I have chosen to explore the concept of Anthropocene through the genre of landscape photography. I plan to react to ideas of nature being transformed through industry and venture into ideas of altered landscapes through my images. I will do this by shooting landscapes in a wider and vast perspective, of which supplies a view of the full picture. This allows a juxtaposition to be made between the natural environment and what man has interrupted it with.
I also plan to express the conflict between urbanisation and the environment by shooting derelict buildings and portraying nature fighting back against man. I plan to incorporate some abstract methods of photographing these buildings, with a more zoomed in perspective.
Below is some inspiration for my Anthropocene project:
I feel like the images highlighted in red are my least successful images as the contrast in tone and texture aren’t as prominent and I just think overall these images are not as interesting to look at.
In my opinion, the photographs highlighted in green are more successful images as the contrasting tones are more enhanced within these images, and there is also a strong juxtaposition in texture. I feel like these images overall are better recreations of Naomi White’s work compared to my other images.
To edit these images I will further enhance the vibrant, contrasting colours to create an intense juxtaposition between colours.
Camera and light settings
To achieve these results in my photoshoot, I used bright studio lighting to create harsh shadows and highlights within the photographs. I also covered the lights with a layer of coloured acetate which reflected the colour off the plastic in order to project the juxtaposing colours and create a clear contrast.
I kept the camera on it’s manual setting and adjusted the shutter speed to a faster speed of 1/1000, the aperture as f/32 and an ISO of 50 as I wanted the image to be still-life and I didn’t want to capture any blurry movements.
From “Plastic Currents” Series – Naomi White (2012)
Naomi White is an activist artist and educator who’s work focuses on ideas at the intersection of political ecology and photography. White’s aim in photography is to bring to light the issues that humanity is creating for the planet and the detrimental health of our ecosystems. She also documents the social issues of racism and the capitalist model of domination between unequal societies. White has achieved awards such as the PDN’s Objects of Desire Award, holds an MFA in Photography and Related Media from SVA in New York, and has participated in exhibitions throughout North America and Europe, as well as having her work published in The Brooklyn Rail, Fayn and Uncertain States. Naomi White is currently the Chair of Photography at the New York Film Academy in Burbank, California.
From “Plastic Currents” Series – Naomi White (2012)
“Shipwrecked V” – Naomi White (2017)
“Arguments with a surface VI” – Naomi White (2018)
Analysis of Naomi White’s work
From “Plastic Currents” Series – Naomi White (2012)
This image by Naomi White is part of her series which she developed in 2012, named “Plastic Currents”. The image depicts a plastic bag, lit with intense, harsh studio lighting in order to provide an almost abstract affect. This series was part of a movement created to raise awareness for sea pollution and the overall harm that humans have created to the planet.
The lighting in this image is extremely harsh, creating very intense highlights and shadows that are projected throughout the curves and folds in the bag. The lightest areas of the image can be seen around the edges of the plastic bag, which creates a jarring juxtaposition between the light and dark tones. The lighting is artificial and has been created using studio lighting, presumably projecting from underneath the object as the raised sections of the image are in darkness.
There is no use of line in this image, although the object that is being photographed, there is no form of repetition. On the other hand there could be said to be an outline to the object, as the bag has been crumpled and the outlining of the bag has various points of light and dark shading.
There is no form of repetition within this image as the focus of the project is to raise awareness of sea pollution, rather than creating abstract patterns.
Although the object is man-made, the shape of the object is still some-what organic and curved as the photograph has been taken of the bag out of it’s natural state in which it was first made.
The depth of field is impossible to state as the background is compiled of simple empty, negative space. The only representation of positive space is the bag itself, though it still has very little detail and only consists of folds and juxtaposing shadows and highlights.
The texture of the image is contrasting, as the rippled folds in the bag create a slightly rougher texture when compared to the flattened sections of the bag which display a smooth texture. However the representation of texture is not the main focus of this image.
