As my project is called Bunker Archaeology, I decided to do more research into photographers who have also focused their work around documenting bunkers and war relics, in order to take inspiration from them that I can use in my own work.
The first photographer that I researched was Jonathan Andrew, a UK born photographer who’s Abandoned WWII Bunker series has showcased a range of war relics, left over from the second world war:
Andrews project has inspired me in my own work, as his approach towards taking images with high levels of contrast, using mainly dark colours and textures to emphasise the harsh shapes of the bunkers. As well as displaying these structures as harsh and menacing, the use of texture and dark colour palette also helps to reflect the dark atmosphere and hopeless attitudes that WWII brought about, and thus I believe the use of shadows and harsh texture is fitting. Furthermore, I feel like Andrew’s use of a small amount of light highlighting certain areas of the bunkers is effective, as it allows for contrast between shadows and lighter areas, which in turn makes the images seem even more menacing, and highlights that each structure stands alone, representing the left overs from one of the most deadly wars in human history.
I took inspiration from Andrew, as I feel that during y own project, I will be editing images in order to emphasise the texture of the images. which I feel will give the images a harsher appearance, thus reflecting the harsh atmosphere of the occupation (during which the structures were built). Furthermore, I will be taking inspiration from Andrew’s work in terms of his use of shade and light, and will be using the same concept during my editing process, in which I will make some images black and white in order to show the contrast between light and dark areas, allowing shadows to appear darker and more menacing, while also allowing the images to remain timeless due to the lack of colour, and thus they can easily be associated with the time period in which the original bunkers/war structures were built.
After finalizing and editing my final images, I re-visited the work of Jonathan Andrews to compare it to my own, and found that I had taken inspiration from a range of his images, especially with aspects such as the texture and contrasting colours:
For the above images, mine are seen on the left, and Andrew’s on the right. There are similarities between the images in terms of texture, colour themes and overall atmospheres (harsh, cold and menacing).
Link to Jonathan Andrew’s Bunker Project: www.jonathanandrewphotography.com/Projects/WWII-Relics/9