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ROMANTICISM & RURAL LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY

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Introduction to Landscape Photography – 2 week project

Go to

M:DepartmentsPhotographyStudentsPlanners Y12 JACUnit 3 Sept-Dec Landscapes

for resource pack

We will be looking at Romanticism and The Sublime as a starting point and if you click here you will have a better understanding of some of the roots of landscape as a genre in contemporary photography….

The focus of your study and research is natural landscapes and the impact of ROMANTICISM and The Sublime in Landscape painting and then later, photography.

Working Title/Artist: Stormy Coast Scene after a Shipwreck
Department: European Paintings
Working Date: (1830)

TIME PERIOD AND CONTEXT

The Age of The Enlightenment (1700-1800ish)

VS

The Age of Romanticism (1800-1900ish)

“Writers and artists rejected the notion of the Enlightenment, which had sucked emotion from writing, politics, art, etc. Writers and artists in the Romantic period favored depicting emotions such as trepidation, horror, and wild untamed nature.”

“The ideals of these two intellectual movements were very different from one another. The Enlightenment thinkers believed very strongly in rationality and science. … By contrast, the Romantics rejected the whole idea of reason and science. They felt that a scientific worldview was cold and sterile.”

JMW Turner- Hannibal Crossing The Alps 1835
Caspar David Friedrich 1832 Germany

PAINTING VS PHOTOGRAPHY

Roger Fenton, inspired by nature and romanticism revisited a spot in Wales where previously the painter Samuel Palmer had been inspired by the natural beauty of this river valley.

  • Roger Fenton c. 1852-62
  • Samuel Palmer c. 1840-45
The Valley of the Shadow of Death

Valley of the Shadow of Death is also a photograph by Roger Fenton, taken on April 23, 1855, during the Crimean War. It is one of the most well-known images of war…most likely staged too and is in stark contrast to the example above. Exaggerating and exploiting the surroundings are a key part of creating dramatic imagery…

Carelton E. Watkins (1829–1916)

“…it is hard to consider the birth of the environmental movement without mentioning Watkins and the rippling, far-reaching influence of his 1861 images of Yosemite. All that came after – Lincoln’s signing of the Yosemite grant, Muir’s nature writing, the founding of conservation groups such as the Sierra Club – can be traced back to the intake of breath when his images were seen for the first time.”

20th Century 1900 —

Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams 1942 USA

Ansel Easton Adams was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association of photographers advocating “pure” photography which favored sharp focus and the use of the full tonal range of a photograph…even creating a Zonal System to ensure that all tonal values are represented in the images. Ansel Adams was an advocate of environmental protection, national parks and creating an enduring legacy of responses to the power of nature and sublime conditions…

Don McCullin 2000 UK
Fay Godwin 1985 UK

RURAL LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHERS

Wynn Bullock

Fay Godwin

Edward Weston

Minor White

Don McCullin

Eliot Porter

Jem Southam

Jem Southam – Rockfalls, River Mouths, Ponds | The Photographers Gallery
Whale Chine, 1994, Jem Southam

BLOG POSTS to complete…

  1. An introduction to rural landscape photography, including a definition and mood-board of influential images
  2. Create an in-depth case study that analyses and interprets the work of a key landscape photographer…EG: Ansel Adams or Edward Weston or Fay Godwin or Don McCullin (or similar)

3. Create a blog post that defines and explains what Romanticism is in Landscape Photography…include examples and make reference to Romanticism in other art-forms eg painting. Discuss the notion of the sublime and the picturesque.

4. Create a mind-map / mood-board of potential locations around Jersey that you could record and create romanticized landscape photographs of….look for extremes (either calm or wild, derelict, desolate, abandoned or stormy, battered and at the mercy of nature)

AIM to photograph the coastline, the sea, the fields, the valleys, the woods, the sand dunes etc.
USE the wild and dynamic weather and elements to help create a sense of atmosphere, and evoke an emotional response within your photo assignment.
PHOTOGRAPH before dark, at sunset or during sunrise…and include rain, fog, mist, ice, wind etc in your work
LOOK for LEADING LINES such as pathways, roads etc to help dissect your images and provide a sense of journey / discovery to them.

