Above are two rural landscape images. The image on the left was shot by American photographer Ansell Adams and the right by myself.
Both images feature a low key, greyscale profile. The use of an ND filter and specific film allowed Adams to create an image with dominant dark tones whilst still allowing for the counteractive sharp highlights to come through in the image. I recreated this by shooting with a large aperture to include as much data in the image as possible and then altering the saturation and temperature of the image in post production. These methods allow for both images to feature a highly romanticized landscape. For example the dramatic moon in the center of a dark, almost fully black sky tucked behind a whisping blanket of clouds which are being pierced by a gathering of sharp snowy mountains is a typical depiction of an exaggerated, sublime landscape.
Both images feature a large tonal range from the dark sky’s and foliage to the white mountains and sand dunes.
Both images have similar form with the empty sky taking up two thirds of the image with the bottom of the image being filled.
They both contain a strong leading line horizontally through the image
Conceptually, both these images represent the idea of death and moving on. The images both feature dark, mournful tones. Adams image features a graveyard symbolizing death and my image contains a sublime landscape which was once flourishing but is now more baron symbolizing life and death. The images both feature bold horizons which alludes to the idea of “new horizons” and moving on from death.
These pictures have been taken by means of American photographer Lewis Baltz in 1972, and are the 1/3 set of prints in an version of three. They shape section of Baltz’s Prototypes sequence that he had begun in 1965, taking snap shots of the post-war industrial landscape. These featured stuccoed walls, parking lots, the aspects of warehouse sheds or disused billboards baked in the regular Californian sunlight. Within these works Baltz remoted normal geometric forms, developing a anxiety between the simplicity of the constructions depicted and the ailment of the subculture from which they emerged.
New topographics was a term created by William Jenkins in 1975 to describe a group of American photographers which included Robert Adams and Lewis Baltz. Their pictures had a similar aesthetic and were mostly black and white images showing an urban landscape.
Most of the photographers linked to new topographics including Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz, Nicholas Nixon and Bernd and Hiller Becher. They were inspired by the man-made and selected places such as parking lots, trailer parks or housing and warehouses to photograph. The message in the images was how natural environments were being eroded by industrial development. The photographers found beauty in the chaos of the industrial world and how they link the complexity of the natural world to the complexity of the industrial world.
What was the New Topographic a Reaction to?
The new topographics were a reaction to the increasing suburbanised world evolving around the photographers.
Lewis Baltz (Case Study 1)
Context
Lewis Baltz was an American photographer born on September 12th 1945 in Newport Beach California. He went on to study at the San Francisco Art Institute and was involved with the New Topographics with his Man-Altered Landscape Exhibition in 1975. He focused on producing black and white images of parking lots, tract housing and industrial parks. He said that when living in Monterey, where the classic photographers such as the Westons, Wynn Bullock and Ansel Adams came to photograph nature, that he was drawn to shopping centres and gas stations instead of nature. The reason this style was so unique was that no-one had done this before so it was a new way of thinking about photography. He died on November 22nd 2014 in Paris, France. His works are held by a wide range of museums around the globe including in France, England and the USA.
Technical
All the lighting in the image is natural as the image was taken in a parking lot outside some sort of store. The light is natural but at the same time harsh meaning that at the time it was taken, there was most likely either a lot of cloud or none at all. Baltz has positioned the camera so that it is in line with the parking space lines, ladder to the left of the image and the trees slightly to the left and right of the image. The image has a low ISO because the image is not very dark and it is in black and white.
Visual
The image has a good tonal contrast between the light walls that have the sun lighting them up and the dark tarmac on the parking lot. There is also contrast between the light sky at the top of the image and the dark leaves on the two trees. We can tell that the sun is coming from the left of the image because of the shadows of the ladder, electricity box and trees. The ladder, trees and box next to the ladder bring a sense of repetition and pattern because they are being shadowed onto the light wall which brings excitement and a sense of illusion. The parking lot has no cars in which is strange as usually you would see people and vehicles in the car lot which creates further tension between man and nature. The parking lot spaces are leading the eye from the dark tarmac to the light wall and from the light wall to the empty sky.