There is a range of tones from dark to light within this image. The darkest areas can be seen mainly towards the centre of the bag, however they do begin to form strands of darkness as the viewers eyes cast away from the centre of the bag. The lightest areas can be seen around the edges of the bag, where the plastic material is less concentrated and therefor can let in more light.
There is a rather uniformed colour palette within this image, as it consists of whites, blues and blacks. the colours are saturated in some areas of the image as the man-made plastic has an artificial blue tone to it. The dominating colour in this photograph is blue, but this is juxtaposed with the dazzling white background and the intense black shadows. If the image were in black and white it would become more abstract as the plastic material could not be detected and the viewer may mistake it for another material such as paper. This would mean the aim of the project would not come across quite as prominent as the audience would struggle to work out the type of material being photographed.
There is a very simple composition to this photograph, although it does not purposely follow the rule of thirds. The focal point of the back is found mostly within the middle third of the image, with the remaining thirds being filled with negative and empty space. The image is rather unbalanced as the majority of the positive space is concentrated into the centre of the image.
I grouped the above images together as they portray the same vertical leading line architecture both with each other, and with the gallery they are displayed in.
These images I decided to display in a digital zine format. They follow the same tonal and textual features showcasing the sandpapered clouds in a dark underexposed style.
The above images follow the same desaturated and geometric rectangle features which coincides with the gallery I chose which features grey walls and geometric rectangular architecture.
These images feature the same experimental focal style. They all have unconventional focus features with varying depths of field which made it suitable to use the immersive gallery which provides depth of field as some images look closer than the others.
The above images are curated together into that setting for the way they look like a portal into a different universe.
Method
I first gathered my my images according to how aesthetic they would look simultaneously, into five sub-galleries
I then chose a fitting empty background to stitch the clusters of images onto. I chose backgrounds that possessed similar shape and form of the images and also any other visual elements such as similar cloud patterns.
I then used photoshop to transpose these images onto the coinciding backgrounds by making use of free transform and warp to make the images look naturally apart of the background. I also added a drop-shadow to the images to help achieve this.
I believe these images work well as a set due to the use of the monochromatic filter that gives the set a sense of uniformity when visualized together. All these images focus on the abstraction of nature through texture, shape and echo. Because of the reoccurring theme of nature, this also means the photos work well. They also have a similar dark, dull tone which adds to the sense of unity of the photographs.
For my finalised images I got inspiration off Alfred Stieglitz in taking pictures of clouds for my image selection in my images being abstract pieces. I chose to get inspiration of Alfred Stieglitz for my final abstract pieces because when I looked at his pictures they caught my attention due to his pictures of clouds looking very abstract in the way the clouds are come across in the pictures for example, some of his pieces don’t even look like clouds although they are due to the contrast of black and white which manipulates the picture into not looking like clouds also, the patterns and repetition of the clouds look very odd making them interesting to look at as you can almost use your imagination in making the picture come across as something else and not clouds.
As you can see from this image of Alfred Stieglitz you can use your imagination to manipulate the picture to come across as something else, with this specific image I think of the clouds looking like fluff that comes out of a puffer jacket or a pillow purely using my imagination on what I think the cloud appears to be.
Finalised Pieces
These are my finalised pieces that I have chosen because I thought they looked best in comparison to my other abstract pictures.
The process I went through in making the first one in black and white on the left was by editing the picture by going onto the levels in order to change where the shadows should have been darker in order for the contrast between the black and white to bounce of each other and then I changed the image to being black and white. Moreover, I would say this picture is the closest to Alfred Stieglitz purely because the picture is in black and white with the shadows are heightened just like his pictures.
As for the picture on the far right, the process of editing that I went through in order to get the image to what it looks like was that I went onto the hue and saturation and changed the picture in having the colours of the picture being a bright blue. Also, I cropped out the image, so it was just the clouds in the picture however, this makes it very abstract as the image doesn’t appear to be a cloud and the bright colours in the picture eliminates the natural lighting or natural shadows meaning it would be difficult at first knowing what the picture is.
