The occupational shots

The top 10 shots

Ansel Adams

The photographer I chose to edit my images in the style of is Ansel Adams, who was recognised for his monochromatic landscape photos. He tended to use a full tonal range in his photographs, creating striking images such as the ones below.

Adams was an environmentalist, meaning he was passionate about protecting the wildlife and natural environment supporting it. He aimed to encourage the conservation of nature and the wilderness through the use of his camera and the photographs he produced with it, allowing people to see the true beauty of nature.

I like the idea of producing black and white images as it adds a timeless quality to the product. I felt it would be appropriate for this project as the occupation is a huge part of Jersey’s heritage and adds a powerful aspect to the final result.

Editing process

I didn’t change much apart from the colouring of the bunker so as to make the ivy more clear and the gate more defined.

Whilst editing this image of a WWII tunnel I made the cracks and deterioration more defined. I also darkened the tunnel to give the image an eerier vibe.

I cropped the image so as to keep the focus on the concrete pillars and the mill behind it, which had been previously used as a cooling matrix for the German generators. I also increased the clarity and colour of the image and decreased the light intensity as it defines the structures more.

I rotated the image to straighten the coastline, making it centred and showing an accurate view of where the people behind the gun would be aiming.

I cropped some of the foreground out and spot blemished parts of the grass that’s at the front of the shot. I then increased the clarity and decreased light intensity to keep the tower in focus.

I cropped and rotated the image for aesthetic purposes, except I kept the top half of the machine gun port and the wires to show the German propaganda on a bunker wall, which had been common ground for the massacre of enemies.

I decreased the light intensity and slightly rotated the photo to make the text straight and clear, which translates to “We drive against England”

I increased the contrast of the image and the ting slightly to get more definition on the concrete pillars that were used to stop tanks from driving up during the occupation.

I increased the clarity of the image and decreased the light intensity in order to define the middle of the image, displaying the barrel of the gun.

I increased the clarity and the warmth of the image to highlight the erosion present in the bunker door, showing how its been completely neglected after the occupation, due to the emotional attachment to it, which had been pejorative.

Final editing process

Here’s the final development of my images, in the style of Ansel Adams:

Project Evaluation:

This project on the occupation has allowed me to explore the symbolic power photography is capable of. Initially, I mostly began looking at the architectural aspects of bunkers from WWII; However, as I spent more time on the first shoot, I started to notice how something as simple as overgrown plants, rust and cobwebs could be representative of the grief and trauma caused by the occupation in the later years of the war, as it shows how derelict everything from that era (that had been constructed by the Germans) had become. This abandonment really resonated with me and gave me insight into the feelings of the islanders who fell victim to the tyrannical reign of their beloved island.

During the project, I experimented with levels, the depth of my images and took both landscape and portrait photos. I looked at how foreground affects the focus of a photo and began to consider how to change the perspective of an image.

Looking back at the photos I’d taken, if I was to do the project again, I would’ve taken a lot more photos as I hesitated at many of the shoots. I would evaluate my images before moving destination and I would take more time to get everything into focus. I would experiment more with natural light and artificial light to see how that could have changed the mood regarding each image.

I could’ve improved my collection of images by photographing old items and remains from that era or people who lived during that time or monuments with immense sentimental and emotional value as a way to humble the viewer of the image, reminding them of the ultimate torture society went through for those years.

Overall, I’m quite happy with how my project has developed leading to the final image I’ve edited and selected below.

Personally, I feel as though this was the most successful image as it captures Jersey’s beautiful coast behind a mass structure built exclusively for malicious intent. Generally, I believe it allegorically represents how Jersey was occupied and the black and white editing of the image helps to date the gun emplacement back to the era in which the war took place, due to its “timeless quality” I had explored earlier in my research.

I think the way the barrel of the gun is directly in the middle of the image is a key reason why the photo works so well; It allows the viewer to gain the same perspective that a German soldier would have had. It also makes the viewer feel subordinate as the structure the feel like they’re standing behind had the power to carry out hundreds of massacres on Jersey and British allies, which can arouse feelings of grief, despite not actively being there to witness it. The symmetry of the metal bars on either side personally represents the islanders, who were regimented and controlled by Germany as they almost line up like bars of a cage.

The serenity of the sea in the background allows the viewer to see that the photo was not taken during the occupation but creates imagery, as they can picture the vessels that would have been out there, almost creating a sense of nostalgia.