Formalism

Formalism is the study of art by analyzing and comparing form and style the way objects are made and their purely visual aspects. In painting, formalism emphasizes elements such as color, line, shape, texture, and other perceptual aspects rather than iconography or the historical and social context.

Examples of formalism photography

Minimalism

Minimalism is a style used by many 20th Century artists, using a very minimum amount of elements which consist of: color, shape, line and texture. Within the art world it is considered an extremely subjective concept, leaving interpretation and meaning up to the viewers perception of the work.

Examples of minimalism photography

The first thing that I did when I began the editing process was selected the area of the image that Iwanted to flip upsdedown. To do this I first went a selected the rectangle Marquee Tool as this gave me the most freedom when deicing how big I wanted the area to be.

I then went into Edit – Transform – Roate 180 degrees. 

Then wanted to edit then image further to create another reflection within the image. To do this I repeated the process but with a smaller section of the image being selected.

The lastly Iwent and increased the vibrancy, saturation and contrast of the image only very slight as i felt that the image already was very strong colour and contrast wise. I felt as this step was necessary as I wanted this shoot to incorporate elements of the Romanticism genre  buy increasing the levels of all of factors, it has helped the imahge to fall into the category.

Overall I think that mine and Cody’s image are very similar in looks and technical skill. When I first began to look at Cody’s images, I noticed that he would only edit his image with a triangle ontop  and no other shape which I didnt like. So I decided that I would stick to only a square/rectangle to edit my image,  The foreground of Cody’s image is very busy with crashing waves, which is one thing that I wanted to make sure I didn’t have in my images as i found it to be very distracting and I wanted the main focus of my image to be the section which has been rotated an]s otherwise the image would have been to busy. One thing that I made sure was the same when I began to edit this image was that when the image was rotated was the the land is the section that had been roasted was inline with the rest of the image.

Following on from Johnny Joo, I came across John Divola who is a contemporary visual artist. He currently lives and works in Riverside, CA. Divola works in photography, describing himself as exploring the landscape by looking for the edge between the abstract and the specific. I decided to focus in on the isolated houses book by him, originally released in 2000, as it gives a sense of humanity’s wastefulness which links to Johnny Joo’s work.

I believe this style of work links to the theme of secrecy and hidden identity as it would appear the owners are trying to escape all aspects of civilization and be on their own in their own world.

Despite the fact these images are rather raw, with little editing, i believe they are effective due to the simplicity of them and the conceptual ideas and meanings behind the images. I think that I can create some interesting images in this style with the use of varying camera settings and editing techniques.

This is an image taken by Micheal Steric, a famous Instagram user. It portrays some very similar connotations to which Divola’s work does however, Micheal Steric has insured to give his audience a more aesthetically pleasing image to visualize by using a series of editing techniques to make it as if the building is on fire and is surrounded by an unusual green glow. This links to both of my views on altered landscapes in the way that the photo has been altered digitally by the photographer but also the way the subject within the photo has been altered by humans and natural disasters. The vibrancy within this image helps to captivate the audience and ensure they appreciate and acknowledge the wastefulness in which humanity evokes.

Contact Sheet 

Overall I think that the shoot went well, was planning the photo shoot I wanted to gt the the beach just before sunset during golden hour so I could uses the colours of the sunset to enhance the image, however when I arrived at the beach the sunset had set. But looking back at the images I prefer having the deep contrast between the last remaining beams of sunlight with the contrasting dark clouds in the sky.

Best Images 

Experimentation 

Overall Best  Edit

I feel that this image is the strongest outcome from the whole of the shoot. I took this image using natural lighting, as I went during the golden hour the light helped me to make the image have a Romanticism feel to it. I took this image using a high shutter speed as I wanted the crashing waves to be in focus and sharp and the image to be of a high quality. The image has a slightly cooler undertone to it because of the dominant colour of blue which has then been coupled with the neutral colours that come with the beach setting. I took this image at St Brelades bay I went to this beach specifically as I knew that when the sunsets over the land the area starts to become darker and the remaining light create a dramatic contrast in the sky. I made sure that the tide was coming into shore when I was doing the shoot. As I wanted to be able to capture the reflection of the sun setting on the wet sand which would not have been possible of the sand was dry. The first idea that I wanted to try when I began the editing process was to select a small area of the image and then rotated in 180 degrees so it was upside. When doing this I made sure that the crashing waves that goes across the middle of the image where still one continuous line. When I had done this I wanted to edit the image further as the image looked plain. I then selected a small section of the part that had already been rotated and flipped in upside so it was inline the rest of the image.

