URBAN LANDSCAPES

Urban landscapes is a complex structure which is a result of the interaction between human and his environment. It also involves a social dimension and an economic dimension, a cultural dimension and an economic dimension. Urban landscapes are formed and shaped mainly under the influence of human activities.

urban design is concerned with the arrangement , appearance and function of suburbs, towns and cities. It is both a process and an outcome of creating localities in which people live, engage with each other, and engage with physical place around them.

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MOOD BOARD

ARTIST RESEARCH

Nick Furo:

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Nick Rufo is a 25 year old Los Angeles based digital & film photographer. His work often captures the world with a sense of timelessness that is often contrasted by intense isolationism.

His clients are Adidas, Air Jordan, AT&T, Audi, BONDA SKINS, Dockers, Goldenvoice, Gymshark, Haagen – Dazs, Herschel Supply co, Lifetime, The rap fest, Tubi, red bull, warner music, Zero fatigue

Riccardo Magherini:

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‘Magherini takes multiple frames of the same location, and layers them to create unique images that distort the subjects within the picture, and create a sense of movement. Much like Hockney and Picasso, the pieces seek to capture the dynamic nature of the world and how it is never static. Even though the image depicts a building made of stone, a frantic energy is ever present.’
– THE PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT

Nick miners:

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Night photography

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Liam Wong

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Born and raised in Scotland – within two years of graduating, Wong moved to Canada – becoming the youngest director at Ubisoft, the video game company behind Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed. In parallel with his blossoming career in video games, Wong was teaching himself photography.

In December 2015 he purchased his first DSLR (a Canon 5D III) and his debut photo series: ‘Tokyo Nights (TO:KY:OO)’ – capturing the beauty of night through moments after midnight – inspired by sci-fi, neon-noir, cyberpunk and Japanese animation – gained over a million views worldwide, accumulating a following online and kickstarting his journey into photography. Wong has since collaborated with many high profile companies, artists, musicians and directors. His work has been recognized by media outlets such as BBC, Forbes, Business Insider, Saatchi and Adobe. Full press list available here. In 2019 ‘TO:KY:OO’ became the largest crowdfunded book in the UK. It is available for purchase at: TO:KY:OO. Includes words by game creator Hideo Kojima and visual futurist Syd Mead.

Wong is now freelance and working on unannounced projects across film, video games and photography. Available for collaborations.

A regular public speaker – Wong has spoken at events around the world and is always open for opportunities to share his expertise. Past public speaking events include the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Game Developers Conference and Canon.

Romanticism

Romanticism started off as an art movement in the late 18th Century that emphasized individualism, imagination and freedom rather than sticking to life. Due to the popularity of both landscape photography and romanticism at the time, it was only a matter of time until both combined to create romantic landscape photography. Romanticism in photography tends to focus on emotion, usually creating a ‘moody’ image in order to project how the photographer feels about the environment they’re photographing.

——— Romanticism in Art: ——————————-

——— Romanticism in Photography: ——————————-

Rural Landscape Photography

A Rural Landscape photograph is an image of a rural/countryside or natural area, which tend to be less built-up which gives the images a primary focus on nature.

Rural Landscapes Moodboard

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Ansel Adams

Adams was born on the 20th February 1902, he was considered one of the most important and influential landscape photographers of the 20th century. He worked as a photographer and environmentalist who used his photography to promote the conservation of untouched natural areas, he also worked to promote photography as a fine art to the general public. Adams was considered a talented and technical photographer who ‘revelled in the theory and practice of the medium’. He worked in several national parks over his life-long photographic career in order to promote their conservation and as a result, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980. Adams was a key advisor in the setting up of the photography department in the Museum of Modern Art, as well as various other awards for his photographic and conservational work, he also founded the Aperture photographic magazine.

Image Analysis

This image is in black and white (likely due to the restrictions of the technology at the time), which allows the darker and lighter parts of the image, namely the darker trees/mountain base and lighter river/sky, to have a greater contrast between each other. This lack of colour also gives the image a more ‘epic’ (perhaps ‘romantic’) atmosphere about it, especially in the clouds and jagged shape of the mountain. This image uses the river not only as a way to give the image more contrast, but also acts as a leading line towards the focal point: the mountain. This image also follows the rule of thirds, as the mountain (at around it’s highest point) is positioned on the top right of the image, it could also be argued that the river, which is positioned on the bottom left, acts as a focal point, as it is arguably the brightest part of the image. The sky in this image appears to be cloudy, this would mean that the lighting would be not as strong as if the weather was clearer. This gives the overall image a darker look, however there are little to no shadows apparent in the image, giving the image a clearer look. This image was likely taken from a high vantage point, allowing trees to appear in the foreground, while also showing much of the river, which leads into a mountain which, due to the high vantage point as well as distance, can be fully seen with enough room to breath.

