Romanticism is a movement in the arts and literature that originated in the late 18th century and ended in the late 19th century, emphasizing inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual.
The Industrial Revolution also influenced Romanticism, which was about escaping from modern realities. Romanticism was a revolt against the aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment and also a reaction against the scientific rationalization of nature.
Evening: Landscape with an Aqueduct 1818
Inundated Ruins of a Monastery Karl Blechen (German, Cottbus 1798–1840 Berlin) ca. 1824
John Constable was an English artist born on June 11, 1776. Constable contributed to the Romantic movement and died on March 31, 1837.
Constable was one of the first artists of the Romantic movement to create landscape paintings drawn directly from nature rather than the idealised and dramatic depictions favored by other artists of the period and in taking this stance he pioneered Naturalism in Britain.
Seascape Study With Rain Cloud 1827
Stonehenge 1835
5 most focused elements in romanticism
Interest in the common man and childhood.
Strong senses, emotions, and feelings.
Awe of nature.
Celebration of the individual
Importance of imagination.
THE SUBLIME
What is it?
The sublime of art was originally defined as an artistic effect productive of the strongest emotion the mind is capable of feeling. meaning how there is a ‘greatness beyond all possibility of calculation.’
in romanticism, the sublime is a meeting of emotions and the natural world. we allow our emotions to overwhelm and take over our rationality by looking at art.
John Martin The Great Day Of His Wrath (1851–3)
Edmund Burke
The theory of sublime art was put forward by Edmund Burke in A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful published in 1757. He defined the sublime as an artistic effect productive of the strongest emotion the mind is capable of feeling. He wrote ‘whatever is in any sort terrible or is conversant about terrible objects or operates in a manner analogous to terror, is a source of the sublime’.
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. Therefore, this started a new way of thinking and created a new type of art.
History of Romanticism
Romanticism started in Western Europe, around the middle of the 18th century. At this time, the dominant artistic and cultural movement is Neoclassicism, which finds its inspiration in the aesthetics of ancient civilizations. Neoclassicism values order, self-control, and the promotion of ideal values.
Romanticism, first defined as an aesthetic in literary criticism around 1800, gained momentum as an artistic movement in France and Britain in the early decades of the nineteenth century and flourished until mid-century. With its emphasis on the imagination and emotion, Romanticism emerged as a response to the disillusionment with the Enlightenment values of reason and order in the aftermath of the French Revolution of 1789.
The five elements of romanticism
Interest in the common man and childhood.
Strong senses, emotions, and feelings.
Awe of nature.
Celebration of the individual.
Importance of imagination.
Artist references for Romanticism
Roger Fenton was a British photographer, noted as one of the first war photographers. Fenton was born into a Lancashire merchant family. Roger Fenton is a towering figure in the history of photography, the most celebrated and influential photographer in England during the medium’s “golden age” of the 1850s. Before taking up the camera, he studied law in London and painting in Paris. Fenton remained consistent in his love of the British landscape and the history it enfolded. Each summer he photographed in locations revered for their ruined abbeys, cathedrals, castles, romantic associations and literary connotations.
JMW Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner RA, known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulent, often violent marine paintings. He dominated British landscape painting in a thoroughly Romantic style which was driven by the immediacy of personal experience, emotion, and the boundless power of imagination.
What is Sublime in photography?
The Sublime is a western aesthetic concept of ‘the exalted’ of ‘beauty that is grand and dangerous’. The Sublime refers to the wild, unbounded grandeur of nature. The Sublime is related to threat and agony, to spaces where calamities happen or things run beyond human control.
The sublime has long been understood to mean a quality of greatness or grandeur that inspires awe and wonder. From the seventeenth century onwards the concept and the emotions it inspires have been a source of inspiration for artists and writers, particularly in relation to the natural landscape.
Romantic artists would often use their experiences of nature or natural events to convey the experience of the sublime. Kant’s countryman, Caspar David Friedrich’s paintings of mist, fog, and darkness sought to capture an experience of the infinite, creating an overwhelming sense of emptiness.
The Romantic sublime
Edmund Burke’s Philosophical Enquiry (1757) connected the sublime with experiences of awe, terror and danger. Burke saw nature as the most sublime object, capable of generating the strongest sensations in its beholders. This Romantic conception of the sublime proved influential for several generations of artists.
Joseph Mallord William Turner Snow Storm – Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth exhibited 1842
Romanticism occurred in the mid 18th century and was used to go against the new industrial revolution as a way to focus on the beauty in nature and idealistic world.
Paintings were created to capture the romanticized world in the 18th century. Using warm and romantic colours, artists used this new technique to create a better world, separate to the new man-made industry taking over the world.
