For my second response to Luke Fowler, I decided to take pictures in Mojacar during the day as well as the night. When two images are exposed in one frame, the viewer is able to see the relationship between the juxtaposed photographs.

I captured images during the day under natural light and used flash photography for some of the night time shots when there wasn’t enough light source to capture the image. When returning to the same location during the night, I had to make sure that I was in the same postition to get the exact composition as the day time image.

On Photoshop I included a black frame that surrounds the pair of images to replicate Luke Fowler’s two-frame films. I edited the images on VSCO to create a film effect to replicate his photography style.

Evaluation

Overall, I think the side by side comparison of the two images in day and night was successful because you get to see the same location under different lighting. The black frame helps to link the two images together while the comparative images using different levels of lighting creates contrast to emphasise the juxtaposition.

In order to improve upon my technique, I would change the order of my photoshoot and capture the nocturnal images first of all. A number of my night time images weren’t clear due to inadequate lighting, blurring and the limited range of the flash. After capturing clear images at night it would be much easier to replicate the same composition during the daytime. Additionally I would ensure that I had a tripod available to maintain camera stability and reduce movement that made some of my photos blurry.

For my last photo shoot, in response to The New Topographic, I captured images of the mountainous landscape in Mojacar. However, in many images you can see how vehicles have destroyed the surface vegetation creating dry, compacted patches of dirt. Although the mountains and shrubs create a beautiful landscape, they have been partly destroyed by human actions. The destruction of the natural landscape links to The New Topographic because nature has been steadily degraded by mankind.

Like all the previous photoshoots in response to The New Topographic, the images have been edited on VSCO with filter and grain.

Contact Sheet

My Response

For my third photo shoot in response to The New Topographics, I decided to capture images in Stephen Shore’s photography style. He was known for his use of colour in photographs to increase the sense of detachment. Shore would often photograph intersections and roadside landscape.

I captured several images of the roadside landscape in Mojacar. All the images depict how man has altered the land by damaging vegetation and constructing roads. The combination of nature and urban development emphasise the concept of man having control over the landscape.

Once I selected the best images on the contact sheet, I downloaded them onto my phone and added the filter vivd warm because of the intense warm effect. This replicates Stephen Shore’s use of colour in his photographs and the film effect. The filter also intensifies the blue sky making the image appear vintage along with the grain.

Contact Sheet

Final Outcomes

Evaluation

My final outcomes have been successful because they reflect the control and power humans have over the landscape. The images depict a landscape altered by humans and reflect the growing unease about how the natural landscape is being eroded by urban growth. Works labelled The New Topographic show the relationship between man and nature through the photographic documentation of anthropogenic influences upon the land and scenes of suburban sprawl. The banal aesthetic can also be seen through the simple compositions of my photographs. The barren nature of the landscape in the southeast corner of Spain emphasise the monotonous uniformity of the urban features laid upon it.

For my second photoshoot in response to The New Topographics, I decided to take pictures in the old town of Mojacar. This location has a maze of narrow streets, white houses and trailing bougainvillaea. The old town clings to a rocky hillside. This was another great location to take pictures because it is an unusual urban development built by the Moors. The viewer can clearly see how man has altered this land through the architecture upon the landscape.

After the photoshoot, I put all the images onto a contact sheet to make a selection of the best images in response to The New Topographics. The selected images have then been edited on VSCO so I could make the images appear like film by adding filters and grain. Most of the final outcomes have remained in colour while one image has been turned black and white.

Contact Sheet

Final Outcomes

Evaluation

This photoshoot was successful as I managed to capture 50 images of urban development whilst I was in the old town of Mojacar. This meant that I had several photos to select from. I captured various pictures of different architecture to show the control and power human beings have over nature. I think my pictures reflect the style of the photographers involved in The New Topographic since my final outcomes have a banal aesthetic of the urban landscape.

To respond to The New Topographics, I went along Mojacar Playa a tourist resort located on the coast. I took several pictures of man altered landscapes so when I uploaded them onto the contact sheet I could select the best images to edit on VSCO. I wanted to show how the natural landscape was being eroded by urban development through my images.

Mojacar, in the province of Algeria is officially a desert region and is certainly an arid part of Spain. Mojacar was the perfect location to take pictures responding to The New Topographics since it has lots of white washed houses that have been constructed over the years. Lots of these houses have been constructed on or near natural features such as the beach and the mountains behind Mojacar town.

Contact Sheet

Final Outcomes

Evaluation

Overall I think my photoshoot for my first response to The New Topographics was successful since I managed to capture several images where nature and man made constructions are present in the same place. The pictures I have captured have a similar banal aesthetic to the photographers who were part of The New Topographics such as Robert Adams and Lewis Baltz. When editing the images on VSCO, I altered the saturation, exposure and contrast. I also added filters and increased the grain to make my images appear like film. Most of the photographs labeled “The New Topographics” were in black and white, so I decided to add b&w filters to a few of my final outcomes.