Why did I chose car light pollution for Anthropocene?

I chose to do car light pollution for this topic as most if not every person on the island uses a car, and by humans using cars we are damaging the environment we live in. I also thought this is quite a broad topic to focus, therefore, I wouldn’t be less limited as to what I could photograph. i became inspired by a British, London based photographer MSH* and Sebastien Coell. They take photos using long exposures, waiting for all the cars and tubes rush by with their lights on creating light trails all around London.

How did I plan?

Initially, when I planned to do this photo shoot I was going to plastics which were found in the sea which was causing pollution and impacting the world. However, I chose against that idea as i became quite limited to what I could photograph due to the low levels of plastic found on Jersey beaches.

I chose to go out to do my photoshoot on a fairly cloudy evening at peak rush hour to get the best results possible for the images to show car lights. I went with another photography student to take photos as we had the same idea and could help each other out. We waited until the sun was fully set and created the images shown in the other blog posts.

Photoshoot-

As mentioned above, I went with another student as we found it difficult at times to get the tripods set up straight on a very slanted wall. By taking the photos at night, i managed to broaden my knowledge of what settings should be used to create the images I want.

The process was very much trial and error, as I had to time the photos perfectly to work with the cars moving due to traffic lights. and many times my shutter speed was too fast or the camera was nocked whilst taking a long exposure image meaning the outcome was blurry.

Even better if…

I believe my photoshoot could’ve been better if I was able to take more photos so when it came to editing them I had more choices to pick from, however that is partly due to the fact the camera didn’t have enough battery. therefore, I would make sure my camera was fully charged. I also think that I should try stick to my original plan a bit more. Even though I have very happy how this project has come out I could have saved myself a lot of stress if I had stuck to my original idea.

Overall evaluation of Anthropocene-

In conclusion, I really enjoyed this project as I got to go outside of my comfort zone and experiment with the camera. I am very pleased about my final out come images. However I should have gone out a couple more times to take more photos and maybe have tried to take some images in different lighting.

Virtual Gallery: