within this shoot on the topic of New Topographics, I will be focusing on the contrast between the urban landscape surrounded by forms of nature allowing imagery to give way to unromanticized views of stark industrial and urban areas to which these everyday scenes would not be given a second glance about. Photographers that have inspired this shoot for me consist of Robert Adams, Stephen Shore and Henry Wessel.
Some of their works can be seen below to provide a general idea to the overview of New Topographics:
I decided however to plan the shoot before I went ahead and did it. This would allow me to have a general idea before hand of what I wanted, and needed to achieve to produce an effective overall image regarding the topic of New Topographics. These are my ideas:
Once this was complete I decided it was time to move on to the shoot itself, and so decided to use the areas regarding the idea sheet of town, Grouville and St Brelades. These were my outcomes:
Once the shoot was complete I narrowed the images down to only ten of my favourite pictures. By doing so it would make it easier for me to select the final image that I believe to be the most relevent and successful overall. These were my choices on the ten best images:
From this selection I whittled the ten images down into five, this would allow to select the best photo from the batch which I deemed most appropriate for the catagory ‘New Topographic’. These were my choices:
I chose this image because of how I loved the clear contrast between nature and the taking over of it by man, seen by the run down sign surrounded by overgrown grass. I found this to be aesthetically pleasing created by the use of a depth of field, by doing so it blurs our the foreground and the background allowing only really the sign to be noticed properly which is where the eye is drawn. I found the slanted composition to be especially interesting by how it gives the impression of an overgrown and ruined world.
I selected this image due to once again the use of the depth of field that blurs the backdrop, this along with the use of the composition allowed for maximum effect, giving the impression of a world that eventually succumbs to nature. I found that the way that the fence was composition allowed for a sense of distance to the photo, with the use of neutral space on the right being filled with industrial buildings bringing the viewer into perspective of the area it was taken in.
What I loved about this image was the clear contrast and clear colors used to create an aesthetically pleasing outcome. This is done through contrasting colours blue and white which highlight features of the building, allow for such things as the door and bolts top pop out and draw the viewer’s attention. The composition I found also was aesthetically pleasing due to how the entire image is symmetrical which in consequence created a much cleaner and pleasing look.
Within this image I found that there was obvious difference between nature and man-made structures. This is once again done through the use of a depth of field to which allows for the appearance of us peering through nature to find the man-made structures that surround everything, whilst showing how where ever nature is human activity is not far behind. I found that the gloomy colours within the image emphasised the destruction caused to the landscape by these structures and how nature and civilisation lives side by side. 
Finally I chose this image as I loved the reflection of cranes created by the aftermath of rain fall. This was partially down to how I thought it highlighted a clear contrast between nature and society, with the looming structures left behind, whilst at the same time creating a deserted and desolate feel to the overall piece. I found that the composition of the piece complimented the photo as it filled most of the negative space made by bricks, with various beams fading out of the image.
Once completed I thought it was time to decide on a final image from the shoot that I thought emphasised the topic ‘New Topographic’ and was most effective in response to it. This was favourite image as an outcome to the shoot:
What made me choose this photo as my final image was because how to me it summed up the clear contrast between human activity and nature. This was done by the composition of the grass creating the impression of it growing around the sign as if taking back the land seized by man, to which there is a clear difference in surrounding of the backdrop consisting of machinery and metallic structures that create contrast in not only surroundings but color. The use of depth of field creates a clear definition around the sign allowing for the eye to be drawn to it immediately with both the foreground and background complimenting it due to the drastic difference in colors and blur. To me this was the image that related the most to the topic of ‘New topographic’, which not only created a feel of the contrast between man and nature, but also of the deserted spaces that surround us in our everyday lives.
I found that Svalbonas used a calm colored backdrop to her creations to balance the entire piece and really make the design pop out. In response to this I looked through previous photo-shoots picking out images of buildings that I had taken recently. Once found I proceeded onto Photoshop to cut out and stick the parts of these buildings together creating a structure similar to that of Svalbonas, to which I would continue to add a colored matt backdrop that in my opinion balanced the image out. This was my process:
From here I cut out the buildings individually and proceeded to join them together experimenting with what fitted well.
To do this I used the lasso tool to accurately outline the object wanted so that I could then paste onto the design and move it around until satisfied with its placement.
Once the design had been finished I experimented with a series of colors that I thought were neutral and would not overpower the overall piece. To do this I used the shape tool to cover the backdrop with a large square where I could then change the colors of it.
