The Anthropocene epoch comes from the Greek term for human “Anthropo” and new “cene”. It is a word used to highlight how humans have made an irreversible and detrimental impact to the earth which will cause a heavy influence in the future to ecosystems, environment, biodiversity, etc. This period can also be known as “The great acceleration” due to the modifications we have made to the planet through carbon dioxide emissions, ocean acidification, habitat destruction, etc and how quickly and unexpectedly these changes have came around in the last 60 years but not everyone agrees that these are enough indicators to declare a new geographical epoch.
Anthropocene should be tackled through photography because it is a ever-growing, high influential community through audience and photographer, which is able to use creative ways to catch other peoples attention towards why we should be more careful of our plastic use.

Here are the different types of epochs we have already experienced:

Plastic is a key marker in the Anthropocene as plastic production is seen and used everywhere with millions of tonnes being produced each year. Due to the fact that plastic isn’t biodegradable it usually ends up littering soils, ocean beds, streets, etc which can be very harmful to wildlife. For my project, I will mainly be focussing on the effect of plastic bags and raising the awareness of how damaging they can be.

Photographers who have focussed on photographing Anthropocene –

• Naomi White
• Vilde Rolfsen
• Mandy Barker
• Keith Arnatt
• Edward Burtynsky
• Jennifer Baichwal
• Nicholas De Pencier
• George Marazakis

For these edits, which I like the outcomes of, I wanted to experiment in the style of Charles Sheeler and Rut Blees-Luxemburg, I began by darkening the photo slightly with the contrast, exposure, shadows and blacks which gave it a darker appearance. Then to make the lights appear brighter, similar to Luxembourg’s work I brought the whites up which amplified the lights which were on inside the office building. Then to give the photo the “streetlight” effect which appears in Luxembourg’s work I made the temperature and hue of the photo warmer but to stop it turning completely yellow I adjusted the tint, vibrancy and saturation which would cancel that out of happening. I then changed it into black and white as well which is similar to Thomas Struths work, and I really liked how it turned out because it creates a lot of different shapes which are highlighted by the lighting.

For these edits, I started off by working in the style of Thomas Struth where a few of his photos are quite dim and bland in the colour palette which is used when he photographs and as the picture was already quite dark I began by mainly adjusting the highlights to tone down the brightness and the shadows as well to make it appear darker and gloomier, like Struths work. To create the dim, bland and washed out effect Thomas Struth reciprocates in his work I brought the temp and the tint up to make the photo slightly warmer then brought the vibrancy and saturation down which drained quite a bit of colour from the photo. I then experimented with the colours in the photo where I was able to adjust how they appeared on the photo, which was able to be changed drastically, as the colour was being drained to appear bland. Then to experiment further with his style as he uses black and white filter in a lot of his work I selected the filter but I didn’t like how it turned out a it came out too dark, especially in the bottom left corner where the building is completely lost.

For this edit, which I think is successful and I really like, I primarily focussed on editing in the style of Rut Blees-Luxembourg because the photo already had a warm, orange/yellow “streetlight” tone/feel to it due tot he lighting of the underpass. I chose the photo because I liked how the 2 cars were in the same space opposite each other, showing them both going different ways. I didn’t want to change a lot of this photograph while editing as I liked the effect it already created so I adjusted ad controlled the lighting a small bit and made most of the lines more defined. To brighten the effect further through the style of Luxembourg so to define the darker tones I applied a small tint/temp towards it which helped to control it then used the orange and yellow colour to0 give it a little more vibrancy and bri9ng it to life. Then to centre the photo up as it wasn’t straight I cropped it which made it centred and appeared cleaner with the straight lines.

For these 2 edits, which I did in Adobe Lightroom in the style of Rut Blees-Luxembourg, I began by bringing the lighting down from inside the office building which made the photo appear slightly overexposed and this effect can be clearly seen through the windows in the background where everything else gets lost (such as objects in the windows) because of this. On the other hand, I think that the warm, yellow tones of the building work well with the orange which creates a good contrast of colours making it stand out well due to the abstract shape as well which goes against the traditional, uniformed order of the photo of straight lines and square boxes which are repeated throughout.

Most and least successful edits –

Most –

Successful:
– Yellow, orange, brown tones work well together.
– Cars going opposite ways, same place in the road.
– Similar to Rut Blees-Luxembourg’s work due to the warm, soft lighting which I’ve created.
– Creates a distinct contrast against the darker surroundings above.
– Different shapes of straight lines, square boxes on side, lines in the road all work well together and doesn’t make it look messy.

Not successful:
– Not centred or straight.
– Too much dark space above, cropping needed.
– Slight overexposure on the space in front of the car on the right, creating a glare.

Successful:
– Balanced amount of light and dark space.
– Straight lines, uniformed shapes.
– Taken from an angle which adds dimension.
– Mixture of black/white tones which work well together, don’t overpower one another.
– Similar to photographers work due to the angle which I’ve taken it at and the building which I’ve photographed.

