PHOTO SHOOT PLANNING:

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:

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.

source:
https://www.jerseyheritage.org/heritage-landscape/first-tower

CONCEPTUAL:

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.

CONTACT SHEETS:

WORK AND LIFE:

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.

source:
http://www.domusnova.com/domus-loves/story/135/time-to-reflect-cody-william-smith

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

VISUAL:

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.

PHOTO SHOOT PLANNING:

WHO: As I am mainly focusing on landscape romanticism in this photo shoot, there are no models or people playing a role in any of the images. It is all about the beauty of untouched nature.

WHERE: During this photo shoot I was aiming to capture images based on romantic romanticism, therefore choosing the sand dunes as the place to do so due to the extensive scale of it. It also hosts a variety of landscapes from the dunes, grasslands and beach.

WHAT: My final images are all fairly simplistic in nature as one of my main inspirations was Franco Fontana and his minimalist landscape photography. During the editing process , saturating colors will be the aim.

HOW: I used my regular DSLR camera in order to capture the images, mostly taking them at the top of the sand dunes in order to get a wide field of view which is able to capture a variety of landscape images.

WHEN: I took the images during mid day when the sun was fairly strong and direct. The skies were clear for the majority of my photo shoot yet towards the end the weather conditions changed quite drastically and it started raining so some of the images are more dull and darker.

WHY: Landscape romanticism is a widely used theme for photography which I myself particularly enjoy due to the results of the photography, often times capturing images which are highly surreal and breathtaking.

FRANCO FONTANA INSPIRATION:

FRANCO FONTANA’S LIFE AND WORK:

Franco Fontana was born in 1933 in Modena. He took up photography in 1961 and joined an amateur club. He held his earliest solo shows in 1968 in Modena, his native city, which marked a turning point in his career. He has published over seventy books with Italian, French, German, Swiss, Spanish, American and Japanese publishers. His photographs have appeared worldwide in over 400 exhibitions, solo and collective. His images are in collections in over fifty public and private, Italian and international galleries, including: the Bibliothèque Nationale, and the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris; the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography, Rochester, the Musée de la Photographie, Arles, New York, the National Museum, Beijing, the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo, the Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Many companies have asked him to collaborate on advertising campaigns, he has published photographs in Time-Life, The New York Times, Vogue Usa, Vogue France, Il Venerdì di Repubblica, Sette del Corriere della Sera, Panorama, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Class, Epoca and others. Fontana has been invited to hold photography workshops in various schools, universities and institutes such as the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Tokyo Institute of Technology, the Académie Royale des Beaux Arts, Brussels, the Toronto University, and so on in Rome, Paris, Arles, Rockpot, Barcelona, Taipei,  Politecnico di Torino, and the LUISS University, Rome.  He has collaborated with the Centre Georges Pompidou, the Japanese Ministry of Culture, the French Ministry of Culture.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

This piece by Franco is very simple in composition, only consisting of simple line work, going along the rolling hills of the grasslands. There are large blocks of color which separate the photo into 3 sections, blocking each color into a section. Even through the photo contains a very simplistic color pallets, the colors merge and harmonize together to create an overalll “tied together”look. There is no real foreground, mid ground or background, therefore the landscape appears 2D and flat. The length and width of each block of color is fairly relative to one another therefore there is a slight sense of pattern and repetition. I believe that during editing, the colors have been over saturated in order to create impact and boldness. The natural lighting coming directly above from the sun, gives the image brightness yet lacks any sort of shadows or tone differentiation. Even though this is a photograph of fields, the image does not feel organic or natural in any sense due to the symmetry and geometry seen within it.

His reasoning for creating these images are “my goal is to interpret reality. Anyone can see the landscapes I photograph, but with my camera I try to capture the details and features that the eye cannot see. Some tell me, “I went to Provence and I saw ‘your’ landscapes”; sometimes they will have seen those places before coming to an exhibition, but only after looking at my work they see that part of reality pinpointing something they had not noticed before.”