1818 – Theodore Gericault – France
1825 – John Constable – Britain
William Wordsworth, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Samuel Taylor Coleridge were known as ‘founders’ of romanticism. They were caught up by the idea that he world could be seen as a place of peace, beauty and wisdom. It could be used as a way to escape the fast pace of the word and its evolution. The idea that there was no need to be in a rush, and you could take in the atmosphere and narratives around you, caused people to enjoy their surroundings.
The Romantic Sublime
Joseph Mallord William Turner Snow Storm – Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth exhibited 1842
Edmund Burke
He published ‘A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful’ in 1757
Sublime is an experience that’s good but that can possibly make us feel insignificant. E.g. the thought of being stuck in a storm, makes the simple human life seem simple and mindless.
Burke saw nature as the most sublime object, capable of generating the strongest sensations in its beholders.
The sublime and religion
The sublime can be connected with many things, and religion is one. Many beliefs follow a God, and the idea that humans are small and insignificant compared to a God-like being connects with Burke’s idea of the sublime.
John Constable
The Haywain 1821
Constable was known for his rural landscape paintings of Suffolk, in the 1820s. The Haywain creates an idealistic idea of England at the time, showing farm workers cooling down their horse on a warm day. This creates an idea for the viewer that England in the 1800s was pastoral and natural, however it hides the new movement of factory building and other man-made things starting to be introduced at the time.
Romanticism is a movement which was created in mid 18th century, it was used as a way to glorify nature and to protest the industrial revolution. The art of romanticism sparks feelings of beauty and wisdom into the audience. Romanticism inspired, literature, art and philosophy of the time.
There were many poets that focused on Romanticism and the sublime. This is a poem by a very famous poet who lives in the Lake District called William Wordsworth:
Here are art some examples:
Ansel Adams
John Constable
Thomas Cole
5 Element of Romanticism
-Interest in the common man and childhood.
-Strong senses, emotions and feelings.
-Awe of nature.
-Celebration of the induvidual.
-Importance of imagination.
The Romantic Sublime
In 1757, Edmund Burke wrote a book called A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful. His idea was that the sublime experience is nice for a very strange reason and it makes us feel insignificant for example storms, mountains and the ocean. Sublime restores perspective when we get caught up in an immediate situation. It has links with religion, for example in Christianity God loved the world so much he sacrificed his son Jesus.
Romanticism is the attitude or intellectual orientation that characterized many works of literature, painting, music, architecture, and photography in Europe. over a period from the late 18th to the mid-19th century. romanticism goes against the industrial revaluation, to escape modern reality and to go against the political norms and policies.
Caspar David Fredrich is a painter and draughtsman, Friedrich is best known for his later allegorical landscapes, which feature contemplative figures silhouetted against night skies, morning mists, barren trees, and Gothic ruins. he painted the painting above this text.
what is sublime. Sublime has long been understood to mean a quality of greatness or grandeur that inspires awe and wonder. From the seventeenth century onwards the concept and the emotions it inspires have been a source of inspiration for artists and writers, particularly in relation to the natural landscape. but what does it mean to photographers maybe its making something look great like god and to make the person looking at the photo feel small.
this photo shows a ship in a storm and how the storm makes the ship look small compared to the storm, it shows how nature can makes us feel small and helpless that whats what sublime art is suppose to be.
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. Therefore, this started a new way of thinking and created a new type of art.
History of romanticism:
Romanticism, first defined as an aesthetic in literary criticism around 1800, gained momentum as an artistic movement in France and Britain in the early decades of the nineteenth century and flourished until mid-century. With its emphasis on the imagination and emotion, Romanticism emerged as a response to the disillusionment with the Enlightenment values of reason and order in the aftermath of the French Revolution of 1789.
In French and British painting of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the recurrence of images of shipwrecks and other representations of man’s struggle against the awesome power of nature manifest this sensibility. For example:
Artist references for romanticism:
Roger Fenton, despite him working in a number of genres, Fenton remained consistent in his love of the British landscape and the history it enfolded. Each summer he photographed in locations revered for their ruined abbeys, cathedrals, castles, romantic associations and literary connotations. These are now considered to be among the finest architectural and topographical studies of the 19th century. Examples of his photography:
JMW Turner, throughout the first half of the 19th century, Turner was unstoppable. He dominated British landscape painting in a thoroughly Romantic style which was driven by the immediacy of personal experience, emotion, and the boundless power of imagination. Examples of is art:
The five elements of romanticism:
Interest in the common man and childhood.
Strong senses, emotions, and feelings.
Awe of nature.
Celebration of the individual.
Importance of imagination.
The sublime:
The Sublime is a western aesthetic concept of ‘the exalted’ of ‘beauty that is grand and dangerous’. The Sublime refers to the wild, unbounded grandeur of nature. The Sublime is related to threat and agony, to spaces where calamities happen or things run beyond human control.