Conceptual
I believe Baltz took this photo to show what effect humans have on nature and how nature is being limited. By photographing a parking lot with no cars or people in, he is saying that we are wasting the resources we have. He is also saying that by building our parking lots and buildings where nature is, we are limiting it to grow in urban parking lots with no space. Also I believe the contrast of tone between the dark tarmac and dark leaves versus the light wall is saying that nature and the ground are being covered, cut down and forgotten about by the growing developing urban and industrial world. Finally, I believe the ladder to the left of the image is a link to the idea of freedom and nature. However there is a covering on the ladder meaning that no one can go up it linking to the idea of nature being limited and disrupted by humans. He is trying to communicate the idea of the disruption of the natural order.
Where Can I Take Photos?
Plan
Photoshoot
Where
When
Why
Industrial and Urban (day)
Finance centre
Saturday 20th March
To create images inspired by Lewis Baltz
Industrial and Urban (night)
Alleys and harbour
Easter
To create images like Gabriel Basilico
Contact Sheet
I went on Saturday the 20th of March to the finance centre along the front near Liberty bus station. I also photographed a few alleyways around that area.
My Outcome
The image above is my strongest outcome of the first photo shoot linking to the New Topographics including urban and industrial. The image I chose was of a window from below that reflects the clouds and light quite well. I edited the image so it is in black and white and so that the darker tonal values are darker. I also made it so that the different tones were edited so that they were distinguishable, linking to Ansel Adams zone system. The outcome has dark and light tonal contrast and good clarity enabling the clouds to be seen in the reflection of the windows. Finally the clouds go from being dark and angry to light and calm as they get closer to the building.
When it comes to editing, I wanted to try a few things. My raw images are quite bland, and I wanted to make my images pop a little more.
I chose on of my favourite ‘Bed’ images to experiment on first.
I started by turning the image fully black and white- this was to make the background monotone for the waste to stick out. Then, using a history brush tool, (brings back the original state which would be colour) I recoloured the waste.
This was the outcome. I think it looked quite cool and at the same time looked normal. The background was already quite monotone but making it fully black and white made it stand out that little more. I liked it alot but i wanted to experiment some more.
To do so, I decided to completely change the colour hue. I eventually chose the hue that resulted in turquoise and purple- it made the setup look more unnatural. I like this because the way we are polluting the ocean is unnatural in itself.
I continued and did this to a few other images that I liked and this was the oucome.
Looking at them altogether made me realise that the colours look a little too similar- I like it a lot but I just wanted to try different hues in the different photographs.
I also like this outcome but it just comes to putting these images together and finding out which sequence and colours look best when presented.
To begin, I chose 3 images from each shoot- the ones I believe were the most successful and the ones I would like to work with.
1
2
3
I chose these 3 from my bathtub shoot. Image 1 was originally larger but I chose to crop it down as there was too much unnecessary space, therefore taking the focus away from the message. Image 2 is more of a low view in the tub- the taps aren’t on show and all you can see is the drain. I liked this image due to the simplicity and it may make viewers look and think about what it is- however I did use flash, creating this lit texture in the tub which I personally dont think looks good. Image 3 is my favourite out of the three images. The taps create good contrast and I like the diagonal angle as well as the curve in the tub, creating a modern style and interesting composition.
1
2
3
These 3 photographs are all quite similar however I like the angle of image 1 and 3. Like in my bathtub photos, I like how they are taken at an angle. In image 2, the angle is straightforward, there are a few things that look ‘in the way’ such as the plant and wardrobe and it looks uneven. When taken at an angle, you cant tell.
1
2
3
My plate images are my favorite ones, I love the lighting and how the plastic reflects it. Image 1 was taken before I added cutlery. I have a glass dining table so when I tried to take images of the plate on the table it looked tacky, so I used my floor- although image one visually meets the aesthetic, viewers may not be able to know what they are looking at- so out of these images I like 3 the most. The cutlery is clear and on the plate as well as the waste. In image 2 the light is a tab bright and the fork is not fully in view.
