I am going to focus my work on Anthropocene that is shown through the form of landscapes, looking more at altered landscapes. I am planning on studying the work of photographers Felicity Hammond and Tanja Deman, as I wish to convey a similar message to what they present in their work, within my own photographs. One way I could portray a similar message denouncing man’s negative impact on the world is by photographing protected areas in Jersey, such as Jersey’s National Park, and edit in structures from La Colette and the tip to show what would happen to our beautiful landscapes if we didn’t conserve them.
I have decided that I want to present the theme of Anthropocene through landscape photography. I am also going to include altered landscapes and Photoshop into this unit. My idea is to photograph natural landscapes in Jersey that haven’t yet been affected or altered by humans – such as St Ouens bay, any beach, sand dunes and any woods, and photograph urban places in jersey such as town with many tall buildings and apartments. By photographing both of them I will then Photoshop and alter the images together by selecting a cutting out the tall buildings and pasting them over to the natural landscapes. By doing this I want to create an idea of what Jersey may look like in the future if we don’t stop building over our natural landscapes that we have left, this will link into the Anthropocene theme perfectly as it will show the kind of effect us humans have and will have on our planet in the future.
WHAT? I will photograph natural landscape sites in Jersey. I will photograph all of St Ouens bay from a high view and the sand dunes. As well as going into town and taking photos of the buildings and trying to find tall buildings/offices.
WHEN? I want to take my photos during the day as I want the sun to be out and have natural lighting, I will wait for a sunny day and possibly when the sun sets to make the coast look golden.
WHERE? St. Ouens and town/ places in Jersey with really tall buildings.
WHY? Once I alter my images on Photoshop I want to show how Jersey and our natural landscapes may look like in the future if we humans don’t stop building over any spare land we have left.
HOW? I will take my images on a quick shutter speed, to avoid my images going blurry if I move the camera. I am going to take most of my images from a high point of view/angle to capture all of the bay and dunes as well as capturing all of the buildings to make it easier and more presentable when editing them onto the coast by Photoshop.
The Anthropocene is an 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. In the past 60 years in particular, human impacts have unfolded at a fast rate and scale. Carbon emissions, global warming, habitat destruction, extinction and more are all signs that we have significantly modified our planet.
Anthropocene photography works on displaying the effects of humans on the Earth. Anthropocene photographers create images based on pollution and waste, the destruction of nature and large man-made structures. Anthropocene photography is heavily rooted in political views on climate change. The Anthropocene Project is a integrative body of work combining fine art photography, film, virtual reality, augmented reality, and scientific research to investigate human influence on the state, dynamic, and future of the Earth.
Initial ideas:
After looking at all the potential options I could explore , I found I was most drawn to the portraiture option.
Anthropocene is the scale of human impact on earth, Anthropocene is sometimes used to simply describe the time during which humans have had a substantial impact on our planet. Geologists believe humans have become the single most defining force on the planet.
“the indelible marks left by humankind on the geological face of our planet”
Anthropocene photography focuses on displaying the effects of mankind on the Earth. Typically, Anthropocene photographers will produce images based on pollution and/or waste, the destruction of nature, and large man-made structures. This form of photography is heavily rooted in political views on climate change.
There is a project on Anthropocene, it is a multidisciplinary body of work combining fine art photography, film, virtual reality, augmented reality, and scientific research to investigate human influence on the state, dynamic, and future of the Earth.
Topographics was a term used by William Jenkins during 1975 as a word to describe a group of American photographers whose shots had an identical but clever aesthetic; they were monochrome, orthodox of urban / industrial landscapes in an attempt to show how humans have shaped the land. These photographers included: Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz, Bernd Becher and Hilla Becher.
Urban landscape was/is used to show an increase in population living in an urban / man built settlements. It is known as “the art of visual and structural integration of a set of buildings, streets and places that form the urban environment ” which aims to present a sense of scenery of man made settlements.
This type of photography powerfully illustrates how man have affected the Earth and evolutionized the land ourselves with earthly elements such as iron to build infrastructures. It can also serve as a way to show how we are polluting our own planet, created for our benefit; being destroyed by its own elements; science has shown that noble gases, which have been increased by engine working, have effected the ozone layer.
Stephen Shore
Stephen Shore is a famous photographer who has been widely known for over 45 years and the first living photographer to have a one-man show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, after Alfred Stiegliz.
In the 1970s he inspired many photographers in colour photography and in the use of the view camera for documentary work.
In his letter to a young artist, he states that he’s been teaching at Bard College for more than 20 years and has had the “opportunity to meet graduate students at several institutions over the years.”
He also states that he believes “art is made to explore the world and the culture, to explore the chosen medium, to explore one’s self.”
Image Analysis
Light:
The brightest part of the image is clearly the sky as it’s naturally illuminated by the sun, then the sign which grabs the viewers / habitant’s attention.