MOST SUCCESSFUL IMAGE:

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

VISUAL:

The initial thing which hits the viewer when looking at the image is the strong and saturated colors of the grass and sea which stand out and bring the sand dunes to the forefront of the image. There is an immediate sense of scale in the image with the sea being in the background and the dunes in the forefront. The hazy and blurred horizon of the sea further accentuates this sense of endlessness. The picture is quite clearly cut into two distinct parts, the sand dunes and the sea and the sky creating almost two images of landscape. The untouched beauty of the dunes is interrupted by the presence of the man made castle which introduces themes of industrialization and human impact into the theme of landscape romanticism. Relating to the original theme of journeys and pathways, there is a very clear path leading through the middle of the image, again showing the impact that humans have on nature and how over time we have altered it. The light is very strong in this image being very bright overall in the image due to the direct overhead light coming from the sun. The time of day when this image was taken also means that the sun was bright and very powerful. The exposure of this image is also quite strong being more on the overexposed rather than the underexposed side of the spectrum.

TECHNICAL:

In terms of ISO, it was set initially at 400 making the image slightly overexposed, later on in the photo shoot turning it down to 200 in order to make the images more balanced. Due to the bright white sand in some areas of the dunes, I found it crucial to have the correct white balance set on my camera. I experimented around with this technical side of the images, trying different white balance settings, even the fluorescent lighting setting. I eventually settled on the direct sunlight setting in order to get the desired white balance in my images. The focal length whilst taking this image was 19mm, I zoomed in slightly as I wanted to offset the focus setting on my camera to focus mostly on the sand dunes and capture the sea in a slightly blurry and hazy way. In terms of logistics, the sand dunes were fairly easy yet difficult place to get to due to the terrain that I had to get across to in order to get a good perspective over the dunes and of the sea. The weather was also crucial as I wanted fairly clear skies in order to replicate similar as Franco Fontana, who’s photography is clearly distinguished by the clear blue skies which he includes.

CONCEPTUAL:

During this photo shoot, I was aiming to further explore the theme of landscape romanticism. more than there is a basis to secure either a national or international style of Romantic Landscape painting. When we speak of Romanticism we are speaking at best of a particular tendency of creative sensibility. As regards Romantic landscape and/or mountainous settings, a common and sentient focus of both Romantic poets and painters, their relationship exists most often in a tendency to an intensified personal subjectivity. The sand dunes in my opinion were a perfect example of untouched nature in Jersey, being an important historic and environmental heritage site.

CONTEXTUAL:

The sand dunes of St Ouen’s Bay, and at the heart of the Jersey National Park, are recognised as among Europe’s most important sand dunes. Les Blanches Banques, as they are called, are designated as a site of special interest (SSI) because of their special zoological, botanical, archaeological and historical features. As the most extensive area of sandy soils in Jersey, the dunes support good populations of many animals and plants not found elsewhere in Jersey. The site is mostly publicly owned and covers 1.15 km2, from the marram grass-covered seaside dune, back towards the scrubby wooded valleys at Les Quennevais.

The stabilisation of the dune system caused by the construction of the seawall now allows for the growth of less specialised fast growing vegetation which out-competes the plants adapted to sand dune conditions. The acidity of the grasslands is increasing over time – consequently changing their ecology. It’s essential for rangers to mow selected areas and cutting back scrub i to maintain the grasslands.

source:
https://blog.gov.je/2018/02/28/jerseys-ecological-sites-of-special-interest-les-blanches-banques/

MOST SUCCESSFUL IMAGES:

CONTACT SHEETS:

HOW: 

For this photo shoot, I used my regular DSLR camera in order to capture the images.

WHERE: I conducted this photo shoot in Corbiere as I thought it represented well the natural beauty we have here in Jersey. I also found the different skyline and horizon very interesting.

WHEN: This image was taken during the early morning meaning that the shadows which are cast are at a very steep angle, giving different shadows than if it were to be taken during mid-day.

WHO: I attempted to incorporate both the landscape and people into my work as I was experimenting with different themes and subjects to take forward into my project.