For the photographs above, I filled my bathtub with a few inches of cold water and dumped some trash that I had collected onto it. This included Plastic bags, wrappers, cans and bottles. I realised that there wasn’t a load and taking pictures of the whole tub didn’t quite reach the ‘exaggeration’ I was hoping for so I bunched it all together and took close-up photographs to make it look fuller. These contact sheets are to show my most relevant photographs.
For my bed photoshoot, I kept the trash mostly in the same place, only testing different angles and viewpoints so that i would have a variety to choose from. My main idea was to keep these images quite simple, this is because further on I would like to edit them using photoshop and eventually put them together as a final result and I don’t want it to be too crowded.
Using just plastic bottles and cans on my plate, I thought this would be a great addition to my ‘what if it was me?’ idea. Not only are we polluting the ocean, this affects many food chains within it.
For the theme of Anthropocene, the era of which humans have made significant impact on earth, I have chosen to work with the idea of pollution in the ocean. Instead of taking a straightforward response such as photographing waste on beaches, my idea is to put humans in a sea creatures point of view and ask the question: what if it was me? Although Jeremy Carroll portrayed the struggle of a sea creature through portraiture, where she tied up and restricted people in her photographs, I would like to take a more object based/ maybe abstract approach. My main idea is to collect trash for a short while and place it around my home in places where I personally feel most comfortable. I take pride in keeping my home clean and tidy so this will specifically apply to me and others like me. My places of comfort will be representing the ocean- home to all the sea creatures. The plastic waste that I place around will represent the invasion and discomfort we place upon those creatures. When it come to how these photographs will turn out, I would like to use photoshop to edit them in interesting ways, perhaps changing the hue for a ‘cool’ result- but not too much to distract the viewer from my message.
“What would you do if you found yourself trapped in a dangerous material that you just couldn’t wriggle out of? It’d be a pretty desperate situation, but it’s one faced by our marine cousins on a daily basis: entanglement in plastic – millions of tonnes of which end up in the ocean each year – affects hundreds of species. To try and make this tragic result of our litter more relatable, an artist has come up with a new exhibit that brings the situation a bit closer to home.” Jeremy Carroll’s exhibit, appropriately entitled ‘Entanglement’, depicts humans caught up in waste typically found in seas and along beaches. Photos include a person with fishing nets around his neck and shoulders, and another with their head and arm caught in a plastic basket. The striking photos act as a stark reminder of the issues sea life faces as a result of our inadequate approach to marine plastic prevention.’ While many of us feel saddened by the harm inflicted on marine wildlife, many people still take an “out of sight, out of mind” approach to justifying the use of disposable, single-use plastic products.
These photographs were taken in a studio using studio lighting, you can tell due to the bright white background. Photograph 1 is of a male wearing a snorkelling kit tangled in what looks to be the type of rope found on beaches which were previously used to hold buoys down as well as small boats. The bright green rope is tied tightly around his neck and his head is tilted up, as if gasping for air. There is also some form of red and yellow plastic that is tied around his breathing tube which could also be a reason of why it seems that he cannot breath and here is a longer rope tied around his upper body, which is visibly tight due to his skin and fat puffing out. In the photograph his skin looks like its glowing and smooth although he is a male (males stereotypically are portrayed as tough)- this could be to show the delicacy of a fish for example as well as that stereotype not applying to sea creatures. If it were tied around a fish they would most likely be in excruciating pain due to their fins and gills.
Brett Stanley
‘Brett is an underwater portrait photographer who has been doing this for over ten years. He loves being under the water and adding photography to that is just a bonus. His natural calm nature in the water really shows through and helps his clients to feel comfortable, which is the first aim of any underwater shoot. Whilst based in Los Angeles, USA, the Australian born photographer travels frequently and relishes the chance to work with new people and new locations all over the world. Always looking to innovate, Brett has built custom equipment and perfected his techniques to make every photoshoot the best it can be.’
