New topographics was a term coined by William Jenkins in 1975 to describe a group of American photographers such as Robert Adams and Lewis Baltz whose pictures had a similar banal aesthetic, in that they were formal, mostly black and white prints of the urban landscape.
Many of the photographers associated with new topographics including Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz, Nicholas Nixon and Bernd and Hiller Becher, were inspired by the man-made, selecting subject matter that was matter-of-fact. Parking lots, suburban housing and warehouses were all depicted with a beautiful stark austerity, almost in the way early photographers documented the natural landscape.

Psycho-Geo graphics is the exploring urban environment. psychogeography was invented by the Marxist theorist Guy Debord in 1955, is has been defined as “the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals.

Psychogeography combines subjective and objective knowledge and studies. Debord struggled to stipulate the finer points of this theoretical paradox, ultimately producing “Theory of the Dérive” in 1958, a document which essentially serves as an instruction manual for the psychogeographic procedure, executed through the act of dérive. Psychogeography has its roots in dadaism and surrealism.

Dadaism

 Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century.Dada flourished in Paris, in reaction to World War I, the Dada movement consisted of artists who rejected the logic, reason, and aestheticism of modern capitalist society, instead expressing nonsense, irrationality, and anti-bourgeois protest in their works.

Dada artists felt the war called into question every aspect of a society capable of starting and then prolonging it – including its art. Their aim was to destroy traditional values in art and to create a new art to replace the old.

Surrealism 

Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for its visual artworks and writings. Artists painted unnerving, illogical scenes with photographic precision, created strange creatures from everyday objects, and developed painting techniques that allowed the unconscious to express itself. Its aim was to “resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality into an absolute reality, a super-reality.

My Edits

The New topographics was a term used by William Jenkins in 1975 to describe a group of American photographers such as Robert Adams and Lewis Baltz whose pictures had a similar banal aesthetic, in that they were formal, mostly black and white prints of the urban landscape. Bernd Becher and Hilla Becher. Pitheads 1974.

Many of the photographers associated with new topographics were inspired by man-made features, selecting subject matter such as. Parking lots, suburban housing and warehouses.  An exhibition at the International Museum of Photography in Rochester, New York featuring these photographers also revealed the growing unease about how the natural landscape was being eroded by industrial development leaving human footprints.

An artistic and intellectual movement originating in Europe in the late 1700's and characterized by a heightened interest in nature, emphasis on the individual's expression of emotion and imagination, departure from the attitudes and forms of classicism, and rebellion against established social rules and conventions.

Romanticism was developed in the 1700’s. Originating with paintings, the romanticist movement was later applied to photography. Romantic photography can be identified through the heightened detail concerning nature and the beauty of the natural world, which encourages the expression of emotion and feeling through photographs.

Who is Nicholas Nixon?

Nicholas Nixon is known for the simplicity and intimacy of his black and white large format photographs. Nixon has photographed porch life in the rural south, schools in and around Boston, cityscapes, sick and dying people, the closeness of couples, and the ongoing annual portrait of his wife, Bebe, and her three sisters. Recording his subjects close and with meticulous detail, he facilitates an emotional connection between the viewer and the subject.

The body of work explores the self in physical and psychological proximity to the urban landscape. In 2017, Fundación MAPFRE in Madrid opened a comprehensive survey of the artist’s work to date, accompanied by a catalogue illustrating over 200 images.

Photo analysis

Natural lighting was clearly used to capture this photograph due to the natural tones and contrast in the photograph. The use of natural lighting allows the photo to project a sense of realism which helps allow the audience to feel as if they can connect with the photo. This is shown within this photograph as it has been displayed in black and white which makes the photo seem  more surreal and creates a sense of mystery and creates a more dramatic image. The use of black and white helps bring out the levels in this image from the masses of cars on the highway and the heights of the buildings. This photo shows the advancement of civilization and man made structures which is conveyed by how hectic and lively this image looks due to the mass numbers of buildings and how full the roads are. This shows how the New Topographic movement was a reaction to Romanticism  just from the use of the juxtaposition within this image such as; the man made features throughout the whole image and the natural aspects within the image such as the trees among the buildings . This photograph is a clear message to reflect how man made structures are taking over society and dominating these natural areas. This is clearly supported by the fact that the natural features are hidden away in the image and are not the main features of the image like they would be within romanticism photography.

My own Images

Edited Images

Photo shoot Plan

Genre /  Artist – Landscape, Romanticism

Concept –  Natural beauty 

Location – Coastlines, sand dunes, fields, forests

Props – Tripod,

Shot type – Landscape, low angle

Lighting – Natural

Settings – Landscape, shutter priority

Contact Sheet

Editing Color into my photographs

This is the original photograph without any editing having been done to it. I felt as if this photo was effective in portraying the typical colours involved with a sunset which to me, created a boring and uninteresting photo as it can be seen in real life which is much more aesthetically pleasing. To ensure I could entice the viewer with this photograph, i decided to take it to Lightroom and add a variety of vibrant and saturated colours which would influence the audience to appreciate the picture. I believe these colours really bring the sunset to life which has a strong contrasted connotations of how the life (the sun) is dissappearing for the night.

Editing photos into B+W

I think that the main success with these black and white photos are the texture which are visible within both. The sand and skies give a great texture with a variety of patterns leading the viewer around the photo. I think that these images could relate to the death of the sun each day as the black and white effect has connotations with death and symbolises this.

Night photography is photographs that have been taken outdoors when the sun has gone down. Photographers that shoot at night usually use artificial light and using a long exposure, exposing the scene for seconds, minutes, and even hours in order to give the film or digital sensor enough time to capture a usable image.

The following techniques and equipment are generally used in night photography.

• A tripod is usually necessary due to the long exposure times. Alternatively, the camera may be placed on a steady, flat object e.g. a table or chair, low wall, window sill, etc.
• A shutter release cable or self-timer is almost always used to prevent camera shake when the shutter is released.
• A camera lens with a wide aperture, preferably one with aspherical elements that can minimize coma

The New Topographics - a 1975 exhibition called 'Man Altered Landscape' that started a radical shift away from which landscapes were taken - traditional depictions of romanticized landscapes to banal and stark industrial landscapes of mundane scenes, that never had a second glance. These images act like the acceptance of a world changing by man and they present the beauty and aesthetic of dull, ugly, rigid structures, scenes and streets. 
for example Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz, Bernd and Hilla Becher were part of The New Topographics group and were influential photographers in the practice of landscape photography around the world.
The new topographics signifies a reaction to the growing unease of the natural landscape being eroded by industrial development and the spread of cities. 

HDR stands for high dynamic range, which is the difference between the lightest light and darkest dark you can capture in a photo. Once the subject exceeds the camera’s dynamic range, the highlights tend to wash out to white, or the darks simply become big black blobs. It’s difficult to snap a photo that captures both ends of this spectrum, but with modern shooting techniques and advanced post-processing software, photographers have devised ways to make it happen.