WHAT: Corbiere is very well know for its stunning cliffs and amazing lighthouse which is situated in the middle of the sea.

WHY: One of the themes which I was trying to convey through my work was landscape romanticism therefore I tried to capture the sublime nature of the landscape and how it has been altered through man-made forces.

MOST SUCCESSFUL PIECE:

CRITICAL ANALYSIS: 

TECHNICAL: 

In terms of actually taking this photograph, no special changes had to be made overall. I used the manual setting on my camera, using ISO 200 as it was a fairly bright day and I did not want the image to be overexposed. The image above was taken using manual zoom on my camera, increasing the focal length to 35mm as this allowed me to capture a detail shot of the landscape. The original image encompassed a lot more of the landscape but I decided to crop it in order to draw more attention to the man sitting atop the bunker, as this better captures the themes which I wanted to portray through my photography. 

VISUAL: 

The editing techniques which I used in this image means that a sort of minimalist image was created, yet retaining elements of landscape romanticism. An aspect which can be looked at is the minuscule looking person sitting atop the bunker, being overridden by the sublime nature of the landscape which appears massive in comparison to the measly human.  One of the most striking things about this image is the symmetry created and the continuation of the line between the sea and the top of the bunker. It sort of mergers the two elements into one and creates harmony between the two. Another contrast in the man made and natural is the color pallets of the two entities, the lighthouse and sea being mostly blue based whilst the bunker and human have orange and warm tones. The majority of the attention in the image goes to the bottom third of the image as this is where the focal point lies. The combination of the 3:1 ratio between the emptiness and focal point mean that it is a fairly minimal image, with simple linear elements and few colors overall.  Although touching on the minimalist style, it is style evidently exploring landscape romanticism and human impact by including the bunker and sea in the backdrop. As this image was captured quite far away, there is no real sens of foreground but rather only a mid ground and backdrop. The bunker and man being in the mid ground and the sea and light house being in the back drop. 

CONTEXTUAL:

Violent seas have caused many a shipwreck at Corbiere over the years. The name, which is probably derived from corbeau, the French for crow, is commonly found elsewhere in the French-speaking world, notably in Guernsey, the north Brittany coast, central France and Switzerland.

Jersey’s Corbière is first recorded in the 1309 Assize Roll, when the issue arose of a tub being washed ashore there, and it was a regular occurrence for a ship to founder on the rocks when rounding the corner of the Jersey coastline in stormy weather and its cargo to be washed up on the sands of St Ouen’s Bay.

It was not until 1873 that the lighthouse was constructed which now allows ships to plot a safe route. It is 11 metres tall and was the first lighthouse in the British Isles to be constructed of concrete.

The light can be seen from a distance of over 25 kilometres, but this has not stopped smaller vessels from taking a short cut through the rocks off the coastline en route from Jersey to Guernsey and coming to grief after striking a hidden rock.

CONCEPTUAL:

Two of the major styles my work tackles in this photo shoot is landscape romanticism and minimalism, each being very distinct from each other yet creating striking impact within visual media.

Minimalism is a style employed by many 20th Century artists, using a minimum amount of components such as colour, 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.

Some appreciate the openness of this idea, embracing the freedom of interpretation, where others despise the lack of direction or subject matter. For photographers, this is less of an issue, as more often than not, a photo remains a real-life moment captured on film. Despite this, we can employ some of the techniques of minimalism to enhance the impact of our work.

Romanticism was (and is) an international movement that swept Western Europe and Russia at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries.  It expanded to North America beginning around 1830. As a movement, Romanticism drew its inspiration and energy from various sources:

• the “rage for roots” triggered by linguistic discoveries
• a growing sense that the creative possibilities inherent to the rigid formalism of Enlightenment philosophy and art had been exhausted
• growing fatigue with “rule by the few”
• the resounding successes of the French and American revolutions and such later popular wars for independence as those in Greece, Poland, and Spain.

