When studying methods in which I could use to put across my views of political landscape I found that rule of the camera present me with the most choice and experimentation into how I could photograph intended ideas. Examples of this could consist of methods of photography that went against the usual ways that pictures were taken, such as macro-photography, photo-manipulation and aerial photography. This topic allowed me to explore ways in which I could compose and portray things, occasionally using software to enhance the images using Photoshop and Lightroom.

For this shoot I would need to rely heavily on the way I present each picture to the audience due to conventional methods not producing the same outcome as I desired. Examples of other photographers works regarding the rule of the camera can be seen below which I will be using as a section for my inspiration in the shoot to come:One of the leading inspirations that I came across for the shoot was the photographer Donald Weber. Weber had used rule of the camera as the main focus point for many of his previous shoots, a certain example of this was named War Sand. War Sand used microscopes to identify otherwise undetectable pieces of metal that were left behind from the World Wars, creating abstract and alien like results. This would rely heavily on other technology to produce the outcome Weber desired as it used external software instead of the camera, with the camera itself only playing a small part of the final result. Here are some of the examples I found to be the most effective from Weber’s project War Sand:Once finished with exploring inspirations for my shoot I found that I would need to create a mind-map that would identify areas of focus when taking photographs. This time wise would help loads as it would prevent me from wasting time on the day as to what to look for, instead creating a clear picture from the start into what I should identify as my main points of interest. Here are some of the ideas that I found would have particular importance for the shoot:After creating the mind-map I found I was finally ready to go ahead with the shoot, taking into consideration the ideas recently drawn up and presented above I decided to focus my shoot around areas of historic relevance. This would consist of bunkers, castles etc, which would enable me to photograph unusual structures and landscapes unique to that area, with pattern and abstract being my main aims to achieve out of the entire shoot. Here I would look at how over time certain areas have deteriorated and how the surrounding landscape has adapted to fit in around it, specifically looking at rust and the area around it. Here are the outcomes from my shoot:  From here I will select ten images that I found were the most effective outcomes from the entire shoot. By doing this it would allow a greater insight into what made me select these images and how I would select the final and best picture from the shoot.

After looking over what I deemed to be my best imagery from the shoot I decided to select the best five photos and analyse them. By doing this it would allow me to understand how they could be related to the topic of conventions, whilst discovering what aspects within the photographs made them so effective that I chose them out of the shoot. Here is my selection of my favorite five images: I chose this image because of the broken pattern created by the foam on the waves that fade into the sky, I found this to be particularly effective from how the placement of the foam keeps the sea symmetrical either side of it. This is also complimented by the gradient of the sky which fades the landscape out, both of these relate to the topic of conventions from the use of a higher exposure and clarity to capture the light more vividly, producing a dream like scape as a result. Convention wise I wish to highlight the mass of sea that surrounds us on our island and how the built up areas of bunkers made by the Germans intended to use this to their advantage in their defenses.  What I liked about this image was how it highlighted the rust that now had settled on the metal surrounding the artillery covering the now ruined bunkers dotted around. This is contrasted by the high clarity which creates a particular focus on the rust of the image, portraying it almost as blood whilst making use of the dark backdrop to create a real identity of how much of the weaponry now stands in Jersey. I really like the stained pattern that the rust made on the white paint as it broke up the object resulting in an abstract after math where it’s now harder to interpret what the object used to be. Here I found the use of a predominantly black and white photo to be very effective in the representation I wished to put across of the tide that sweeps the shores of the bunkers surrounding the beaches. By reducing it too mainly two shades I found that it abstracted the piece and instead limited the blues and browns to only the rocks and specific areas of the water. What I really liked was the composition of the wave as it came into shore, travelling from the top left corner into the bottom right spreading out as it does so, I found this to be a great representation of how tides would have looked as the historical events that surrounded it unfolded around it.  The reason I chose this image for my top five was because of the use of a low exposure to create a sinister and looming impression upon the commonly used doors of the German bunkers. The use of a vandalized door to me represented the now forgotten past of certain areas and how overlooked they have now become, with many being the subject of graffiti and writing, defacing what they previously stood for, defense. The composition I thought strengthened this idea as it produces the impression of order and mystery, interesting the viewer to want to understand what went on behind the doors.  Finally the reason I selected this image was because of the aesthetically pleasing result that the sandbags lining the shores of the coast around the bunkers would be positioned and portrayed in. The netting within the picture I found broke up the otherwise boring piece which would have just consisted of brown bags, instead adding an opposing colour of green and blue to it, creating the impression that the nets are almost there to preserve and hold together the remains of the defenses previously present around the beach.

