Journeys and Pathways – Shoot 1 (Psycho-geography & Experimental Shoots)

1st Shoot Contact Sheet:

For this shoot, I wanted to focus on the areas involving security/ surveillance, as well as things that have been left behind(preferably something that has a story, or at least seems as though it does). During this shoot I also tried to get detailed shots of car wheels and rims, as these are the objects in contact with the ground whenever someone gets into a car and drives wherever they need to go. I found it interesting how each wheel had a distinctive look, from the large alloy wheels of a luxurious Bentley, to the unique yellow and purple wheels of a Mitsubishi 4×4. I also found that a lot of signs throughout town were in a poor and dilapidated state, showing the metaphorical journey of time has slowly destroyed or covered up the signs.

Final Images:

For this set of images, I noticed an old tractor that was left parked in an overgrown car park. I wanted to show the aged and tired red/orange paintwork and to give the vehicle a story. Following on from my original idea of photographing old, forgotten objects, and this fits perfectly into that category. Despite the warm colours of the tractor, I personally find this set of images to be quite sad, as they have an atmosphere of abandonment.

I wanted to try and use elements of psycho-geography, using ideas of surveillance and security, combined with old discarded items such as newspapers and other litter people have left around. When I was compiling these images together, I liked the idea of having the security cameras surrounding the newspaper, where the only visibly clear word is ‘convict’. I also like the use of colours used in this image, as each picture inside of the final piece has a similar colour palate as the one diagonal to it.

1st Experimental Shoot Contact Sheet:

In this small shoot I wanted to try and explore some of the ideas I was having around Journeys and pathways, most notably light trails from the back of cars. I have done a small amount of this kind of photography before, but this time I had a better idea of what I was doing, as well as bringing a tripod to hold the camera steady. I also used a wireless remote trigger for the camera to avoid camera shake when pressing the shutter button down. I also used the “BULB” mode on the camera to capture some of the images and found it was easier than having to set a certain amount of shutter speed, as it was easier to time the picture with cars going past. I also tried experimenting with photography on public transport, unfortunately, as I took these pictures late at night, there were no other people on the bus, which meant I couldn’t quite get the kind of photos that I wanted. I also tried experimenting with the contrast Between old and new buildings, but as it was dark, it was difficult to capture both  the lit up modern architecture in the same frame as the darker, dimly lit older buildings.

2nd Experimental Shoot Contact Sheet:

For this shoot I wanted to utilize a macro lens to get very close up pictures of circuitry and computer components, however I didn’t have access to a real macro lens and instead used a trick that I found online when researching. I found that by taking the lens off of the camera and flipping it around (so that the part that is normally attached to the camera is facing away, towards the subject) created a very zoomed in, macro effect with a very shallow focus. The outcome of this is the ability to create images that are much closer to the subject than any other lens I own.

3rd Experimental Shoot:

Contact Sheet:

I wanted to include a some images involving old and new buildings, and while out on a more recent shoot, I found an interesting way of doing this; I used the reflections of the glass from newer buildings to show the older ones. I found this to be quite effective in terms of exploring the concept of journeys and pathways, due to how it is like the newer buildings are looking down on the older ones, as the are much taller, as well as much more reflective/shiny and new. Even though I did not take too many pictures like this, I think that it turned out how I wanted it to after doing some basic adjustments in Lightroom and making the B&W.

Final Images:

Landscape Romanticism

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:

THE BOYLE FAMILY- FIRST RESPONSE

My Response:

Contact sheet from first photo shoot:

Evaluation

For this photo shoot I simply just walked around the school and outside and tried to look out for things to photograph that would be appropriate.  I originally looked closely at how the Boyle Family tried to work and focused on the idea of ‘copying’ them. For my first image I found shadows being produced through a stair case creating an interesting pattern. I cropped the image to strongly focus on the pattern instead of the background, then went to adding a subtle filter and cleaned up the pattern to create a warmer feeling to the image. For the second image I photographed a pothole and added black and white feature enhancing the shadows and specific shades to give a more dramatic appearance. For the last image a well as emphasizing the yellow lines i the first image much like images produced by the Boyle Family, I wanted to add my own twist on the selection of images so filtered the last one in to three different images all consisting of vibrant different colors, highlighting the shades, shapes and outlines being produced.

Photo shoot Ideas

Idea 1

Journey of an Object

My first idea involves documenting images of old objects and antiques, and then attach the journey of the object to the image. So for example, I have a set of stamps from Spain 1923, I photograph them then overlay them on top of either posters or postcards from the same time frame.

Rough Example

Idea 2

Incorporation

Use the objects from the first shoot and try and incorporate them into a modern setting. For example a 1965 Horse Riding Rosette could be added onto either someones bag or jacket where they have modern badges.

Peter Blake

Idea 3

Decay

Completely contrasting to my other ideas, i could show the journey of decay or life through either a molding food over time or a wilting flower.

Stocksy United – Wilting Dahlia

Journeys and Pathways – Moodboard

I’ve put the themes which I am most interested in doing into this mood board.

These are taking a more literal approach to the theme of ‘journeys and pathways’ as cars are one of if not the most popular mode of transport in modern society. As well as roads literally being pathways to travel along.

I am interested in photographing cars because it allows me to search for strong lines and shapes in the bodywork, whilst photographing roads also gives a chance to explores strong shapes, and sometimes curves.

Journeys and Pathways

Journeys and Pathways

 

Journeys and pathways moodboard

For our photography exam, the theme we will be looking at is Journeys and Pathways. Any journey, whether long or short, can yield a wealth of resources for an artist or designer. This theme can be interpreted in many ways, from actual physical journeys from one place to another or a metaphorical journey, maybe following someone who’s trying to achieve something, ect.

Some suggestions I could look at:
  • Cars, trains, planes, boats, coaches, bikes, ect.
  • Hiking, camping, caravanning, hotels.
  • Obsessions, desires, pursuits, achievements.
  • Oceans, rivers, canals, motorways, bridges, corridors, staircases, packed lunches, service stations, mobile cafes, drive-thrus, airport lounges, bus stations, train stations.
  • Escapism, fantasy, science fictions, books, comics, quests.
  • Tracks, footprints, jet trails, bow waves, oil slicks.
  • Detectives, clues, pursuits, bloodhounds, foxhunting, treasure hunts, geocaching.
  • Internet, optic fibers, cables, communications, text messages, emails.
  • protest marches, processions, pilgrimages.
  • Adventure trails, treks, mazes, maps, tunnels.
Starting ideas I have at the moment:
  • Following someone’s journey on a bus or train.
  • Photos of animals running or flying somewhere.
  • Camping
  • Footprints on sand/mud.