OTHER SUCCESSFUL IMAGES:

HOW: I used my regular DSLR camera for this photo shoot.

WHERE: 

I chose to conduct the photo shoot in an area which I find very interesting and I find myself visiting this walk over and over again due to the natural beauty it has. It is a small cliff path walk in St.John which is situated within a sheep farm, therefore whilst conducting the photo shoot, I will be able to incorporate not only the landscape but also the animals.

WHEN: In order to avoid direct sunlight I went out during the early morning to take photos, this meant that shadows were cast in different directions which provided variation. The cloudy weather conditions also meant that the lighting shifted a lot throughout the photo shoot, being very light and dark at points.

WHO: I was initially attempting to capture the pathways around Jersey, as an experimental concept, yet when I got there I captured an abundance of images of the sheep there as I found them to be quite interesting.

WHAT: This was an experimental photo shoot which was an initial idea from the title “journey’s and pathways”, there was no specific theme or subject I was attempting to capture with this shoot.

WHY: This was my initial response to the title of “journeys and pathways” project, it was a basic response to the title which fulfilled its literal meaning.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

VISUAL:

This photo shoot was done during 2pm in the afternoon when the sun was not directly above in the sky but shifted slightly to the right, therefore in the image we see a shadow being cast of the sheep to the left hand side of the image. The light which is cast onto the sheep is also trapped in its wool, making it have a sort of halo effect. There is an element of comedy to this image with the fact that you cannot see the faces of the sheep and only their backsides. Whilst taking this image, I zoomed in quite far in order to capture the detail in the wool. There is a distinct foreground and background in this image, the distant hill being located in the background and the sheep in the foreground.

TECHNICAL:

This was one of the most challenging photo shoots to do in my opinion due to the less than ideal weather conditions that I experienced during the shoot. At Sorel point, the cliff path walk where I did my photo shoot, the wind was extremely strong and unforgiving on the given day when I took my images. I was unable to use a tripod as during previous shoots with similar weather conditions, the set up would simply be blown away. Bulky set up like that would have also likely scared away the sheep, who I was very keen to see up close and capture pictures of.I had to crouch down for most of the shoot as this ensured that less wind was blowing against me and therefore the camera was more stable.

CONCEPTUAL:

As an initial concept, I took the literal meaning of “journeys and pathways” and took a literal journey at one of my own personal favorite places in Jersey, Sorel point in St.John. An area full of natural beauty, highlighting the beauty of Jerseys varied coastline. It was taking a trip into the beauty of natural, touching the concept of landscape romanticism.

Although its definition has been debated profusely for decades, Romanticism generally defined was an artistic and intellectual movement originating out of the late 18th and early 19th century Europe. Its movement was seen to reject the typical ideas of order, calm, harmony, balance, and idealization.

As an artistic style, it is strongly emotional, evocative of a vivid imagination. Sometimes, it actually represents the irrational emotions and subjective experiences of the artist.

CONTEXTUAL:

The sheep which reside on the pathway from Sorel point going to Devils Point are called Manx Loaghtan, a rare breed of sheep native to the Isle of Man. It is sometimes spelled as Loaghtyn or Loghtan. The sheep have dark brown wool and usually four or occasionally six horns.

The Manx Loaghtan is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep breeds, and descends from the primitive sheep once found throughout Scotland, the Hebrides, and Shetland Islands. The word Loaghtan comes from the Manx words lugh dhoan, which mean mouse-brown and describe the color of the sheep. This breed is primarily raised for its meat, which some consider a delicacy. The meat has recently received EU recognition and protection under the Protected Designation of Origin scheme, which requires products to originate in a specific region.

The Rare Breeds Survival Trust has characterized the Loaghtan as “at risk”. By the 1950s there were only 43 surviving specimens. Manx National Heritage developed two healthy flocks. These have given rise to commercial flocks on the Isle of Man, United Kingdom and Jersey. Even so, today there are still fewer than 1,500 registered breeding females

CONTACT SHEETS:

MARK GRAY:

LIFE AND WORK:

Mark Gray was born in Melbourne, Victoria on February 20th, 1981 to parents with Latvian, English and Irish heritage.