I will be focusing on one specific shoot with documentary filmmaker Christine Ren who has a unique set of experiences and skills: she has degrees in marine affairs/policy and biology, worked as a ballet dancer and is an experienced diver. When she decided to combine these personal attributes to make art advancing ocean conservation efforts, she ended up with some intriguing results.
Jellyfish Soup
Blind Spots
Jellyfish Soup
‘Blind Spots’
This particular photograph by Brett Stanley is of a woman underwater, blindfolded in a ballerina costume. She is holding a red shopping cart full of plastics of which are floating out of the cart and all around her. This represents how even when we as human beings do a normal daily/weekly function such as shopping, the plastics in our cart slowly make their way into the ocean. Another point I thought about as to why the woman is wearing a ballerina costume could only be because she is a ballerina in real life, however, in my mind ballet is a very delicate and beautiful sport, showing that even the finest people in the world are causing destruction to the ocean blindly. The background is a dark sea-blue representing deep ocean and in the background you can faintly see plastic bags, as well as the midground, where the woman is, with a mixture of different plastic items such as bottles, containers and wrappers. It looks as if the woman is leaving this trail of plastic behind her. In the foreground there is one particular thing that stands out which is the white plastic bag with a yellow smiley face that reads ‘Thank you Have a nice day!’. I believe that this was placed there on purpose to be ironic and slightly humorous. The bag originally says that as a thank you note to the person that attended the store, but now was staged to make is seem as the ocean has pushed this bag into place, ironically thanking the human race for polluting it with their trash. The photograph was actually taken in a pool by ocean lover and photographer Brett Stanly, and the woman in this photo is Christine Ren who has degrees in marine affairs/policy and biology, worked as a ballet dancer and is an experienced diver. She contacted Brett in the hopes of making art advancing ocean conservation efforts and together they made this photograph. The one I am writing about now is called ‘Blind Spots’ and the reasoning is to show the majority of the populations apathy towards plastic, and how we are blindly polluting the ocean. As mentioned, the photograph was taken in a pool and therefore was staged- as you can see there was a lot of work put into this image which shows just how much they wanted to get this message out perfectly.
The photographer stated that he used Aquatica Housing and Sea & Sea lights, so he used proper underwater lights designed for this purpose, In the photo, the lighting that stands out is shining down onto the woman in a streaky form, as if the sun was putting her in the spotlight. It is quite delicate lighting, representing the delicacy of nature.
Comparison
Jeremy’s work is all about ‘what if it was you being strangled by plastic waste?’. He is putting humans in the position of the oceans population- graphically showing us what we are doing to the ocean in a way that people could understand. On the other hand, Brett is showing us what we are doing in a passive-aggressive viewpoint- instead of being graphic, he is saying ‘this is what you are doing anytime you go shopping’. However both of these photographs are clearly about ocean pollution- in Jeremy’s photograph the man is wrapped in rope that we probable have all seen laying around on a beach as well as wearing a snorkelling mask, and Brett’s photograph is a woman blindly polluting the ocean with a shopping cart full of plastic waste UNDERWATER.
Jeremy focuses more on the creatures of the ocean whereas Brett focuses on the ocean as a whole- nevertheless they are both about ocean pollution.
What is Anthropocene? The word Anthropocene is derived from the Greek words anthropo, for “man,” and cene for “new,” coined and made popular by biologist Eugene Stormer and chemist Paul Crutzen in 2000. The formal definition to this word is ‘an unofficial unit of geologic time, used to describe the most recent period in Earth’s history when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems.’ so, it is the era of which humanity impacts the earth substantially – an era we are in now. Many say that this began during the industrial revolution, the transition to new manufacturing processes in Europe and the United States, in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840 when human activity had a great impact on carbon and methane in Earth’s atmosphere. Others think that the beginning of the Anthropocene should be 1945. This is when humans tested the first atomic bomb, and then dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The resulting radioactive particles were detected in soil samples globally.
Anthropocene sits on top of Holocene, but is not an official unit of geologic time.