5. Take 150-200 photos of romanticised rural landscapes. . Add your edited selective contact sheets / select your best 3-5 images / include edits and screen shots to show this process. |Ensure you include both monochrome and colour examples.

6. Produce comparative analysis between one of your images and a landscape photographer – discuss similarities and differences.

REMEMBER you MUST use TECHNICAL / VISUAL / CONTEXTUAL / CONCEPTUAL to analyse effectively.

Ensure that you include the following key terms in your blog posts…

  • Composition (rule of thirds, balance, symmetry)
  • Perspective (linear and atmospheric, vanishing points)
  • Depth (refer to aperture settings and focus points, foreground, mid-ground and back-ground)
  • Scale (refer to proportion, but also detail influenced by medium / large format cameras)
  • Light ( intensity, temperature, direction)
  • Colour (colour harmonies / warm / cold colours and their effects)
  • Shadow (strength, lack of…)
  • Texture and surface quality
  • Tonal values ( contrast created by highlights, low-lights and mid-tones)
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is landscape-photography_using-lines-effectively-while-shooting-landscapes.jpg
Leading Lines
Image result for rule of thirds landscape photography
Composition : The Rule of Thirds Grid
Image result for fibonacci sequence landscape photography
Composition : Fibonacci Curve / Golden ratio

https://petapixel.com/2016/09/14/20-composition-techniques-will-improve-photos/

Camera Handling Skills

EXPOSURE BRACKETING

Exposure bracketing means that you take two more pictures: one slightly under-exposed (usually by dialing in a negative exposure compensation, say -1/3EV), and the second one slightly over-exposed (usually by dialing in a positive exposure compensation, say +1/3EV), again according to your camera’s light meter.

TASK : try a few variation of exposure bracketing to create the exposures that you want…you may already have pre-sets on your phone or camera to help you do this, but experimenting manually will help your understanding!

Many digital cameras include an Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) option. When AEB is selected, the camera automatically takes three or more shots, each at a different exposure. Auto Exposure Bracketing is very useful for capturing high contrast scenes for HDR like this…

…by taking the same photograph with a range of different exposure settings

bracketed-exposures

You can use Exposure Compensation to quickly adjust how light or how dark your exposure will be using these controls…

canon

Or set the amount of “bracketing” like this…

g0101331

PAST WORK

Always follow the 10 Step Process and create multiple blog posts for each unit to ensure you tackle all Assessment Objectives thoroughly :

  1. Mood-board, definition and introduction (AO1)
  2. Mind-map of ideas (AO1)
  3. Artist References / Case Studies (must include image analysis) (AO1)
  4. Photo-shoot Action Plan (AO3)
  5. Multiple Photoshoots + contact sheets (AO3)
  6. Image Selection, sub selection, review and refine ideas (AO2)
  7. Image Editing/ manipulation / experimentation (AO2)
  8. Presentation of final outcomes (AO4)
  9. Compare and contrast your work to your artist reference(AO1)
  10. Evaluation and Critique (AO1+AO4)

identity- iNSPIRATIONS

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The identity of a person or place is the characteristics they have that distinguish them from others.

Identity can be influenced by “place”, or belonging, your environment or upbringing. Many factors lie within someone’s personal identity, such as gender identity, cultural identity, social identity, geographical identity, political identity.

CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW FOR ANALYSIS OF INSPIRATIONS

These factors can change how people think of others and themselves which can also lead to a lack of identity where an individual may question who they are and may feel disconnected from who they are as a person.

INSPIRATIONS

CORINNE DAY

Corinne Day (Feb 19 1962 – Aug 28 2010) was a British photographer whose influence on the style and perception of photography in the early 1990s and onwards has been immense.

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Self taught, Day brought a more documentary look to fashion imagery, in which she often included autobiographical elements. Her pictures unflinchingly document her life and relationships with a realist snapshot aesthetic-representing a youth culture set against the glamour of fashion and avoiding fictionalization or voyeurism.