Mark’s primary schooling was undertaken at Bennettswood Primary School in Box Hill South. He then attended Camberwell High School for one year before relocating to Donvale Christian College where he developed a keen interest in graphic design. For his final year of secondary college Mark moved to Box Hill Senior Secondary which offered a highly specialised course in Graphic Design and the Arts.

Brought up in a Baptist family, Mark attended Wattle Park Chapel and became a Christian in his early teenage years.

During Mark’s mid-late teenage years his artistic side began to show, spending many hours painting graffiti art along railway lines and any blank walls he could find. Unfortunately, graffiti artists were viewed as criminals during this time and he had many run-ins with the law. Thankfully times have changed and graffiti now receives the respect it deserves as an art form with many collectors paying thousands of dollars for pieces to hang on their walls. Mark’s experience with graffiti art gave him an excellent introduction to working with colours effectively and composition techniques which came in handy later in life when he first picked up a camera.

Mark had attempted to capture the sunrise with their new digital point and shoot camera but became extremely frustrated because it simply couldn’t do it justice. He soon decided that he wanted upgrade his camera and learn the skills required to accurately record those amazing moments in time. Particularly so that he could share them with the rest of the world.

It wasn’t long after this that Mark realised landscape photography was his one true passion. He sacrificed his extensive social life and dedicated all his spare time to pushing his own boundaries and learning everything required to capture those incredible moments. His background in graffiti and design certainly gave him a head start with composition techniques however the technical side of photography was something very foreign to him. He spent many hours reading photography books, researching information online and using basic trial and error in the field until he mastered the techniques required to capture technically perfect landscape photograph’s.

Overtly ambitious, it was only 6 months later in 2005 when Mark decided to have a go at selling his work. While still working full-time as a web designer and with only a handful of prints in his portfolio, he established his first photography business ‘Australian Landscapes’ and setup a website using his existing web skills. His first clients included a number of family members, friends and even his next door neighbor.

SOURCE: https://www.markgray.com.au/about-us/about-mark-gray.php

LINKS TO LANDSCAPE ROMANTICISM: 

Romanticism was an intellectual and artistic movement that originated in the second half of the 18^th century. It was a reactionary response against the scientific rationalization of nature during the Enlightenment, commonly expressed in literature, music, painting and drama.

This was regarded as undesirable and leading to the degradation of the humans. According to the romantics, the solution was “back to nature” because nature was seen as pure and a spiritual source of renewal. It was also a way out of the fumes of the growing industrial centers for the new industrial rich.

Gray’s work takes the surrealism approach and puts a very modern spin on it. With the aid of specialized cameras and editing techniques, he creates work that is surreal and very exaggerated, with colors that stand out. He captures images in Australia, the country which he is based in, a place know for its natural beauty and charm.

HIS WORK: 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS: 

TECHNICAL:

In terms of editing, the saturation of the colors was increased to create the fiery orange sky, and it is probable that the exposure was also adjusted to make the image darker which would allow for the bright colors to pop more. During the photo shoot, it is likely that the exposure was set fairly low in order to allow the colors to pop more and create darker shadows. It is likely also that a tripod was used in order to take the image as it very crisp and the angle is low down yet very straight up. The white balance of the camera which has been used was likely set to 3000k – 4000k as this is most suitable for the time of day when the image was taken. Again, as the time of day when the image was taken means there is less sunlight, it is likely that the shutter speed was quite high to allow more light to go into the camera.