Finally, the picture in the middle was made through the editing stage of getting the picture on the left on top of the picture on the right merging it into one. Once that was complete, I went onto the black and white image that I put on top of the blue one and I put the opacity down which enables you to see the bottom layer of the image. After that, I changed the colour of the image in order to make the clouds be highlighted in red to make both images contrast from the colours of red and blue.
Overall the middle picture is my favourite out of the three because of the way it doesn’t look anything like a cloud but maybe a weather report. Moreover, I feel like I have taken Alfred Stieglitz’s style of photography and evolve it in the way that it’s not in black and white which goes to show we are photographers in different time periods and this makes my photograph probably catch the eye of a younger person due to how bright the colours are in the image which makes it stand out from the rest.
First I looked at all my abstract photos and decided one which ones were the best. I choose the ones that were the most colourful and used the rule of thirds as they tended to look better as it had more composition. For the other images I used other good images that I’ve taken to fill in the blanks.
Editing
After, I edited them and boosted the saturation by about +10 to make it ‘pop’ and cropped it to line up with the rule of thirds, to make it more visually pleasing.
Displaying
To Finalise the images I found 2 different art blank picture galleries on Google. I grouped my photos into two groups, portrait and landscape. The gallery with the large wall would be for landscape photos, and the other for portrait photos. I put my abstract photos into the galleries, I put the image onto the canvas in the gallery, where I wanted it to be, then in Free Transform mode I pressed CTRL and dragged on the corner of each edge of the image and moved it to the corresponding corner of canvas space in the gallery to match the perspective of the gallery and its 3D walls. After the image was properly on the canvas, I added Drop Shadow and angled it to the same as the direction in the base image. Then, I added bevels to the image to make it look 3D to make it realistic. To add the effects I right clicked the layer then went to blending options. As there were blank spaces in the gallery I put in other good photos that I’ve taken.
Evaluation
I really like how it turned out, as they look realistic and they all fit in naturally. The drop shadows and bevels really worked well. Overall, it was relatively simple but took a long time to added all the images in.
Ralph Eugene Meatyard ( 1925 – 1972 ) was an American photographer from Normal, Illinois, U.S. Meatyard’s work spanned many genres and experimented with new means of expression, from dreamlike portraits – often set in abandoned places – to multiple exposures, motion-blur, and other methods of photographic abstraction. When he turned 18 during World War II, he joined the Navy, though he did not have the opportunity to serve overseas before the war ended. Meatyard purchased his first camera in 1950 to photograph his newborn first child, and worked primarily with a Rolleiflex medium-format camera. He took up membership of Lexington Camera club in 1954, and at the same time joined the Photographic Society of America. Much of his work was made in abandoned farmhouses in the central Kentucky bluegrass region during family weekend outings and in derelict spaces around Lexington.
ZEN TWIGS
In this series of photographs, Meatyard has experimented with the different aperture settings on his camera in order to create the blurry background whilst still keeping the main subject in focus. The harsh black and dark tones of the subject contrasts to the white and brighter range of colours that can be seen in the background. Meatyard has avoided photographing rough and straight lines, instead choosing to look at the naturally occurring shapes that appear in the trees. This gives the images a softer look and feel, even though the contrasting tones could suggest otherwise. The blurred branches present in the background also adds to this effect. The fact that the main subject of the photograph is the only thing which is in focus draws the viewer’s eye to it, creating a focal point. Additionally, most of the subjects appear to be in the centre of the image, creating an equal amount of space on all sides, therefore making the photograph more aesthetically pleasing to the viewer’s eye.
Ernst Haas (1921 – 1986) was an Austrian – American photographer who is widely considered to be a pioneering figure in the art of colour photography. His images have been featured in publications such as Life magazine and Vogue. In addition, his photographs were the subject of the first single – artist colour exhibition of colour photography at New York’s Modern Museum of Modern Art in 1962.
Photographs Captured by Ernst Haas
Luigi Ghirri (1943 – 1992) was an Italian photographer who gained a reputation as a pioneer and master of contemporary photography, with its particular reference to its relationship between fiction and reality. Ghirri’s work quickly attracted international attention. In 1975 Time-Life included him in its list of the “Discoveries” of its annual Photography Year publication, and he showed at the Photography as Art, Art as Photography exhibition in Kassel.