The age of romanticism was around 1800-1900 ish. Romanticism is attitudes, ideals, and feelings which are romantic rather than realistic. It was an 19th century artistic movement which evolved in Europe in response to the industrial revolution and the disillusionment of the Enlightenment values of reason. The Romantic movement was heavily influences by revolutionary events; French and American revolutions.
Delacroix, 1830 ‘Viva la vida’
‘To be romantic is to have sympathy for madness’
The artists in the romanticism era appreciated and accentuated nature’s beauty. Nature was viewed as a pure and spiritual source of renewal.
Henry Fuseli, 1781 ‘The Nightmare‘
Romanticism is associated with the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution was the transition of producing goods by hand into using machines. It is basically just the invention of machines to do the work of hand tools. Romanticism is associated with the industrial revolution as romantic artists thought that the industrial world was cruel and was deadening to the senses and spirit. Therefore causing the period of the emphasis of the glory and beauty of nature. Romantics viewed nature as a pure and spiritual source of renewal. This makes sense due to the creation of the industrial revolution. When the industrial revolution began, the people must’ve noticed the pollution the machines produced. It would damage the environment, thus harming their beloved nature. This would cause the romantics to have a spike in interest and concern for nature as the introduction of machines has caused this harm.
The sublime
The sublime is the quality of greatness. It emerged at first in connection with nature and the arts. The theory of sublime in an art aspect was developed by an artist named Edmund Burke in the mid-18th century. According to https://www.tate.org.uk/ Burke defined the sublime as an artistic effect productive of the strongest emotion the mind is capable of feeling.
‘whatever is in any sort terrible or is conversant about terrible objects or operates in a manner analogous to terror, is a source of the sublime’.
Edmund Burke
Burke said that the sublime sounds usually involve these elements:
Loudness
Suddenness
Surprise
Intermittent sounds
Scary sounds
The Sublime in Romanticism is a combination of the subjective and the objective.
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke was an Irish-British philosopher who created the idea of The Sublime. He wrote a book called ‘A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful’ which defines The Sublime ‘an artistic effect productive of the strongest emotion the mind is capable of feeling’.
Edmund Burke’s book ‘A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful’
The modern definition of The Sublime is something that is very very nice. Burke said that a sublime experience is one that is very nice but nice for a specific reason, it makes us feel insignificant.
He argued that it is the most powerful aesthetic experience.
Edmund Burke liked fast and momentous stories, like paradise lost. Paradise lost is a poem by John Milton written in the 17th century about the biblical tale of the Fall of Mankind.
Edmund Burke believes that the sublime restores our perspective and that is why we like it.
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)
Watch this film about the history and influence of Romanticism.
Watch this film about Edmund Burke and the Sublime
“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 Enlightenmentthinkers 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 1835Caspar David Friedrich 1832 Germany
Social Commentary
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.
Aspects of pictorialism are evident here too…an approach to photography that emphasizes beauty of subject matter, tonality, and composition rather than the documentation of reality.
Roger Fenton c. 1852-62
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 and opens up the question of truth in photography
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 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…Other members in Group f/64 included Edward Weston, Dorothea Lange, Imogen Cunningham among other female photographers who has been overlooked in the history or photography.
IMAGE ANALYSIS: For your analysis of Adams’ work and practice, try and find the story behind the image – as an example, see Monolith, the face of Half Dome, 1927
Monolith, the face of Half Dome, 1927
Pixelation of Halfdome image in Photoshop
Edward Weston
EXTENSION > COMPARE & CONTRAST: Compare and contrast the work of Ansel Adams and Edward Weston using Photo Literacy Matrix. Find 3 quotes that you can use in your analysis, that either supports/ disapprove your own view. Make sure that you comment on the quote used.
For example, you can use quotes: 1. a quote from Adams’ on Weston’s influence 2. a quote from Adams’ on his own practice, eg. technique, pre-visualisation (zone system), subject (nature), inspiration etc. 3. a quote from Weston on Adams’ images. 4. a quote from someone else, for example a critic, historian that comments either on Adams’ or Weston’s work.