There are dark shadows and tones suggesting
The background is a bit of sky which shows natural lighting being used coming from behind. Also, since there is a 1/3 of the image containing a natural setting / environment it could show how man made structures have taken over the natural environment.
Space:
There is an ideal dream of 3D space in this 2D picture because of the monocular profundity signals utilized and caught by the photographic artist.
Texture:
The surface of these buildings feel damaged. I know this because there are a few cracks which could show how humans are breaking the natural environment. The texture of the rest of the objects in the image feel metallic, cold,
Lines / Binocular and monocular depth cues:
There is evidence of repetition of angular, vertical and horizontal lines in this industrial image in order to create a perception of height.
There is a strong variety of occlusion which creates and helps us perceive this as a 3D image. Height in plane also plays a role in this image showing that bigger objects must be closer to “us” and smaller objects must be further away creating a 3D illusion.
Shape and form:
This image has various shapes due to the urban context. For example, there are rectangular and circular shapes suggesting an industrialised environment as these shapes aren’t very common in nature. There are also triangular shapes along the lit sign showing the same thing.
There is also depth in this image as well as height and width adding to the 3D form in this 2D image. For example, relative size, occlusion, cast shadows and interposition all play a role in helping us perceive this image to be 3D.
Colour:
There is a vast amount of colour in this image spanning past the primary colours. These colours include, blue, red, yellow, brown, black, grey and more. In contrast to Ansel Adams we can clearly see a development in cameras as well as the environments.
The bright primary colours would suggest how bright and amazing this “new man-made world” is but the dark tones could also show the sinister background of such places as some towns were built by slaves.
Planning
Contents:
For this project, my main goal is to capture an urban area in the most artistic and creative way as I possible can. This will include pictures of town, building, etc, except cars.
Location:
My location will be focused around town and Fort Regent as those are the most industrialised and well known areas. I will have a go at capturing other places in order to get a vast majority of photographs and stand out.
Lighting:
For this shoot, I will be able to clearly use natural lighting since it’s an outdoor shoot plus, it permits my pictures to seem natural and permits ME to capture the natural scene of the land.
Camera Setting:
For this project I’ll set the ISO to a hundred since the weather seems to be sunny with the shutter speed at 1/500 so as to let enough light-weight in. I may conjointly set the camera to automatic mode in order that the camera determines all aspects of exposure, choosing exposure parameters in keeping with the appliance at intervals the constraints of correct exposure, in conjunction with exposure, aperture, focusing, light-weight metering, white balance, and equivalent sensitivity.
Contact sheets
Sat by the balcony
I have decided to call this image “Sat by the balcony” due to the fact the owl statue creates an illusion that someone or something is sat on the balcony.
For this image I used the cameras auto focus and auto mode in order for a quick and automatic shot with perfect ISO, Aperture and shutterspeed.
The image is in black and white due to the aesthetic and message portrayed in this whole Landscape topic; industrialization appears to be ruining nature turning white trees darker for example. Therefore, I am attempting to create the same effect but with urban landscapes.
By the bell
For this image, I used the camera’s autofocus and auto mode to shoot quickly and automatically with perfect ISO, aperture and shutter speed. The image is black and white due to the beauty and information displayed in the entire landscape theme. For example, industrialization seems to be destroying nature by blackening the white trees. Therefore, I tried to create the same effect with the urban landscape.
I have tried to use the rule of thirds to compose the image and make it more intriguing to the viewer.
2021 but 1960
For this image, I used the camera’s autofocus and auto mode to quickly and automatically shoot with perfect ISO, aperture, and shutter speed.
Due to the beauty and information displayed throughout the landscape theme, the images are vintage related to past images and the era when Shore was born (20th century). Also, 1960 was one of my favourite eras and this filter is perfect for the first project on urban landscapes.
I tried to use the rule of thirds to compose the image and make it more attractive to the public.
In my opinion, this project was average. This is because there is powerful use of lines, composition, lightening, selection and imagery. But there is little to no manual work as most was done by the Auto mode.
I really do like the image that gives a 60s vibe as it’s my favourite epoch where most of the industrialization has already taken place. I think it is successful in a way as it shows the audience the present time but gives a retro feeling. This may also be said to create a juxtaposition or as I like to call it a paradox; “past” and present in one image sort of contradicting each other.
The black and white images add to the vintage theme but are also aesthetically pleasing as for the first image we have the building on one side and the sky on the next which powerfully shows the use of the rule of three and makes it pleasing and peaceful to look at.
In conclusion, although my images may be successful I agree to a certain extent I need to use more of the manual mode, see what ISO, shutter speed and aperture work best in different lighting and settings and apply it to future projects since most of the images came out underexposed or over exposed which limited my selection of images drastically.