Gaining notoriety both for a scandalous photo of Kate Moss in Vogue in 1993 and for pioneering so-called ‘grunge’ fashion photography, she was exiled from the mainstream fashion media-which had always been wary of her potential for controversy

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FRANCESCA WOODMAN

Francesca Stern Woodman was an American photographer best known for her black and white pictures featuring either herself or female models. Despite her short career, which ended with her suicide at the age of 22, Woodman produced over 800 untitled prints.

Influenced by Surrealism and Conceptual Art, her work often featured recurring symbolic motifs such as birds, mirrors, and skulls. Many of her photographs show women, naked or clothed, blurred, merging with their surroundings, or whose faces are obscured.

RYAN MCGINLEY

Ryan McGinley was born on October 17, 1977, in Ramsey, New Jersey. He received a BFA in graphic design at Parsons School of Design, New York, in 2000. That same year he staged his first solo show of photographs, The Kids Are Alright, inside an abandoned warehouse in New York’s SoHo neighbourhood.

McGinley’s work typically features young, white models outdoors, captured in a carefree mode that the artist calls an “evidence of fun. He gravitated toward street culture early in his adolescence and began hanging out with a band of self-proclaimed outsiders—skateboarders, club kids, graffiti artists, queer-identified youths, and indie musicians.

Mood board, definition and introduction

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Definition

The definition of identity is who you are, the way you think about yourself, the way you are viewed by the world and the characteristics that define you.

definition in photography: A photograph resembles the likeness of what appeared before the lens. So, in the case of a profile picture, family album or mug shot, identity is based on the repetition of sameness that is evidenced by the image produced by the camera.

Mood board

Claude Cahun

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Claude Cahun, born Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob was a French surrealist photographer, sculptor, and writer.

Schwob adopted the pseudonym Claude Cahun in 1914. Cahun is best known as a writer and self-portraitist, who assumed a variety of performative personae.

Cahun’s work is both political and personal. During World War II, Cahun lived in Jersey and was active as a resistance worker and propagandist

Cahun lived in Jersey during the Occupation, her resistance activities during that time led to her imprisonment.

A death sentence was commuted and she was freed from prison when Jersey was liberated. She lived in Jersey with her stepsister until her death in 1954.

Since her “rediscovery” over a decade ago, Claude Cahun has attracted what amounts to a cult following among art historians and critics working from postmodern, feminist, and queer theoretical perspectives.

Photographs of Cahun posing in the 1920s and 30s in various dramatic settings and guises have been displayed alongside contemporary works, showing the timelessness of her work.

Identity: Editing

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Some Before and Afters:

before
after – I decreased the black because I wanted the background to be way darker and played around with the contrast and shadows. I also decreased the whites to make it more ghost like.
before
after – I increased contrast to make the image a bit darker, then turned the highlights all the way down ( it was too bright and I wanted my head to be more visible) and shadows all the way up because it was too dark.
before
after – Here I slightly cropped the image to have the matches more in focus. I also tilted it because it wasn’t straight. I then turned the image black and white and played around with the contrast and blacks to make it stand out more.

More Final Edits:

  • I like this image because it’s confusing me. I like how I can barely see my face and how my hair is so much shorter than it actually is and how I’m just blending into the background because of the slow shutter speed.
  • I really like this picture because I think the slow shutter speed made it look interesting. I just like how my face is hard to see because it’s so bright and how it looks ghost like.
  • This is one of my favourite images because it looks almost like my body is leaving my soul and I think that is interesting.
  • I decided to keep this picture with the other ones because it contrasts them. Unlike the other edits, this image is colourful and happy and for once you can actually see my face and my smile.

URBAN & INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPES

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Over the next two weeks you will be looking at producing blog posts and responding photographically to:

  • New Topographics
  • Urban Landscapes
  • Industrial Landscapes
  • Camera Skills – vantage points

URBAN LANDSCAPES

The New Topographics

New Topographics was a term coined by William Jenkins in 1975 to describe a group of American photographers (such as Robert Adams and Lewis Baltz) whose pictures had a similar banal aesthetic, in that they were formal, mostly black and white prints of the urban landscape…

The beginning of the death of “The American Dream”

LEWIS BALTZ
Many of the photographers associated with The New Topographics including Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz, Nicholas Nixon and Bernd and Hiller Becher, were inspired by the man-made…selecting subject matter that was matter-of-fact.