I can’t tell you how swell it was to return to the freshness, the simplicity and natural strength of your photography … I am convinced that the only real security lies with a certain communion with the things of the natural world
— A letter from Edward to Ansel in 1936
RURAL LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Don McCullin 2000 UK
Fay Godwin 1985 UK
Wynn Bullock
Fay Godwin
Edward Weston
Minor White
Don McCullin
Jem Southam
Whale Chine, 1994, Jem Southam
BLOG POSTS to complete…
An introduction to rural landscape photography, including a definition and mood-board of influential images
Create anin-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)
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 romanticisedrural 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 PHOTO-LITERACY (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)
Leading Lines
Composition : The Rule of Thirds Grid
Composition : Fibonacci Curve / Golden ratio
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
You can use Exposure Compensation to quickly adjust how light or how dark your exposure will be using these controls…
Or set the amount of “bracketing” like this…
Alwaysfollow the 10 Step Process and create multiple blog posts for each unit to ensure you tackle all Assessment Objectives thoroughly :
Mood-board, definition and introduction (AO1)
Mind-map of ideas (AO1)
Artist References / Case Studies (must include image analysis) (AO1)
Photo-shoot Action Plan (AO3)
Multiple Photoshoots + contact sheets (AO3)
Image Selection, sub selection, review and refine ideas (AO2)
Compare and contrast your work to your artist reference(AO1)
Evaluation and Critique (AO1+AO4)
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.
What was the new topographics a reaction to?
The stark, beautifully printed images of the mundane but oddly fascinating topography was both a reflection of the increasingly suburbanised world around them, and a reaction to the tyranny of idealised landscape photography that elevated the natural and the elemental…
Post-war America struggled with
Inflation and labor unrest. The country’s main economic concern in the immediate post-war years was inflation. …
The baby boom and suburbia. Making up for lost time, millions of returning veterans soon married and started families…
Isolation and splitting of the family unit, pharmaceuticals and mental health problems
Vast distances, road networks and mobility
Robert Adams
Colorado Springs, 1974, Robert Adams
Critic Sean O’Hagan, writing in The Guardian, said “his subject has been the American west: its vastness, its sparse beauty and its ecological fragility…What he has photographed constantly – in varying shades of grey – is what has been lost and what remains” and that “his work’s other great subtext” is silence…
Explore these options…
St Helier
Residential areas
Housing estates
Retail Parks and shopping areas
Industrial Areas
Car Parks (underground and multi-storey too)
Leisure Centres
Building sites
Demolition sites
Built up areas
Underpass / overpass
The Waterfont
Harbours
Airport
Finance District (IFC buildings)
NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY
Many urbanised areas are great to photograph at night or in low light conditions…
Naoya HatakayamaNaoya Hatakayama
Edgar Martins
Rut Blees Luxemburg , A Modern Project, 1996
use a tripod
use slow shutter speeds (experiment with your TV Mode / Shutter speeds !
be safe…take a friend and let your parents know where you are going
Check your EXPOSURE SETTINGS according to the light and what you are photographing…
Frank Golhke
Bernd and Hilla Becher
Stephen Shore
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 was 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.
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
TASK ONE
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…
Create a blog post that defines and explains The New Topographics and the key features and artists of the movement.
ANSWER : What was the new topographics a reaction to?
TASK TWO
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.
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.
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
Firstphotoshoot 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.
Select, consider and decide on best images (show contact sheets)
Develop ideas through digital manipulation (ie: cropping, contrast, colour balance etc.)
Realise a final outcome.
TASK FIVE
Secondphotoshoot 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.
Select, consider and decide on best images (show contact sheets)
Develop ideas through digital manipulation (ie: cropping, contrast, colour balance etc.)
Realise a final outcome.
TASK SIX
Select one of your photographs to compare and contrast against one photograph of your chosen photographer.
Create a venn diagram to illustratethe similarities and differences between the images.
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”
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’.
Partly inspired by the likes of Karl Blossfeldt, August Sander and The New Objectivity (that we looked at in the previous project)
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 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 within your surroundings. 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
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.
Ed Ruscha
Ed Ruscha, Standard Station, 1966
Here’s another topology for you to look at by Ólafur Elíasson :
Idris Khan Every…Bernd And Hilla Becher Gable Sided Houses, 2004 Photographic print 208 x 160 cm
The structures in the Bechers’ original photographs are almost identical, though in Khan’s hands the images’ contrast and opacity is adjusted to ensure each layer can be seen and has presence. Though Khan works in mechanised media and his images are of industrial subjects, their effect is of a soft ethereal energy. They exude a transfixing spiritual quality in their densely compacted details and ghostly outlines. …Prison Type Gasholders conveys a sense of time depicted in motion, as if transporting the old building, in its obsolete black and white format, into the extreme future.
Creative Outcomes Can include : grids, animations, GIFs, Timelapse etc
Analysis and discussion… starting points and key features of The New Topographics (Stephen Shore)
Stephen Shore, Beverly Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, California, June 21, 1975, 1975, chromogenic color print
Foreground vs background | Dominant features
Composition | low horizon line | aspect ratio
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
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
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…
Create a blog post that defines and explains The New Topographics and the key features and artists of the movement.
ANSWER : What was the new topographics a reaction to?
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.
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.
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
Firstphotoshoot 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.
Select, consider and decide on best images (show contact sheets)
Develop ideas through digital manipulation (ie: cropping, contrast, colour balance etc.)
