Inspiration

My focus for this project on the topic of Anthropocene was to create a series of long exposure images highlighting the excessive use of artificial lighting and its effect on the environment. Rut Blees Luxemburg’s work similarly explores the urban, metropolitan landscape and its effect on the human condition. Luxemburg’s photographs are made with long exposure times using the ambient light sources provided by the various forms of neon and other night-time illumination in the city inspiring my chosen images. Luxemburg first captured modernist structures such as tower blocks, 1960s council estates, car parks, empty sports grounds, urban motorways and building sites, Luxemburg’s images have seen characteristic synthetic lime green, fluorescent yellow and sulphuric orange tones. The interesting approach of her images present normal everyday structures in a unique and powerful way, exploring the effects caused to the environment.

Environmental issue

Light pollution was my chosen topic for Anthropocene. Light pollution is a global issue. This became glaringly obvious when the World Atlas of Night Sky Brightness, a computer-generated map based on thousands of satellite photos, was published in 2016. The atlas shows vast amount of light surrounding our planet at night. Sky glow is the brightening of the night sky, mostly over urban areas, due to the electric lights of cars, streetlamps, offices, factories, outdoor advertising, and buildings.

Outcome

Overall, i’m pleased with how my images turned out. I believe they visually represent the effect of light pollution on the environment, similar to the objectives of the The Anthropocene Project. Although, i was not able to capture as many images as i would have liked due some difficulties with the positioning of my tripod on a slanted wall, blurring some potential final outcomes.