I also took about 60 photos for this photoshoot, however quite a few of my images have come out blurry which therefore means ill have to experiment in Lightroom while also having to go out and take more new images.
This image displays land erosion really well however I find its too blurry, unless I can create something out of it I will have to go and retake these pictures.
I took about 70 pictures for this photoshoot, I used a variation of angles to photograph electric towers to make something which can be seen as boring look more interesting. I aim to edit and experiment with these images.
Gustave Le Gray
‘Since its first discovery, photography has made rapid progress, especially as regards the instruments employed in its practice. It now remains for the artist to raise it to its proper position among the fine arts.’
Gustave focused on sea and sky photography. Born in Paris (1820) and trained to be a painter, 27 years later he started doing photography. Even before making the marine images, he became one of the most renowned pioneers of the new art. His architectural, landscape and portrait photographs, his writings, teaching and inventions were all highly influential.
The great wave
The Great Wave, the most dramatic of his seascapes, combines Le Gray’s technical mastery with expressive grandeur. He took the view on the Mediterranean coast near Montpellier. At the horizon, the clouds are cut off where they meet the sea. This indicates the join between two separate negatives. The combination of two negatives allowed Le Gray to achieve tonal balance between sea and sky on the final print. It gives a more truthful sense of how the eye, rather than the camera, perceives nature. When first shown, the luminous, shimmering effects amid Le Gray’s otherwise dark seascapes were often mistaken for moonlight. It is easy to see why this misconception arose in these monochrome images where darkness encroaches towards the edges of the scene. In fact, he achieved the moonlight effect by pointing the camera in the direction of the sun during daylight.
It was not only their beauty that attracted high praise but also Le Gray’s technical mastery in capturing apparently instantaneous views. To arrest breaking waves was an impressive accomplishment at a period when exposures required many seconds rather than split seconds.
Most photographers found it impossible to achieve proper exposure for both landscape and sky in a single picture. This usually meant sacrificing the sky, which was then over-exposed. Le Gray’s innovation was to print some of the seascapes from two separate negatives – one exposed for the sea, the other for the sky – on a single sheet of paper.
Dafner talmor
Dafna Talmor is a visual artist that took abstract photographs. She is an artist that lecturers based in London whose practice encompasses photography, spatial interventions, curation and collaborations. Her photographs are included in public collections of Victoria and Albert Museum, Deutsche Bank, Hiscox and in private collections internationally.
Comparing both landscapes:
Similarities and differences
Both show the beach and the waves. However, Le Gray’s is more obvious as it’s how a usual landscape looks and is easy for people to quickly recognise that it’s a landscape. Whereas Talmor’s is more abstract and is like a collage, picking apart different landscapes, this is more creative. If I had to choose which landscape I’m drawn to the most it would be Talmor’s as it gives off a sense of mystery where you haven’t got the full image, instead just the cut-out parts of the image, but can use your imagination and ‘put the pieces’ together.
My aim is to attempt to create images as similar to Axel Brauns ‘human-altered landscapes’. To achieve this, I need to focus on making sure the weather and location is suitable for my photoshoots. I am going to do 3 separate photoshoots and aim to take 100 photos for each one.
Locations
PHOTOSHOOT ONE: (100 pictures)
St Catherines woods, Bouley Bay woods and any area with an excessive amount of trees.
PHOTOSHOOT TWO: (100 pictures)
Reservoirs, specifically Val De La Mar, Queens valley.
PHOTOSHOOT THREE: (100 pictures)
Electric towers, any industrial buildings.
Why these locations? – How does it corelate with Anthropocene?
PHOTOSHOOT ONE:
I picked to do woods as i want to try photograph tree stumps and any fallen trees. Also, to try find any land erosion which in this weather will be easier to find. This relates to Anthropocene as erosion degrades land, which means it can support fewer plants that can take in climate-warming carbon dioxide.
PHOTOSHOOT TWO:
I have picked to do reservoirs as the man-made structures located in usually countryside’s and in the central of certain habitats, I’m mainly using this as a location to do this photoshoot as Axel Braun has a photo of what seems to be a retaining wall which hold the water in the reservoir in structure which has inspired me.
PHOTOSHOOT THREE:
I’ve chosen to do electric towers mainly as they are also located in countryside’s and can be seen near rivers etc. This relates to Anthropocene as its man-made structures invading natural wildlife areas. Also inspired by Axel Bruan.