Perhaps the meaning behind this image is to promote the conservation of the natural landscapes within the world by using nature’s beauty to inspire people.

the ideas behind romanticism became common after 1789, the year of the French Revolution that caused a significant social change in Europe. Romanticism, first defined as an aesthetic in literary criticism around 1800, gained popularity as an artistic movement in France and Britain in the early decades of the nineteenth century and thrived until the mid-century. Romanticism spread throughout Europe in the 19th century and developed as an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that embraced various arts such as literature, painting, music and history. Romanticism was also expressed in architecture through the imitation of older architectural styles.

According to the article titled “Romanticism and Its Relation to Landscape Photography & Painting”, romanticism was an art form that rejected classicalism and focused on nature, imagination and emotion. It crossed between music, painting, photography and many other art forms. Landscape photography was popular at this time, therefore, romantic landscapes were common. The landscapes focused on the beauty of nature and included a lot of running water and vast forests (Hirsch 42) .

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In preparation to start taking images that will show demonstrate romanticism, I have come up with some ideas of where photoshoots could take place as there in Jersey we have a variety of natural landscapes to go to to take good photos.

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Potential Locations

• St Ouens Beach
• L’Etacq
• St Catherine’s Woods
• Fields/ Farms
• Cliff paths
• Sand Dunes
• Reservoirs in St Saviours
• Green Island

Contact Sheets and Photoshoot Plans

Photoshoots 1 and 2, shown below, were located at St Aubin’s beach and a reservoir in St Saviours, this was in an attempt to generate as many images as possible and get a variety of different images, this allowed me to also get more practise with the camera settings and this meant by my final photoshoot my images were of better quality as I now know how settings such as the ISO and shutter speed work. Also, I took them at different times of the day, one during sunset and one in the afternoon, but the lighting just ended up looking more dull in the reservoir photoshoot.

Photoshoot 3 shown below was located at the La Mar beach in St Clement, I took all of these photos were taken around 5pm, the aim was too have minimal lighting so that my images were turned from colour to monochromatic, the contrast in colours would be greater, also this was good practise when changing the camera settings to adapt to the changing lighting as the sun started to set.

Photoshoot 4 was taken around Le Quesnes garden centre in St Saviour, with the roads full of grass and natural features, and the clouds being defined in the sky, I thought this was the perfect time to take more images for this project. Below I have placed a contact sheet containing some images from this photoshoot.

Image Selection and Editing

Below I have created a collection showing the majority of my useable images from some of the photoshoots. I have also included examples of me editing some of my potential final images, as I have tried to romanticise some of my images my making them monochromatic. Some of these images were not really edited a lot but were just altered to make them better quality and we images were the editing is drastic I have included the Lightroom settings on the right hand side. I liked editing some of these images in this monochromatic way as it it relates it to our projects theme of romanticism.

I have edited my images in such ways for multiple reasons, first being that the exposure on the original images was far too low and this needed editing to be fixed in Lightroom. Additionally, I think that the saturation of some of the colours of these images needed altered as it makes the images more interesting and gives them more depth, along with changing the clarity. I think that making these images monochromatic links to the theme of romanticism and shows the natural landscapes from a different view. I have showed these screenshots in Lightroom so that we can clearly see the difference between the images after being edited, this means that we can see the clear difference.

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I think that my work which I completed in the style of Alfred Stieglitz is a successful way of showing his influence within my work when I photographed and edited these cloud formations because similar to his I have a part of the photo where the sunshine has caught it and began to bring a large amount of light onto the clouds, which are also similar, which makes it appear brighter than the others in a fading way throughout the photo. I also like how my photo is more of a darker contrast of black/white/grey tones because it creates this impact where you are able to see clearly of how the clouds form these strange, yet effective formations whereas in Alfred Stieglitz’s work he has more of a green/grey tone to his photo which I didn’t really like and didn’t want to use in my own work. I really liked working in the style of Stieglitz because it made me consider how the weather and other factors can really determine the way the clouds are formed in different patterns and none are ever the same which makes them unique.

