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The New Topographic

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What is The New Topographic?

New topographics was a term made by William Jenkins in 1975, this word described a group of American Photographers whose pictures had a similar banal aesthetic, as they were formal, mainly black and white and of the urban landscape.

Most of the photographers associated with new topographics consisted of Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz, Nicholas Nixon, John Scott, Stephen Shore and Henry Wessel. These photographers were inspired by man-made objects, these were things like suburban housing, warehouses and parking lots which were all depicted in a sharp austerity. Topographics were a reaction to the growing unease about how the natural landscape was being eroded by industrial development, to which were later influencing other artists who became known as the Düsseldorf School of Photography.

Here is some of the work done by these artists:

As seen in their work above the main focus of the movement was to show the clear contrast between nature and urbanization, they wanted to show everyone how barren our man-made landscapes could be, and how the in a way could ruin our nature landscapes.

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Nicholas Nixon

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Influenced by the photographs of Edward Weston and Walker Evans, he began working with large-format cameras. Whereas most professional photographers had abandoned these cameras in favor of shooting on 35 mm film with more portable cameras, Nixon preferred the format because it allowed prints to be made directly from the large format negatives, retaining the clarity and integrity of the image.

Image result for NICHOLAS NIXON landscape photographyHis very first pictures are mostly architectural views of the city taken from rooftops and part of them were included in the “New Topographics” exhibition in 1975. “My idea at the time was to put my feelings in service to clear description. When I moved to Boston in 1974, I was enthralled with it and was trying to figure it out. Getting on rooftops was a great way to learn…not unlike the way one climbs to the top of a bluff or a mountain: to see more.”  He took photos from above, “like a landscape surveyor,” he said. “You could see where the streets go, you could see where everything lines up.”

Family Album, through May 2011. In Summer 2013 Nixon’s newest book will be released by Steidl. The body of work entitled Close Far explores the relationship of the self in physical and psychological proximity to the urban landscape. Nixon’s work is included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, among many others.

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Thomas Struth

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Thomas Struth began taking photographs of industrialised cities when he was studying under Bernd Becher (born 1931) at the Düsseldorf Academy.  He has continued to explore and develop the theme for almost twenty years, focusing his attention on such cities as New York, Tokyo, Berlin and Naples.  Struth’s images of the urban environment concentrate on seemingly unspectacular streets and public spaces. He seeks to record the face of urban space, seeing the architectural environment as a site where a community expresses its history.

Via Giovanni Tappia, Naples 1989 1989 Thomas Struth

This photo is taken in Via Giovanni Tappia, Naples 1989. Struth focuses his camera on the Neapolitan cityscape where he places the camera in the middle of the street at eye level. This creates a one-point perspective that leads the viewer’s eye down the street. It also results in the road being as much the focus of the scene as the apartment buildings on either side. There are few signs of the lives of the inhabitant, leaving no trace of their presence. Struth presents an image of a slightly scruffy, inner-city residential street which is filled with traces of activity and domestic life. This suggest that his images can be read as exploring differences in national character through the way urban space is inhabited.

In recording the urban environment, Struth deliberately refers to the tradition of black and white documentary photography, adopting a seemingly objective position. The compositions are simple and the photographs are neither staged nor digitally manipulated in post-production.  However, in spite of a link to the reportage tradition, Struth avoids both its snapshot approach and its quest for the capture of a fleeting, spontaneous image. Rather he carefully selects the sites where, using long exposures he makes sharply focused images.

Shinju-ku, (TDK), Tokyo 1986

Struth focuses on a busy intersection in urban Tokyo. He has taken the photograph from the middle of the road, pointing the camera down the street. As a result the spectator’s eye is drawn into the image and invited to inspect the architectural environment. The technique is one which Struth has employed in many of the street scenes since the late 1970s. However, unlike many similarly constructed images, the Tokyo photograph is not deserted. It is rather filled with people and movement, presenting an image of chaotic urban activity. The city that Struth presents is unregimented: there is little architectural unity. Because so much activity is included in the image, Struth is able to evoke the dynamic energy, speed and frenetic temporality characteristic of contemporary Japanese urban culture.

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Robert Adams

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Robert Adams

Adams was an American photographer who had a significant focus upon changing landscape of the American west,his work first started to become relevant within the 1970’s due to the success of his book ‘the new west’.The artist brown on May 8th,1937 was part of a family having himself a brother and sister,when he was younger he was infected with polio and had harm to the left side of his area and hand but soon recovered, but later in life suffered form other medical problems due to the previous illness. he had a very nature enforced childhood going on many walks accompanying his father, he also worked in a mountain national park in Colorado,and went mountain climbing and then so start visiting art museum with his sister.Not knowing what he wanted  to do he continued to take English and get his ph. D in English In 1965,he soon married to Kirsten who too and similar interests whiten art and nature. he taught English in Colorado college ad then soon as able to buy his first camera.

He mainly focus more upon taking many images of landscapes of nature and architecture. he learned many of his  photography knowledge form a professional photographer local to him named ‘Myron Wood’.Soon his love for photography spread and he became a full time photographer.His subject matter was ‘vastness,its sparse beauty and its ecological fragility’ manner of his work was produced throughout varying shades if grey and what has been lost remains, and a brilliant subtext to everything.

favorite image analysis

I chose this image due to the intriguing way in which Adams was able to capture the  strength and dominance within the clouds and the deep contrasting tones from within the background trees.you are clearly able to see the way in which people or  juxtaposing to the man made metal equipment. There is a sense of irony with the nature in the background and the way in which the people are more occupied within the pool and not the natural lakes and such.There is also almost a theme of segregation within the communities and the continuation of fences and boarder in which they are surrounded.The close up gate allows a redistricted in which we are viewing the people. All the over exposed lighter tones also have connotations to a more harsh lined  industrial area and shows elements of possibly not being safe.It shows a strong contrast within the beauty of nature and the urban life in which these people are living and choosing to do so.I think it is interesting in how the photographer chose to take the image when no one is in the pool,it shows a sense of reason to the image and the joy they should be having being in the pool but the rugged nature of pool is perhaps a preventative,perhaps this is to demonstrate the gradual separation between people and nature.

Mind map

Many of his works shows a strong industrial structure  presents in the foreground and a gradual deterioration into the nature based areas of his work. There is also a large surrounding space to present that their is an effect go nothingness without human evolution to buildings  and Inhabitance.

Ideas that will use in my work:

My main attraction to his work is how he has many layers of attention to the image itself and how it consistently evolves to create many interesting aspects throughout the original image,secondly I would want to expand on the use of persona and what people are doingerive attention to the image itself,and what the meaning of the contrast to nature would in fact be

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First Landscape Photographs

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Planning

Camera Settings – I will use a fairly low shutter speed of 1/20 to 1/30 to allow more light to enter the lens from the darkening environment of the sunset. Along with a low ISO of 100 or 200 to keep the image high quality and to have a dark tone in the photograph. I will use a deep depth of field to ensure the whole photograph in in focus.

Lighting – I will use natural lighting from the golden hour before sunset for the photographs.

Location – I will do my shoot at Greve de Lecq.

Context – I will be using black and white, contrasting photographs in order to capture photographs in the style of the romantics.

Raw Photos

My Edits/Top 5

The Editing Process

I started off my editing process by using the custom white balance tool to find the correct white balance for the photograph (tool is the eyedropper tool on the right).I then applied the filter Fuji Neopan 1600 to create a strong, contrasting photograph that emphasises the shapes. I then adjusted the shadows, highlights, contrast, brightness and whites and blacks in order the fine tune the photograph.

My Top 5
My Favourite Photograph

For this photograph, I used natural daylight from the golden hour before sunset. This helped to create a darker image with more contrast, drama and a wider tonal range. I used a deep depth of field in the photograph to ensure that the whole of the photograph was in focus. I used a slow shutter speed of 1/20 to capture the photograph to ensure that enough light entered the lens from the dark environment. I used this along with a low ISO of 200 to make the photograph high quality but dark to create a dramatic photograph in the style of the romantics.

