Psycho geography

Psycho geography is an exploration of urban environments that emphasizes the playfulness. Psycho geography was defined in 1955 by Guy Debord as the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals. Another definition is a whole toy box full of playful, inventive strategies for exploring cities… just about anything that takes pedestrians off their predictable paths and jolts them into a new awareness of the urban landscape. The idea of urban wandering relates to the older concept of the flaneur, theorized by Charles Baudelaire and is similar to street photography.

I am interested in this style of photography as it allows for a wide range of possibilities as well as an enjoyable experience whilst capturing interesting images. Some go alone, others in organized groups or societies, some walk randomly and aimlessly, others have goals and approximated destinations and some even use algorithmic and logical patterns. I personally am interested in the style of walking randomly and aimlessly to in hope come across some interesting subject matter.

The generic conventions within Richard Misrach’s work is the environmental issues inflicted by humans. The photographer clearly has a negative view on how society is treating the environment and has a variety of work displaying the pure destruction of the environment to  try and insure people are aware of these issues. He  uses strong juxtapositions within his work to show how we are unnecessarily building structures in scenic, natural areas.

This is a typical photograph taken by Misrach in which influenced me to try and capture a similar message within my photographs. On a photo shoot I decided to focus in on the things in which ruined the environment and really are showing a sign of humans presence. Thus was to create a sense of destruction that we are doing to our world.

My Images

Richard Misrach is an American photographer firmly identified with the introduction of color to fine art photography in the 1970s, and with the use of large-format traditional cameras.

Richard Misrach appears to have been inspired by The New Topographic in the way he chooses to capture man-made subject matter in the style of landscape photography. For Richard This included coastal areas, lakes, rural areas and urban areas which were all depicted with a beautiful element however his images inflict this idea of destruction that us as humans has created to this beauty.

Image Analysis

The generic conventions within Richard Misrach’s work is the environmental issues inflicted by humans. The photographer clearly has a negative view on how society is treating the environment and has a variety of work displaying the pure destruction of the environment to  try and insure people are aware of these issues. This photograph is a clear response to the environmental issues within a lake or the ocean. I believe the photographers main influence is an indication of the rapid urbanization around the world and this is leading to humans destroying nature, plants and vegetation. As well as this photograph indicating how we are building unnecessary things which are destroying the natural beauty, it is also a clear reference to the Marine pollution and tells us how serious it is. The use of the juxtaposition between the wooden structures and the natural scenes of the lake and distant mountains helps to convey these ideas that we are unnecessarily building structures which are dominant in creating a distraction and almost disturbing scenes. I also am influenced by the use of isolation involved with Misrach’s images as they release a sense of calmness and a tranquil atmosphere.

Photo shoot Plan

Genre /  Artist – Landscape, Urban

Concept –  Capture images in the style of The New Topographics

Location – Town, Outskirts of town

Props – Tripod

Shot type – Landscape, varied angle dependent on subject matter

Lighting – Natural, possible use of flash or spot light

Settings – 30 Second exposures with ISO of 200 for light trails

Contact Sheet

Edited Images

Favorite Edit

I believe this image best reflects the movement of the new topographic in the way it displays an overcrowded array of lights from the urbanised area behind the fence. I have purposely used the fence to convey a sense of imprisonment that us humans have created by the building of these colossal structures that look down upon us. This image best relates to how our natural beauty has been ruined by all the man made features such as the lights which are a key element to this photograph. Where as this place would have once been a peaceful and tranquil environment with little buildings, it now is an energetic and stress prone environment. This links to the New Topographic movement taking over from the Romanticism movement. It shows how quickly things can change for better or for worse.

Robert Adams was born in May 1937 and is an American photographer who has focused on the changing landscape of the American West. His first work to become prominence in the mid – 1970s through his book ‘The New West’. His participation in the exhibition The New Topographics was also a dominant feature in helping his career.  He twice recieved a Guggenheim fellowship, a MacArthur Fellowship and he won the Deutsche Borse photography prize as well as the Hasselbald Award.

Image Analysis

It appears that natural lighting was used to capture this photograph due to the natural tones and contrast in the photograph. This allows the photo to convey a sense of realism and make the audience feel as if they can connect with the photo more. This is contrasted with the way there is no color involved within the photo which makes the photo surreal and creates a sense of mystery and a more dramatic image. The use of black and white helps to focus on the main subjects, thus being the caravans, to allow Adams messages to be portrayed. This photo shows the start of civilization and man-made structures with natural objects appearing towards the back of the photograph. It shows how the New Topographic movement was a reaction to the Romantics by the use of the juxtaposition with the man made features in the foreground and the natural features in the background. In my opinion, this photograph is a message to reflect how man made structures are taking over our society and dominating these natural areas. This is clearly reflected by the way in which the natural features are pushed towards the back of the photo and are not the main feature like they would be in romanticism photography.

Psycho-geography describes the effect of a geographical location on the emotions and behaviour of individuals.
The term psycho-geography was invented by the Marxist theorist Guy Debord in 1955 in order to explore this. Inspired by the French nineteenth century poet and writer Charles Baudelaire’s concept of the flâneur – an urban wanderer – Debord suggested playful and inventive ways of navigating the urban environment in order to examine its architecture and spaces.