For this photo shoot I am going to explore rural scenery on the Island which I can take successful landscape imagery of. I am going to stay away from taking photographs of the obvious, touristy places such as the towers, St Brelades beach, sunsets at St Ouens, etc. Instead I am going to take inspiration from photographers such as Fay Godwin, Richard Misrach, Eliot Porter and others. I am going to go to places such as: the sandunes, St Catherine’s woods, Plemont caves, Dolmens, Greve De Lecq, Cliff paths, Bouley Bay and green lanes.
Romanticism was an artistic and intellectual movement which took place in Europe between the late eighteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries. Understood broadly as a break from the guiding principles of the Enlightenment – which established reason as the foundation of all knowledge – the Romantic Movement emphasized the importance of emotional sensitivity and individual subjectivity. For the Romantics, imagination, rather than reason, was the most important creative faculty. Nature was also a source of inspiration in the visual arts of the Romantic Movement. Breaking with the longer tradition of historical and allegorical paintings, which took scenes from history or the Bible as their principle subject matter, Romantic artists like J. M. W. Turner and John Constable – as well as print-makers and engravers like Samuel Palmer and Thomas Bewick – chose instead to depict the natural world, most notably landscapes and maritime scenes. Romantic artists depicted nature to be not only beautiful, but powerful, unpredictable and destructive. This constituted a radical departure from Enlightenment representations of the natural world as orderly and benign.
Romanticism in Landscape Photography
Photographers tend to idealistically portray the natural world. Turning ruin and poverty back to landscape, images of the natural world currently depict an almost surreal, fantastical world that we imagine is more like that of a CGI movie than the stuff of real life.
Fay Godwin (17 February 1931 – 27 May 2005) was a British photographer known for her black-and-white landscapes of the British countryside and coast. She produced portraits of dozens of well-known writers, photographing almost every significant literary figure in 1970’s and 1980’s England, as well as numerous visiting foreign authors. Fay said, ‘My way into photography was through family snaps in the mid-1960s. I had no formal training, but after the snaps came portraits, reportage, and finally, through my love of walking, landscape photography, all in black and white. A Fellowship with the National Museum of Photography in Bradford led to urban landscape in colour, and very personal close-up work in colour has followed.’ After the publication of her first books, she was a prolific publisher, working mainly in the landscape tradition to great acclaim and becoming the nations most well-known landscape photographer. Her early and mature work was informed by the sense of ecological crisis present in late 1970’s and 1980’s England.
Image Analysis
In this image Godwin has used the natural lighting as the image has been captured in an outdoor environment. In this particular image there are a range of tones, varying from dark shades in the grass and bright, almost white tones in the sky and clouds. In addition, the photograph being taken in black and white sharpens the contrast between colours in the image. Although this image has dark and light tones in it, neither are exactly black or white they are just darker and lighter. This leaves the image feeling more natural and untouched, where as if it was edited where the dark parts of the image were fully black it wouldn’t look like an image of nature. To capture this image Godwin has positioned herself in the middle of the path, which has lead to the leading lines that are presented to the viewer, creating a singular focal point. The focal point in this image is very clearly where the pathway meets the hill in the background and looks as though it ends. The way she has positioned herself to take this image also places the end of the path in the middle of the photograph , which again draws the viewers eyes to this particular point in the image.
Rural landscape photography is in many ways similar to photographing urban landscapes. The difference is rural photography is about capturing the ‘life’ in the countryside. The term ‘rural landscape’ describes the diverse portion of the nations land area not densely populated or intensively developed, and not set aside for preservation in a natural state. The rural landscape provides natural resources, food and fiber, wildlife habitat and inspiration.
Mood Board
Mind Map
Composition in Rural Landscape photography
Main subject: often, in a not so good composition it is hard to tell what the main subject is. The image has too many elements, creating chaos. Isolate your main subject and let the rest of the landscape compliment it. Create depth: in rural photography one of your challenges is to create depth in the photographs. One way to give a sense of three dimensions is to make sure to include a foreground a middle ground and a background in your composition. Most successful landscape photographs are captured in this way. Different Angles: Move around and look for better angles to photograph. The first vantage point you pick at a given scene is rarely the best. Always look again. Include the sky: An interesting sky with clouds gives dimension to an image. If it is an overcast day with a white boring sky, you should consider not including the sky at all as it doesn’t add anything to the image. Weather: Don’t let the weather stop you. Stormy clouds can be beautiful. A dramatic sky over an abandoned house can take your rural photo to the next level. Go out in different weather and make the most of it. After rain comes sun – within minutes the sun can break through the clouds and create some beautiful sun rays. Create Mood: On the countryside, with fewer people, it can be quiet. Try to create loneliness or a mood that makes the viewer feel you are photographing far away from the city. Rural landscape photography is about reflecting the less busy everyday life in the countryside compared to the busy life in the cities.