Realise a final outcome.
Photo Walk – urban
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…as well as the notion of psychogeography to help understand your surroundings
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
Secondphotoshoot 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.
Select, consider and decide on best images (show contact sheets)
Develop ideas through digital manipulation (ie: cropping, contrast, colour balance etc.)
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.
NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY
Many urbanised areas are great to photograph at night or in low light conditions…
Naoya HatakayamaNaoya Hatakayama
Edgar Martins
Rut Blees Luxemburg , A Modern Project, 1996
use a tripod
use slow shutter speeds (experiment with your TV Mode / Shutter speeds !
be safe…take a friend and let your parents know where you are going
Check your EXPOSURE SETTINGS according to the light and what you are photographing…
Follow this 10 Step Process and create multiple blog posts for each unit to ensure you tackle all Assessment Objectives thoroughly :
Mood-board, definition and introduction (AO1)
Mind-map of ideas (AO1)
Artist References / Case Studies (must include image analysis) (AO1)
What is a Geopark? Every Geopark is unique. There are 169 UNESCO Global Geoparks in 44 countries around the world. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, the Sciences and Culture.
“UNESCO Global Geoparks are single, unified geographical areas where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development.
A UNESCO Global Geopark comprises a number of geological heritage sites of special scientific importance, rarity or beauty. These features are representative of a region’s geological history and the events and processes that formed it. It must also include important natural, historic, cultural tangible and intangible heritage sites.
The UNESCO Global Geoparks celebrate the links between people and the Earth. Jersey hopes to be recognised as a unique place by being awarded Geopark status.
A Geopark is about more than rocks. Jersey is a strong contender for this special designation because of our Island’s exceptional geology and our important cultural heritage which forms the outstanding surroundings we enjoy every day. Whether exploring Jersey’s diverse landscapes or seascapes there is lots to discover and inspire you.
Jersey’s Geological Heritage – Sites of Special Interest (SSI)
The Island of Jersey has a geology that is significantly different to that of the United Kingdom and even from that of the other Channel Islands. Many of the island’s geological sites are of regional and international significance and some have attracted global attention.
In recognition of this, the States of Jersey has designated 22 of the island’s most important outcrops as Sites of Special Interest (SSIs) so that they may be protected from development and preserved for future public enjoyment and research purposes. The booklet below offers an introduction to all of Jersey’s geological SSIs with the aim of promoting knowledge of their existence to residents and tourists and highlighting their importance to amateur and professional scientists.
All the Island’s geological SSIs are covered here along with information about their location plus basic descriptions and photographs which highlight each site’s significance and its salient features.
The Aspiring Jersey Island Geopark Visitor Centre introduces the story of Jersey’s geological heritage and is the Island hub for information on exploring Jersey to see first-hand how geology has shaped and influenced the Island we know today.
GEOPARK AMBASSADORES
Geopark Ambassadors represent some of the organisations working with Aspiring Jersey Island Geopark. They champion Jersey’s unique landscapes and seascapes through their roles within our community and their passion for Island life.
Each Ambassador was asked about what makes this Island such a remarkable place.
Ralph Nichols – Geologist Société Jersiaise Lecturer, Teacher, Secretary for the Geology, Archaeology and Jèrriais Sections of Société Jersiaise. Favourite of Jersey’s Geology: Anne Port Bay to La Crête Point, St Martin. “My favourite geology is the Anne Port agglomerate and Anne Port rhyolite (Bouley Rhyolite Formation) with flow–banding, spherulitic rhyolite and columnar jointing. The columnar jointing at La Crête Point is similar to the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland but has no crater!”
Minerals are made from elements like silicon, oxygen, aluminium, iron and other metals. They are the fundamental building blocks of all rocks. As magma (molten rock) cools, minerals such as quartz and feldspar form crystals. The longer the cooling process takes, the larger the crystals. Minerals can also be carried through rocks by water, forming crystals as the water evaporates.
JERSEY SHALE FORMATION
The shales are the oldest rocks in the Island. You can see them in the west, across the centre and in the south of Jersey. They were formed by mud, silt and sand brought together on the sea floor about 600 million years ago. These sediments were transformed into rock by being pushed together, hardened and folded.
JERSEY VOLCANICS
Volcanic lavas and ashes can be seen along the north and northeast coasts of the Island. These andesites and rhyolites formed as a result of volcanic eruptions occurring 580 million years ago.