Not successful:
– Needs to be cropped slightly at the bottom to make the windows appear more level to help balance the photo and shapes in it.
– Crop the right side as there is too much negative dark space on the side.
– Adjust the darkness slightly in the middle to make the windows appear clearer and not as if they are blacked out.

Least –

Successful:
– The buildings follow one continuous line, no gap in-between which adds fluidity to the photo.
– Defined shapes created through the windows, bright and able to see clearly.
– Taken at a slight angle which changes the perspective and makes it appear bigger.

Not successful:
– Too much dark space on the top right corner of the picture, drowns the smaller building out.
– Needs to be cropped at the bottom or brightened to make it not appear as one huge block of dark colour.

Successful:
– Strong, vibrant orange colour contrasts well against the background.
– Adds a different shape into it.
– Buildings are continuous in the background, no gaps in-between adding fluidity to the photo.

Not successful:
– Yellow tones have made the darker areas a dark brown, instead of black.
– Lighting in the buildings in the back have turned quite overexposed to the windows get lost in each other.

For my second urban photoshoot I went on a walk and mainly took photos down at Havre Des Pas, a bathing pool/beach, and La Collette, an industrial site, there are also other various pictures which I took along the way of various buildings and building sites which I think fitted under the theme of urban for my work. I really enjoyed this photoshoot as I was able to explore a range of different sites with various objects, pathways, buildings etc to photograph and I’m very happy with how many of the pictures have turned out.

My 4 best shots to edit –

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These are the 4 pictures which I think are my most successful and will edit in Adobe Lightroom from my walk from La Collette to Havre Des Pas because I like the way the sunlight compliments them nicely and doesn’t overexpose them and how I have references to my photographers which I have chosen to study as I wanted to make sure their influence was seen as I thought about what photos to take.

For this work, I will be attempting to edit in the style of Keld Helmer-Petersen. I will be choosing two photos, which I think are successful and will work well in his style where he uses sharp edges to create abstract shapes and bringing them into photoshop where I will edit them and then I will compare them to his work and see which one I like more and I think shows a better influence of huis work to mine.

Editing in photoshop #1 –

Editing in photoshop #2 –

Comparison to Keld Helmer-Petersen –

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I enjoyed working in the style of Keld Helmer-Petersen and chose this photo of my work as my most successful edit which I completed to compare with Keld Helmer-Petersen’s work because I really like how both of the photos have sharp, bold and black lines which shows the structure of the object well but also creates the illusion which you don’t really know what it actually is because the lines are quite vague with their descriptions so it leaves a lot to the imagination, which I think creates a successful edit in his style as the photos aren’t quite clear in what they are which is what I wanted to incorporate in to my work as well. I also like how my photo has different layer to it to make the industrial object appear shiny because I think that it helps to break up the solid black lines and give the photo that extra layer of dimension and individuality as it won’t be the same on another photo due to the lighting from the sun and the weather whereas Petersen’s work uses more bold, black and defined lines which I didn’t really like.

For my first photoshoot, focussing on urban landscapes, I began at the top of fort regent which I didn’t like and then I went into town to the financial district which is full of many office buildings which are very modern which simple square/rectangular shapes. I explored a range of different angles to explore the variety of lightning and shapes which the offices provided. I really enjoyed this because I like how the darker background as I took these during the evening contrasts against the bright, white lights of the building which illuminate it and bring it to life.

These are my best shots which I have chosen from my photoshoot which I chose on Adobe Lightroom by uploading them and then going through them by selecting them by pressing ‘Z’ when I liked a photo and thought it was successful. Next I will be choosing 4 pictures to experiment with and edit on Lightroom in my sleeted photographers styles.

My 4 photos –

Throughout this photoshoot, I gathered 16 photos which I think are my best shots to show a urban landscape which I can edit and experiment on in Adobe Lightroom. I really like how these 4 photos turned out because they are able to be similar to my photographers work, Rut Blees Luxemburg and Thomas Struth, as they both focus on taking pictures of office buildings whereas Luxemburg does this at night which I did for this photoshoot and during the day will be my 2nd photoshoot. I wanted to focus on the angles ad shapes which have been illuminated due to the lighting from the office buildings in this and I really like the photo of the underpass as it shoes 2 cars going opposite ways and the dark, orange lighting makes it look old and rustic. In Adobe Lightroom while editing I’m going to experiment with different filters such as black and white and different ways to crop the photos to make them look unusual and solely focussed on the buildings with little background.

This is my mind map of ideas which I will be referencing during my photoshoots for ideas of what I can take pictures of. I will mainly focus my photography at night, which I prefer, but will also experiment during the day as well.