For these edits, which I completed in the style of Alfred Stieglitz, I experimented with different filters which are premade then edited them how I preferred similar to Stieglitz on Adobe Lightroom. I really enjoyed editing these photos because I think that it brought the photos to life and you are able to see the unique and intricate details which are hidden within the clouds as the black and white contrasts help to show these. They are able to create a different, complicated yet dark and gloomy atmosphere in each photo which I think helps to make them successful as Alfred Stieglitz says these are able to reflect somebody’s mind through the way they photograph cloud formations.

In my opinion, I think that I have successfully been able to show Stieglitz influence in my work through my most successful edit that I completed on Adobe Lightroom was the 3rd photo. I really like the way that this photo turned out through the way that I have edited it because I think that it is able to show diverse a range of black/white/grey tones which work well yet create a fluid contrast between them as they look as if they are climbing up the photograph, as if the light from the bottom of the photo wants to be noticed and bring that joy and happiness to the darker and more gloomy parts at the top. I achieved this effect through selecting a present which I think was a good base to work with as it changes the photo into black and white, then I changed the whites, highlights shadows mainly as this creates a contrast between the brighter and darker parts of the photo and then I changed the contrast slightly to help this change be able to see. If I were to try this edit again, I would try to bring down the brightness slightly at the bottom to avoid it looking a bit overexposed which was created through the sunlight previously, besides that I think this is a really successful edit.

I think that my least successful edit which I completed on Adobe Lightroom was the first picture which I experimented with, this is because I think that due to the way which I edited it through choosing a pre-set called “monochrome” then further editing the exposure, contrast, white balance created a dark grey hue over the photograph, especially in the corner as you can’t see the cloud formations, which I don’t like as it stops the darker and brighter tones being able to create a fluid contrast between them which works well. If I were to do this edit again in adobe Lightroom I would make sure that I am able to make the brighter whites and darker tones stand out well and not get lost through using the highlights, whites and exposure better by bringing them up. I also don’t like how the sun ion the corner creates this random burst of brightness in the corner of the photo because it appears to be quite exposed compared to the rest of the photograph and if I were to change this again I would make sure that the sun is defined enough to an extent where the brightness doesn’t become so overexposed.

These are the photos which I have selected which I think will work well to compare and edit towards Alfred Stieglitz work because I like the way the clouds have formed and the different patterns which have been created because of this, in Adobe Lightroom I’m going to choose 4 photos to focus on and edit in detail.

Selecting my 4 best photos –

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These are the 4 photos which I have decided to focus and edit in detail in the style of Alfred Stieglitz this is because I love how there is a variety of differences and similarities between each photo. There is a different pattern which is formed by the clouds in each photo and I think that this is going to create a defined use of being able to see how the sky is able to create beautiful formations while editing, there is also the use of bringing in a small piece of land in the first 2 because I think that it helps to create a feeling of depth within the photo as it can help to frame and add texture to the picture.

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Porter’s work is of Great Spruce Head Island in Maine (USA), and is very vibrant and colourful, with his shadows leaning towards a dark blue over black. The image is of an island across a body of water, which has a reflection of the island’s forest. The weather is dark and foggy, creating a gloomy atmosphere. My image is of the cliffs in Jersey, with a small rocky beach towards the bottom of the image. Instead of pure black, a lot of the dark colours are close to a reddish brown, and I increased the saturation of the image to make the cliffs more vibrant as well. Like Porter’s image, there is some fog in the background and the rest of the environment is unknown.

FOCUS : URBAN AND INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPES

You will be learning about photographing man-altered landscapes and The New Topographics over the next 2 weeks and will be shown inspiration, influences, background and theory…and will be taken on at least 1 x guided photo-walk.

You should aim to produce 150-200 images (minimum requirement) in your own time…

Check your EXPOSURE SETTINGS according to the light and what you are photographing…

Explore these options…

NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY

Many urbanised areas are great to photograph at night or in low light conditions…

Remember to…

Due Date = Friday 25th March

Watch…

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

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”

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.

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…

• Joel Sternfeld
• Gabriel Basilico
• Andreas Gursky
• Edward Burtynsky
• Richard Misrach
• Sze Tsung-Leong
• Thomas Struth
• Peter Mitchell
• Paul Graham
• Donovan Wylie
• Ed Ruscha
• Rut Blees Luxemburg

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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 STADIUM

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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.

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 illustratethe 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/