Lewis Baltz was an American Photographer Born 1945 who had an important role in the New Topographics movement of the 70s.
He was one of the first photographers to challenge the dominant methods of landscape photography at the time. He confronted the ideas of the “zero club” photographers at the time and along with 9 other photographers pioneered the New Topographics movement which turned photography’s perspective towards shooting urban man made features.
Lewis was trained to use photography as an art medium, to intersect with other aesthetic social questions rather than a practical form of diarizing and documentation.
Baltz grew up in one of the most rapidly urbanizing placing in the world – Southern California in the post war period. He watched the changes taking place he described it as a new world being born however not a very pleasant one.
It was a new homogenized American environment that was marching across the land and being exported. He noticed that no one wanted to confront this. This realization was the initiation of his interest in shooting the urban and igniting the New Topographic.
The above image was taken in 1974 and it is called “The New Industrial Parks” and it is part of a monographic series along side “The Tract Houses”, “Maryland”, “Nevada” and “Park City” wherein Baltz addresses cultural and philosophical questions about industrial zones and an artistic documentation of the boom in the urban landscape.
This piece relates well to Lewis’ motive to focusing on the familiar and creating an aesthetic out of the mundane. He does this by shooting a mundane building but making use of a deadpan viewpoint to create a somewhat symmetrical image with many leading lines. These leading lines create a grid like triad which splits the image vertically to comply with the rule of thirds.
The image has a shallow depth of field which gives it a 2D shape which can be an allusion to the lack of humanity which comes from urbanization.
The three slender trees on the right of the image are positioned strategically in line with the rule of thirds grid Lewis created and they add a sort of contrasting tension to the composition as they look like they are being overpowered by the colossal building behind them which consumes the whole frame. This could have been an attempt at pointing to the idea of mans impact on natural landscapes and how they are being overpowered.
The low saturation and more greyscale colours in the images convey the gloomy emotions of the industrialisation. The image also has a very wide tonal range.
Vilde is an Norwegian photographer which she extracts beauty from discarded plastic bags while raising awareness about throw-away culture. This topic links to Anthropocene as for the issues caused by plastic throw away each day due to humans. The destruction we cause to our planet, land and ocean, by the use and waste of plastics and typically plastic bags, is what Vilde wants to express through her work. She does this by exposing all different plastic bags from a macroscopic perspective. Her photography is seen to be an abstract approach to the topic of Anthropocene. Here are some examples of her work…
IMAGES BY – VILDE ROLFSEN
-Analysis
As we can see Vilde likes to make as such another world to be seen inside these plastic bags. The dynamic colors that flow through the creases in the bags, as if they were veins, and the way in which the bags have their own sense of mood and atmosphere. They almost relate to having a life such as a human. This links to Anthropocene as the plastic bags photographed are there to raise awareness of the wastage of plastic bags and also how they relate to humans. The abstract touch to these images can be seen as the camera quality is in good focus when us close and how the plastic bag fills the image with different turns and bands. Looking at the image also seems to be looking through a oddly looking cave with vibrant colors that strike through. Light floods through from lots of angles and darker areas are formed. The photos are made up of lots of different lines that are in a sense crushed, and flow in different directions. Vilde’s work is different and uncommon which makes you question what you are actually looking at when looking at first glance.
NAOMI WHITE
Naomi is a photographer who is working on ideas to express the plastic crisis that is happening daily on earth due to humans. Similarly to Vilde, Naomi photographs plastic bags in a beauty way. Using the color of the bag to be vibrant and eye catching she uses a studio to capture different angles and ways in which plastic bags can be photographed.
-Analysis
Naomi has a more outside approach to plastic bags rather than inside to Vilde’s work. The colors flowing through the creases of the bags yet again is what makes these bags interesting to look at as a photo. They almost look like other worldly creatures. Naomi has chosen to photograph plastic bags to raise awareness of the use of plastics and what it does to harm the earth. Her images seem to represent some sort of destruction with the way the camera has captured the lighting that floods through the loose and thin parts of the bags. I think Naomi’s work relates to theme of Anthropocene because she is trying to show to beauty within the colors of the bags but at the same time they have a sense of destruction and ruin. This relates to the way how man kind is destroying the world with our day to day lives, weather that is using the smallest thing such as a plastic bag
I chose this photograph as my final image for this urban/industrial project due to it’s strong similarities to the work of Frank Breuer and use of the formal elements. I believe this image reflects the industrialisation of the modern world, demonstrating the ever growing mass of manufactured products taking over the nature around us. In this image I have captured waste skips using natural sunlight, which due to the sun falling behind them, has created harsh shadows underneath. I decided to photograph this landscape in such a way to connote the theme of a post-industrial capitalist society casting a shadow over the world as it destroys the beauty of nature. Additionally, these dark shadows could be compared and seen as similar to clouds of smog from atmospheric pollution, reflecting how harmful it is that this urbanisation of our world is increasing rapidly. Furthermore, I have captured repetition of thin straight lines that fall across the warehouse in the background of my image. These lines demonstrate uniformity and present the idea that the incline in modern infrastructure has lead to a homogeneous society, where things like architecture and people are robotic and indifferent. Due to the sun’s reflection on this building, the lines are highlighted and resemble structures like prison bars or cages- further connoting the concept that society is stuck in an industrial trap and locked away from the importance of our natural environment. Moreover, to imitate the work of Frank Breuer I have edited my image slightly by increasing the whiteness and exposure to mimic his blank backgrounds. I believe this editing choice has really added to the overall message of my piece, with the negative space representing how barren and empty our beautiful natural landscapes are becoming as a result of growing industrialisation. In addition, the colour palette of this image is limited, with a subtle peachy hue sweeping across it and the only pops of colour coming from the skips themselves. This relates to Breuer’s work and connotes the idea that society is devoid of originality and inventiveness through the lack of colour and repetition of shape.
