer that has inspired my idea is Eadward Muybridge, and his work where he looks at the movement on the galloping horse and other animals and I plan to present my work in a similar way. I am hoping to present my images in a grid format and then on the blog I am hoping to present my images in a gif as well.
Sow photograph Eadweard Muybridge
For my photoshoots I am going to want to plan around the low tides and the high tides, I want to ensure that the photographs are clear and that the subject that they are focused on is clearly the tide. In order to ensure that my photographs are clear, I am going to try and avoid photographing at sun set, because I will end up with a glare from the sun. I will also try to avoid clutter within my images such as signs, cars or large groups of people which may draw away from the subject of the photographs. To avoid people I am going to try and photograph landscapes that may be more isolated to the public and therefore will have less cars and people within shot. I will also need to make sure that I use a tripod in order to have the horizon level in all my images.
The variation of patterns within nature on plants, flowers, tree bark, and forming on water are diverse and show the fascinating visual details of the natural world. One artist who looks at patterns of nature in a compelling way is Adrienne Adam, a fine art photographer. Her up-close photographs of plants, flowers, trees, sand and the ground explore the varied colours, forms, shapes, thicknesses and sizes of the subjects she photographs, furthermore fulfilling the idea of natural beauty that surrounds these natural forms.
Adrienne Adam
Adrienne writes on her website that the art of seeing for her is a spiritual practice by which she empties her mind of the business of life in order to be fully present and available to her surroundings. Most of the images she makes are intimate landscapes showing the subtle and unique patterns and textures… the magic found in nature. When making images her intention is to show the Spirit of nature. The degree to which she is successful at capturing the essence and energy of the subject on film is directly proportionate to the degree to which she is fully present with the subject that catches her eye. Adrienne considers herself a “student of light“– always standing on the edge of confidence in her exposures. “Light is as subtle and ever-changing as the wind. It is tangible and yet illusive.” For this reason, the images she makes are all exposed in available light so they are a study of how this element shifts and dances on the surface of a tree, of the water, of our lives. The images Adam’s presents are made with either the medium format 500CM Hasselblad or digital Nikon D300 cameras. Regardless of which camera or lens she uses. her intention is to isolate a small part of a scene in a way that tells the entire story of the big picture. During the selection process she chooses images that best represent the spirit of the original subject or scene in terms of color, contrast and mood. When Adams uses film, the “selects” are scanned and guide prints are made. The guides are returned to her to determine accuracy of the scan as-well-as for cropping purposes. In the case of images made with the D300, she makes the color and size adjustments herself. Once this process is complete the images are ready for print on a variety of papers and alternative media.
“AS I SEE IT, THE CREATION OF PHOTOGRAPHIC ART HAS TWO PRIMARY ELEMENTS – THE ART OF “SEEING” AND THE ART OF “CAPTURING” WHAT IS SEEN ON FILM.”
When seeing and technical knowing are aligned I am fortunate enough to “capture” the Spirit of Nature on film and share it with others. More importantly, I have become a better person and my life is filled with the understanding of what photography and nature teaches me… “Be conscious and notice the abundance and magic of life in every moment.”
My photoshoot at Noirmont consisted of ground based photography as well as from the air with the Phantom. Below is the contact sheet for all images collected on the day, both land and air. All of the unusable or poor shots had already been removed prior to this screenshot as part of the first stage of selection.
Flying the drone on the shoot
I now plan to edit the images and produce a set of land based and air based final outcomes from this shoot. Focusing on circles in different environments and angles.
On a visit to Jersey Arts Centre, CCA Gallery and The Private and Public, I have looked at the exhibitions and photographed any displays I feel relate to my work. This has led to me mainly taking interest in exhibition works based around nature; butterflies, weather patterns and trees. I enjoyed physically seeing the works rather than on a screen as I could really see the intricate detail and interesting features, like glitter on silkscreen (Deific by Damien Hurst) up close which I wouldn’t be able to experience online. I have sourced the galleries I visited below which reference full overviews of what the current exhibitions are about and information about the artists / photographers.