• A Danish photographer.
• Studied at the Institute of Design Art school in Chicago.
• He developed a graphic black and white aesthetic which he is mainly known for.
• He studied various silhouettes and industrial structured which he turned into dynamic, abstract patterns,
• Once he returned to Chicago he then produced various photos of harbours and railways which led to a collection of photos being published in the book “Fragments of a city” in 1960.

Examples of his work –

Analysis –

I think that this is a successful picture taken by Keld Helmer-Petersen in his well-known, abstract graphic black and white style which I will use to reference in my own work because I like how Helmer-Petersen has taken a photo of a fire escape where there would be many lines created due to the stairs which creates the atmosphere of chaos which would happen if there was a fire as everyone would be panicking. I also like how the black and white graphic effect creates this feeling of smoke, which would be caused if there was a real fire and makes the photo appear as if it is foggy as the background is a murky white colour which would be created in an event of a fire and it stands out well against the dark railings because of the heavy contrast between them of the two tones, which I really like as it is able to catch your attention and make you think about what may be happening in this photo and if there was a real fire taking place. I think that the bendy line, created by a railing adds a high level of contrast to the photo as it is seen to be very uniformed in a way with straight lines which are sort of in an order whereas this looks really out of place because the others are straight whereas this is not.

• An American painter and commercial photographer.
• Born in 1883 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and passed away in 1965.
• Studied at the Pennsylvanian Museum school of Industrial art from 1900-03.
• Recognised an a founder of modernist photography/art who also experienced with industrial/rural photography.

Examples of his work –

Analysis –

I am going to work in Sheeler’s style and have his influence within my work because I believe that this photo taken by Charles Sheeler because is a successful representation of industrial/rural photography because it shows a pipe of some sort, from a factory which is currently working as you can see the smoke which is produced which can create the idea of how these fumes are impacting the atmosphere due to mans creations. I also like how this photo has been taken in black and white and brought in different grey tones as it can help show how old tis factory may be and how it hasn’t been around for only a short period of time, instead a long one. I think that the texture also adds a layer of depth and feel to the photograph as it makes it look very heavy, strong and industrial as many factory machines would have this exterior.

• Born in 1967 in Germany.
• Studied photography in the London University of Communications.
• British based photographer.
• Focuses on taking photos at night of the urban landscape, with office blocks or street lights only being featured in her photos.

Examples of her work –

Analysis –

This picture taken by Rut Blees Luxemburg of a part of a building during the evening/night time is a successful picture which I really like and going to take inspiration from so that I can bring their influence into my own work during my photoshoots because I like how there are different shapes from the building which can create a range of different shadows, which it has done in this photo, as it uses the light from streetlights or surrounding lights to create a variety of shapes. I also like how one side of the building is illuminated unlike the other because it shows the rich, golden colour of the building which makes it feel as if it is a warm and welcoming atmosphere to the space and others whereas the other side is darker and more dismal, showing no signs of life which can create an unwelcoming and cold atmosphere which can make people feel as if they don’t want to go in there. There is also a level of personality and uniqueness which is brought into the photo through the sign which is position on the side of the building and taken so that it is in full view of the photo. I really like how Rut Blees Luxemburg decided to add this in as it creates a backstory for the photo and you wonder why she has taken it and if it holds any significance to her.​
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In my work, I am going to take photos during the night (and some in the day too) which is like Rut Blees Luxemburg’s work because I like how the lightning can create different shapes, feelings, shadows, etc. I will be taking photos of various office buildings and other industrial areas where they have modern straight-lined shapes on them because I like how it can create a sleek, repeated look to the photo.​

• A German photographer born in 1954.
• Studied at the Dusseldorf school of art from 1973-80.
• His work focuses on urban landscapes, such as industrial areas and deserted streets, so he can capture the conditions of society which are always changing through architecture and urban development.
• Many of his older work was shot in black and white but he eventually began to use colour as of recently.
• He has had many solo exhibitions in various places of the world.

Examples of his work –

Analysis –

I think that this is a really successful picture which is taken by Thomas Struth of 2 buildings in a city due to the way that the sky is plain and white, which can be used to frame the buildings as it is able to highlight them because the building is a darker orange/brown colour with black accents which contrasts well against it. I also like in this picture how between the two buildings there is no gaps, like they are continuous, as it creates the effect where you aren’t sure where one might end or begin as it is unable to reveal how truly big both of these buildings are. This picture is also very deserted, there isn’t any humans to populate it which can help to create a story for the photo as it makes you wonder what day it is and what time of day it may be because it creates a very dystopian feel as both of the buildings look abandoned and forgotten to civilisation and there are also cracks in the road which shows how old this place may be because of how it is decaying over the years.

In my own work I would like to incorporate Thomas Struths use of the continuous building in my own photoshoots because I like the effect that it creates. I am going to do my photos at night instead of the day unlike Struths photos because I think that the dark contrast of the sky would work well against modern buildings which are usually white and professional looking due to the way they are built with slick square, uniformed shapes.