Photographs Captured by Luigi Ghirri
Aaron Siskind (1903 – 1991) was an American photographer whose work focuses on the minor details of its subject/s and presents them as a flat surface to create a new, independent image. Siskind used things from the real world in his photographs: close-up details of painted walls and graffiti, asphalt pavement, rocks, lava flows, ancient statues and the Arch of Constantine in Rome.
Photographs Captured by Aaron Siskind
MOOD-BOARD
MIND MAP
MY RESPONSE
In this photo shoot I was inspired by the works of Aaron Siskind and Saul Leiter, who captured images of the condensation on windows and close up shots of different textures and surfaces. I attempted to use a range of angles throughout my photographs in order to make them more interesting for the viewer to look at. My process was to photograph anything colourful that caught my eye, which led to some unusual subjects such as plastic bags and paper towels. I also took inspiration from The Boyle Family, whose images are a bird’s eye view of various surfaces, mainly roads and pavement corners. I used mainly natural lighting in this photo shoot in order to keep the photographs as realistic as possible. I liked that in some of my images the light would reflect off of the subject, such as my photographs out of a car window, however in those images the lighting was artificial as it came from the headlights of other cars, creating a glare effect. As one of the main themes for this photo shoot was colour, I aimed to incorporated it as much as I could into my photographs. I did this by placing certain colours next to each other, making sure that they complimented one another. To help me see which colours went best together, I used a colour wheel. I also aimed to show different shapes and lines by including objects with harsh, straight lines (books) and organic, curvy lines (ribbon). Additionally, I experimented with different patterns, as seen in the photographs of the yellow coat, where I pulled back the hood to show the stripes on the inside. For the composition of my photographs I tried to use a varying range of layouts and arrangements, such as the subject being in the middle of the image, at the top or bottom, or at either side. I also explored different distances of the camera from the subject, such as far away and up close.
Abstract photography takes place when a photographer focuses in on a part of a natural scene, isolating it from the background. By zeroing in on the color, texture, line, shape, geometry, symmetry, or reflection of a scene, it warps our perception of the real world and familiar objects, making it look unique.
An image i found on Google, when i searched for “Abstract Photography”. (not taken by me)
Saul Leiter
– Saul Leiter was an American artist and early pioneer of color photography. His interest began in his late teens. – Leiter’s first exhibition of color photography was held in the 1950s at the Artist’s Club, a meeting place for many of the Abstract artists of that time. – At the age of 23, he left theology school and moved to New York, which is where most of his photos were taken.
All Saul Leiter’s images.
I like Saul Leiter’s images as the use unique viberent colours in a city environment, which normally consists of grey and white buildings, instead of red green and yellow. He uses a high aperture to blur half of the image to create a focus on the main object in the image.
My ideas
– Fill up a bucket of water, and spray paint and mix it round. Then take photos of the patterns. – Play a colourful video on my laptop and shoot the images through different glasses, eg, wine glasses and perfume bottles.
My Abstract Photos
How i did it First, i opened up a video on my laptop with a colourful video playing, then i put a glass in front of the screen and took photos through the glass. I made sure the room was dark and the lights were off, to get a nice ambient effect.
Explanation I like the outcome of these abstract photos, as they have a lot of vibrant colours, which is visually appealing. They display a lot of unique shapes and patterns, as the glass distorted the appearance due to the curves and texture on the glass. The colours compliment each other, which makes them stand out. The photos are over exposed, which makes them more abstract as its harder to tell what the image is of. The highlights compliment the shadows, although the black point is higher making the black more dominant, therefore bringing out the colours more
My Out Of Focus Photos
Explanation I changed my camera to manual focus and put it to the most blurry setting, and took photos of different objects in front of the screen, and through the glass, using the same method as the abstract images. I edited the images to circles in Photoshop to make it different and look nice.