Image Comparison
Frank Breuer | Containers 2002 – Compared to – My Industrial Image
I decided to compare this image from Frank Breuer’s study of ‘Containers’ in 2002 to my image of stacks of crates at the harbour due to their wide range of similarities within the formal elements. The first obvious similarity is that both Breuer and I have captured saturated primary colours as the main tones in our images. The use of the colours red, blue and yellow allude to the simple nature of how these industrial structures are becoming so normalised in our modern world, with the three most basic colours representing its triviality. The bright vibrancy of both images also draws focus to the urbanised structures, helping us understand the importance of the subject and how its impacting our world. Furthermore, Breuer’s and my image each contain repetition of geometric shapes which create echoed patterns throughout the photograph. In my image, I have captured repeated rectangle shapes which represent the uniformity and capitalist view of society- each rectangle a member of modern civilisation. In Breuer’s image, his repeated rectangles are larger and appear to be more solid stable structures- perhaps connoting the idea that our community is too set in its ways to change the clear neglect of our natural world- as if we are stuck in a looped pattern of destruction. Nevertheless, there is a difference between the types of repetition seen in each image, as Breuer has also captured it in the reflection from the puddle in the foreground of his image. These reflections could symbolise repetition from the past, as if we are being reminded of times where the industrialisation of our planet lead to some of the most devastating times in history such as pollution from the Industrial Revolution leading to a massive impact of global warming and the depletion of natural resources. Additionally, the comparison of these images highlights the difference in how our world has become even more modernised since Breuer’s was taken. For example, in Breuer’s photograph we can see a clear skyline of negative space, reflecting the barren landscapes urbanisation creates, yet in my image there are several industrial structures in the background as well as the foreground. This demonstrates how the industrialisation of our world is still growing rapidly to this day, with the two cranes in my photos background alluding to the increasing likelihood our actions and constant elimination of our natural world- though the time may be far away- will catch up to us eventually.
What – My plan is to photograph landscapes around Jersey that hold industrial structures and equipment such as storage containers, stacks of crates, roofs of buildings, commercial signs and mechanical apparatus.
Where – I aim to capture my landscape images in settings such as the harbour, Rue Des Pres trading estate, La Collette power station, the airport and petrol stations as I believe these locations will show the industrialised aspects of the island- in terms of modern equipment and destruction of nature.
When – I plan on conducting my two photoshoots during the Easter holidays, taking advantage of days where workers may not be in warehouses/on building sites in order to capture more barren deserted images. I aim on photographing my landscapes when the weather is sunny so the subject is highlighted, yet hopefully still allowing me to replicate Breuer’s bright white backgrounds.
How – In order to take full advantage of the natural sunlight I plan on experimenting with changing the F-stop number on my camera to over-expose my images when needed, I also aim to explore who changing the white balance will effect the temperature of my images, to convey different moods.
Why – I wish to mirror the work of Frank Breuer when conducting my photoshoots, showing the growing industrialisation of our world and how an island as beautiful as Jersey can still hold the derelict manufactured landscapes ruining the beauty of the nature around us.
Contact Sheets
Photoshoot 1 – Buildings & Structures
For my first photoshoot I decided to focus on capturing the industrial buildings, signs and equipment around trading estates and warehouses. I wanted to photograph the normality of technical structures and buildings around the island to symbolise the ever increasing urbanisation of the modern world.
Photoshoot 2 – Containers & Storage
For my second photoshoot I decided to focus more on the aspects of commercial business’ equipment such as storage crates, large containers, trucks, vans and skips to reflect Breuer’s series of images and draw attention to the sheer amount of industrial, desolate areas around us. I wanted to capture objects such as skips to symbolise the way the world is treating nature like its garbage, and filling our landscapes with manufactured waste.