New Topographics inspired by the likes of Albert Renger Patszch and the notion of The New Objectivity

Parking lots, suburban housing and warehouses were all depicted with a beautiful stark austerity, almost in the way early photographers documented the natural landscape. An exhibition at the International Museum of Photography in Rochester, New York featuring these photographers also revealed the growing unease about how the natural landscape was being eroded by industrial development.

STEPHEN SHORE

The New Topographics were to have a decisive influence on later photographers including those artists who became known as the Düsseldorf School of Photography.

BLOG POST: Photoshoot / Practical Responses…

  1. Produce a list of places in Jersey you could go and shoot urban landscapes. Create a blog post as a mood board or photo shoot plan. Scrapyards, building sites, cranes, restoration yards, derelict ruins, car parks, underpass, harbours and dockyards, industrial centres, retail park, Stadiums, floodlight arenas, staircases, road systems, Circuit boards, pipework, telephone poles, towers, pylons, Shop displays, escalators, bars, libraries, theatres and cinemas, Gardens, parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, etc.
  2. Possible titles to inspire you and choose from… Dereliction / Isolation / Lonely Places / Open Spaces / Close ups / Freedom / Juxtaposition / Old and new / Erosion / Altered Landscapes / Utopia / Dystopia / Wastelands / Barren / Skyscapes / Urban Decay / Former Glories / Habitats / Social Hierarchies / Entrances and Exits / Storage / Car Parks / Looking out and Looking in / Territory / Domain / Concealed and Revealed

Look at how the New Topographics approach has inspired landscape photography and the way we document our surroundings / the way we are using and transforming the land.

You should look at photographers such as…

Ed Ruscha, “Every Building On The Sunset Strip” 

The artist Ed Ruscha is famous for his paintings and prints but is also known for his series of photographic books based on typologies, among them Every Building on the Sunset Strip, Twentysix Gasoline Stations, Some Los Angeles Apartments, and Thirtyfour Parking Lots. Ruscha employs the deadpan style found in many photographic topologies. The book shown above is a 24 foot long accordion fold booklet that documents 1 1/2 miles of the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. 

Here’s another topology for you to look at by Ólafur Elíasson  : 

Thom and Beth Atkinson< Missing Buildings, 2016 
https://www.thomatkinson.com/missing-buildings

Image result for rut blees luxemburg
Rut Blees Luxemburg , A Modern Project, 1996

Research a selection of these photographers and respond with…

  • similar imagery from your own photo-shoots / image library
  • analytical comparisons and contrasts
  • a presentation of final images

Stephen Shore, Beverly Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, California, June 21, 1975, 1975, chromogenic color print

Analysis and discussion… starting points and key features of The New Topographics

  • Foreground vs background | Dominant features
  • Composition | low horizon line | Square format
  • Perspective and detail / cluttering
  • Wide depth of field | Large Format Camera
  • Colour | impact and relevance
  • Nationalism vs mobility vs isolation
  • Social commentary | The American Dream ?
  • An appreciation of the formal elements : line, shape, form, texture, pattern, tone etc

Remember to use this

Picture

Follow this 10 Step Process and create multiple blog posts for each unit to ensure you tackle all Assessment Objectives thoroughly :

  1. Mood-board, definition and introduction (AO1)
  2. Mind-map of ideas (AO1)
  3. Artist References / Case Studies (must include image analysis) (AO1)
  4. Photo-shoot Action Plan (AO3)
  5. Multiple Photoshoots + contact sheets (AO3)
  6. Image Selection, sub selection (AO2)
  7. Image Editing/ manipulation / experimentation (AO2)
  8. Presentation of final outcomes (AO4)
  9. Compare and contrast your work to your artist reference(AO1)
  10. Evaluation and Critique (AO1+AO4)

What do I photograph?

ROADS / BUILDINGS / STREETS / ST HELIER / FLATS / CAR PARKS / OFFICE BLOCKS / PLAYING FIELDS / SCHOOL / SHOPS / SUPERMARKETS / BUILDING SITES / TRAFFIC / HOTELS

Where to shoot ?

