As a landscape and cityscape artist, Paul takes his viewers to the heart of some of the world’s most stunning travel destinations through his iconic and vibrant luxury fine art photography. His work has featured in exhibitions all over the world, from Times Square in New York to the Royal Albert Hall and Houses of Parliament in London, with gallery installations in Europe and Asia.
Paul returned to the UK in 2015 to focus on commercial projects, having spent the previous 3 years in Shanghai capturing vivid landscape and cityscape photographs of the eastern hemisphere.
With experience working on both sides of the lens, as a professional photographer Paul often sees things differently to others and he uses that ability to capture images which are truly unique.
Many of Reiffer’s images include stunning sunsets and sunrises paired with extremely colourful landscapes and skies.
Paul Reiffer
In this image you can clearly see city silhouetted against the setting sun and the ombre sky. The colours in the photo are saturated, the purple in the sky and the orange reflected on the water almost seeming unnatural, but giving the image a special effect. The image seems to be split into two parts, with the city and bridge being the line that separates the sky and the water. The photographer made a seemingly boring city into something almost mystical and magnificent. It’s clear how the photographer has manipulated this photo, increasing the contrast, saturation and light, and adding a certain filter to create the purple and orange effect. The lens the photographer seemed to have used it most likely to be a wide angle lens, to get the entire landscape into the image, and the light sensitivity of the image must be low, as it’s crisp and clear instead of a grainy texture which it would have if it had been increased.
WHO:In this project I am mostly focusing on landscapes and scenery therefore my images do not contain models as I was attempting to capture the beauty of untouched nature.
WHERE:The images were taken at St.Aubin’s bay, a large and open beach which was perfect for capturing the surreal qualities of nature and the sea.
HOW: In order to capture the images I used a large rectangular mirror and dug it into the ground in order to capture the unseen aspects of the landscape, tying in with the whole theme of unknown journeys/a double journey. I used my regular DSLR camera to capture the images.
WHEN: The images were captured on a clear and sunny day which reflected the light of well in the water and provided the clear blue skies which I wanted to be reflected in the mirror. I went out around late morning/mid day to capture the images.
WHY: With this photo shoot, I was taking a different approach to the title “journeys and pathways”, selecting the theme of unknown journeys/a double journey to focus on. I used a mirror to capture the other side of the landscape, one which we cannot see from the perspective we stand at.
INSPIRATION:
My main inspiration for this photo shoot was Cody William Smith American photographer and director of photography Cody William Smith mirrors the world upon itself in these contemplative landscapes. The series, entitled A Moment’s Reflection, features a large, round mirror placed unmistakably into the sand, the dirt, or the sea in various settings. Standing upright and partially buried, the mirror disrupts the normal landscape with a reflection of a different space located close by.
EXAMPLES OF HIS WORK:
MOST SUCCESSFUL IMAGE:
MOST SUCCESSFUL IMAGE
CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
VISUAL:
The overall image is very simplistic, containing both organic and angular shapes. The waves providing rounded curves which stretch across the image which are disturbed by the rectangular, harsh shape of the mirror. Although juxtaposing each other with the natural aspects of the water and the man made mirror, they work together harmoniously to create a balanced image. One way in which this is done is through the continuity of the blue tones. They differentiate throughout the image, being more saturated within the mirror and subtly reflected on the surface of the water. There is also a sense of pattern in this image with the ripples and repeating lines on the surface of the water which cut through the image horizontally. The pattern is disturbed by the white foam on the water which in a way creates a pattern by itself. It also creates some texture in the image which is a nice contrast to the smooth and flat mirror. Within the center of the image, within the reflection of the mirror is a very clear color gradient of the blue, fading from a more saturated to a more subtle blue. There is a varying degree of light within the image, getting stronger the further up the image you go. The mirror also reflects a fairly strong shadow on the bottom half of the image. Although not following the golden rule within the image, placing the mirror in the center works well overall to create a balanced image.
TECHNICAL:
In terms of capturing the image, the most difficult thing was placing the mirror in the sand and taking the picture in time before the sea eventually knocked it down. Logistically it was one of the hardest photo shoots I have done due to the fact that it involved props which needed to be transported as opposed to just taking images of the landscape or people who are already there. Good weather conditions were also essential for this photo shoot as I did not want rainy weather which could interfere with the reflections in the mirror. In terms of camera settings, I set the ISO fairly low at 100 as it was a very bright day and wanted to avoid overexposure as much as possible. I set the white balance of my camera to 5500 k as this is ideal for using outside in direct sunlight, creating images which aren’t too cool or too warm. The aperture of my camera was set at f/4.8 this meant that the exposure of the image wasn’t too high and the focus was universal.
DETAILED CAMERA SETTINGS USED:
CONTEXTUAL:
In the 19th century the Industrial Revolution in Jersey took place on the shoreline – this was where the shipyards were and the beach between First Tower and West Park was the site of some of the island’s largest shipbuilders. Deslandes, Le Vesconte and Grandin between them built over 100 vessels here. The remains of the yards lie beneath Victoria Avenue. In 1860, when Jersey was the fourth largest ship building centre in the British Isles, George Deslandes priced a job at £14 per ton. This was £3 per ton cheaper than builders on the mainland. However, the industry began to go into decline in the late 1860s and 1870s as Jersey was unable to build the more modern iron ships. The new railway built between St Helier and St Aubin did not help as it cut through the yards. However on a bizarre note, the train service was halted for two days in January 1875 when a ship became stuck on the tracks as it was being launched from the Deslandes yard.