Final Image:
Overall I found that image of the sandbags surrounded in blue and green mesh fencing to be the most effective, this was down to the aestheticism and significance behind it. Composition wise the use of symmetry I found was particularly effective from how it represented the commonly seen formation that many soldiers worldwide would have witnessed where ever they were positioned, whilst the decaying bags would produce grotesque and unusual shapes. I found the contrasting colours of green, blue and brown to be effective from how they broke up the otherwise bland and uninteresting formation, instead adding a visually pleasing element to it as a result. Finally to me the use of a low exposure when taking the photograph allowed for an overemphasize portrayal of the bags which now were shaded almost sinister in looks from the looming shadows produced from the gaps.

Who is Donald Weber?

A Canadian photographer who originally trained as an architect, Donald Weber worked at an urban theorist’s office named Rem Koolhaa’s for the Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Since this Weber devoted himself to the study of how power deploys an all-encompassing theater for its subjects, where secrets are recorded and collaborated with both masters and victims. From this Weber published three books: Bastard Eden, Our Chernobyl, dealing with daily life in a post-atomic world. This won the Photolucida Book Award: Interrogations, about post-Soviet authority in Ukraine and Russia, which was selected to be included in a Martin Parr and Gerry Badger’s seminal photo book: A History, Volume III; and Barricade: The EuroMaidan Revolt which was a collaboration with a Ukrainian photographer called Arthur Bondar.

Here Weber receives numerous rewards and fellowships, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Lange-Taylor Prize, the Duke and Duchess of York Prize, two World Press Photo Awards and PDN’s 30. Because of this Weber was named Emerging Photo Pioneer by American Photo and became shortlisted for the prestigious Scotiabank Photography Prize. His photography has been displayed at exhibitions, screenings, festivals and galleries worldwide including at the United Nations, The Museum of the Army as Les Invalides in Paris and the Portland Museum of Art. From this he has now become a dedicated teacher notorious for his lectures and workshops, as well as being a trainer with the World Press Photo Projects, represented by Circuit Gallery in Toronto. Here are some examples of his works:From here I decided to analyse one of Weber’s images, by doing this it would allow me to understand the thought process and concept behind his photography, whilst looking at the different techniques used to produce his work. From this it would allow me to create a more appropriate response for future shoots regarding rules of the camera, as it would enhance my insight into techniques used by the camera to make the desired product. The image I chose is called Vorkuta (2008):Technical: The image itself uses a low shutter speed to capture the snow drifting in the wind, because of this it creates the impression of an almost dreamy and surreal isolated located. This use of shutter speed perfectly blurs the snow-covered ground, making it almost feel like the buildings are coming out of the ground. A relatively normal exposure is used to create contrast against the white backdrop, accompanied with a slightly tinted black border this breaks up the blank space from becoming too overpowering.

Visual: Visually the piece uses composition as its main focus to portray a certain situation to us as viewers. This is done through the use of blank space as snow, with the buildings acting as a separation between land and sky. However this on its own would become overpowering and so the implementation of an electricity pole breaks this up, and instead becomes the main focal point for us as viewers. The use of the darkened border prevents the whiteness from being too overpowering, and can be see as giving the otherwise predominantly white picture other definition.