key themes– the genre of this image is landscapes as it’s very obvious, its a photo taken of a pathway and reservoir in England in 1977 which isn’t too long ago.
content- the subject of this image is the path and the reservoir however this image also captures a lot of the land and a big section of the sky which could be sunlight coming through or it could be dull and rainy. This image is black and white therefore it’s slightly difficult to tell. Fay has titled this image ‘path and reservoir’ as that’s what she mainly captured in this image. The path is very close in frame and you can see it in more detail whereas the reservoir is very far away but you can just about tell that it’s a reservoir as it’s very reflective and bright in contrast to the different tones in the image. The image is very real as it’s in the nature and it’s been taking from a very high point of view in order to capture all of the nature.
formal elements- Fays image is taken in black and white which right away creates a more dull and sad atmosphere/feeling. This also makes all the different tones contrast very well together as there’s sharp white tones and very dark tones. The photo was taken in natural lighting of course as the image is of nature/ a landscape. The lighting however is very bright as the sky has opened up and created a large section of white and this reflects down onto the reservoir. The photo consists of very high tonal contrasts as there a variety of different tones that go from pure white(sky) to extremely dark almost black (shown by the grass). The composition of this image is done well through having the path being photographed very close up and capturing it in detail as well as photographing the land that’s very far back and it captures the sky too. It opens up the image a lot and it makes the viewer have a lot to look at and process. The photo being so opened results in every viewers attention to go in different directions, some peoples eyes may be drawn straight to the sky however some people may notice the path first.
process- this photograph has been taken outside, in the nature, from a very high angle. it looks like the image was taken any time from the morning to the afternoon as it’s still light outside and the sky is bright. however it could have been taken as the sun was setting but it’s unclear to tell due to the image being taken in black and white.
mood- I don’t think the photographer is trying to tell a story or narrative through this image however turning this image black and white might indicate that the photographer wants to create a sad mood. By photographing landscapes it might mean that she wants people to appreciate the views and doesn’t want them to be destroyed.
Ansel Adams was born on the 20th of February 1902, in San Francisco. In 1907 the family lost most of their wealth in the financial crisis. Adams did not enjoy or fit in at school , he was a shy, reserved boy which led him to get bullied at school. During those hard years Adams took solace in nature, becoming lost in long walks in the forest and among the sand dunes that surrounded the family home.At the age of twelve, Adams found a new distraction in the piano, throughout the 1920’s Adams pursued music and photography equally. Adams believed that photography could give vent to the same feelings he experienced through his music. His first interest in photography came through his love of natural landscape and a want to capture something of that overwhelming experience on film. Most of his early photographs were landscapes viewed on memorable climbs. Through the 1920’s, he worked as the custodian of the Sierra Club’s lodge in Yosemite National park, creating impressive landscape photographs. In 1930 he met the American photographer Paul Strand, Adams was deeply impressed with the simplicity of the images’ concept and by their rich and luminous tonality. This influenced Adams to focus on sharp focus and the use of the entire photographic gray scale, from black to white.
Analysis of image
Ansel Adam’s
This is an image taken by Ansel Adams at the Tetons and Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. In this image Adams placed the horizon high in the frame which gives favour to the landscapes lying below it. Having a high horizon helps the viewer realise the scale of this image and the mountains, in comparison to the sky surrounding it. The white tips on the mountains draws the viewers attention to the high points of the mountains as the white stands out from the rest of the dark image. In this image there is also a instant draw of attention to the winding river as the water has a sharp, glow to it. It is on eye level of the river which creates leading lines within the image. The river has different tones in, some parts are bright and bring your attention to the river whereas other parts of the river is dull and fits in with the rest of the image. Only having parts of the river being bright and highly saturated is effective as it isn’t overwhelming for the viewer and also doesn’t draw away any attention from the rest of the surroundings but still draws some attention to the normally dull river. The position of where Adam’s was stood means the river is flowing away from the camera which creates a sense of the river vanishing as it suddenly cuts off at a corner and gradually looks smaller as it gets further from the foreground. The sky is overcast with parts of sun trying to peak through the clouds. The tips of the mountains are lightly covered by a thin layer of high fog making the tips of the mountains a bit faded and blurry. Adams used a wide tonal range to create a deep emotion in this image and highlight the landscape stood in front of him. He highlighted the main points of the image and created very dark and dull sections in the image which creates the same effect a bright section of the image does. There is a deep sense of emotion within this image which is shown through the different tones used.