For this shoot I wanted to create a response to the work of Engleston due to his focus around the idea of tone and colour within urban and natural environments. What I found most interesting within his photography was how in most of them there is an overall sense of a single colour such as yellow or red, this has inspired me to create work that relates through the use of incorporating an overlay which can be vaguely seen in each picture. As a result of this I hope to achieve a new style of photography where I can this underlying saturation to produce outcomes for the photos and possible photography book in the future. Using Eagleston as my main source of inspiration I have decided to have a look at some of his works which I found to be of particular interest:
After I had looked over some of his more inspirational work I decided it was nearly time to go ahead with the shoot itself. Before doing this however I would need to create a mind-map, by doing this it would allow me to express my ideas and intentions of what I want to achieve in the shoot. Creating a mind-map not only would help direct my aims of the shoot but also reduce time wasted from deciding there and then what to do and take. Here are some of my ideas on what I want to produce during the shoot:
Once I had completed my mind-map I then decided that I would move onto the shoot itself. Using this my ideas noted above as the basis for my goals in the shoot I decided to photograph the area of Les Creux Millenium Park due to the huge range of landscape it possessed in the surrounding area, ranging from houses, fields and woods. A map of the area can be seen below:
Here are the results of the shoot:
Once I had completed the shoot I then decided to go onto whittle the selection of images down to only ten. By doing this it would make it easier for me to identify which images reflected my intentions for the shoot the best and which ones had the best relevence for my topic. Here is my selection for the ten best images of the shoot:
After I had selected the ten best images I then decided that I would move onto choosing fives images that out of the ten reflected my intentions the most and had the best overall sense of aestheticism. To do this I would have to look at technicality, visual aspects and context. Here are my choices:
I selected this images because I really liked the defined contrast between the overly blue sky and the unusual shape of the tree. For me the green and dark browns contrasting the sky made the image the most effective due to how they are complimentary colours and so work well side by side producing an aesthetic reault. Composition wise I found that the tree being slightly on the left allowed for the end result to be more impacting because of the way it arches over the landscape filling more negative space in a more unusual way. In relation to the topic of variation of abstraction the image related well as I separated the tree from its surroundings allowed for a unique perspective to be viewed of it where it becomes isolated from its surrounding environment.
For this image the reason I selected it was because of how the blue sky and tree were complimented by the cloud which sort of transitions into the tree itself whilst merging into the blue around the corners. By the clouds taking over the negative space for me it allowed for a more effective use of the sky due to it otherwise being a bland and boring picture, however the inclusion of clouds prevents this and instead allows for an aesthetic result which could work well in a set of three. In relation to the topic the image goes well as it is evidently saturated too much which as a result produces a more abstract effect which in a way prevents viewers from seeing the tree as it once was, instead looking at it in a new light.
What I liked about this images was the contrasting overly saturated colours that overpower the image. For me this works really well as the image in a way is divided into two sections, one being the sky and the other nature, however I really liked the implementation of the cloud which breaks up the two dominant colour from becoming too overpowering and ruining the piece. As a result of this the cloud enhances the two colours creating an aesthetic result due to both the tree and the sky being in proportion to each others saturation. When looking at the image in regards to my topic of abstract variations I think that it goes well with the rest of the images taken due to how they all present a similar vision where there is a sense of overpowering colour which seem too surreal to be real.
What I loved about this image was its overall simplicity. This is done through a very minimal way where there are only three small aspects to the piece being the cloud, trees and sky. For me they all compliment each other nicely due to how the green and blue contrast with the symmetry of the cloud being in the centre adding too effect from a sense of artificial aestheticism that is created. Overall once again symmetry is the key aspect to this photograph as the cloud be placed directly in the middle adds to effect as its almost as if it was placed there from its unusual position. For me this links greatly to the topic as the colours are so enhanced combined with the weird composition which as a result ends in a abstract portrait of the sky in a block minimalist way.
Finally I selected this image because of the huge contrast between the pines and sky which create a silhoutte of the leaves, isolated it from its environment and portraying them in a way that makes them seem as if they were something else. This contrast for me works well with an image in the previous colour shoot which I think when looking towards planning a photo-book would work well due to its similar qualities. As a result this image relates well to the topic but has been selected really in relevance to how it can be linked to the previous shoot in which silhouette of trees can be seen against a harsh blue backdrop.
After looking over all five images it allowed me to come to a conclusion to which images worked well in relation to the topic of abstract variations (this shoot being colour). By looking in depth at each image it allowed me to sum up its qualities as a reflection of my intentions not only to the shoot but the overall topic. This is my final choice for the image that best represents the entire shoot:
The reason I chose this image as the best reflection for the overall intentions of the shoot is because of how I loved the way the composition of the piece induced a sense of an artificial landscape in which it seems almost too surreal to be real. For me the vivid colour combined with the symmetrical composition of the tree really tie the photo together as each aspect of the piece compliment each other which preventing the others from overpowering and ruining the picture from becoming too eye-sore.
Since the early 1960s, William Eggleston used color photographs to describe the cultural transformations in Tennessee and the rural South. He registers these changes in scenes of everyday life, such as portraits of family and friends, as well as gasoline stations, cars, and shop interiors. Switching from black and white to color, his response to the vibrancy of postwar consumer culture and America’s bright promise of a better life paralleled Pop Art’s fascination with consumerism. Eggleston’s “snapshot aesthetic” speaks to new cultural phenomena as it relates to photography: from the Polaroid’s instantaneous images, the way things slip in and out of view in the camera lens, and our constantly shifting attention. Eggleston captures how ephemeral things represent human presence in the world, while playing with the idea of experience and memory and our perceptions of things to make them feel personal and intimate.