JERSEY GRANITES
Jersey is famous for its granites, which have been favoured as a building material for thousands of years. These major intrusive or ‘plutonic’ rocks were formed between 580 and 480 million years ago by molten rock cooling and solidifying between the Earth’s surface. They are only visible once the overlying rocks have been eroded away. The dark rocks known as gabbros are the oldest, and are rich in iron and magnesium. The true granites, visible along the northwest and southwest coasts, are lighter in colour, and consist of three main minerals: quartz, feldspar and mica. On the southeast coast, where granites have broken through the Earth’s surface into older gabbros, a mixed rock called diorite has formed.
ROZEL CONGLOMERATE
Formation Conglomerate can be seen along the northeast of the Island and is made up of beds of pebbles which have been cemented together. They were formed around 400 million years ago and are the youngest hard rock formation in Jersey. Conglomerate is also known as ‘pudding stone’ because the rock formation is made up of lots of pebbles, probably from eroded and worn mountains. Streams with fast flowing water carried the pebbles and sand down valleys and left them behind before they cemented together.
JERSEY’S OFFSHORE REEFS
Jersey is surrounded by offshore reefs bursting with marine life, Les Pierres de Lecq to the north, Les Écréhous to the northeast and Les Minquiers to the south. Local fisherman enjoy fishing around these reefs which often prove dangerous to larger ships.
HOW OLD IS THAT ROCK?
At low tide Les Minquiers reef is bigger than Jersey. On this large reef, the rock is mostly made up of types of granite. These granites have features older than the Jersey granites. Could this mean that Les Minquiers reef is older than Jersey?
SEA LEVELS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
The world’s climate fluctuates as a result of changes in the sun’s activity affecting the polar ice caps, the dome-shaped sheets of ice found in Greenland and Antarctica. These effects occur gradually over time, making sea levels change as ice caps melt or cool. This cycle of cold and warm periods has repeated itself several times over the past two million years. Since 10,000 years ago, sea levels have risen to make Jersey an Island once more.
GLACIAL
In a cold period, global temperature becomes cooler causing the ice caps to grow. This traps much of the world’s water, causing sea levels to drop as much as 200 metres. Just imagine the English Channel disappearing with Jersey and Guernsey as only hills in a vast coastal plain.
INTERGLACIAL
In a warm period, global temperature becomes warmer causing the ice caps to melt. Sea levels rise as freshwater is released back into the oceans. Evidence for past changes in sea level and the shifting of the Earth’s tectonic plates can be seen today in the many raised beaches in Jersey. The highest raised beach in the Island is at South Hill.
To explore the Island’s heritage of Jèrriais also known as Jersey French, our Island’s mother tongue, we have highlighted some special parts of Island life. This #landscapelanguage series can be found on Jersey Heritage’s Instagram (@jerseyheritage) featuring images by local photographer Lucy Le Lievre.
LES HUTHETS
Les Hurets is the often overlooked, rather bare headland on the north coast above Bouley Bay. This place’s name in Jèrriais, Les Huthets, translates to ‘high, rocky, stony and barren ground’…our ancestors certainly got that one right! ~ in life there are downs and ups ~ dans la vie y’a des flias et des huthes. ~
ÎLET
Where can you find this islet? Here is a clue…home to miner bees and at least two trees, this remarkable green-headed rock’s name in Jèrriais is îlet.
CAÛCHIE
Many bays around the Island feature a pier, or caûchie in Jèrriais. These extensions of the coast were mostly built in the 1800s to create protected pockets of water for seafarers. Today, our piers still prove popular for fishing, boating and more recently cold-water swimming. The caûchie at Grève de Lecq, pictured, was almost completely destroyed during storms in the 1890s.
ROTCHI
You can’t go far in the Island without seeing a large rock, or rotchi in Jèrriais. The correct word for rock in Jersey’s traditional language actually varies depending on which side of the Island you find yourself in! Can you guess if rotchi is for rocks in the east or west?
BOUAIS
Our language is deeply intertwined with nature. For example, tree is bouais in Jèrriais. In a small Island where timber is limited, the importance of trees to our ancestors can be seen every day in place names like Five Oaks or Les Ormes (or elms in Jèrriais). Today, trees remain just as vital as we realise their benefits to the planet and our wellbeing. The entire woodland ecosystem plays a huge role in locking up and storing carbon which is important in combating climate change. Research shows that within minutes of being surrounded by trees and green space, our blood pressure drops, heart rate slows and stress levels come down – spending time amongst trees is good for all of us.
FORT
As an Island, Jersey has always had to protect itself and the coastline hosts examples of fortifications from many different time periods. The importance of these defences can be seen in the similarities between language used then and now. For example Fort, is also Fort in Jèrriais. Fort Leicester, pictured, was built in 1836 to guard a certain bay in partnership with L’Étacquerel Fort to the east. The defensive position was named after the Earl of Leicester centuries before a fort was constructed. Today, both forts are available to enjoy as unique Heritage Lets.