Altered reality is changing a normal photo in a creative way, this could be though the use of manipulated camera settings or post processing such as computer or hand editing. The photographer can be creative by using of lines, form and colour, expressing ideas or feelings in a non-traditional style.  This style is often used to create fantasy worlds out of existing ones by combining different settings. the way in which this is done can be very obvious or settle depending on the desired effect. they can be made to look fairly realistic and convincing or the editing can be more obvious and artistic.

Photo shoot Plan

Genre /  Artist – Landscape, derelict buildings

Concept –  Capture images to portray humanity’s wastefullness

Location – St Saviors Mental Hospital

Shot type – Landscape, varied angle dependent on subject matter

Lighting – Natural lighting for outside shots, light source to reflect light within the building as it is dark inside.

Settings – 1/30 Second exposures with ISO of 100 to ensure the images are sharp and the varied textures show up.

Contact Sheet

Best Image

I believe that this image is very strong in the way it inflicts the conceptual ideas of nature taking over and dominating us. This can be seen in this photo where the leaves/vines appear to be invading the bathroom through the boarded up window. This is a clear representation of the power of nature and how it can overcome barriers created by humans, in this case the hospital building. It also relates to how this building is taking up space unnecessarily which could be used for nature and wildlife purposes. The use of leading lines within the baths frame helps to draw the viewer up to the window where the vines are taking over.

Mood Board The Altered Landscapes Project

For this project I wanted to focus on Geometric Landscapes and they way that they are edited to highlight the patterns and repetitiveness in everyday landscapes. However I also wanted to bring in elements to the Romanticism genre so that the images will have a overall nicer look to them

Plan For The Shoot 

For the shoot, I am planning to go down to St Brelades beach during golden hour. Golden hour is the period of time just after and before sunset when the colours in the sky are the most vibrant. As I wanted to included element of Romanticism in the shoot, by having a dramatic sky in the backdrop of the images this will help to change the look of the image so that they fall in the category of romanticism  which is an area of photography that I want to combined with Geometric for the shoot.The equipment that I am planning to use is a single tripod as this will help to make sure that the perfect straight which is very important for geometric landscape

For this shoot, I was inspired to do a similar set of photographs as Joo because I wanted to create a haunted and sinister atmosphere. However I also want to explore the beauty of the abandoned and derelict buildings to grasp a sense of what once was their and appreciate the past and memories which it entailed.

This photo shoot links directly to the theme of altered landscapes due to the fact the landscape has been changed and manipulated by natural disasters and human destruction. Although it hasn’t been altered through the editing process it still has been altered but for real by nature and humans.

Photo shoot Plan

Genre /  Artist – Landscape, derelict urban

Concept –  Capture images in the style of Johnny Joo

Location – Les Charriers Hotel

Props – Tripod to keep images sharp and in focus

Shot type – Landscape, varied angle dependent on subject matter

Lighting – Natural lighting for outside shots, light source to reflect light within the building.

Settings – 2 Second exposures with ISO of 200 as the light is rather dark inside these buildings.

These images are from google and of the hotel when it was in action and completely usable. I will try to replicate some of these images to give a direct contrast between how it used to be and how it is now.

Contact Sheet 1

I believe this photo shoot was beneficial in being able to capture the outside features of the abandoned building as the natural lighting was bright helping to illuminate the building. However i was not satisfied with the inside shots as many of them were blury, which had to be deleted. This was due to the darkness within side the building. I intend to re-do this photo shoot but focus on the inside features to convey feelings of horror and show the presence of humans without them being there.

Edits

Contact Sheet 2

Edits

Best image, Analysis