1. An introduction to landscape photography, including a definition and mood-board of influential images
2. A Case Study on Ansel Adams or Edward Weston or Fay Godwin or Don McCullin (or similar)

3. Create a blog post that defines and explains what Romanticism is in Landscape Photography…include examples and make reference to Romanticism in other art-forms eg painting

Homework Assignment

• Due Date : Wed 16th October 2019
• Take 150-200 photos of romanticised landscapes
• Try to keep to natural / rural settings with minimal human impact
• We will show you how to “EXPOSURE BRACKET” and you must try using this technique for at least some of your photographs
• We will then show you how to convert these images to HDR using photoshop

Try to get out in the morning / evening light or even at night and capture interesting light effects, colours, mist, fog, and shadows too…

Possible locations include : woods, forests, sand dunes, beaches, fields, valley settings, cliff and coastal areas, sea-scapes (looking out to sea), church-grounds etc

We will be looking at Romanticism as a starting point and if you click here you will have a better understanding of some of the roots of landscape in contemporary photography….

Week 5

The focus of your study and research this week is natural landscapes and the notion of ROMANTICISM in Landscape  Art and then later, Photography.

The Age of The Enlightenment (1700-1800ish)

VS

The Age of Romanticism (1800-1900ish)

“Writers and artists rejected rationalism for the same reason that rationalism was rejected by the movement as a whole- it was in rejection of Enlightenment, which had sucked emotion from writing, politics, art, etc. Writers and artists in the Romantic period favored depicting emotions such as trepidation, horror, and wild untamed nature.”

“The ideals of these two intellectual movements were very different from one another. The Enlightenment thinkers believed very strongly in rationality and science. … By contrast, the Romantics rejected the whole idea of reason and science. They felt that a scientific worldview was cold and sterile.”

Blog Post 1+2: Define, describe and explain Romanticism (in landscape photography). Include a mood-board of appropriate images. Include at least 1 x hyperlink to an appropriate and relevant website. Embed an appropriate and relevant video / podcast.

Blog Post 3: Create an in-depth case study that analyses and interprets the work of a key landscape photographer…

For example : Ansel Adams / f/64 group / Edward Weston / Fay Godwin / Minor White etc

Remember you MUST use TECHNICAL / VISUAL / CONTEXTUAL / CONCEPTUAL to analyse effectively a key image…

Blog Post 4: add your contact sheet / select your best 5-10 images / 1 x final image / include edits and screen shots to show process

• analyse and evaluate your images and process
• show your understanding of composition, exposure, control of light, and effective use  of lenses to create NATURAL landscape images that range from wide angle to telephoto as a response to how your choice of photographer(s) developed the genre…

Use your research to help guide you when taking your own photographs…

• create a mind-map / mood-board of potential locations around Jersey that you could record and create romanticized landscape photographs of….look for extremes (either calm or wild, derelict, desolate, abandoned or stormy, battered and at the mercy of nature)
• use the wild and dynamic weather and elements to help create a sense of atmosphere, and evoke an emotional response within your photo assignment
• aim to photograph the coastline, the sea, the fields, the valleys, the woods, the sand dunes etc
• photograph in the “golden hour” before dark, at sunset or during sunrise…and include rain, fog, mist, ice, wind etc in your work
• look for LEADING LINES such as pathways, roads etc to help dissect your images and provide a sense of journey / discovery to them

EXTENSION TASK: EXPOSURE BRACKETING AND HDR IMAGERY

Exposure bracketing means that you take two more pictures: one slightly under-exposed (usually by dialing in a negative exposure compensation, say -1/3EV), and the second one slightly over-exposed (usually by dialing in a positive exposure compensation, say +1/3EV), again according to your camera’s light meter.

High Dynamic Range

HDR stands for high dynamic range, and it essentially takes a series of images, each shot with a different exposure from darkest to lightest. HDR combines the best parts of the three overexposed, underexposed, and balanced shots to create a dramatic image with beautiful shadowing and highlights

HDR adjustments in Adobe Lightroom click here

HDR adjustments in Adobe Photoshop click here

Task : try a few variation of exposure bracketing and then try using HDR controls to create the exposures that you want…you may already have pre-sets on your phone or camera to help you do this, but experimenting manually will help your understanding!

Ensure that you include the following key terms in your blog posts…

• Composition (rule of thirds, balance, symmetry)
• Perspective (linear and atmospheric, vanishing points)
• Depth (refer to aperture settings and focus points, foreground, mid-ground and back-ground)
• Scale (refer to proportion, but also detail influenced by medium / large format cameras)
• Light ( intensity, temperature, direction)
• Colour (colour harmonies / warm / cold colours and their effects)
• Shadow (strength, lack of…)
• Texture and surface quality
• Tonal values ( contrast created by highlights, low-lights and mid-tones)

Atmospheric Perspective

VS

https://petapixel.com/2016/09/14/20-composition-techniques-will-improve-photos/

Good Luck!

Camera Handling Skills

I used this found image for the background because it represented the battle of Britain and how the people of the time would have seen it, from below looking up above. I adjusted the brightness and contrast to make the planes stand out more, as well as the boats, and the levels to make it contrast even more.​

With the eraser tool I added this image of my own and resized it to fit where I intended it to. I adjusted the levels as well, in order to make the green of the camouflage stand out more and contrast against the black and white of the background. This was additionally to represent the past and present coming together in the image. ​

Using a different found image I adjusted the levels and exposure to increase the contrast of the black and white in the image, then cut it out and layered it onto the previous image. I used this image because it mirrored the position the previous two figures were in and stays with the concept of the past and present coming together.​

Finally I added this image of the Red Arrows to add another section of colour to the image and to tie together the different types of planes. I increased the saturation and intensity of the smoke colours and reduced the opacity before layering it behind the two figures on the right to complete the photomontage.​

Arnold Newman

Arnold Newman took this photo before World War two, years after the Nazis where defeated.

The man photographed is Alfred Krupp, an industrialist.

My initial impression of this image was that the man in the foreground was a business owner with his factory behind him. His stern face creates a feeling of power and authority.

Natural light enters from the top of the photo, highlighting the the factory through the middle of the photo. The natural light creates contrast with the dark corners and foreground, and a frame is created by the archway, suggesting a divide with the man in front of the arch symbolising his importance, showing he may be a manager or owner.