Conceptual: The piece is meant to represent the isolated communities in Russian society during the harsh winters. Presenting this through a harsh but eerie beauty from a distance, whilst identifying the conditions that many people will live in within Russia’s rural environment. However this does attempt to draw beauty through what would usually be seen as a bleak and ill constructed block of buildings.

What is rule of the camera?

Rules of the camera are the conventions associated with the development of certain imagery depicting weird and unusual methods to take them, by doing so this can create abstract and often realistic products due to it providing varying insights into the perspective of how we perceive things. From this it can bring light to what and how we see as the invisible world around us, not present unless observed, however it does suggest that cameras that demonstrate the main methods of producing photos can be changed with methods such as microscopes etc.

One interpretation of the rule of the camera is the discovery of the human body, here we can use the camera as a relationship between the living bodies, and the representation they hold regarding the situation they’re in. By exploring the means of the process in use, and how our cameras can develop our perspective and expression of how we perceive and think about the world around us, it completely disregards any previous views of methods being used just as a technique and piece of equipment. Some examples of this can can be seen in the mood board bellow:
Above we can see that there seems to be a predominantly abstract and surreal theme within each photo, this is presented through bright and unusual colors composed in odd and unique ways. When studying these photos there seems to be a lot of shutter speed and exposure use, by doing so it can create scenes otherwise invisible to the naked eye allowing for aesthetically pleasing results. To understand what could be interpreted as Rule of The Camera I decided to analyse one of the images related to the topic, by doing so this would expand my stance on how I went around photographing my chosen area of political landscapes, consumerism. Here is an example of one of the many ways the topic can be explored:Technical: The image itself uses two overlapped images, one consisting of a higher shutter speed and the other overlying one being slower. By doing this when overlapped it creates an image depicting the horse in an act of rapid movement, the is emphasized by the blurred backdrop which wishes to capture the horse in the midst of galloping. This blur is also accompanied with a low exposure which defines the figure of the horse more against the trees, on top of this a black gradient border is used to light only the horse and a small radius around it. Due to this a more sinister feel is created outside the center of the piece, as it shrouds the vegetation from further detail.

Visual: Visually the photograph uses the horses movement as the focal point for the piece, evident through the blackened border boxing the horse into center composition. This lightened middle contrasted with the darkness allows for an aesthetically pleasing result, because of this contrasting light it prevents the backdrop from becoming too eye sore to the viewer, instead softening the floor and trees by blending it with shadows.

Conceptual: The photograph is meant to capture the movement of the horse mid run, overlapping different positions the horse takes on whilst doing so. This is an attempt to capture the wild side of a usually domesticated animal, and so by associating it with woods and fields this feeling is created consequentially.

Before I went ahead with my shoots exploring the idea of consumerism I wanted to plan how I would go about doing this. I really wanted to explore the three more dominant areas of consumerism, the production, the buyer, and the waste. I thought that these would best reflect the political landscape of Jersey, as consumerism plays a dominant role in any society, influencing the mind-set of customers who want the newest product or idea. When doing this I would have to look at the aspect of each sector which most effected our everyday life or the environment surrounding it. I then named the three ideas into three sectors, Source, Product, Waste. Here I will be analysing each of the three areas to decide what the focus in each should be and the style I should incorporate into them:

Source:

Here I wanted to look at the sources of our consumerism consisting of mostly of quarries since producing granite is what Jersey is notorious for. I particularly liked the scarring of the landscape created by this industrialisation and how it makes the surrounding area almost unrecognisable and alien like to the viewer. Some of the main aspects regarding quarries that I would like to focus on can be seen below:When looking over images of local quarries I found that the layering of the landscape appealed to me the most, as it presented the viewer with something not necessarily seen in general, being sure to attract the viewer’s attention in. This is accompanied by the use of weird and unusual machinery which when looking over provides quite a menacing intricate design, which once included with the landscape around it could compliment each other well. By presenting these images in a way that could provide evidence of harmful scarring of the environment I believe that the outcome would really highlight the granite industry.