There is no colour in this photograph, only black and white. This is because of the style of the Romantics, their photographs would be contrasting black and white photographs with lots of drama within them. There is a wide tonal range in this photograph ranging from the darkness of the rocks to the whiteness of the crashing waves, this adds even more contrast and mystery to the photograph. The texture of the clouds and sea shows quite clearly in this photograph, this creates a more realistic image. There is also a 3D effect in this image; the layers of clouds can be seen over the sea, this is further done by the texture in the photograph. There are three horizontal lines in the clouds and sea in the centre of this image, this pattern leads the eye to it due to the aesthetic of it.

This photograph was taken in the style of the Romantics. It involves a strong black and white with high contrast as this is typically what was in their photographs. The setting is also Romanticism inspired; the Romantics would picture raw landscapes without any signs of civilization around.

The concept behind this photograph and Romantic photographs is that it helps to show the scale of us. It shows how big and mysterious the world is and how we are just one mark on it at one small point in time. It shows that there is a meaning behind everything and aesthetic behind everything, even if it doesn’t appear so.

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romanticised landscapes final images

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Final ideas for my shoot:I was inspired by Ansel Adams and Fay godwits work, this is due to the way they both dramatically emphasised the amount of beauty but also movement and sense of attention within their piece,They continually did this by their high or mid perspective.Also the use of their dark contrasting tones wihtin the pieced how they continually evolve and move throughout the piece in order to show a sense of unity to the piece as a whole. Furthermore I was also inspired by the way in which they all used lines in order to draw a sense of direct view to a specific part of the images altogether.

when taking my images I focused  more upon the dramatic Skys and a contrast of softer Skys and an idealised beauty compared to a power possessive sky.I also had an aim to to take images of the landscape and direct lines continually going through although these were not my strongest outcomes.I edited the images with some in colourful saturation and others in more tonal ranges to show a large to relation to that of the artists.I did look for many leading lines and I was able to find some but they did not correctly show a continuation in the way I would expect so were not as successful as the coastline images.

Above you can see the contact sheet of green landscapes and also the different angles of sunsets.I chose to take the photos at golden hour in order to see the changing and dramatic colours but also the darkness approaching from the right side within my images.It brings a warmth to many of the images and a great depth of colour.

you are able to see the before and after previous to editing the images and how I was able to enhance the colour to show a better detail of clouds and how to allow the reflection to be more vivid in its tone.

Here you are able to see I edited my images by enhancing the saturation and the colour of the piece,I chose to enhance the colour due to being able to see more drama and a stronger contrast between sides of the image, the juxtaposition of the lighter left side and the dramatic clouds and castle on the right.Additionally I edited the image this way due to the mirroring effect in the water surface and it looks as if a continuation of the sky.

I wanted to use the weather to evoke a sense of atmosphere snd emotion,I wanted their to be a relationship fo love within the coloured image and a sense of movement of light and attention,this is due to the stereotypically romantic choice of lighter colours and also how the sun is used to enhance from a stutter and the reflection of the sea shows a sense of peace altogether throughout the image itself. My aim was to capture the coastline and the sand dunes and how they are continuously evolving to capture different compositions and effects of light. 

overall I think this is my strongest image due to the lens of illusion and gradually forming power throughout the image.I wanted to show an understanding of reflections rising  the composition of the piece and how light can be used to suggest from and also movement to the piece itself.I took this image knowing I wanted both the light sense of warmth and other the authority of the castle and harsh clouds I used the technique of getting very high but lowering my camera so everything in the image looks level but additionally only capturing the reflection and the sky itself. I enhanced the exposure so the light so was able to progress throughout the image and used a wide angle lens in order to capture the whole angle of the image and see the size and power .These images are successfully romatisized landscapes although not edited within similar style due to the colours further down I edited my images tonally with a warmth in order to emphasis the artists styles too.  within the images above I wanted to capture a romanticised landscape in a much more vivid and and poetical extreme of colour caught within the golden hour, although I also wanted to capture a sense of clam that will soon be abounded due to the oncoming stormy strength of the high side and cloud formation.