BOUAÎS’SIE
In a small Island where timber is limited, the importance of trees to our ancestors can be seen every day in place names like Seven Oaks or La Rue de Sapins (sapin in Jèrriais means fir, spruce). Au temps pâssé (Jèrriais for in times past), wood from trees would have been used as fuel for fires to heat homes during the colder winter months. This practice continues today with more considerations and actions being made about replanting trees. These logs are from a wooded area, or in Jèrriais ~ bouaîs’sie.
USS’SIE
Features like an arch, or uss’sie in Jèrriais, can be seen around the Island in old buildings. This example is an arch at Manor Farm, La Route de Vinchelez in St Ouen – a farm which is still used today to grow delicious genuine Jersey produce.
GRANNIT
A building block of Island life – quite literally – types of granite, or grannit in Jèrriais, can be seen in almost every corner of Jersey. Formed hundreds of million years ago by molten rock cooling and solidifying between the Earth’s surface, this intrusive rock has stood the test of time. Jersey granites have been used as a building material for thousands of years. To build walls, slipways, places of worship, schools, houses and traditional farm buildings like the one pictured at Manor Farm, St Ouen. Look out for granite features when you are out and about.
GRAVYI
You can find gravel, gravyi in Jèrriais, in lots of places: gardens, driveways, indoor plant pots or stuck in your shoes! At sea, our ancestors even named the gravel banks, like ‘Les Graviers du Petit Port’.
BATÉ
As an Island surrounded by the sea, Jersey has a deep connection to maritime heritage. A boat, or baté in Jèrriais, was an essential possession for lots of our ancestors in order to make a living – catching fish to feed their families and navigating Jersey’s offshore reefs.
MONTÉE
This slipway, or montée in Jèrriais, at L’Étacq in the west of the Island was built in the 1860s. Most of the protective seawalls in Jersey were not built until the early 19th century – initially in St Ouen to prevent the ongoing loss of farmland. Slipways were constructed in each parish, designed mainly to allow access to the shore to gather vraic (seaweed) or to launch a small boat. The cobbles, or setts, used to build slipways were traditionally laid at a raked angle to prevent cartwheels and horses hooves from slipping. Today, the Island’s slipways give Jersey’s seaside a unique character and offer the perfect platform for a quick dip.
CORPS DÉ GARDE
As an Island, Jersey has a complex military history. Guardhouses, or corps dé garde in Jèrriais, were used by the local militia to keep a watchful eye over Jersey’s coastal waters and look out for smugglers, pirates or possible invaders. Defence posts like the corps dé garde located above Bouley Bay were built during the 18th century and can be found all over the Island.
L’ÊTACQ’SÉ
Head to the northern end of St Ouen’s Bay and you’ll find the Island’s oldest bedrock beneath your feet at L’Étacq, or L’Êtacq’sé in Jèrriais. This place name, like others in Jersey, is Old Norse for stack or large rock. It’s likely that Viking raiders did what we all tend to do – chose a fitting name for a new place according to a distinctive feature. For L’Étacq this is the stack which also has it’s own name Le Grand Étacquerel.
ISLAND SOUNDS
L’ÎLE FAIT LA VIE
As an Island shaped by time and tide, Jersey has a unique playlist. The music playing here is made up of sounds recorded around the Island. Listen. Êcoutez. What can you hear? Can you pick out all the different sounds?
Soundscape by Sam Hills.
WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO?
Sea waves and weather ambience from multiple locations, including: Green Island, Bouley Bay and Anne Port.
Harbour ambience from Gorey Harbour
Cave ambience from La Corbière
Farm ambience from Oakwood Farm (St Mary) and Les Cotiles Farm (Trinity)*
Farm animal noises from Oakwood Farm (St Mary) and Les Cotiles Farm (Trinity)*
Chruch bells from St Nicholas Chruch (St Clement)
Birds at Val de la Mare Reservoir
Molluscs at Green Island at low-tide
Seagulls at Green Island
Waterfall from Bouley Bay and Plemont
Fishing boat noises in St Helier Marina **
Jèrriais pâle entouor la fèrméthie en Jèrri – talks in Jèrriais about farming in Jersey ***
Sweeping at Les Cotils Farm (Trinty)****
Waxing a surfboard in St Clement
Fire crackling in St Clement
Clock chiming in St Clement
Footsteps in St Clement
Traffic in St Clement
* Sound by Time Le Gresley and Mick Binet
** Sound by Josh Dearing The Jersey Catch
** Sound by Winston Le Brun
**** Sound by Mick Bine
ISLAND LIFE UNDERWATER
LA VIE D’L’ÎLE SOUOS L’IEAU
Many Islanders have seen dolphins or seals around Jersey but what else lives beneath the surface? In Jersey, our seascape has lots of different types of seaweed that provide homes for some amazing creatures. The seagrass, kelp forests and maerl beds around the Island also all absorb blue carbon which help mitigate global climate change. Check out what happened when a few of these creatures got captured on camera by Samantha Blampied using some tasty bait just above the seabed. Watch Èrgardez this fantastic footage of cuttlefish, catsharks, stingrays and tope.