ORDANCE YARD / ST AUBINS HIGH STREET / COBBLED BACK STREETS / OLD ST HELIER / NEW ST HELIER / FLATS / ESPLANADE / TOWN / CAR PARKS / FORT REGENT / FINANCE DISTRICT / UNDERPASS / TUNNEL / NIGHT TIME / PIER ROAD CAR PARK / HUE COURT / LE MARAIS FLATS / PLAYING FIELDS / SCHOOLS / ANN STREET BREWERY BUILDING SITE / SPRINGFIELD STDIUM
Image result for urban landscapes gurtsky
TASK ONE
  1. Research and explore The New Topographics and how photographers have responded to man’s impact on the land, and how they found a sense of beauty in the banal ugliness of functional land use… 
  2. Create a blog post that defines and explains The New Topographics and the key features and artists of the movement.
  3. ANSWER : What was the new topographics a reaction to?
TASK TWO
  1. A case study on your chosen NEW TOPOGRAPHIC landscape photographer. Choose from…ROBERT ADAMS, STEPHEN SHORE, JOE DEAL, FRANK GOLKHE, NICHOLAS NIXON, LEWIS BALTZ, THE BECHERS, HENRY WESSEL JR, JOHN SCHOTT ETC to write up a case study that will inspire your own photography.
  2. Analyse one image of this photographers work. Use the vocabulary support sheet to help. https://hautlieucreative.co.uk/photo22al/2020/08/20/photo-vocab-support/
TASK THREE
  1. Produce a list of places in Jersey you could go and shoot urban landscapes. Create a blog post of a visual mood board and photo shoot plan. Scrapyards, building sites, cranes, restoration yards, derelict ruins, car parks, underpass, harbours and dockyards, industrial centres, retail park, Stadiums, floodlight arenas, staircases, road systems, Circuit boards, pipework, telephone poles, towers, pylons, Shop displays, escalators, bars, libraries, theatres and cinemas, Gardens, parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, etc.
  2. Possible titles to inspire you and choose from… Dereliction / Isolation / Lonely Places / Open Spaces / Close ups / Freedom / Juxtaposition / Old and new / Erosion / Altered Landscapes / Utopia / Dystopia / Wastelands / Barren / Skyscapes / Urban Decay / Former Glories / Habitats / Social Hierarchies / Entrances and Exits / Storage / Car Parks / Looking out and Looking in / Territory / Domain / Concealed and Revealed
TASK FOUR
  1. First photoshoot inspired and influenced by your first chosen urban landscape photographer. (+100 photographs). Can be any urban landscape photographer, but remember to include a brief case study and examples of their work that have influenced your work.
  2. Select, consider and decide on best images (show contact sheets)
  3. Develop ideas through digital manipulation (ie: cropping, contrast, colour balance etc.)
  4. Realise a final outcome.

Once you have completed your photo walk from Havre Des Pas to La Collette you should aim to make comparisons with photographers and their work

Your image selection and editing may be guided by this work…and you must show that you can make creative connections.

For Example Albert Renger Patszch and The New Objectivity

https://www.atlasofplaces.com/photography/new-objectivity/

Keld Helmer Petersen

https://www.keldhelmerpetersen.com/1950-1959

TASK FIVE
  1. Second photoshoot inspired and influenced by your second chosen urban landscape photographer. see list below URBAN PHOTOGRAPHERS (+100 photographs). Can be any urban landscape photographer, but remember to include a brief case study and examples of their work that have influenced your work.
    Ensure you experiment with different vantage points eg: worms eye view etc.
  2. Select, consider and decide on best images (show contact sheets)
  3. Develop ideas through digital manipulation (ie: cropping, contrast, colour balance etc.)
  4. Realise a final outcome.
TASK SIX
  1. Select one of your photographs to compare and contrast against one photograph of your chosen photographer.
  2. Create a venn diagram to illustrate the similarities and differences between the images.
  3. Using this information and prompts from the Photo Vocab Sheet write an in depth and thorough analysis. https://hautlieucreative.co.uk/photo22al/2020/08/20/photo-vocab-support/

