First I decided to choose a photo to use for the front cover and I chose one from an old photoshoot at La Rocque:
Then I put all the photos I wanted to use in a collection and went to the book tab of Lightroom
Then I dragged my photos in to the pages, leaving a white border around the images. I then clicked the button “send book to blurb”
Finally, I ordered the book so that I could present it with my final work.
The aim of my project is to show two photos in the same spot with the tide in and out.
I started by selecting my images by using the pick/reject tool in Lightroom.
This was useful for me because I could see which images to use for my work.
Here I am using the box draw tool to only adjust the settings on one part of the image. This is particularly useful when taking seascapes because of how much the sea and sky contrast, so to fix that I changed the exposure for only part of the image.
In Lightroom I also used the crop tool and the automatic transformation tool to line up the horizons in both photos so they looked the most similar:
Before:
Process:
After:
How does the work of Michael Marten and Gustave le Gray explore the sea and how it changes?
‘His beautiful and surprising photographs reveal how the twice daily rhythm of ebb and flood can dramatically transform the landscape’ – Michael Marten sea change text
The area of my study is looking at romanticism and coastal photography. I chose to study these two photographers because they make similar work, but in different time periods. This can show a contrast between the two artists while still focusing on the same subject. I will be responding to the question by using a comparative approach, and going into detail about how they took their photos. Also another intention of my study is to compare the photographers work to my own, and use examples of my own work next to theirs. This area of photography interests me because we live on an island and are surrounded by the sea. Also, Jersey has a tidal range of almost 12m, the third largest tidal range in the world. Because of this, the size difference of the island when the tide is in and out is huge. This tidal range is what I aim to show in my own photos. This project links to some of my previous studies as well, for example when I was photographing rock types, a lot of it was on the coast. On photoshop, I plan to experiment on photoshop to make the photos look as similar as possible, the only difference being the tide and the time the photo was taken. In Lightroom, I will experiment with changing the exposure and other settings only on part of the photo, for example the sky. I will also experiment with black and white images which I will be able to compare with the work of Gustave le Gray.
The romanticism era lasted throughout the 19th century and it favoured depicting emotions such as trepidation, horror and nature. Many artists such as Joseph Mallord William Turner found they could express these emotions by painting coastal landscapes. His 1805 painting, ‘The Shipwreck’, was one of the most famous seascape works of the romanticism era. Disasters at sea were a recurring theme of this movement, and in this painting Turner clearly shows this.
The painting depicts the scene of ships in distress, with the white colours of the waves showing the rough conditions. The sky also shows emotion, with dark shades of grey contrasting the colours of the sea. You can see people on the ships, which could maybe be lifeboats from a bigger ship, but he did not state this. This leaves a lot to the imagination and adds a sense of mystery to the painting. Turner shows the dramatic trauma of a shipwreck well, using darker colours which were popular in his early work. These dark colours contrast with the white tops of the waves and the grey sky. One more romanticist painting he made was called ‘Three Seascapes’. This painting was more abstract and used an interesting technique which was showing 3 seascapes in one painting.
The painting was made to show 3 seascapes by flipping the top one around, so the sky serves for 2 of the sea parts if the canvas is flipped. Once again he contrasts the darker colours of the sea with the white crests of the waves. At the top, there is a much darker sea with no white crests. Turner might have made the third upside down seascape on top very different to the others because it stands out to the viewer when the canvas is flipped:
The black colours show the darkness of the sea, and creates a dramatic contrast between the sea and the sky.
Coastal photography has been a popular genre ever since the first cameras were made. Gustave le Gray was a pioneer of this genre from the start. His photographic technique was called combination printing. Because of the limitations at the time, it was hard to capture the sea and the sky at the same time in one image. Le Gray countered this by putting together two negatives, one of the sea and one of the sky. This allowed him to create a tonal balance of the sea and the sky in the final print. He took his most dramatic seascape using this technique in 1857, called ‘the great wave’, on the Mediterranean coast near Montpellier.
This photo shows the aggression of the waves against the rocks and the pier in the distance, while also showing the horizon and how it contrasts the textures of the sea. The clouds are cut off at the horizon where they meet the sea, which indicates the join between the two negatives. Gustave aimed to combine images to show how the human eye sees nature, not through a camera. This is something I aimed for in my project. This area of photography links to the art movement called romanticism. Romanticism aims to show the accurate depiction of lifeforms, landscapes and perspective of colour and light. It also aims to steer away from artificiality. This movement links to my work as well because in my project I aimed to show natural images of the sea and the sky in the same spot 6 hours apart, with little artificiality.
I took this photo in Brighton as the sun was rising. The photography culture in this city is mainly focused on the sea, and it has been one of the best places to take coastal photos in the UK ever since the genre became popular. My photo is similar to Gustave le Gray’s as it shows the contrast between the sea and the sky and clouds, while also showing the horizon and a pier in the distance. An indication of modernism in my photo compared to Gustave’s, is the vertical pier called the i360 on the left. This shows the 166 year contrast between the photos clearly. In this photo I also tried to show a contrast between the old and abandoned pier on the left which burnt down in 2003, the second pier in the distance which was built in 1899 and is still open, and the vertical i360 on the left which was built in 2016. I captured all 3 in one photo because I wanted to show history and modernism in one photo, whilst also getting the sea and the sky.
Paragraph 3: Michael Marten’s project ‘sea change’ was made to show the contrast between the tide when it was in and out in different areas around England. He would take 2 photos from the exact same spot at low tide and high tide. This inspired me to create my own version in Jersey, as the tidal range here is 12m, the third largest tidal range in the world. In England it’s only 2-5m.
This is a map of Jersey’s tidal range, with the blue parts showing cliff edges with deep sea and the yellow showing bays with intertidal flats and reefs. For my project, I focused on the bottom right yellow area of Jersey as this area has the biggest tidal range. I took photos at La Rocque and Green Island, but most of my photos were in the La Rocque area as there is a pier and views of the next bays over on the left.
An example of Michael Marten’s sea change work:
Some examples of my work at La Rocque:
I took my photos by placing down three pieces of tape at low tide where I chose to position my tripod, and returning 6 hours later at high tide to take a photo in the same spot. By putting the two photos next to each over it shows the viewer how a coastal landscape can change in a matter of hours. This is a quote taken from the text of Michael Marten’s ‘Sea Change’ photobook:
‘One aspect of what makes these photographs so compelling is the fascination of comparing each pair of pictures, spotting what has or hasn’t changed. The contrasting views play with our sense of depth and perspective, and show how subjective is our perception of landscape. The result is a substantial document capturing the variety of the British coastline, a portrait of the maritime landscape that makes visible in a dramatic new way the ebb and flow of tidal waters.’
This is exactly what I aimed for when taking my photos. The fact that Jersey’s tidal range is so big made me think how the same idea could be replicated here to show the uniqueness of the island I live on.
In conclusion, I think Gustave le Gray, Michael Marten and Joseph Mallord William Turner all show romanticism, seascapes and how the sea changes well in their own unique ways. Gustave le Gray invented a technique which was very innovative in the history of seascapes. His work paved the path for the photographers of the next generation to carry on taking photos of the sea. Michael Marten used his unique idea of photographing tidal changes to create a photobook which inspired me to make my own.
However, all three systems are reliant on an element of construction and re-construction. Photographs can be reliable, but can also be manipulated to tell another version of “the truth”. The Romanticists were interested in capturing elements of the The Sublime and dramatizing events and conditions. But Michael Marten is different. He has incorporated aspects of British culture into his documentary of our coastline, as there is a national fascination with both the weather and the tides. As an island nation, and Jersey being a small inter-connected island we are familiar with these kinds of viewpoints and feel a sensitivity towards seascapes and the communities that rely on the seas too.
‘From holiday beaches to industrial estuaries, the photographs record two moments in time, two states of nature.’
Question: How does the work of Michael Marten and Gustave le Gray explore the sea and how it changes?
opening quote: (micheal marten sea change text) ‘His beautiful and surprising photographs reveal how the twice daily rhythm of ebb and flood can dramatically transform the landscape’
Introduction: The area of my study is looking at romanticism and coastal photography. I chose to study these two photographers because they make similar work, but in different time periods. This can show a contrast between the two artists while still focusing on the same subject. I will be responding to the question by using a comparative approach, and going into detail about how they took their photos. Also another intention of my study is to compare the photographers work to my own, and use examples of my own work next to theirs. This area of photography interests me because we live on an island and are surrounded by the sea. Also, Jersey has a tidal range of almost 12m, the third largest tidal range in the world. Because of this, the size difference of the island when the tide is in and out is huge. This tidal range is what I aim to show in my own photos. This project links to some of my previous studies as well, for example when I was photographing rock types, a lot of it was on the coast. On photoshop, I plan to experiment on photoshop to make the photos look as similar as possible, the only difference being the tide and the time the photo was taken. In Lightroom, I will experiment with changing the exposure and other settings only on part of the photo, for example the sky. I will also experiment with black and white images which I will be able to compare with the work of Gustave le Gray.
