I started out by using the exposure bracketing skills that I learnt to create this HDR image using 3 images that I took, all with different exposure levels. Then I edited the merged image by increasing the saturation and adjusting the levels to create the final romanticised image I visualised beforehand. I also had to edit the tilt of the image, as the horizon was not entirely level.

With the second of my chosen images I decided to produce it in black and white, since Ansel Adams and other romantic photographers used black and white photography for their images as well. When it was in black and white, I edited it further to increase the contrast and the levels of black and white and also the grey midtones to produce the best version of my original image.

This image took the most editing due to the obvious man-made structures on the horizon. Because this photoshoot focused on romantic landscape photography, I decided to edit out the large building and tower to remove any non-natural aspects of the scene. Afterwards I increased the contrast and saturation to further the romantic feel of the image, and to highlight the colours in the sky cause by the setting sun.

Shoot 1-

Shoot 2-

Explanations for some images-

The term “exposure bracketing” means to merge variations of the same image together, which have been under-exposed and over-exposed, to create an image that has been perfectly exposed.

To successfully carry out exposure bracketing, the photographer needs a tripod to keep the exact same image angle throughout, or the final image will become blurred.

To begin with, the photographer would frame their image how they like and adjust the exposure to a normal level for the setting, usually 1/60. Then they would take the exact same image (hence the need for a tripod) but the exposure would be decreased by half, so 1/30. If the photographer feels that it is necessary they can go a step further and take the same image again with half the exposure, in this case 1/15. Afterwards, the photographer would take another picture with double the exposure, so 1/120, or the nearest equivalent on their camera. Again, if necessary, they can go again with an exposure of 1/240, or the nearest equivalent.

Once the photographer is assured that they have captured all the images they need, they would then merge the 3 (or more) images in Photoshop, or another similar program.

This technique ensures that the both the foreground and the background are visible to the image and that there is a good tonal range, as both dark and light aspects of the image will have been captured by the photographer.

Ansel Adams was an influential landscape photographer most widely known for his black and white images of the American West. He helped develop a method of understanding and using tonal range called the Zone System, and his images are well-known for their wide range of dark shadows and bright white highlights. ​

He became a pioneer in Romaticised landscape photography, taking many series of images in the American West, particularly Yosemite National Park and the mountainous structures found there.

Key Image Analysis:

TECHNICAL:
Adams uses natural lighting and a high tonal range to have a highly contrasted image and make the photo more intense. The high tonal range causes the sunlight reflecting off the river to stand out as bright, as well as increase the shadows in the dark rock on the mountains and the darker trees in the foreground. He has most likely used a tripod and a slow shutter speed to capture all this  detail and focus the entire image, creating the high tonal range that can be seen here.

VISUAL:
This image has a range of different textures, from the water in the river to the hard rock mountain and the trees and scrub-land , as well as the clouds in the sky, which creates balance throughout the image and  stays with the theme of the harmony of nature that the Romantic photographers strove for.​

CONCEPTUAL:
The ideals of Romanticism in art and photography are that nature is powerful, beautiful and unpredictable. This is reflected in the almost heavenly light coming from behind the mountain, which imposes over the whole scene and creates a sense  of majesty.​

CONTEXTUAL:
Adams himself spent a lot of his life taking photographs in this region of the American West and he was inspired by the untouched landscapes and the power of nature there. ​ This is represented through the use of photography as his own view, and of the camera lens as his own gaze.

Romanticism as a movement started in late 18th century Europe as a response to and rejecting the Age of Enlightenment and the focus on logic and reason that it brought, as opposed to the Romantic emphasis on emotional sensitivity, imagination and the sense of spirituality or religion. Romanticism in art used nature as inspiration and broke from the traditional use of Bible scenes in painting, instead looking at nature as the “dwelling place of God.” From a non-religious standpoint, Romantic artists portrayed nature as beautiful, powerful and occasionally destructive.

Romantic photographers drew from these ideas in their work, capturing the landscape as unpredictable and uncontrollable. Mostly it simply relies on the landscape to tell the story, but sometimes humans and animals are involved in the narrative as well.

The Romantic movement in photography was also heavily inspired by the old Romantic painters and their work, often taking some aspects of paintings directly and transferring them into photography, so therefore to be a successful Romantic photographer, it is important to recognise the themes of Romantic paintings in the 18th century.

This clearly shows the common themes of using nature in its unspoilt and pure form, as well as natural lighting and conveying various emotions through the visual art.

LINKS:
https://www.nephotographyguild.com/2018/01/romanticism-landscape-photographer

The topic of landscape photography is one of the most popular forms of photography as it involves such a wide variety of styles, locations and editing types. On the whole, it includes an image of a natural landscape without the bare minimum signs of human involvement, therefore no cars of modern buildings would be seen.

This could involve a seascape, as pictured above, mountains, great plains, or simply the view from one’s window. Landscape photography in general tends to convey the vastness of nature and its beauty, normally in colour but also in black and white.

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.​

The definition of photomontage is cutting, rearranging, overlapping and gluing parts of different photographs to make one new picture. Sometimes it is digitally edited, normally using Adobe Photoshop, instead of physically being cut apart in order to make the final image neater and to make the transition between the different images smoother. 

Many would credit the first known example of photomontage to Oscar Gustave Rejlander, with his ”The Two Ways of Life,” shown above. Quickly, many other artists would paste pictures together in this same style, later evolving from physically cutting and pasting to superimposing the images digitally, and the term ‘photomontage’ was created. 

Modern 20th century examples of artists using photomontage include Martha Rosler, an American artist who tends to focus on the everyday life experience and women’s perspectives in her photomontages, as well as the recurring themes of war and human conflict. She used images from popular mass-market magazines as well as official documentation images from various wars, for example the Vietnam War, to create her final images.