These last images I edited in order to show the light and dark within the image and show a stinger relationship to the artists themselves. It connotes a much more stormy atmosphere all together but still effectively shoes the beauty within the landscape,the cloud in the last piece has such. strong depth and overwhelming power throughout the piece itself ,this was important because contextually it commands attention and shows how one beach can have such beauty and also dominate representing the power that nature has over people.

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Romanticism Photoshoot Response

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In this shoot I will be focusing on photography surrounding Romanticism. To help me with my shoot I will use Fay Godwin as my influence from a photographer, I chose her because of how her photography uses much of the scenery seen in Jersey and so could use her techniques to provide guidance on what to take as seen below:Image result for Fay GodwinBefore taking the shoot I wanted to pull some ideas together on what to take, allowing for a guideline to my photos, this was my outcome:

Once I had a general idea on what I could do for the shoot I finally moved onto the images themselves with these being the outcome:

From the photographs I decided on, I made a selection of ten images that I thought presented my best imagery from the overall shoot on the topic of romanticism. These were my choices:

I chose these images because I thought they popped out from the rest of the shoot, and had a greater understanding of what romanticism in photography was about. I found that their vivid colours and use of depth of field made them particularly effective. From here I wanted to whittle my selection down to just five images to really provide a clearer insight into my final image for the shoot. This is my selection:

I chose this image due to how I loved the effect created from the back light that was meant to illuminate Gorey Castle at night, that instead silhouetted the housing and trees around it, creating an aesthetically pleasing result as an outcome. And with the slight use of red and oranges from the housing I though it really balanced it out.

What I loved in this image was the use of the depth of field, this created a focus on a certain section of the woods which instantly drew the eye through the use of its vivid greens. Within the image I used Photoshop to enhance the greens within the image to make it more suited to the theme of Romanticism with the expected outcome as desired.

I found that this images use of contrast between the light provided by the lamps created an aesthetically pleasing photo. This was because of how by making the oranges within the picture more vivid, it emphasised the shadows created by the surrounding boats, thus drawing the eye instantly to the soft glow of the lamp centred in the middle of the picture.

The gradient created by the sky I thought particularly allowed for a romanticism theme. This was because of how the majority of the image was made up of the slow but constant changing of shades of blues into yellows, with only a small percentage made up by the landscape. I found that by darkening the ground it created a greater effect onto the sky due to an emphasis to the colours.

What I loved about this image was the composition and the dark and grim colours. This is because of how the skeletons of the trees create a sinister but beautiful effect on the pathway through the middle of them, with unclear imagery of people in the far distance. I also liked the use of depth of field as well due to how the trees slowly faded and merged into one collective backdrop, whilst maintaining the desired look.

After analysing each of the five images, I decided to come to an overall decision on the final piece from the selection. This is my final choice for the best image out of the shoot:

I chose this as my final image because of how I loved the contrast created by the floodlights to Gorey Castle. I found that through this it completely emphasised the silhouettes of both the tree and the house in a sinister but fascinating way. I also liked how the floodlight captured by the camera is seen as a circular gradient in which slowly fades into darkness, with the three red lights being there to balance out the image as a whole and not let the black overpower the piece.

 

 

 

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Ansel Adams and Romanticism

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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.

Image result for ansel adams

Image result for ansel adams

My Favourite Photograph

Image result for ansel adams

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.

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Romanticism

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What is Romanticism?

Romanticism was from when a new generation of painters to create landscape art for its own sake, causing the form of art in the 1800s to become more hyper-realistic. This first movement was known as Romanticism, it emphasized emotions such as awe and rapture, leading to a deeper discovery probing into human emotion regarding out natural surrounds. Romanticism usually created the perfect conditions for landscape art, which would assume the highest position in the minds of wealthy art collector. Here are some example of Romanticism in photography and art:

Image result for Romanticism photography

Image result for Romanticism Photography

More about Romanticism can be found here.

For further knowledge I used this video below to develop my understanding on what Romanticism really was.