Pg 1 plan: Historical context: describe how coastal sceneries in landscape panting with reference to J.M. W Turner and his links with Romanticism (possibly discuss theory of the sublime)
Paragraph 1: The romanticism era lasted throughout the 19th century and it favoured depicting emotions such as trepidation, horror and nature. Many artists such as Joseph Mallord William Turner found they could express these emotions by painting coastal landscapes. His 1805 painting, ‘The Shipwreck’, was one of the most famous seascape works of the romanticism era. Disasters at sea were a recurring theme of this movement, and in this painting Turner clearly shows this.
The painting depicts the scene of ships in distress, with the white colours of the waves showing the rough conditions. The sky also shows emotion, with dark shades of grey contrasting the colours of the sea. You can see people on the ships, which could maybe be lifeboats from a bigger ship, but he did not state this. This leaves a lot to the imagination and adds a sense of mystery to the painting. Turner shows the dramatic trauma of a shipwreck well, using darker colours which were popular in his early work. These dark colours contrast with the white tops of the waves and the grey sky. One more romanticist painting he made was called ‘Three Seascapes’. This painting was more abstract and used an interesting technique which was showing 3 seascapes in one painting.
The painting was made to show 3 seascapes by flipping the top one around, so the sky serves for 2 of the sea parts if the canvas is flipped. Once again he contrasts the darker colours of the sea with the white crests of the waves. At the top, there is a much darker sea with no white crests. Turner might have made the third upside down seascape on top very different to the others because it stands out to the viewer when the canvas is flipped:
The black colours show the darkness of the sea, and creates a dramatic contrast between the sea and the sky.
paragraph 2: Coastal photography has been a popular genre ever since the first cameras were made. Gustave le Gray was a pioneer of this genre from the start. His photographic technique was called combination printing. Because of the limitations at the time, it was hard to capture the sea and the sky at the same time in one image. Le Gray countered this by putting together two negatives, one of the sea and one of the sky. This allowed him to create a tonal balance of the sea and the sky in the final print. He took his most dramatic seascape using this technique in 1857, called ‘the great wave’, on the Mediterranean coast near Montpellier.
NB:make sure you describe Le Gray’s photographic technique combination printing as precursor to exposure bracketing and HDR photography
This photo shows the aggression of the waves against the rocks and the pier in the distance, while also showing the horizon and how it contrasts the textures of the sea. The clouds are cut off at the horizon where they meet the sea, which indicates the join between the two negatives. Gustave aimed to combine images to show how the human eye sees nature, not through a camera. This is something I aimed for in my project. This area of photography links to the art movement called romanticism. Romanticism aims to show the accurate depiction of lifeforms, landscapes and perspective of colour and light. It also aims to steer away from artificiality. This movement links to my work as well because in my project I aimed to show natural images of the sea and the sky in the same spot 6 hours apart, with little artificiality.
I took this photo in Brighton as the sun was rising. The photography culture in this city is mainly focused on the sea, and it has been one of the best places to take coastal photos in the UK ever since the genre became popular. My photo is similar to Gustave le Gray’s as it shows the contrast between the sea and the sky and clouds, while also showing the horizon and a pier in the distance. An indication of modernism in my photo compared to Gustave’s, is the vertical pier called the i360 on the left. This shows the 166 year contrast between the photos clearly. In this photo I also tried to show a contrast between the old and abandoned pier on the left which burnt down in 2003, the second pier in the distance which was built in 1899 and is still open, and the vertical i360 on the left which was built in 2016. I captured all 3 in one photo because I wanted to show history and modernism in one photo, whilst also getting the sea and the sky.
Paragraph 3: Michael Marten’s project ‘sea change’ was made to show the contrast between the tide when it was in and out in different areas around England. He would take 2 photos from the exact same spot at low tide and high tide. This inspired me to create my own version in Jersey, as the tidal range here is 12m, the third largest tidal range in the world. In England it’s only 2-5m.
This is a map of Jersey’s tidal range, with the blue parts showing cliff edges with deep sea and the yellow showing bays with intertidal flats and reefs. For my project, I focused on the bottom right yellow area of Jersey as this area has the biggest tidal range. I took photos at La Rocque and Green Island, but most of my photos were in the La Rocque area as there is a pier and views of the next bays over on the left.
An example of Michael Marten’s sea change work:
Some examples of my work at La Rocque:
I took my photos by placing down three pieces of tape at low tide where I chose to position my tripod, and returning 6 hours later at high tide to take a photo in the same spot. By putting the two photos next to each over it shows the viewer how a coastal landscape can change in a matter of hours. This is a quote taken from the text of Michael Marten’s ‘Sea Change’ photobook:
‘One aspect of what makes these photographs so compelling is the fascination of comparing each pair of pictures, spotting what has or hasn’t changed. The contrasting views play with our sense of depth and perspective, and show how subjective is our perception of landscape. The result is a substantial document capturing the variety of the British coastline, a portrait of the maritime landscape that makes visible in a dramatic new way the ebb and flow of tidal waters.’