Product: 

For the idea of product I wanted to specifically look at the consumerist landscape around Jersey, especially the variety of shops present in the local area. This would include bigger brands such as Morrison’s, Co-Op and Waitrose, all of which are international brands who hold a lot of influence over the products and items bought by people. Some ideas of the areas I would explore consist of: When looking over the ideas a really like the thought of going into shops and photographing lines of products and the variety of colours they could come in. I don’t think the areas in St Helier would present me with the atmosphere desired for the effects wanted when taking images, leading my shoot to probably branch out on a local level rather than island wide as the bustle would be too much. As well as this I wanted to capture the coldness of empty isles in the shop, such as the meat aisle that when left alone could provide a rather eerie look.

Waste: 

For the final section I thought it would be appropriate to look at the waste industry of Jersey, in this case the dump. Here I would look at the textures created by the huge variety of rubbish thrown away, especially the plastics and metal. For me the landscape would be ideal as the piled dirt mounds would provide explicit evidence of landscape scarring at its full, surrounded by a sea of waste. Here are some examples of the area I will be exploring:What appealed to me here was the industries that surrounded the waste at the end of the road leading up to it. I found this to be a great reflection of how we ended our consumerism as the structures that consisted in the area generally had a grim exterior that the waste which was dumped there. When eventually doing the shoot I would make sure to incorporate the greenery into the picture which would provide contrast to most of the images, our environment vs industrialisation of the land.

What is a political landscape?

The definition of a political landscape actually refers to the current state of affairs in the area, as well as how they look into the future and respond to it. The word itself originates from the metaphor for development of how progression can occur and what the final outcome by this will produce, however it can also be used as a reference to specific support for varying political parties. Also interpreted as an idiom, political landscapes can be the arrangement or organization of something other than land (e.g. politics).

Examples of political landscapes within Jersey are the people living there (body modifications, disabled, families in different environments), uses of buildings (old hospital, bunkers etc.) and the environment itself (layout of town etc.). Because of this there is a contrasted new against old, where varying forms of expression can be seen as more socially acceptable, with greater health care and state of living, whilst new architectural designs of buildings emerge more frequently in the island. Here are some examples below:From here I decided to create a mind-map which could allow me to express the different areas of the political landscape that I potentially wanted to pursue. This would also allow me to quicken the process of the shoot associated with this topic, as by making a mind-map I would not waste time thinking about my focus point when doing the shoot itself. These were my ideas: What came to me as the most interesting stance for the subject of political landscapes was the idea of consumerism, I thought that by contrasting the source of consumerism and the outcome of it, it would give awareness to how bad the issue had become. To do this I would have to explore various areas of interest around the island, photographing them to later edit in software such as Adobe Photoshop where I would crop and change certain aspects of the piece. Another stance could be the process of retail and how the build up of consumerism is seen in everyday life over the years, this could provide a stark comparison to how the islands landscape has developed over the years and whether it can be deemed positively or negatively.

How, who, when, where and why?
Instead of focusing on the financial side of Jersey I could instead look at the development of waste built up over time and the process towards it. To do this I would have to explore areas such as the dump and town whilst photographing how it changes and scars the landscape around us, whilst presenting seemingly polar opposite sides of Jersey which implicitly link. When doing these shoots I may decide to present my photographs in more abstract and aesthetic ways, by doing so it would not only make the images more appealing but also raise awareness towards the sheer size of the problem through exaggeration. Finally my last idea regarding political landscapes are the areas the surround and lead to the process of waste. Examples of this could be farmland to provide contrast to waste seen at its source, or the industrial/businesses which surround the area, giving an insight into the landscape they have become use to. To do this I will be specifically looking at the area of St Helier and the North of the island where the majority of farmland is, being the most straightforward way of present my viewpoint. 

Within this essay I will be examining the ways in which both photographers, Lewis Bush and Clare Rae’s work contrast and compliment each other regarding political aspects of Jersey’s development and history. Described as “working to explore forms of contemporary power”, Bush’s stance is to identify the impact of destructive influences over property speculation and redevelopment, picturing the financial scene in Jersey and those involved almost topographically (same composition in different locations). Rae’s work however looks at “questioning issues of representation and the condition of female subjectivity” within domestic and institutional architectures, this is mainly portrayed through the female figure (her own) placed in varying locations, enacting her travels from a larger island of Australia to a smaller island, Jersey. Here I will be exploring how both exhibitions I have visited,Lewis Bush’s Trading Zones and Clare Rae’s Entre Nous and how through their differentiating styles depict their perspective and insight into the path of Jersey’s progression.

Considered political to many, Bush’s work revolves around the concept of producing imagery through different photographic approaches such as topography and landscapes. One aspect I found most dominant in his work from the Trading Zone exhibition was his take on how political landscapes of specific businesses shaped its people in accordance with its development. Described as “the self-image of how finance represents itself”Bush gathered images of finance employees and generated an overall figure, done by overlapping various workers profile pictures it created a generalized portrayal of the faces behind the running of businesses, whilst providing us with an insight into the otherwise invisible side of companies. This technique, known as composite pictures, was the off-product of the anthropologist Francis Galton who used repeated limited exposure to produce a single blended image of the chronically sick during that time period. However the further into the exhibition I looked the more political the message seemed, an example of this was the board installed filled with various people’s opinions on the financial sector of Jersey. Here by gathering opinions together to form an overall insight into societies perspective of finance it produced an un-bias result, this was because the cards originated from a huge variety of sources such as: schools, finance and retail sectors, and so allowed for feedback into how they viewed Jersey should head towards. Once again inspired by another photographer, called EJ Major, Bush sent out cards of his own in response to hers which had the written question “Love is…” on them, a direct influence for Bush whose own cards had written “Finance is…” on the front of them to engage the audience. 

In addition to this photographer Clare Rae, whose work I studied in the recent Entre Nous exhibition, looked towards the female figure and the landscape around her as a form of putting across her political views of Jersey. Her form of photography described as “regaining subjectivity and controlling representation” can be linked to how the female figure was criticized regarding gender essentialism, and so the idea of a hidden female face in each image was meant to reflect this specific ideology rather than deflect it. This can be seen as directly confronting the political aspect of her surrounding environment, where her body takes up the form and representation of her “precarious relation to these environments and their narrativity“, compelling the idea of how the subjects gaze upon the image could be interpreted and the idea that could be associated to it. Causing topic for debate regarding “subject of the gaze and the object of it” from how her uncertainty over
issues considering photographic significance and the political stance surrounding it, caused her to turn the camera upon herself and become the subject of the shoot, due to it being her standing point upon the matter. Much of Rae’s working seems to be the focus of the male gaze and the idea of subverting it through the use of female nature (seen here as passive) and male nature (seen here as dominant), challenging this perspective by how she wishes to present the female nature as closer to the environment surrounding them, but instead has been ‘dismantled’ by society as it’s progressed through the ages due to post-structuralist scrutiny. 

However when contrasting works of both Bush and Rae it can be argued that their political stances are completely different to each others arguing voices. This is due to how I believe that Rae chooses to create her focal point around one particular topic, subversion of the female figure, therefore constricting her opinion to only one or two political perspectives as you can either agree or disagree. Bush on the other hand chooses the wider perspective regarding the entirety of Jersey’s society, instead looking at how the congregated opinions of citizens could come together to form an overall input into the development of Jersey as a whole. Both these standing points clash and compliment each other from how yes, both restrict and broaden their political opinion base completely, but how both look at attempting to sway the perspective and judgment of the viewers towards not what they believe but rather what each individual thinks when they view the work. Each photographer indicates the ever-developing change that has progressed in Jersey’s society, with certain beliefs and viewpoints changing as Jersey did, with some standing put against this advancement rather than join it

In conclusion it’s I believe that both photographer’s work can be classed as political through the implicit and explicit messages that most of their photos hold. Though both focus their works on different sectors of Jersey’s history, looking at individuals or entire areas, both conclude the needed or controversial change that has occurred and the distinct voices that many embrace regarding the future of not just St. Helier but the whole of Jersey and the path being headed towards. This as a result becomes a hugely political debate as both photographers do not look just at their opinions but rather those who they see as being effected by the change that should or has occurred.  

What is a manifesto? 

A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a new idea with prescriptive notions for carrying out changes the author believes should be made. It often is political or artistic in nature, but may present an individual’s life stance. Manifestos relating to religious beliefs are generally referred to as creeds. I will be looking at a chosen manifesto, identifying what it is an what it argues. The manifesto I have selected is called Andre Breton’s Surrealist Manifesto.

The main goal of André Breton’s Manifesto of Surrealism is to free one’s mind from the past and from everyday reality to arrive at truths one has never known. By the time Breton wrote his manifesto, French poets—including Breton himself—and artists had already demonstrated Surrealist techniques in their work. In this sense, Breton was intent on explaining what painters and poets such as Giorgio de Chirico, Joan Miró, Robert Desnos, Max Ernst, and Breton himself had already achieved.

In Breton’s view, one can learn to ascend to perception of a higher reality (the surreal), or more reality, if one can manage to liberate one’s psyche from traditional education, the drudgery of work, and the dullness of what is only useful in modern bourgeois culture. To achieve the heightened consciousness to which Breton wants humanity to aspire, those interested can also look to the example set by children, poets, and to a lesser extent, insane persons.

Children, Breton suggests, have not yet learned to stifle their imaginations as most adults have, and successful poets have, similarly, been able to break down the barriers of reason and tradition and have achieved ways of seeing, understanding, and creating that resemble the free, spontaneous imaginative play of children. On the other hand, as one grows up, one’s imagination is dulled by the need to make a living and by concern for practical matters. Hence, in the manifesto’s opening paragraphs, Breton calls for a return to the freedom of childhood. Furthermore, if the “insane” are, as Breton suggests, victims of their imaginations, one can learn from the mentally ill that hallucinations and illusions are often sources of considerable pleasure and creativity.

Because of Freud, Breton says, human beings can be imagined as heroic explorers who are able to push their investigations beyond the mere facts of reality and the conscious mind and seize dormant strengths buried in the subconscious. Freud’s work on the significance of dreams, Breton says, has been particularly crucial in this regard, and the manifesto contains a four-part defense of dreams.

Planning a responseWhen creating my own manifesto regarding political landscape I intend to use consumerism as the basis for my work. However I would like to possibly incorporate surrealism into my work along the way, using enhancement to create dream like landscapes which don’t really reflect the true nature of that area. To do this I would be using software such as Photoshop and Lightroom to create the products desired, as they provide me with the necessary tools required. I want my manifesto to be creative, looking at varying sides of consumerism not just one aspect, allowing for diversity in my work produced. I would love to use colour and vibrancy as one of my leading aspects in the manifesto as it would provide the audience with aesthetic and appealing imagery that had a deeper meaning under the surreal appearance.

For this post I wanted to focus on a response to the photographer Lewis Bush, by doing this I found that it would allow me to have a broader understanding regarding how compositions of the town could be taken, and how my photos could be interpreted. Bush’s focuses mainly are based around the development and image of the urban areas around him, and so the core focus from much of his works tend to be a maze like structure of particular buildings. I found certain interests in his pattern like abstract presentations of the financial building which can be seen below: To produce the outcomes desired I would have to make a shoot response and use software such as Photoshop to overlap imagery to create a maze like formation of the financial sector. Firstly I would have to spend some time around the finance area photographing the structure and symmetry present throughout the design of the building. These are my response photos to Lewis Bush’s work: Once done with the shoot I moved onto Photoshop to overlap the images that I wanted to see merged together. I chose to use Photoshop because of the variety of tools it provided me with that could capture and produce the outcome desired. This is my process of coming out with my final designs: After I had finished experimenting with my images I decided on five of the pictures that I thought had best represented the response shoot regarding Lewis Bush’s style of work. These are my five favorite pieces:

Who is Lewis Bush?