Above, I have chosen 11 of what I believe were my most successful photographs from the shoot. There are a variety of close ups, from far and both. Within these photographs there are also a variety of textures and natural colours. These were all taken around the same time on a very sunny morning, allowing a lot of contrast and shadows to come through. Although there are some strong, bright colours, I think that most of these photographs will look better in black and white, making the different tones pop out, and at the same time creating another link to the photographer I researched and analysed.
Charlie Waite is an English landscape photographer known for his “painterly” approach to the use of light and shadow in a photo. Born in England, he worked in theater and television for ten years before switching to photography. His style is unique in that his photographs convey a spiritual quality of serenity and calm.
During the 1980s Waite became a master of the big view with interpretations of European landscapes, carrying on with ‘straight’ photography, like Ansel Adams and Edward Weston, making his works known for his painterly approach, that captured nature.
The late 1990s Waite photographed simpler architectural cameos within landscape, exploring the arcs and lines that thrive in both contemporary and classical architecture. In each image relationships of colour, form, design and light all portray a positive emotional response together in harmony. He also captured images focusing on more minimalist compositions using the geometric patterns formed by the environment.
I will take photos of fields on a cloudy but sunny day so that the clouds can give the fields a patchy look as they will block the sun light on certain parts. Also I will go to a field where there are crops growing, maybe the lavender farm in St Brelade. I will try and get a photo where the field has vertical lines leading up to the horizon like Charlie Waites’ image of Valensole Study II, France. I will aslo go to a road where the trees are in a row to the sides of the road with a gap to the end creating depth.
Photo Shoot Plans
First Photo Shoot:
Who
I will be taking the photos and do not need any models.
What
I will be taking photos through the trees and of the path.
Why
I want to focus on rural landscapes with natural settings such as woodlands; trees, stream and land.
Where
St Catherines Woods.
When
I want to take photos in the middle of the day with the sun coming through giving the image a warmer light and having the sun rays coming through the trees. Therefore I will need to make sure the weather is clear and sunny.
How
I will take photos on my camera.
Contact Sheets
When taking these photos I was focusing on where the viewers eye would be led. In Charlie Waites’ images there is a clear leading line directing the viewer which is what I wanted to focus on. I wanted to use the structures in the trees and man made things like the paths to create this effect.
These images were taken casually on the same day, not part of any planned photoshoot, but I wanted to include them as they show the concept of leading the viewers’ eye.
Also saturday, clear sky. Midday-afternoon, sunny.
A day where the sun is not out, perhaps the sky is dark or cloudly, maybe some light shining through.
What
Pictures of large rocky areas, especially in between Brelades Bay and Ouaisne- as well as pathways and and trees in the sun.
I can photograph the coast from a distance, or rocks in the sea.
Can photograph woodland, if its windy I can capture waves in the sea for dramatic effect- maybe them clashing the rocks at the wall or coming over it. Also the dunes.
‘Romanticism was a particular movement in art that occurred during the first half of the 19th century. As a movement, romanticism had a particular emphasis on emotion and individualism, along with a glorification of the past. Painters, poets and writers drew particular inspiration from nature, which played a prominent role in their depictions. In particular, ‘nature’ was depicted as unsullied by the hand of man, or if humankind was evident, it was shown in a kind of symbiosis rather than exploitation. The imagery conveyed a sense of a golden age, but also one where the individual was central rather than peripheral to a group or to more prominent icons.’ To sum this up, whether its paintings or photography, Romanticism placed particular emphasis on emotion, horror, awe, terror and apprehension. Emotion and feeling were central not only to the creation of the work, but also in how it should be read.’
In art, romanticism looks like this^. The painting on an exaggeration of reality, but also beauty. The strokes that the artists use with a paintbrush are very smooth, creating a realistic view. You will also often see both dark and light in the painting with natural colours and sometimes gentle beams of light coming though the clouds. The majority of romanticism landscapes are dramatized.