Always ensure you have enough evidence of…

  1. moodboards (use influential images)
  2. mindmap of ideas and links
  3. case studies (artist references-show your knowledge and understanding)
  4. photo-shoot action plans / specifications (what, why, how, who, when , where)
  5. photo-shoots + contact sheets (annotated)
  6. appropriate image selection and editing techniques
  7. presentation of final ideas and personal responses
  8. analysis and evaluation of process
  9. compare and contrast to a key photographer
  10. critique / review / reflection of your outcomes

URBAN LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHERS
  • Eugene Agtet
  • Ed Ruscha
  • Thomas Struth
  • Gabrielle Basilico
  • Gerry Johansson
  • W. Eugine Smith
  • Rut Blees Luxemburg
  • Panos Kokkinios
  • Naoya Hatakeyama

Eugene Agtet

Ed Ruscha

Thomas Struth

Gabrielle Basilico

Gerry Johansson

W. Eugene Smith

Rut Blees Luxemburg

Panos Kokkinios

Naoya Hatakeyama



industrial landscape photographers
  • Alexander Apostol
  • Bernd & Hilla Becher
  • Donovan Wylie
  • Edward Burntsky
  • Frank Breuer
  • Gerry Johansson
  • Joel Sternfeld
  • Josef Schultz
  • Lewis Baltz
  • Charles Sheeler

Alexander Apostol

Bernd & Hilla Becher

Donovan Wylie

Edward Burntsky

Frank Breuer

Gerry Johansson

Joel Sternfeld

Josef Schultz

Lewis Baltz

Charles Sheeler

Image result for ansel adams quotes

Technical: Shoot using different vantage points.

Why Is Vantage Point Important?

Your vantage point affects the angles, composition, and narrative of a photograph. It is an integral part of the decision-making process when taking a photograph.

We often spend more time considering camera settings and lighting, than exploring viewpoints. A picture taken from a unique vantage point makes us think about the subject in a different way. Perspectives from high or low angles add emotion to the photograph.

Eye-level vantage points provide a feeling of directness and honesty. Changing your vantage point can include or exclude part of the photo’s story.

As you look through your viewfinder, ask yourself some questions:

  • How could I add interest to the subject?
  • How can I show the viewer a new perspective on this subject?
  • Do I always stand in this position when taking photos?
  • What else can I include in the frame to tell the story? How can I make this happen?

TRY LOOKING UP, LOOKING DOWN, AT AN ANGLE, FROM A DISTANCE, A WORMS EYE VIEW ETC.

WORMS EYE VIEW

WHERE IN JERSEY ??

TYPOLOGIES and the landscape

Bernd and Hilla Becher – Typologies of industrial architecture

Read this useful introduction to the Becher’s work from American Photo magazine which describes their interest in the ‘Grid’ and their influence on future generations of photographers, members of the Düsseldorf School.

The term ‘Typology’ was first used to describe a style of photography when Bernd and Hilla Becher began documenting dilapidated German industrial architecture in 1959. The couple described their subjects as ‘buildings where anonymity is accepted to be the style’. Stoic and detached, each photograph was taken from the same angle, at approximately the same distance from the buildings. Their aim was to capture a record of a landscape they saw changing and disappearing before their eyes so once again, Typologies not only recorded a moment in time, they prompted the viewer to consider the subject’s place in the world.

The Bercher’s influence as lecturers at the Dusseldorf School of Photography passed Typologies onto the next generation of photographers. Key photographic typologists such as Thomas Struth, Thomas Ruff, Thomas Demand and Gillian Wearing lead to a resurgence of these documentary-style reflections on a variety of subject matter from Ruff’s giant ‘passport’ photos to Demand’s desolate, empty cities.

You could:

Create your own typological series documenting repeated forms where they live and work.  For example, you might like to choose one of the following subjects:

  • front doors on the street where you live
  • cracks in the pavement
  • fences and walls
  • the colours of all the cars in the supermarket car park
  • telegraph poles viewed from below
  • TV aerials silhouetted against the sky

KEVIN BAUMAN


Images from 100 Abandoned Houses – A record of abandonment in Detroit in the mid 90’s by Kevin Bauman