One of the themes which I wanted to explore in my own work was the journey of urbanization and also unknown journeys. When conceptualizing the mirror idea and getting inspired by the photographer Cody William Smith, I realized that an interesting aspect of the images, they show reality which we cannot see from one perspective, only being revealed when you place a mirror can you see this reality. This further contributes to the surreal aspects of landscape romanticism, as not only are you showing one perspective, but multiple, in a way creative a hyper reality in the image. I also like the fact that a lot of the images appear photo-shopped when reality it is all done with a mirror and camera and very simply edited in the selection process. Increasing small things such as saturation or fixing the exposure of the images. Another large theme which I am keen to explore with this method is landscape urbanization. In image 1 and 4, you can again see two perspectives, one of the untouched sea and shoreline and the other the urbanization and industrialization of Jersey. Humans have altered and changed the natural landscape we have all around us with homes, businesses and industries.
American photographer and director of photography Cody William Smith mirrors the world upon itself in these contemplative landscapes. The series, entitled A Moment’s Reflection, features a large, round mirror placed unmistakably into the sand, the dirt, or the sea in various settings. Standing upright and partially buried, the mirror disrupts the normal landscape with a reflection of a different space located close by.
The stunning arrangements create a unified balance of multiple realities linking in unexpected ways. Some circular shapes and forms stand out against shady surroundings and show off the bright skies in the distance while others blend seamlessly into the setting in an optical illusion of shapes.
Smith reveals, “My intention is to draw new connections between familiar forms by introducing specular reflections to environments where none would typically exist. The mirrors serve as a focal point within a given scene and also function as a window to provide an entirely unique perspective on the same location.”
Smith is a professional Photographer and Director of Photography. Originally from Reno Nevada, he moved to Los Angeles in 2011 and earned his BFA in Cinema from Columbia College in 2012. As a photographer he specializes in landscape, fine art, and environmental portraiture.
When looking at this image the first thing the eye is drawn to is the circular mirror which reflects the small and delicate waves within the sea. Unlike the surrounding sea, it is a lot brighter, reflecting strong and white light of its surface. It is a juxtaposition between nature and man made objects as the strong, crisp and round outline of the mirror is contrasted by the organic and free flowing shapes of the waves. The ripples within the water also provide repeating shapes which create a sense of pattern. The mirror provides a sort on continuation of the sea, the linear pattern being reflected in it. The image is mainly composed of different tones of blues and very subtle oranges in the background of the image. The image also provokes many ideas in the head of the viewer, such as the repetition of the image they can see within the mirror and the reason for the mirrors presence in the first place. Within the image we can see the linear repetition of the line of the wave, giving the photo a whole another dimension.
TECHNICAL:
In terms of technicality, the image was likely taken in the early morning/late evening due to the low angle at which the light hits the water and the darkness lower down in the image. I believe the ISO of the image was likely to have been set to 400 as the image and environment is slightly dark, avoiding under exposure. A tripod may have also been used in order to capture the image in order to get the mirror into position and before the tide comes in too far and knocks down the mirror. The aperture was likely set to about f/8 as the image is fairly dark with dark shadows and subtle highlights.
CONTEXTUAL/CONCEPTUAL:
It is possible that you catch a glimpse regarding this kind of landscape photos processed with a mirror effect on a geometric shape. American photographer Cody William Smith did the job straight-shooting and made 4 very beautiful series called “A Moment of Reflection”. He took pictures of impressive landscapes seen through mirrors: the sea, a sunset, the desert or mountains.
‘rot or decompose through the action of bacteria and fungi.’
Heikki Leis
Heikki does mostly hyper realistic pen and pencil drawings and also sculpture. Since 2004 he is also an avid photographer and takes part in exhibitions. His biggest passion is analogue photography, he uses both mid- and large format cameras. The project that took the longest time, the most effort and has also become the most famous is his series of molds called “Afterlife”. A book by the same name, consisting of photographs from the series was also published in 2017.
Afterlife
‘ Molds belong to the kingdom Fungi. They’re kin to more friendly fungi like the yeast that leavens your pizza dough, and the mushrooms atop your pizza. This great kingdom of life spans the gap between microorganisms and macroorganisms (like us). In fact molds and other fungi are the closest relatives of animals; of people. We have a lot in common, including our love of pizza. The earth already has all the carbon atoms it will ever have; they are the very stuff of life. Plants use their superpower, photosynthesis, to extract carbon from thin air using sunlight. They fashion that carbon into new molecules, like carbohydrates and proteins, that are the building blocks of the beets, the potatoes, the turnip, you and I, and all life. In the end, the special task of molds is to dismantle what once lived, and exhale that carbon back into the air again. To recycle life. Recyclers don’t get much glory, but clearly there’s an underappreciated beauty here. Because of recyclers like molds, there is life after life.’