Axel Braun
Axel Braun collects case studies on contentious infrastructure projects in order to trace humanity’s development as a geological force. His studies focus on human-altered landscapes as by-products of discourses and processes that describe the techno sphere as it brings forth the Anthropocene.
I have done research on his work and have decided it is very similar to what I would like to achieve/ recreate for this project.
To recreate this i could go to certain reservoirs around Jersey, specifically Val De Le Mar in St Ouens:
This image contrasts with urban and nature, to the left with electric towers and also man made slanted walls to the side of the river. Then to the right juxtaposing with the river and headline of trees, there is mist which creates a more urban/ dark feeling.
This image is demonstrating the style in Anthropocene i was aiming to focus on, Land erosion, I like the effect it gives off with the trees almost being under the water but you can still see them. The rocks on the right that look as if they are resembling ‘stepping stones’ it adds how there is still some sort of man made structures and that humans are always usually apart of the picture in some way.
This image interests me the most as it fits in with the topic quite well whilst also being able to photograph nature. This is something I look to include in my photoshoot.
What is Anthropocene?
The Anthropocene Epoch is an unofficial unit of geologic time, used to describe the most recent period in Earth’s history when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems.
How and why are photographers exploring this concept?
Humans have become the single most influential species on the planet, causing significant global warming and other changes to land, environment, water, organisms and the atmosphere. Photographers can use their skills to capture this concept and publish/ display it for people to reflect on. I think its a very impactful genre of photography.
Examples of Anthropocene:
Global warming, habitat loss, changes in the chemical composition of the atmosphere, oceans and soil, and animal extinctions.
Moodboard:
I am aiming to photograph more landscapes and greenery. Land erosion, Deforestation and urbanisation.
PHOTOSHOOT PLAN:
I’m going to aim to take pictures of different doors, windows, estate areas in general as there are usually similar characteristics however differences too. I also want to explore all the petrol stations/ garages in jersey as I think it will be interesting to see them all next to each other in a grid to compare and analyse. Apartment blocks too as their structures are very similar. Cars in a carpark or along the side of the road on a pavement for example.
‘By placing several cooling towers side by side something happened, something like tonal music; you don’t see what makes the objects different until you bring them together, so subtle are their differences.’
Hilla Becher obituary, the Guardian
What are typologies in photography?
A photographic typology is a single photograph or more commonly a body of photographic work, that shares a high level of consistency. This consistency is usually found within the subjects, environment, photographic process, and presentation or direction of the subject.
How are Bernd and Hilla Becher involved in this?
The German artists Bernd and Hilla Becher, who began working together in 1959 and married in 1961, are best known for their “typologies”—grids of black-and-white photographs of variant examples of a single type of industrial structure. To create these works, the artists travelled to large mines and steel mills, and systematically photographed the major structures, such as the winding towers that haul coal and iron ore to the surface and the blast furnaces that transform the ore into metal. Capturing a record of all these landscapes as they were changing before they disappear was meaningful and important to the couple as they grew up in Germany surrounded by these structures; its a part of their childhood and life.
Examples of their photography:
Was it even photography in the first place?
Well technically yes, but their work has also been referred to as sculpture. The Bechers called the subjects of their photographs ‘anonymous sculptures’, and they produced a successful photobook of the same title in 1970.
In 1990, they received an award at the Venice Biennale not for photography, but sculpture, due to their ability to illustrate the sculptural properties of architecture.
What were the common themes?
Overlooked beauty and the relationship between form and function. Both subjects addressed the effect of industry on economy and the environment.
URBAN AND INDUSTRIAL
WHERE?
WHEN?
For carparks, office buildings and I want to aim to photograph them at dusk/ night to emphasise the lighting to give a more industrial look. In the evening I will aim to photograph harbours; building sites and specifically La Collette in the day for the best detail and lighting.
For this photoshoot I went along the cliff paths at Bouley Bay. I have edited each image, which is shown on the right next to the original image I took (on the left).
FIRST IMAGE:
ANAYLSIS OF IMAGE:
I prefer this image in black and white as it highlights the whites on the rocks, I also like how the water contrasts with the skyline in the image on the right.
SECOND IMAGE:
THIRD IMAGE:
