My final piece shows a collection of visual research about humanity’s impact on earth and digital manipulation photography which I have done in order to reach my final piece. I was trying to capture a sense of how our earth is changing by highlighting disasters such as rising sea levels and light pollution. This links to one of my artist studies, Thomas Barbey. He try’s to capture images which show two negatives within society and some which give an indication of our earth being ruined. He mainly uses black and white, which is the same as another artist reference i used, Tommy Ingberg. In contrast, my images display this idea of our earth being ruined with bright colors to attract the viewer. Similar to Tommy Ingbergs photos my final piece relates to how the people in my image could be feeling. For example, the concept of the top final piece is that our sea levels are rising and the person within the image is hiding from the camera suggesting she is ashamed to be part of society which has caused this.

The exploration of secrecy within my final piece is clearly shown by raising awareness of these environmental impacts that some people do not know about therefore they are secret to them. I used codes throughout my images to portray this sense of destruction for example the lampposts in the fantasy landscape image act as a code that we are unnecessarily building onto our land. Also, the idea of conventions has also been captured through my work. Modern day photography conventions are focused on editing and photo manipulation to create stories and make subjects more interesting. This convention is seen in much of the commercial photography that we consume daily, for example a magazine making a holiday destination look more beautiful than it actually is by enhancing the tropical colors.

A successful aspect to my final piece is that the edits are very strong and are shown of well with a simple presentation style. After having made this piece I have a better understanding of how digital manipulation images are created and how serial pictures can be achieved and used to create meaning. I think that if I were to do this piece again I could have explored with my presentation style more to perhaps create something 3D which would captivate the viewer better.

My final idea to present my work is to simply create window mounts and stick my photos down. I think that due to the great deal of editing that has gone into these photos, there is no need for a creative presentation of the photos as the photos are very creative already. I considered mounting my images onto foam board however I think that it wouldn’t have such great impact on allowing my images to stand out.

Resources Needed

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My Chosen Edits for Printing

All these edits which I have chosen, strongly contrast with one another as the dominant colors are all different. I think that this will be effective when presented as a final piece because it will allow each individual photo to stand out. Also, I have tried to ensure each image can tell a slightly different story whilst still focused on the topic of environmental impacts caused by humans.

The two images with water involved pair with each other very nicely and would work much more effectively apart from the other images. Initially, I intended on mixing all of the images together into one final piece but after arranging them together, I noticed that there is too much going on and therefore distracting for the viewer. Also, pairing up the two images with flooding involved will allow the viewers to be drawn to the issue of global warming more effectively and make them think about it more.

The images bellow shows my experimentation of my original final piece idea and clearly shows how crowded it looks. After having done this mock up I decided against putting all my images together and thought that It would be best to put to the water ones together and the other three together too.

The images below show my experimentation with how my final idea will actually look. I mixed around the photos and backed them onto black and white to come to my final decision.

Piece 1

Final Decision For Piece 1

Piece 2

Final Decision For Piece 2

Photo shoot Plan

Genre / Artist – Surrealism

Concept – Capture images to reflect a sense of secrecy and display the environmental issues going on which people are unaware of, as well as using codes to portray this.

Location – Studio for portrait images and urban areas for the backdrops.

Shot type – Landscape and portraits with varied angle dependent on subject matter

Lighting – Natural Lighting for landscape shots and spot lights and reflectors for the studio portrait images.

Contact Sheet

Edits (Before Lightroom)

Edits (After Lightroom)

Analysis

I believe these edits are strong in reflecting a sense of humanity’s destruction to the earth. I have used surrealism to emphasize the effects of global warming in which we inevitably are causing which contrasts with the political ideas from Donald Trump in which he believes climate change is not happening. These images therefore can be viewed as a response to Donald Trumps thoughts on climate change or simply a creative surrealist approach in raising awareness for humanities destruction on earth.

These image are split into 3 main sections, the top middle and bottom. The middle part is the main focus which contains the main subjects, thus being the person and the surface of the water. Where as the top and bottom contain some interesting textures and tones, this is not what stands out and catches the viewers eye immediately. There is a definite contrast within this image, with the black and whites exaggerated through the use of high clarity to create a more intense vibe. All the combined images have been taken using natural light which I believe helps to convey this idea that one day the world will look like this, and it will be ‘natural’.

These photos were taken in 2018, a time period at which global warming has been at its worst. Everyday more greenhouse gases are being let free into the air contributing to increasing temperatures and rising sea levels across earth. It is a known fact that sea levels are rising and it is as a result of humans. These images reflect this and bring awareness to these disasters through the use of exaggeration and surrealism that will get the viewers thinking about what life will be like if we continue to contribute to global warming in this way. It makes viewers consider social change in order to protect the environment. The images can also be viewed as a political response to Donald Trump saying that ‘climate change isn’t happening’.

In both images I have ensured to incorporate an emotional response to these environmental impacts that us humans have caused. Clearly in both images the persons face has been covered, in one she is hiding behind a mirror and in the other she has a bag over her head. This can connote that the person is ashamed that she has been part of the society that has contributed and lead to this disaster.

This final edit has been crafted through inspiration taken from all of the artists I have looked into. Most of all Thomas Barbey, who’s work is shown at the top. The main inspiration point i have taken from Barbey’s work is the conceptual ideas that he portrays through his cleverly manipulated photos. The generic ideas behind his photos are that humans are over ruling the world and recklessly destroying it with unnecessary man made features. He does this by exaggerating the effects we are having and combines two images to do so. In this case he has taken, what appears to be someones house corridor and put the golden gate bridge going through it. The cars on the road are clear indications of humans, and that it is us destroying earth. Similarly I have taken a very fantasy landscape image and merged train tracks into the scape to give a sense of destruction. Also I have added a pair of shoes into the photo to show the presence of humans.

The framing, composition and editing style was inspired mostly from Tommy Ingberg. Keeping a great deal of depth within the image, just like Tommy Ingbergs, allows for a sense of secrecy of what lies at the end of the tracks. It also helps to guide the viewer down the picture and be taken on the journey that would be taken by the people who made the tracks and obviously the train that drives down them. It also helps to direct the viewer up into the horizon and then the fantasised sky. The blown out horizon was influenced by Tommy Ingberg however the sky as a whole contrasts with what Ingeberg usually would do. Ingbergs photos usually have a rather aggressive sky with high contrast and menacing clouds, however I have gone for a more tranquil vibe to enhance the beauty of our earth and give this fantasy feeling, along with the enlarged moon. Furthermore, Tommy inberg also has this use of leading lines, consistently through his work as well as positioning his main subject in the middle of his frame, just like i have also done.

The sky, and colouring of this picture in general, was inspired by my first photographer i looked at which is Micheal Steric. There are direct links between the colouring/lighting in his images and my edit. He usually goes for saturated, vibrant feels to enhance the beauty of our world and give a positive view on earth. I believe this is the exact effect that the lighting and colour scheme have in my work and as a whole allow the consumer to be positively influenced that earth is a beautiful place. I have furthered my inspiration from Micheal steric and edited my image to become more fantasised by adding in a large moon and creating interesting reflections from it.

Photo shoot Plan

Genre / Artist – Surrealism

Concept – Capture images inspired by Tommy Inberg and Thomas Barbey to refelct a sense of secrecy and display a sense of the environmental issues going on which people are unaware of, as well as using codes to portray this.

Location – Studio for portrait images and rural areas for the backdrops.

Shot type – Landscape, varied angle dependent on subject matter

Lighting – Natural Lighting for landscape shots and spot lights and reflectors for the studio portrait images.

Settings – F/16, 1/30 shutter speed with ISO of 100 for landscape shots

                             f/5.6, 1/200 shutter speed, ISO 100 for portraits

My Ideas

To Explore Humans Destruction To The world and the environmental and social impacts it has on earth. I plan to look a certain situations such as urbanization, deforestation, global warming, rising sea levels and pollution. I will incorporate a sense of surrealism to help portray these secrets about our earth and emphasize them by doing so. This links to the exam title as my images will convey the secrets about our earth as well as defy the conventions of early day photography. This photo shoot and edits will have political context within it due to the awareness of environmental issues that Trump believes doesn’t exist.

Contact Sheet

Edits

Analysis

I believe these images respond to Thomas Barbey’s photos in the way the conceptual ideas are similar. Thus being the environmental issues that humans create and the man made features that are destroying our beautiful world. I have tried to over exaggerate our beautiful world by creating these fantasy landscape images, combining a few different pictures i have taken and then juxtaposing this with man made features that are wrecking this. I believe this over exaggeration helps to portray these messages. I have consistently used the moon through these edits because the ‘moon’ is symbolic of a fantasy world and it therefore contrast nicely with the train tracks and light bulb which are subjects that are destroying our world.

Thomas Barbey

Thomas Barbèy grew up in Geneva, Switzerland, across the street from the “Caran D’ache” factory, the largest manufacturer of art supplies. He started drawing seriously at the age of 13, using black  and gouaches for color. His influences were Philippe Druillet, Roger Dean and H.R. Giger. After living in Geneva for 17 years and designing posters for musical bands, he decided to move to Italy, where he lived in Milan for 15 years making a living as a successful recording artist, lyricist and fashion photographer.

He has combined several images taken over a period of twenty years to create surreal situations with the help of the enlarger in a dark room. His work has a specific style and is very characteristic. He only works with Black and White, including Sepia toning at times.

Some images are composed of negatives that are separated by a decade in the actual time that he has taken them and only come to life when they found their perfect match. It’s the combination of two or more negatives that give birth to a completely unusual vision, but most of all, the title he gives the final image is the glue and the substance of the piece. I believe that the negative situations, years spread apart, help to establish the fast paced world which us humans are destroying yet  not noticing this destruction.

Analysis Of Thomas Barbey’s Photo

This photo gives the viewer a sense of annoyance as this photo resembles the destruction which is occurring in the world. The composition of this photo is good because it meets the rule of thirds as the main subject is positioned in the middle third with the walls on either side of it. There is also a great use of depth of field allowing the audience to engage with the whole image and get taken on the journey down the road with everything in focus. This makes the image a more interesting and ‘real’ because in real life we see everything focused whether its close or far away. There is a great use of context that lies within this image as it is a clear reference to how our man made structures and busy lives are destroying our world, just the this bridge that appears to have destroyed what looks like someones house and intruded on their personal lives.

What I intend to do

 My intentions are to capture the fast developing world and give a sense of this fantasy world that we all imagine compared to the impacts that the earth has taken as a result of this. Also i will explore how media portrays the world to be amazing for example Instagram famous people edit the world to look fantasized and better than it actually is, compared to the reality of the world which people don’t usually see or how possibly where the world is amazing people miss the opportunities to embrace it due to the advanced technology taking over our lives. This will have contextual links with today’s society in the way that Donald Trump believes the world is not being destroyed and is not suffering environmental impacts from humans development however it most definitely and clearly is, which is what I will demonstrate through my work. I will clearly use photo manipulation to emphasis these impacts that humans are having on earth.

Further inspiration for surrealism with Environmental Issues included

Analysis

I believe this edit follows the suggested words for our exam title very effectively. It links to secrecy due to the isolation and sense of no where that is created. The clouds in both the sky and reflection help to draw the viewer down the picture into the background that is completed isolated, having connotations of mystery and secrecy. My edit has a connection with conventions because it demonstrates  how modern day photography is in the way photography nowadays is about photo manipulation and telling stories through this as a-pose to documentary styles of showing the truth. Also it can link to codes in the way that the objects in the photo, like the lamp posts, are symbolic and convey a secret meaning. In my opinion, the lamp posts  help to create the overall surrealism of this photo because usually lampposts are found in urbanised areas however in my edit I have juxtaposed this by putting them in a very open, empty place.

 Editing Process

Photos Involved in the edit

Photo 1

Within the edit I used this photo twice because I duplicated it to create the refection that my model appears to be sitting on. I used the gradient tool on the reflection to add a blue fade to make it seem as if it is actually a water reflection. Using the colour balance throughout the edit I ensured to create a more interesting image by adding in purples and pinks within the sky.

Photo 2

Again, within my final edit, I used this image twice. I made a duplicate of this image and then flipped it vertically and adjusted the opacity to 40% to create a reflection of the model in the floor.

Photo 3 (From The Internet)

This photo was used three times within the final edit, twice for the actual lampposts and one for the reflection of one. I think the lamp posts in this edit really help to give a depth of field and add to the isolation and loneliness of the photo. It helps to create the surrealist feeling because usually lampposts are in urbanised areas and in this image it is used to emphasise the isolation.

Step By Step

The Layers

Tommy Ingberg

Tommy Ingberg is a photographer and visual artist, born 1980 in Sweden. He works with photography and digital manipulation, creating minimalistic and self-reflecting surreal photo montages dealing with human nature, feelings and thoughts.

Tommy leaves the interpretation of his work up to the viewer but says, “For me, surrealism is about trying to explain something abstract like a feeling or a thought, expressing the subconscious with a picture. For my work I use my own inner life, thoughts and feelings as seeds to my pictures. In that sense the work is very personal, almost like a visual diary. Despite this subjectiveness in the process I hope that the work can engage the viewer in her or his own terms. I want the viewers to produce their own questions and answers when looking at the pictures, my own interpretations are really irrelevant in this context. “

Tommy Ingbergs main focus are people and the atmosphere/feeling that relates to the them. He portrays these feelings through his work by focusing on mainly on dark, saddening and depressing moods to reflect this idea of isolation or hidden identity. The running theme throughout Tommy Ingbergs pictures are that they are all in black and white which to me suggests a sense of depression and sadness. I chose to study Tommy Ingbergs work because not only does he create extraordinary surreal illusions but the links between secrecy, codes and conventions are all evident. Clearly his work linking to secrecy due to the secret locations and secret identity occurring within his photographs. His work links to conventions due to the ideas of of modern day portrait photography conventions being conveyed and also the use of objects create connotations linking to the idea of codes.

What is Surrealism

Surrealism is a 20th-century movement in art and literature which sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images. Surrealist works feature the element of surprise and unexpected juxtapositions.

The purpose of this movement was to destroy the borders between reality and dream and to release the passion.

Photography Surrealism

Surreal photographs present pictures that are unlikely to find in the real world and deals with producing photographs that appear to have some kind of special impacts.

Surrealism photographs usually represent overlapping photographs, abstract forms or blasts of light that trick the viewer senses.

Their brain perceives that the things they are observing are quite impossible in reality, yet at the same moment their eyes are viewing a remarkably realistic-looking photo.

Examples of Surrealism

What I intend to do with surrealism

Using surrealism I intend to exploit the exaggeration of environmental change that humans are creating. I will use artists for inspiration and create work in a similar style while using my own ideas. This will link to the exam title as i will be defying early day photography conventions and complying with photography conventions of modern day which are all about photo manipulation and using Photoshop to alter images. It will link to the idea of secrecy because I will be raising awareness of the environmental impacts that humans are creating that not everyone is aware of, therefore uncovering the secrets to why and how our world will be destroyed and what it will look like.

Following on from the modern day photography conventions, I decided to do another photo shoot focusing in on sunset shots. Thus, helping me to portray the stereotypical shot that people take and upload to Instagram and Facebook from their phones.  People always imagine and dream of the ‘perfect sunset’ consisting of pink/orange and teal colors however this is a very rare thing to actually come across. Therefore people often will edit their photos to portray this dream sunset and create a more interesting photo which are my intentions for this shoot. The contextual ideas behind this shoot is that in this modern day everyone is able to capture photos from their phones and the most common photographed thing is the sunset which people usually do each day. Thus being a convention of our everyday lives, if there is a good sunset.

Contact Sheet

Edits

Through these edits I am starting to look into the social expectations of people and what they expect our earth to be like. I have done this by exaggerating colors and saturation to create a more pleasing image. This links to modern day photography conventions in the way that advertisement campaigns will make destinations look a lot better than they actually are through saturated colors making grass more green or skies more blue. In my images I have manipulated the sunset colors to make it more aesthetically pleasing.