This is exactly what I aimed for when taking my photos. The fact that Jersey’s tidal range is so big made me think how the same idea could be replicated here to show the uniqueness of the island I live on.
In conclusion, I think Gustave le Gray, Michael Marten and Joseph Mallord William Turner all show romanticism, seascapes and how the sea changes well in their own unique ways. Gustave le Gray invented a technique which was very innovative in the history of seascapes. His work paved the path for the photographers of the next generation to carry on taking photos of the sea. Michael Marten used his unique idea of photographing tidal changes to create a photobook which inspired me to make my own.
However, all three systems are reliant on an element of construction and re-construction. Photographs can be reliable, but can also be manipulated to tell another version of “the truth”. The Romanticists were interested in capturing elements of the The Sublime and dramatizing events and conditions. But Michael Marten is different. He has incorporated aspects of British culture into his documentary of our coastline, as there is a national fascination with both the weather and the tides. As an island nation, and Jersey being a small inter-connected island we are familiar with these kinds of viewpoints and feel a sensitivity towards seascapes and the communities that rely on the seas too.
‘From holiday beaches to industrial estuaries, the photographs record two moments in time, two states of nature.’
Michael Marten – Sea Change
1. Research a photo-book and describe the story it is communicating with reference to subject-matter, genre and approach to image-making.
This photobook focuses on comparing the difference between the tide being in and out in coastal areas. The story it tells is about how a landscape can change in the space of 6 hours, and how landforms can be cut off by the tide.
2. Who is the photographer? Why did he/she make it? (intentions/ reasons) Who is it for? (audience) How was it received? (any press, reviews, awards, legacy etc.)
Since 2003 Michael Marten has travelled to different parts of the British coast to photograph identical views at high and low tide, six or eighteen hours apart. His beautiful and surprising photographs reveal how the twice daily rhythm of ebb and flood can dramatically transform the landscape. One aspect of what makes these photographs so compelling is the fascination of comparing each pair of pictures, spotting what has or hasn’t changed. The contrasting views play with our sense of depth and perspective, and show how subjective is our perception of landscape. The result is a substantial document capturing the variety of the British coastline, a portrait of the maritime landscape that makes visible in a dramatic new way the ebb and flow of tidal waters.
3. Deconstruct the narrative, concept and design of the book and apply theory above when considering:
The book feels sturdy and doesn’t really smell of anything.
The pages are made of card which makes it seem more professional. The photos are all in colour.
The paper size is A4, and the orientation is landscape. There are 125 pages
The book is hard cover
Title: literal or poetic / relevant or intriguing.
In my opinion the title of the photobook, “Sea Change” can be interpreted as both literal and poetic because the photos show the sea changing, but there is a poetic style to the title aswell.
The story is about how the tide can change the landscape of a beach in a few hours
PICTORIALISM
time period :
1880s – 1920s
Key characteristics/ conventions :
Looks like a painting
Considered to be art
Artists associated:
Clarence H. White
John Everett Millais
JMW Turner
Paolo Veronese
Julia Margaret Cameron
Key works:
Clarence H. White – Morning (1908)
In 1889 Peter Henry Emerson (1856-1936) expounded his theory of Naturalistic Photography which the Pictorialist used to promote photography as an art rather than science. Their handcrafted prints were in visual opposition to the sharp b/w contrast of the commercial print
Methods/ techniques/ processes:
scratching
REALISM / STRAIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY
Time period:
1920s
Key characteristics/ conventions :
abstract
landscape
Artists associated:
paul strand
Dorothea Large
Key works:
Ladder of ladders 1931
Methods/ techniques/ processes:
MODERNISM
Time period:
1830
Key characteristics/ conventions :
Artists associated:
Key works:
Key works:
Methods/ techniques/ processes:
POST-MODERNISM
Time period:
second half of 20th century
Key characteristics/ conventions :
celebrating difference rather than unity,
Artists associated:
Key works:
Methods/ techniques/ processes:
Michael Marten is a seascape and landscape photographer with an interest in tides, seasons, and other natural phenomena.
Born in London, Michael Marten started taking photographs as a teenager and has been involved with photography ever since. His first job was caption writer at the Camera Press photo agency. In 1973 he was one of a group who published ‘An Index of Possibilities’, an alternative encyclopedia of ideas. In 1979 he started the specialist photo agency, Science Photo Library. He has co-authored several books of scientific imagery, including ‘Worlds Within Worlds’ (1978) and ‘The Particle Odyssey’ (2002).
Since 2003 Michael has concentrated on landscape photography. His first major series was ‘Sea Change’ (2003-12). A second project, ‘Godrevy’, was exhibited and published in 2015.
I chose some of his photos which could link to areas of Jersey. This means I can create a similar look to his work.
This photo in particular reminds me of the boats going out to Elizabeth Castle
I started my sculpture by taking photos of rocks in the studio. I adjusted the lighting before taking the pictures so they would look better.
Then I printed 4 of the photos off on laminated paper. I folded them to create a 3d effect then pinned them down to a mount board. This was the final product
Still life photography is a genre of photography used for the depiction of inanimate subject matter, typically a small group of objects.
The origins of still life photography date back to the early 20th century. This is when the first still life photographers emerged and started getting attention.
Sir Nathaniel Bacon did not paint professionally, although he was a skilled amateur artist. Very few works attributed to him survive, so the appearance of this work on the art market presented the Collection with a rare opportunity for acquisition. Furthermore, the subject matter, a cookmaid surrounded with lavish produce, more usually associated with Dutch and Flemish art, is highly unusual in England for the period and associated only with Bacon. Every item depicted is known to have been growing in England: Bacon himself grew melons on his Suffolk estate.
‘Cookmaid’ and market scenes, popular in the seventeenth century, evolved in the Low Countries from a genre practised by Pieter Aertsen (c.1533-c.1573) and his pupil Joachim Beuckalaer, which combined contemporary kitchen scenes with a New Testament episode beyond. Bacon could have seen such works on a visit he made to the Low Countries in 1613. An inventory of 1659 connected to the will of the artist’s wife lists ‘Ten Great peeces in Wainscote of fish and fowle &c done by S:r Nath: Bacon’ (quoted in Gervase Jackson-Stops, ed., The Treasure Houses of Britain, exhibition catalogue, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC 1985, p.140). Two other ‘Cookmaid’ pictures are known to exist: Cookmaid with Still Life of Game and Cookmaid with Still Life of Birds, both in the possession of the artist’s descendants. The Tate’s work is possibly part of this group. Such groups were often intended to depict the four seasons or the twelve months of the year. In the case of this piece, however, although every item represented in the painting was grown in England at the time, not all would have been in season simultaneously. Bacon, according to a letter dated 19 June [1626], was growing melons at his estate in East Anglia, and he was known to have a keen interest in horticulture. The subject would most likely have had erotic connotations. The abundance of ripe melons surrounding the cookmaid echo her voluptuous cleavage.
David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century.
On 15 November 2018, Hockney’s 1972 work Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) sold at Christie’s auction house in New York City for $90 million (£70 million), becoming the most expensive artwork by a living artist sold at auction. This broke the previous record, set by the 2013 sale of Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog (Orange) for $58.4 million. Hockney held this record until 15 May 2019 when Koons reclaimed the honour selling his Rabbit for more than $91 million at Christie’s in New York.
David Hockney’s creation of the “joiners” occurred accidentally. He noticed in the late sixties that photographers were using cameras with wide-angle lenses to take pictures. He did not like such photographs because they always came out somewhat distorted. Working on a painting of a living room and terrace in Los Angeles, he took Polaroid shots of the living room and glued them together as a preparatory work, not intending for them to be a composition on their own. He realised this picture created a kind of story, as if the viewer was moving through the room. He began to work more and more with photography after this discovery and even stopped painting for a period of time. Hockney had always been interested in Cubism and the idea of multiple perspectives and viewpoints so this was another way for him to explore this way of looking.
Emily Allchurch, born 1974 in Jersey, Channel Islands, lives and works in Hastings, East Sussex. She trained as a sculptor, receiving a First Class (Hons.) degree in Fine Art from the Kent Institute of Art & Design – Canterbury in 1996, and an MA from the Royal College of Art in 1999, where she began working with photography as a material. Since then, she has exhibited regularly in solo and group shows in the UK and internationally.
Allchurch uses photography and digital collage to reconstruct Old Master paintings and prints to create contemporary narratives. Her starting point is an intensive encounter with a city or place, to absorb an impression and gather a huge image library. From this resource, hundreds of photographs are selected and meticulously spliced together to create a seamless new ‘fictional’ space. Each artwork re-presents this journey, compressed into a single scene. The resulting photographic collages have a resonance with place, history and culture, and deal with the passage of time and the changes to a landscape, fusing contemporary life with a sense of history.