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.
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.
I used my own style which implements photography (a photo which it took), and 3D modelling in Blender. Then edited it in Photoshop.
I planned to make an image based on climate change, rising temperature, and deforestation.
I planned to use the freedom tree, as was make of metal, therefore it wouldn’t burn in a fire. I chose fire as it was a heat source, which represented rise temperatures. After, there would be no trees, signifying deforestation.
First I took a landscape into Blender, modified it, and changed the land, and scaled up mountains, where I would Photoshop the Freedom tree onto. I added many trees to the landscape. After I added fire to the trees and, put a camera-raw filter the change small details in Photoshop.
This is the final image after all the Photoshop:
It is called, “Freedom Tree 2072”, due to the rapidly increasing changing climate, I created an exaggeration of the future if rising heats is ignored. It is based off of the Freedom Tree in town; my image, which is in the middle of a forest fire. I wanted to show how the man-made, metal tree was not affected by the fire, compared to the burning natural forest around it, with CO2 gasses giving the sky a hazed look, due to the smoke. Hopefully, it can visualise the serious impact of climate change!
I was awarded a prize for this and it is getting featured in an exhibition in, Liberty Wharf on May 13th-15th.
These were the photos that took to represent the “New Topographic’s” on the Highlands/Hautlieu photoshoot.
I mainly took straight-on photos of the buildings and sheds/warehouses around the area.
I used multiple exposure bracketing on some of them to get a more dramatic image.
I edited these images in Photoshop ACR / Camera-Raw.
My favourite is the bottom left image, as there is a contrast between the bright blue sky and the dirty building. And lots of detail in the texture of the metal.
New topographics was a term created by William Jenkins in 1975 to describe a group of American photographers (such as Robert Adams and Lewis Baltz) whose pictures had a similar repeated aesthetic, mostly black and white prints of the urban landscapes, a human-environment with the natural terrain hiding in the background.
Image taken by Robert Adams, Mobile Homes, Jefferson County, Colorado, 1973.
What was the new topographics a reaction to?
It was a reaction to the increasingly suburbanised world around them, and a reaction of idealised landscape photography that raised the natural elemental.
Rut Blees Luxemburg – (Case Study 1 / Night)
Rut Blees Luxemburg was born in 1967 is a German-born photographer. Her technique is to take photographs at night, mostly exploring the urban landscape. She experiments with exposure time and low light conditions to get an image that captures the night life in the city.
As you can see, Luxemburg uses warm colours and reflections in water puddles, which creates a unique view of her scene. Also, experiments which long exposure.
Analyses Of One Of Her Images :
All the lighting in this image is artificial, due to it being night time. It seems that there is a tungsten tone in the lights, as there is a orange/red tint on the surface that the light hits. This means that the image has a warm temperature to it, as the colour red is represented by heat. There is also a washed out green colour to the buildings in the back, most likely caused by the reflection of the flood lights on the football pitch. The colours are muted, which gives off a serene atmosphere as it feels abandoned. Although this isn’t the case as motion is captured by using a long shutter speed, this makes it so the car lights show as a long red or white lines; depending on what way the car is driving. Since, it is night the camera will not overexpose the image, as there is no natural sunlight, therefore she would of been using a high ISO, eg 800-3200. There is a high depth of field as all the image is in focus, and also Rut Blees Luxemburg displays a wide range of tonal values, achieved by including and showing a light source and shadows under the overpass. There are many horizontal lines and geometric shapes in the image. The horizontal lines suggest a feeling of rest, because objects parallel to the earth are at rest. In this landscape, horizontal lines also help give a sense of space and attention to the 3D aspect to help visualise that the image was taken from a high place. As she is a tutor at the Royal Collage of Art, this may mean that she has a higher status position over her students, which is why the image is taken higher up.
Where Can I Take Night Urban Landscapes?
Mood Board
Photo-shoot Plan
Night photos – (Contact Sheet)
Final Night Photos (Titled)
Go.
Roundabout turn off.
Crossing.
Roundabout.
Overpass.
Above the tunnel light trails.
My Image Comparison To Luxemburgs Image – Venn diagram
Overall, my I really like my image as it captures motion and, I have created a unique pattern with the buses lights. The colours are vibrant and the bus lights are in focus, which is the main focus point in the image. As I used a high aperture the still lights appeared as stars. For composition I go low to the ground the shoot more upwards, the lights from the bus fill up most of the image. The image is balanced and exposed perfectly even thought it was taken at night time.
Stephen Shore – (Case Study 2 / Day)
Stephen Shore’s work has been widely published and exhibited for the past forty-five years. He was the first living photographer to have a one-man show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York since Alfred Stieglitz.
He has also had one-man shows, his most rememberable at : Los Angeles; Jeu de Paume, Paris; and Art Institute of Chicago.
In 2017, the Museum of Modern Art opened a major retrospective spanning Stephen Shore’s entire career. He has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
When he was in New York; in the early 1970s, he sparked new interest in colour photography, and in the use of the view camera for documentary work.
Analyse Of One Of His Images:
This image shows a busy American street in 1975, Shore’s took this image next to a gas station, which had a wide view over the streets. The image is bottom heavy, which means that the viewers eye is directed toward the bottom half of the image, compared to the empty blue skies.
The contrast of a busy, chaotic street and the clam, tranquil mountains in the background, signify the difference between man and mother nature. Even thought the mountains are small they are still present. The fact that the mountains don’t take up a large portion of the image shows that the industrial and urbanising world is taking over natural land.
The main colours in this image are red, blue, and white. That just happens to be a colours in the American flag. It can suggest that Shore’s is proud to be an American citizen, which he displays through his work of photography.
Overall, I think this image mostly basic, with a normal “street photography” composition, that doesn’t use any objects/techniques to grab the viewers eye. The colours are normal, but mostly blues, which gives off a cool feelings, despite being in a desert in Los Angles. Although, I do like how Shore’s has captured the history of America, by including the old cars, and billboards, (not digital).
Where Can I Take Night Urban Landscapes?
Mood Board
Photo-shoot Plan
I plan to walk around town and take photos of unique buildings and scenes that I find. I would go to Weighbridge first then maybe, round the back of the tunnel to La Collette then finish off at Millennium park and the small streets round there.
Urban Day Photos – (Contact Sheet)
Final Photos
Analyse–(Shores Vs Mine)
This is my final image I chose, as I feel that it linked to Stephen Shore’s style the best.
Similarly, both the image capture a historical value. My image captures the liberation statue, and Shore’s capturing change over time.
Both, include nature in a build up urban environment. In my image its the flowers in the foreground, and Shore’s its the mountains in the background.
Also, both use vibrant colours, except mine has a more vibrant summer feel. However Shore’s uses a smaller colour range, compared to mine which uses bright yellows and ultra blues.
Overall, I like mine more as there is more of a focus point; being the statue, this is achieved by using a unique composition with the flowers to almost “frame” the statue. To draw more attention to the statue I used a lower aperture to blur the flowers.
Anthropocene is a term which is used to define the geological age that we are currently in, spanning from 2.6 million years ago to the present day, described as the time period in which humans have had the most impact and influence on this earth, including the environmental and climate status. Many artists and photographers also use this term, in order to categorize their works into the style that investigates and focuses on how us humans are altering the earth, and how it will affect us in the future. This is usually presented in many different ways, whether it be in the form of landscapes, portraits or abstracts.