To create these images I mainly incorporated photos that I had based around the International Finance Center for my psycho-geography shoot and a few images from various other shoots. Whilst doing so I found that by duplicating the image and coloring it black while at the same time reducing the opacity, created a shadow like effect to the piece, this allowed for a 3d like effect that I wanted to put across on the piece and at the same time giving it a more graphic feel. Once done I added a green and a pink backdrop to each piece as I found that these colors drew the gaze to the piece rather than be sore from all the negative space surrounding it.
I decided to attempt at making a panoramic image by stitching together individual images I had taken of a landscape within Photoshop. To do this I overlapped picture upon picture to create a forged landscape of the area taken as seen below:
Once finished I proceeded to use this method to create a few more panoramas of the landscape in the area where I live, these were the results:
This image of the bay consisted of twelve individual images that I had to crop and re-shape to allow for the smooth transition effect between each photo that creates the impression of a singular image. 
I took this image of the golf course across the road to me by cropping the overall piece due to how some of the images did not match the shape or size of the others taken. This removed any rough edges to the image allowing for the final result.
This final image I found to be the most successful due to how the transition between each image looked the most natural with only slight lighting differences.
From here I thought it would be appropriate to come up with a few ideas in order to help me along the shoot and guide me in what I should be doing. Here are my ideas:
Once all the pictures of the given area had been taken I decided that I should whittle the selection down to the top ten overall images. This would allow me to come to an easier conclusion on what I thought was the best image taken in the shoot. These were my selected images I thought had the best outcome from the shoot:
I selected this image because I loved the texture created by the shades of rust on a pole. I found that this allowed heavy but effective contrast between the overall piece as all the colors complemented each other making an almost molten scene.
In this image I found that I particularly liked the contrast between the silhouette of the statue and the dim-lit sky, with the composition of the pole and string balancing out the image as a whole creating a visually pleasing overall piece.
Once again I loved the use of the colors created by the rust to make an almost volcanic landscape with shades of red overlapping each other. I found the composition of the piece eye-capturing as the more rusted black areas looked like a mountain range captured from a bird’s eye view.
In this image I tried to capture the way certain streets were looked after within my given area. What I liked about this one was how it incorporated everyday objects as almost ruining and breaking up the pattern made by the pavement through the composition of the paper and cigarettes.
Finally I chose this picture because I loved the symmetry created by the textures of the floor surrounding the lights making an aesthetically pleasing image. This use of composition I found was most effective from how it drew the eye to the areas wanted through a clear contrast.
To add to my research of the area to be explored, I decided that it would be appropriate to take street view shots in order to have a bit of an insight before hand of the area.
Part of the main area I am exploring is the car park, however now has been transformed into the International Finance Centers, with much of it still under construction. Other areas include Liberty Wharf, which was once known as a former abattoir that was restored and converted for the use of a shopping centre.
As seen above Henner very much focuses on satellite imagery as his main source of art. One technique commonly seen in his work is shaped pixels, this can be done through selecting an area and finding the main color present in that space, to then convert it to just that singular color.
They tend to focus on how the different textures of the floors can create the pattern to make aesthetically pleasing imagery. The images taken are of everyday generic objects that we take for granted and don’t see the patterns within them.
My Edits
This map of King Street is believed to date from 1913. It shows clearly how relatively small the properties were on the south side of the street, compared with those on the north, which stretched back over what had previously been wet meadowland.
I researched what King Street looked like in the past and displayed a few to show the comparison between the two time periods.
I also took pictures of the urban landscape when comparing the old images and photographed the surrounding environments. When doing this I tried to take the photos taking inspiration from the New Topographic photographers.
One image that I particularly liked and decided to analyse was ‘Archival Pigment Print From a Surveillance Camera Feed’ which won the Lens Culture Emerging Talent Award 2016.
Technical: Marcus DeSieno’s piece consists of hacking into surveillance feeds to capture interesting imagery, the image itself seems to be taken on a gloomy day, capturing the silhouette of the mountain range in the distance whilst incorporating the Ansel Adams system throughout capturing a range of shades. The picture seems to have been deteriorated creating an old feeling to it whilst maintaining much of the crisp qualities of the original photo. A depth of field can be seen partially used through the use of the graininess and how the road snakes off into the distance removing detail from the image, but at the same time keeping out focus on the road.