The Blue Marine Foundation (BLUE) is working to learn more about the Island’s seascape. Learn more about their Jersey project and other work on their website.https://player.vimeo.com/video/477609699?h=b27a808021&dnt=1&app_id=122963
HISTORY OF GEOTOURISM
L’HISTOUAITHE DU GÉOTOURISME
Watch this video to see how people explored our Island in the past and how you can explore Jersey today. The video runs for 6 minutes 25 seconds. Film by Submarine Creative.
ACTIVITIES
There are lots of ways you can explore the Aspiring Jersey Island Geopark, here are just some ideas to get you out and about.
WALKING
You will find an extensive network of footpaths as well as winding country lanes, breathtaking cliff paths and beautiful beaches to explore and all within easy reach.
Walks can vary in length from short leisurely strolls to more challenging hikes along the cliff paths. Follow the links below to find a walk best suited to your level of ability. Some paths may be suitable for wheelchair users.
Walking is a great way to explore the outdoors allowing us to wander through Jersey’s spectacular landscapes, enjoying this Aspiring Geopark’s natural and built heritage. More information on walking in the Aspiring Geopark can be found by clicking on the links below:
Jersey Walk Adventures – Discover Jersey’s very own wilderness on foot with expert local guides who have explored this wonderful coast for many years. Revel in the stillness and expanse of an area that is covered twice a day by some of the highest tides in the world. Here marine life must survive the extremes of being submerged under water or marooned high and dry.
Jersey’s Countryside Map – From Jersey’s footpaths to individual ecological and geological sites of special interest (SSI) to our network of green lanes, Jersey’s countryside map invites you to discover the Island’s diverse natural landscapes.
Move More Health Walks – Enjoy short, easy and free walks run by Move More Jersey designed to improve mental and physical wellbeing and provide the opportunity for support and encouragement to walk. This is especially useful for those with lower physical ability or long-term health conditions.
Jersey Heritage – Explore the Island’s history and stories with a range of self-guided walking routes and audio tours.
National Trust for Jersey – The Trust maintain many local footpaths through a variety of the Island’s natural habitats such as coastline, valleys, woodland and heathland for the public to enjoy. Try one of their self-guided walks.
CYCLING
See the Aspiring Geopark on two wheels. Cover more miles by exploring the Island via Jersey’s cycle routes and green lanes. Enjoy taking in the sites from the slow lane or challenge yourself with an uphill climb, there are routes for all abilities.
For information and ideas on cycling in the Aspiring Geopark visit the following websites:
– EVie bikes – Sustainable transport, put some power behind your pedalling and hire an electric bike to cover more kilometres.
– Visit Jersey – Be inspired by Visit Jersey’s cycle routes and top tips for cycling around the Island.
STRETCHING
Find your flow in nature and return to your breath. Let your troubles float away as you reconnect with your body through gentle movement and perhaps testing your balance. More information on opportunities to stretch in the Aspiring Geopark can be found by visiting the link below:
Bunker Yoga – Celebrate the natural world and all of its cycles of life. Delia at Bunker Yoga aims to reemphasise the importance of this to others through the practice of yoga at locations that bridge the gap between indoor and out.
Explore the parts of the Aspiring Geopark that lie offshore. You could take in the scenery at your own pace on a guided kayak, test your balance on a paddle board or visit a deserted sandbank by getting a lift to the furthest corners of the Aspiring Geopark. Learn about how to explore the Island’s seascapes safely by looking at these activity providers:
Escape to another word and experience what Island life is like underwater. Dive into exploring Jersey’s surrounding waters by visiting:
Bouley Bay Dive Centre – Situated in Bouley Bay is Jersey’s longest established dive centre offering a full range of dive courses, equipment sales, rentals and servicing.
SURFING
Head over to the west coast of the Aspiring Jersey Island Geopark to watch the waves at St Ouen’s Bay. Well known across the Island as a surfer’s paradise take in this idyllic Bay from the sea waiting to catch your next wave. More information about surfing in the Aspiring Geopark can be found by clicking on the links below:
The Surfyard– Surf school and shop located right in the middle of one of the finest bays in Northern Europe, and at the heart of Jersey’s surf culture.
CLIMBING
Take yourself to new heights and challenge yourself. With one of the largest tidal ranges in the world, Jersey offers the perfect natural playground to practice climbing and coasteering. Discover a whole new landscape uncovered as the tide rises and falls every 12 hours. More information on climbing and coasteering opportunities can be found at:
