Stephen Shore

Stephen Shore (born October 8th 1947) is an American photographer known for his work as a New Topographic and his pioneering use of colour in photography. In 2010, Shore received an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal Photographic Society. Shore took photographs of the introduction of civilisation and industry to nature and showed how man-made structures were taking over from nature.

My Favourite Photograph

It appears that in this photograph, natural lighting from the American deserts were used to capture it. This helped to create a very saturated photograph that is very eye-catching. A deep field of depth appears to have been used as the corners have not been slightly blurred. A shutter speed of around 1/50 – 1/80 appears to have been used as the majority of the photograph is in focus but there is a moving car in the bottom left corner that is blurred so the shutter speed is not quick enough. An ISO of 200 or 400 was most likely used along with this shutter speed to create a light enough and high quality photograph.

There is lots of colour in this photograph which is partly what Stephen Shore was known for. The saturated colours help the viewer to tell what country the photograph is set in. There is not a massively wide tonal range in this photograph – it is quite a light photograph which matches the colours that it consists of. There is no texture in the photograph but from the setting of it, it is very clear that it is in a warm place.

This photograph by Stephen Shore was taken during the start of the industrialisation of America – the signage and colours are unique to the United State and it is a perfect example of a New Topographic’s work. It shows the should-be ugly man-made structure but portrays it as something aesthetically pleasing.

This photograph is showing the man-made structures over-powering the natural land in America and are symbolic for the New Topographic movement taking over from the Romanticists. The bright colours of the man-made structures are contrasting with the nature in the background and show that change is inevitable.

Robert Adams

Robert Adams (born 1937) is an American photographer who was part of the New Topographic movement in which the photographers focus on the changing landscape of the American West. His work first became noticed in the 1970’s through his book called ‘The New West’ and his participation in the exhibition ‘New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape’. Adams twice received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a MacArthur Fellowship and won the Deutsche Borse Photography Prize.

My Favourite Photograph

It appears that natural lighting was used to capture this photograph due to the natural tones and contrast in the photograph. This allows the photograph to be captured with the right exposure whilst showing a wide tonal range at the same time. The photograph will have been taken with a deep field of depth as the whole of the photograph is clear and in focus. A shutter speed of 1-20 to 1-100 will have been used in order to capture a clear and dramatic image along with a low ISO of 200-400 to keep the image noise-free.

There is no colour in this photograph which allows you to focus on the subjects in the photograph and the message that Adams is trying to convey in it. It also allows more contrast and an even wider tonal range to be brought out in the photograph. There is some clear texture in the photograph, especially in the trailers and the mountains. This creates a more dramatic photograph and makes it more interesting for the viewer. The photograph has a 3D effect as the trailers are clearly in the foreground and get further away as you move towards the top of the photograph, as if it is merging from urban to natural.

This photograph was taken by Robert Adams in the typical style of a New Topographic. It 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.

This photograph appears to be Adams’ way of showing that the New Topographic movement is taking over from the Romantics as the man-made structures are at the foreground and the natural scenery is pushed to the background and is not the focus anymore. It shows how man-made structures take over nature and changes it completely into something that it isn’t.

About Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams (1902 – 1984) was an American photographer and environmentalist. His photos of the American West are often seen on calendars, photos and books.  Adams founded the photography group ‘Group f/64’. He was part of the romanticism movement and produced lots of striking landscape photographs in black and white, often involving a pathway of some sort and interesting weather.

My Favourite Photograph

This photograph was taken using natural daylight with the clouds blocking the harsh sun from the camera, resulting in dramatic contrast between the mountains and the river being brought into the photograph. It appears that a wide angle lens was used to take this photograph as this is what was typically used by the romantics to capture landscape photographs. It looks like a deep depth of field was used as the whole of the photograph is sharp and in focus. A shutter speed of 1/60 – 1/150 was possibly used for this photograph due to no motion blurs being in the photograph. A low/medium ISO appears to have been used as the photograph is not grainy and is quite dark, which will have been intended. There is lots of texture in the photograph, from the grassy bank to the flowing river. It seems to be quite a cold and isolated photograph as there are no signs of civilization around.

There is no colour in this photograph, which allows the viewer to focus on the range of tones, textures and shapes in the photograph rather than the colour. There is a wide tonal range in the photograph ranging from the dark silhouettes of the mountains to the white reflection of the river. It is quite a 3D photograph due to the trees in the foreground and the river running throughout the photograph, leading the viewers eyes from the trees in the foreground all the way to the mountains in the background. There is no rule of thirds used in this photograph, to me this is because Adams is trying to show that it is natural and nothing is set up.

Adams was a big part of the romantic movement in the late 1700’s, typically the romantics would photograph striking black and white landscapes with the idea that there is a deeper meaning than what appears behind everything. Romanticism was a rejection of the Enlightenment movement which took emotion out of writing and art, Romanticism wanted to challenge this by depicting emotions such as horror and untamed nature.

I think that in this photograph, Adams was trying to emphasise the natural beauty of the environment and to show that no editing was needed on the image, it is as it appears. He is trying to challenge the Enlightenment movement by doing this.