Why did I choose Ronez quarry?

I chose to focus on Ronez quarry because out of the ideas I had, I felt that it linked strongest to the theme of Anthropocene. I was attracted further to the idea once I had seen David Maisel’s images from his mining project, which captivated me, as they had a sense of awe about them. Ronez quarry linked strongly to Anthropocene as the landscape has been drastically changed because of human activity and the demand for raw materials.

How did I plan?

I wanted to show how vast Ronez quarry actually was and how much the landscape around the area is being affected. I went to Ronez and took images from above to replicate the work of David Maisel, who inspired me to take photos of the quarry. I also, wanted to show the depth and width of the quarry. However, I was restricted to the angles and shots I could get because there was a fence, preventing me getting the angle I wanted. I took further images of the quarry from Sorel Point to get a different view. The only limitation when taking the images, at Sorel Point is that I couldn’t get an aerial view of the quarry so the images didn’t really link back to David Maisel’s work.

Overall evaluation on the project:

In my opinion the images I took at Ronez, from above, are stronger and came out better, than the ones I took at Sorel Point. This is mainly because the view of the quarry wasn’t what I was looking for however, the images at Ronez weren’t perfect because you can’t see the whole quarry due to restrictions and overgrown bushes blocking the view of the water pool.

It was quite frustrating not being able to get the view of the quarry I wanted to demonstrate what the quarry looks like as not many people will know how vast it is and the effect it is having on the landscape surrounding it.

I feel like I could have portrayed David Maisel’s work better if I had a drone to get a proper aerial view, like his images, which would of given my images more depth and a better composition..

In conclusion, I enjoyed this project and exploring the theme of Anthropocene and how the environment is being drastically changed by humanity. I am happy with my outcomes as I have some strong images even though there were factors, out of my control, restricting me to take the images I wanted.

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.

selecting my final images:

firstly I flagged the imagines I liked the most

I then coloured the pictures red or green that I was going to use as my final images. green= final images/ red= wasn’t good enough

first image

original:

after:

final outcome:

second image

original:

final outcome:

third image

original:

final outcome:

fourth image

original:

final outcome:

EDITING MY BEST SHOTS

For this image, I wanted to create depth but also focusing on the repition of the scaffolding and linear objects. This links to Anthropocene as construction work is connected to not only more buildings but also fossil fuels, a lot has to be burnt to create it all.

For this image, I really wanted the focus to be on the sunlight reflecting off the window and how the window acts as a mirror. I think this could link to Anthropocene as it could look like a split between the two world (natural and industrial).

For this image, I really want to create a sense of depth and shape within the multiple layers of scaffolding and use the light to my advantage.

After editing all my photos, I then went in and adjusted them even more using the dodge and burn tool to lighten/darken certain areas.

FINAL IMAGES

EXPERIMENTS

For these experiments, I was inspired by Stephanie Jung and her work. What I really like about these images is how easily they fit within each other while still giving off the affect I wanted them to. I used photoshop to layer the images on top of each other and then played around with the opacity until I was happy with how the images blended together. I then went in and adjusted some of the areas, either with the dodge/burn tool or with the brightness/contrast.

To make this montage I started by flipping one of the images so that they were both the right way to make the illusion of a new building before then cropping and layering them together until I was happy with how it looked. I really like the idea of a building made up of two separate buildings while also having the two different light directions and intensities, the image on the left is during the beginning of a sunset whereas the image on the right looks more like it is light and sunny.

Where I went

To take my photos I walked through town after school when the sun was starting to set, I went to the royal square, millennium, snow hill and a few alleys in town as these places tend to have graffiti, rust and cracks on the buildings. I also went to crowded places but also places with not a lot of people.

here I have circled where I went

What I took pictures of

I took pictures of buildings that was worn down with cracks on it and graffiti on the side of buildings, I took pictures of road signs, streets, cars anything that rusts and doesn’t look that clean.

the photos I took

why I took those pictures

I took these pictures because I think they present what the world actually looks like and how we have had a huge impact on the world.

What I could do better and what went well

With my pictures I feel like I could edit the photos better and go to more places out of town as I feel like I haven’t properly looked into what I was photographing. However I managed to go to the places that consist of graffiti and buildings with rust and cracks on them as this was my goal at the start.

Before

After

For my photoshoot that I’m doing I will be going to run down places and the harbour as these places will have stuff decaying and rusting. I will be using these two photos as inspiration and what I will be trying to aim for. The photos I’m going to take will be of buildings, boats, cars or anything that’s rusting, rotting, breaking or has graffiti on it as this is the theme that Frank Hallam Day was doing. I will then be wondering around town to see if I can find places that’s been abandoned or looks a bit torn down.

I wanted to experiment and create an image that looked more like Mandy’s because in my shoot I used a white background and I didn’t have enough micro plastics.

I used the Polygonal Lasso Tool in Photoshop to cut out each piece. After I had selected one, I Feathered them by 2-5 depending on the shape. Next I created a blank black canvas and dragged all the layers across. I worked out where to place them, and duplicated the layers to fill in gaps. I didn’t want the duplicates to be obvious so I changed the Hue/Saturation of some.

Overall I like how this turned out, I think it looks like Barker’s work even though I used photoshop to create it. I think I used the same variety of colours and shapes as her, using large and small pieces. The only difference is that her work is more compact. I could change this by photographing more different pieces of plastic, or duplicating more (however I didn’t want to use too many duplicates).

Further Experimentation on Photoshop:

I wanted to edit my images further to create photos that clearly show pollution and waste affecting the marine life and oceans.

For this image I took my cut outs from my Barker edit, and organised them to look like the whales tail.

CONTACT SHEET

BEST SHOTS

I will mainly focus around town and other built up areas like St. Helier that have a range of different buildings and crowds that I can photograph. I will mainly focus around 4-5pm as this is when most people finish work so there will be bigger crowds. As I am taking inspiration from Stephanie Jung, I will try to photograph the busiest areas and take multiple shots of the same area from different angles/exposures so that I can later layer them on top of each other. I will also focus on taking close up shots of different buildings as I am also responding to Michael Wolfs work. I will photograph a variety of architecture from small to large, old to new, colourful to dull. Through my photoshoot, I hope to display the effects of overpopulation and how it is effecting on the planet and our Island.