Color has a multivalent meaning for Eggleston: it expressed the new and the old, the banal and the extraordinary, the man-made and the natural. His non-conformist sensibilities left him open to explore the commercial printing process of dye transfer to see what it could contribute to picturing reality in color rather than the selling of lifestyles, concepts, and ideas. His brief encounter with Warhol exposed him to forms of popular photography and advertising, contributing to his experimental attitude toward the medium. Eggleston’s use of the anecdotal character of everyday life to describe a particular place and time by focusing either on a particular detail, such as an object, or facial expression, or by taking in a whole scene pushes the boundaries of the documentary style of photography associated with Robert Frank and Walker Evans’ photographs. His insider view allowed him to create a collective picture of life in the South, capturing how it transformed from a rural into a suburban society. Some examples of his work can be seen below:
The snapshot aesthetic provided Eggleston with the appropriate format for creating anecdotal pictures about everyday life. Its association with family photographs, amateur photography, as well as Kodak’s Brownie camera (which was useable by everyone) lent his work the proper proportions and personal attitude toward the impersonal everyday. I wanted to make colour one of my main focuses when photographing the selected areas, here I found that looking and analyzing an image would prove to be most effective as it would allow an insight for me into the technical, visual and conceptual aspects of the photo that make it so aesthetic through over-saturation. The image I have chosen is called “Cannon’s Grocery, near Greensboro, Ala” and was taken 1972:
Visual: Visually the image is very aesthetic from the amount of warm colours that are present within it such as the oranges, yellows and blues. For me these colour provide us with a sense of uniqueness as all supposedly contrast each other, however instead it compliments with the colours of the building reflecting the surrounding environment like the desert and sky. Overall the piece only consists of about four to five different colours making it very simplistic regarding what can be seen, however a filter has been used to enhance the yellows and blue and create an almost artificial environment of something that may be seen on a movie set. What draws me in is how out of place the building seems as it vibrant colours are perhaps the opposite of what the desert could be seen as, giving the impression for viewers of something that could be seen for miles due to it being so out of place from its surrounding environmental landscape.
Technical: When looking over the photograph it is clear to say that a filter has been used to create an artificial feel to the overall piece due to certain colours like yellow being implicitly present through the image. A regular shutter speed and slightly lower higher exposure has been used to create a crisp and in focus shot being devoid of overpowering shadows or motion blur. The photographer has obviously made the building the focal point of the piece due to how it instantly draws the viewers attention due to its randomness regarding the surrounding environment with the yellow sand being used as a way to stop the building from dominating the composition and being too overpowering. Finally the colours have definitely been taken into consideration due to how each one contrasts another colour within the photo providing an obvious sense of old school aestheticism due to how they aren’t as crisp as they could be.
Conceptual: The image was taken at a time when the art world shunned colour photography. The solo show the Eggleston but on at the Museum of Modern Art in 1976 broke through this black and white barrier as it paved the way for wider acceptance of art and making it the preferred medium. The photograph itself represents the exciting time period in photograph when an image’s tone was more provocative than its subject.
Previously I have experimented with GIF’s, but that experiment only included photographs of a limited number of building faces. In the below GIF I have included 12 fully edited photographs in which the building faces have been layered over rock faces. This use of GIF’s is extremely relevant to the topic ‘Variation and Similarities’ as it is an easily displayable way to demonstrate both variation and similarities between subjects. The 0.2 second time that each photograph is shown for, along with the cropping, creates a very abstract and unique method of presentation as the viewer is not sure what they are looking at until the GIF has been played multiple times. By using the GIF format the photographs are constantly being compared to eachother as the individualistic features of each building are being focused on and then replaced with another feature of another building, therefore it is demonstrating the variance and similarity between the buildings.
In this post I have experimented with presenting my compositions in which I layered photographs of building faces over photographs of granite rock faces. I believe that since I am looking at subjects that are easily comparable to eachother a typology grid is suitable – I have explored typology in the past through the works of Bernd and Hila Bechers and think it is a very effective was of drawing attention to the similarities and differences between the buildings. The use of rock faces in these compositions is great for creating similarities and differences between the photographs because not one rock face is the same as another; there is always individual angles and shapes that are unique to the rock. In typical use of typologies, all of the photographs are cropped to the same size – I had looked at doing this when putting the typologies together but found that it would take away from the composition of some of the photographs so it was best to leave them in their full shape. These typologies are made of my shortlist of best edits so I may change the photographs to all be cropped in the same way when I narrow the photographs down to about four.