Born 1988, London, Bush studied history at the University of Warwick, to which he later studied photography and gained a master’s degree in documentary photography from the London College of Communication. This passion for a documentary approach caused Bush to take up The Memory Of History in 2012, where he explored the ten European Union countries to examine the effects of the European debt crisis. Here Bush intended to show the process of how it happened, and where unresolved history is reappearing and repeating itself “with the economic pain of the present”, using photography to show “connections between history and the present”

One of his most recent projects called Trading Zones looks at the financial sector of Jersey and the varying opinion that each of them have. To do this Bush has used various techniques such as topographies, landscapes, portraits and old archival imagery to present this work in his exhibition, because of this Bush intended to alert Jersey’s society to the  dependence regarding the financial district and its history with how it could be possibly rejecting other aspects of creativity and independent businesses present within the island.

Some examples of his work from the Trading Zones exhibition I visited can be seen below:Within his article, Rule Breakers, Bush uses an idea of ‘eight rules’ to describe the rules and conventions of photography and how they are made to be broken. This was split into the seven sections of: 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 the Camera and The Rule of Rule Breaking. These are where I drew inspiration from regarding my previous shoot and research about The Rule of the Camera, where I created a photo-shoot and analysed the topic of conventions. However here I have decided to analyse one of the photographs taken by Lewis Bush to find what really create a political picture which breaks the rules of conventional photography. The image I chose for this is a photo from a series named Metropole which looked at how London’s new buildings show how the city is facing a terminal decline. Technical: The image itself uses a threshold to create a purely black and white product which emphasizes any light present within the photo. By doing so this creates a more aesthetically pleasing result due to there now being a perfect mix of shade, with neither becoming too overpowering for the next. This is also complimented by the symmetry which the piece has been composed in, by placing the city square in the center of the piece it produces an insight into the design of that city and how it can almost be interpreted as pattern like in its layout. When taking the picture it looks like a low shutter speed was used in order to capture and illuminate any light present to the camera, this resultantly makes streams of light along roads, removing any presence of cars whatsoever.

Visual: Visually the piece is extremely aesthetic, this is down to how there are only two shades present in the photo, black and white, which are both composed in a symmetrical and visually drawing way. The focal point of this image is the city square which becomes the main focus of attraction for viewers due to the lighting in that area being the most congregated and overpowering, due to this it almost neutralizes the rest of the image from becoming too vague and generic, instead breaking it up to become a broken-pattern.

Conceptual: The series that the piece comes from called Metropole, where it wishes to highlight how social housings now become luxury flats, and their inhabitants are forced out into the suburbs, resultantly making the inner zones become even more humongous and expensive, but also equally dull. This is what the Metropole series wishes to shed light on, a project that aims to visualise and change the skyline of London, to image how the city will come to look in the future and most importantly seek to recreate the sensation of feeling lost in a city that was once familiar. The series itself is a take on the city symphony movies taken in the 1920s which show the benefits of living in urban environments, however Lewis Bush subverts this into one which provides the negatives.

Once the installation for the Future of St Helier had been complete I then decided to move onto the framing of some of the images I had previously printed off. However before I moved onto it I wanted to explore the composition of some of the piece so that I new what I wanted when it came to the actual thing. Here are some examples of the various compositions I would like to consider for the final design:

The photos that I then selected to frame up I wanted to make sure best reflected the overall shoot and had the best aspects both visually, technically and conceptually. These were the photos that I selected to be in the frame I will be creating:

Once I had selected the chosen images I then went onto the actual frame up, to do this I wanted to create a 3D effect and so had to cut out the selected areas which I had drawn out, to then carefully place the images under each hole so that it produced a sunken effect where the card itself is closer to the viewer. Here are the outcomes: