Political Landscapes Shoot #3

Once I had reviewed the idea of truth within photography, and the camera’s ability to warp perspectives and therefore the influence of opinions regarding what people see, I decided I should head back to the dump and attempt to over-exaggerate the sights present there to influence the viewers. I particularly felt inspired by the idea of exaggerated the truth and warping people’s opinions to support yours, regardless of it being a lie. The photographers I found to be of significant inspiration are Andrea Gursky Robert Capa, by using these photographers style and technique as a way of composing my photos it would allow me to produce imagery that accurately represented my vision regarding consumerism, changing the conventional style of photography I’m used to.

When commencing with the shoot I decided I should look at the objects themselves specifically to provide an insight into the general sighting that can be found in this particular environment. By looking into the materials dumped here I would be able to present how the landscape has been scarred but also this hidden aestheticism hidden beneath all this waste. Here is a mood-board to reflect my various intentions and goals when taking images:

Once I had finished I decided I would create a mind-map to portray and sum up the ideas I have for exploring the area. By doing this it would prevent me from wasting time thinking there and then about what to do, instead allowing me to head into the area with a clear mind focused on what I want to achieve. My ideas can be seen below:

Now that I was satisfied with my ideas I decided it was time to go out and take photographs. The area I wanted particularly to explore was the actual dumping ground of waste material, not the landscape surrounding it like the previous shoot, allowing for a more in-depth look of how out consumerism is handled and sectioned off into varying materials. Here are the results of the shoot: After the shoot was complete I decided to select the ten images I thought best reflected the intentions of the shoot both visually and implicitly. By doing this it would allow me to deduct other images that I thought didn’t portray the aim of the shoot correctly or were poorly taken, here are my choices:

After I had completed organizing and separating all images into a top ten mood-board, I then decided to cut that once again into only five images. By doing this it would allow me to individually analyze each photo, viewing how they related to the topic and their looks as an overall image, here are my selections for the top images for this shoot:  I selected this image because of how I loved the positioning of the paint cans, this look of just the bottles careless thrown into the bin scattering paint everywhere creates an unusual background of random colours. I also really liked how the higher exposure allowed for a dark border across the bottom of the image, creating the impression of the unknown due to there being no evidence for how far these material stretch. The focal point seems to be the center paint can which is clearly defined from the backdrop by the shadows surrounding it producing an abstract effect from the area around it.  What I liked about this image was the clear contrast and separation of rubbish and everyday life working in the area. This contrast seen through the separation of the electronics and a construction worker show evidence of how the area has adapted to suit their life around the product of consumerism. The sheer mass of the electronics almost overflowing out of their section creates the impression of disorganization, where once used they are careless thrown to the side never to be seen again. Looking at this image it is clear how much space is required to hold the waste, especially after seeing how far into the hangar it stretches.  I found that the emptiness of this image was what attracted me to it, alongside the vivid colours which accompany it. The use of a singular chemical bottle on the shelf with the over half of the container sprayed with unknown chemicals provides a messy and unorganized look, where obviously dangerous liquids have been disposed of incorrectly, whilst the bareness of the shelf allowing an insight into how little we attempt to throw away these harmful materials. By the sign being there I feel like it breaks up the otherwise overpowering image which would otherwise be dominated by red.    This image was chosen because of how effective it is at providing evidence towards the sheer mass of things we throw out. Accompanied by the symmetry, the random electronics thrown into a pile can be seen as an almost abstract piece in itself, which various vivid colours breaking through the dull dark grays and blacks. For me this provides a huge insight into how we treat our ever-increasing consumerism, and how once used it’s simply discarded to be lost in the endless heap of other categorized objects. Finally I selected this image because of its contrast between the yellow mirror and the now dirty and broken glass window. I thought that this looked very symbolic, with the new mirror that had just been thrown away providing a clear contrast between that of an old broken window, that had obviously been thrown out a while ago and had deteriorated to an almost unrecognizable image of its former use. This contrast is defined through the use of the shadow which separates each piece of glass, stopping the other into blending with it and becoming eye sore.

Once I had analyzed each image I decided it was time to decide on which photo best represented the entire shoot as a whole. Here is my decision:

Final Image: The reason I selected this image as my overall best photo for the shoot is because of how I think it best represents our consumerism as a whole. By presenting the sheer size of our waste I found it to be particularly impacting due to there being no structure into the actual organization of anything placed into the area. I also really like the clear contrast between the surrounding area and the waste itself, seen through the side of a building which the rubbish is stacked against, whilst revealing the extent of the wastes size. As a result I found this photo reflected my intention well due to it giving awareness around how much we throw out and how our consumerism leads to this build up of random materials clustered into one pile.

FERNANDO MASELLI

FERNANDO MASELLI – Artist Reference

The photographic work of Fernando Maselli explores different aspects of the formalism, deepening the aesthetic and concept as core values. Born in Buenos Aires in 1978, Fernando Maselli studied Fine Arts and later moved to Madrid. His work has been exhibited in many museums and festivals like University of Navarra Museum.

Through his art projects he explores different aspects of formalism, deepening on the concept and aesthetics as essential values. In his latest work there is a  specific interest in the relationship between man and unspoiled nature and the role it plays in the conception of ideas such as religiosity or knowledge. The main focus of his work revolves around  the concept of the Sublime, the restrained fear facing the beauty of steep landscapes and the majesty linked to divinity.

There are many key features to the work of Maselli with such elements like the vastness, the darkness and the hugeness but especially an attribute that Burke called artificial infinite: an element that is repeated many times in a constant and uninterrupted configuration generates in the viewer a sense of infinity. To get this effect, Maselli spends several days in the mountains, taking pictures and later, in his studio, he rebuilds those parts into a new landscape through photo montage. 

“I face my job as a solo journey into vastness with constant references to classical painting, literature, philosophy and aesthetics. My ultimate intention is to put the viewer in front of a sublime and moving show that  makes him wonder about consciousness, the universe, beliefs and our own origin.”

Analysis

The generic conventions within  Maselli’s work is the untouched sublime environment . The photographer clearly has a positive view on the earth and is going on specific expeditions to portray the greatness of the world. However it could be interpreted that he has a negative view on the environment because the locations he goes to would not usually be seen by people without purpose and these locations are rare. Therefore he is trying to show society the difference between what they are seeing in everyday life compared to what is out there. This will give the viewer a realization of how they are treating the environment in their areas. I believe the photographers influence is the rapid urbanization around the world and he has responded to this by showing the beautiful nature that we are destroying with this urbanization.

I am influenced by the use of isolation involved within this image and the calmness/tranquil atmosphere. This could be an indication that without humans present, we could have this stunning imagery surrounding us everywhere. The tonal range is aesthetically pleasing to help us focus in on different aspects to the photo. The composition is well composed as the tall mountains on either side create a leading line through the middle of the photo to direct us to the lighter tones at the back of the photo. The bottom  parts of the photo appear to be dark and rather mysterious which may be a reference to hell being down there and a dark place where as the higher parts of the photo are bright which in contrast could link to heaven being up there and being a positive place. The textures within the photo as a whole are interesting with a contrast of rough textures within the rocks and the soft calm textures within the mist.

Breaking The Rules

In photography there are endless rules we are taught to follow to create successful images. These rules could be to do with technical, compositional or oven social context. Posing subjects, manipulating images and becoming over involved in the stories is often seen as wrong or unprofessional in documentary photography due to how the photos are used to inform people of real life events. in a creative context these photos have been manipulated to enhance their existing feature of even to make them into further experiments of art.

I am going to choose one of the following rules to research in detail an develop it by creating my own work which brakes the rule.

The Rule of Objectivity

The Rule of Audience

The Rule of Manipulation

The Rule of Reality

The Rule of Technicality

The Rule of Ownership

The Rule of Ownership

The Rule of the Camera

The Rule of Rule Breaking

I have chosen to look into the rule of ownership because in the age of the internet and mass media nothing is ever completely original. photographs are now taken for granted and are not as limited as they used to be meaning people can take as many photos a they want with their smart phones and share them all over the world. But once they are shared, who owns them? Around 1.8 billion digital images are uploaded to the internet every day, all for a variety of different purposes, so it is difficult to produce new, original and useful work. There is so much already out there which could be used why do we feel a need to constantly create new things. The solution could be in the change of creative attitude of the old fashioned idea of ownership and copyright.

Copyright is a legal term used to describe  the rights creators have over their work, it can include books, music, photography, paintings, copy, sculptures, logos, and many more. A copyright for original work lasts the lifetime of the artist and 70 years after their death. If someone copies a piece of copyrighted work and the original owner feel that they are making profit from their design it can become legal.

I am particularly interested in the ownership of the press (media convergence) which is where a concentrated group of people own and control the mass media. Although the news is meant to be fairly unbiased, we see it as a truth and fact distributer in society however there are many things that are missed and adapted. The Government is ultimately in controls of the media meaning they have the power to select and share what they want. newspapers can manipulate stories and bring them out of context to suit their own political views for example (daily mail very strong opinions)

I want to break the rule of ownership by reusing and manipulating existing images. I will find the images in newspapers, magazine, personal achieves and on the internet. my cutting out

this also links back to the overall theme of political landscapes because newspapers are such a big distributer of . information and are very political in their views on current topics i also want to take inspiration from a variety of places.