VISUAL:

The most notable aspect of this image is the bright and vivid colors of the sky, being composed of oranges, pinks, purples and yellows which blend together to create a vast expanse of sky. The eye is led to the sky with the ripples of fog which travel vertically up the picture. The eye is alternatively led around the image by the curvature of the rocks and mountain which create a sort of c shape. The rocks and mountain in the background are dark and block out the sky creative a contrast between it and the sky. It also balances out the image and makes it less busy and overwhelming to the eye. There is again contrast created in the image with the dark rocks and the light,pastel lilac fog in the bottom of the image. All the colors are in one way or another mirrored in the bottom half of the image, whether that be on the water or the reflection of the rocks. The different colors in the sky are reflected in the water yet softened out by the fog creating suppleness and fragility. In a way the fog represents the fragility of nature and how easily it can be disturbed. It sits like a vale on top of the water. A repeating pattern is created in the bottom of the image with the repeating rocks which round of halfway in to the image. Most of the light is centered in the middle of the image where the sun reflects and the bright orange is most prevalent. It then darkens of on the sides as the light sunlight fades. Some of the light also bounces of the top of the wet rocks which gives fades them more into their surroundings. The rocks which have been more submerged into the fog fade out more as the eye travels to the center of the image. The rocks in the bottom of the image are in the foreground, yet the eye is still most drawn to the background where the bright orange sun is setting. The rocks situated on the right hand side are in the mid-ground of the image.

CONTEXTUAL:

“I hadn’t been interested in photography before,” he says. “I had a girlfriend who was into it, but I thought, ‘Why would you be into that?’ It seemed like a lot of effort for not much reward.”
As he looked out over the ocean at Apollo Bay he says, “When I saw these colors, I realized these moments can happen.”

He shot some snaps of the scene before him, but he was disappointed with the results. He didn’t feel they did justice to what he had seen. So he started researching photographers and how they captured their images.

“I asked a guy in a store what kind of camera Ken Duncan used, and he told me it was a panoramic, but he talked me out of buying one,” says Gray.
At that stage of his development, it was sound advice. Instead he bought a Fuji S7000, a neat digital unit, and put panoramic photography “on the back burner”. Initially, though, he started cropping the images from his S7000. However, with its fixed lens he says he soon found he was pushing its boundaries. But he was happy to use it as a learning tool, and he kept the camera for around nine months.

CONCEPTUAL: 

Gray aims to, “get it right in-camera as much as possible” and doesn’t use colour filters. “If the colour’s not there to begin with, I don’t feel I should have to add the colour. I’m quite happy to go back to a location and wait for what I want.”

Despite his youthful training in digital technology, he’s keen to minimize any post-production work with his images. “If you’re spending more time editing on a computer than shooting the image, the work is becoming digital art,” he says. “One thing that really inspired me to get into photography was that I was sitting in an office in a corporate environment. I feel more at home in nature. Really, my view is that some people enjoy editing on a computer and I think that should be called digital art.”

WHAT IS LANDSCAPE ROMANTICISM: 

There is no uniformity of opinion on what constitutes a Romantic landscape, and more problematically what actually defines the parameters of Romanticism itself (1). Whether speaking of landscape or other Romantic genre, there is no unifying or material principle anymore than there is a basis to secure either a national or international style of Romantic Landscape painting. When we speak of Romanticism we are speaking at best of a particular tendency of creative sensibility. As regards Romantic landscape and/or mountainous settings, a common and sentient focus of both Romantic poets and painters, their relationship exists most often in a tendency to an intensified personal subjectivity. But taken further while there may be a broad agreement that there is a certain sensibility of perception, it might also be argued that these perceptions are also shaped and defined by the topography of the particular landscape or mountain scenes chosen. Therefore any distinction between English and German Romantic landscape theory, while attended by a certain general sense of shared sensibility, is nonetheless different in terms of the particular landscape settings that were perceived. But necessarily and by natural extension they are also differential framed by the epistemological consciousness of the persons perceiving them.

source: http://www.zankijosip.com/romantic-landscapes/

LANDSCAPE ROMANTICISM IN PAINTINGS: 

LANDSCAPE ROMANTICISM IN PHOTOGRAPHY:

IDEAS: 

With the title journeys and pathways, I feel that there are 4 main subject areas which I would be able to tackle. Landscape, abstract, portraiture and photo-montage are the areas which would be appropriate to go down as they are able to portray journeys and pathways in an understandable way.