Who was he:

John Constable was an English artist who painted different landscapes in the romanticism era, focusing on the Suffolk countryside. He believed that painting was another word for feeling meaning that he was very passionate about painting and it was what he loved. John made some very famous paintings which were mainly sold in France when it was embraced over there. His work was also an inspiration to the  Barbizon school. Within John’s work he included different styles such as freshness of light and touch of colour. His paintings had the aim to capture the ordinary life in that time period of farming, wild landscapes etc.

About the image:

In the image you can see there is some buildings which belonged to the people who the man in the photo worked for. This kind of work was very common int hose days, where most people worked for richer people, doing their jobs such as keeping their houses/ gardens in top condition etc. The painting was awarded a gold medal by Charles X at the Paris salon. It was later donated to the National Gallery in 1886.

For this shoot I decided to take pictures of the different towers in Jersey. The towers were built between 1808-1814 and between 1834-1837. Bellow you can my final images that I have placed together to give more of the effect. I have added them in colour as well as black and white as most of Bernd and Hilla Becher’s image are in black and white. Overall I like how my images turned out as I think it looks similar to my inspirations images. However, If I were to retake these image I may choose a different topic to photograph as not all of the towers are the same as some have been built around or painted, and some are not accessible anymore as they are on private land etc. This meant that couldn’t get as close to some as I could to others meaning the towers are at different distances in the images which is a key part of the Becher’s images. Also they didn’t quite match my inspirations as all of my images were taken at different time of the day. In my images in colour you can see that a few of them have the sunset in the background and others have blue sky, some brighter than others. However in black and white I don’t think it is as noticeable. I am pleased with my images but think that they could be improved next time.

shoot plan:

For this shoot I am going to focus on the towers in Jersey. I have chosen these because I think they fit in well with the typology theme and match the same style as some of Bernd and Hilla Becher’s images who are my artist inspiration for this shoot. When photographing the towers for this shoot I am going to ensure a few things. Firstly, that the tower is in the middle of the frame as my inspiration images are and I want to make them look as similar as possible, as well as making sure then the lighting and sky in all the image are the same so the the only thing that I change is the tower itself.

mind map:

mood board:

main inspiration image:

Typologies came about in 1959 when a German couple Bernd and Hilla Becher began photographing old and derelict, run down, industrial buildings or towers which were being taken down. They had an aim to capture a number of different landscapes before they were all completely gone, and produced some clear black and white images containing lots of depth. They took multiple image of similar buildings making sure the weather and angle was as close to the other images as possible. They took each images from the same distance away from the building so that they would be uniformed ad symmetrical. The Becher’s were also lecturers and influenced many young people through their photography at The Dusseldorf School of Photography. Some key photographic topologists consisted of: Thomas Struth, Thomas Ruff, Thomas Demand and Gillian Wearing.  

Bernd and Hilla Becher:

Many people have been inspired by typology photography, and have taken their own spin on it using different objects as opposed to industrial buildings as seen bellow.

 The New Topographics arose in 1975 and is where photographers capture contemporary, urban or suburban landscapes. The movements was a reaction to the increasingly suburbanised world and landscapes around them as well as the tyranny of idealised in landscape photography. People involved were trying to keep the world more natural and used photography to get their message across as opposed to words etc.

mood board:

mind map:

For this photoshoot I am going to visit some different palaces as seen above to try and recreate some photos from the New Topographic era. I will ensure that my images are in focus and when they have been take I will edit them on Lightroom to make them black and white, as well as enhancing their features.

Robert Adams:

Robert Adams is an American photography, he focused his work on the ever changing western American landscape. His work first became prominent in the mid 1970’s being promoted by his book The New West, as well as his participation in the New Topographic expedition. Many people in that time and still to this day are inspired by his work and got them into taking pictures.

analysis of image:

I think that Adams’ images are very effective as they stand out with the bold black and white tones, they draw viewers into them as they catch our eyes. I think that his images are capable of holding a lot of meaning behind them as they have depth allowing us to have out own beliefs about them or creating stories in out minds of what we think is happening in the image.

Lewis Baltz:

Lewis Baltz was an American visual artist and photographer. In the late 1970’s he became important in the New Topographic movement. He was best known for his monochrome photography of suburb landscapes and industrial parks, focusing on the bleakness of beauty. Baltz’s says that there is a presence of people in all of his work, ‘they’re present in their absence’. I like his style of photography as it is very run down and shows people how anything can make a good image with lots of detail.

what it is:

Exposure bracketing is where the photographer take a selection of images using different exposure settings. Some of them will be over exposed and others will be under exposed It allows you to get the perfect images with the foreground and the background in focus. You can do this automatically or manually on a digital camera. To do this automatically you can select the AEB button on the camera which will take a selection of images for you with different exposures. It allows us to capture high contrasting images. To do it manually you can change the exposure settings as seen in the images below.

my images:

who was he:

Ansel Adams was known as an American landscape photographer and carried a pictorialist style through out his images. Adams liked to visualise his images before he took them and used the quote “you don’t take a photograph, you make it”. He was also a part of the Group f/64  which refers to a small aperture setting on the camera which allows for great depth of field sharpening the foreground and the background and making the image stand out. This allowed his images to have depth and many different tones throughout them.

ten tones:

Adams based his images off the ten tones ensuring he had every tone in his images. Be doing this it allowed his images to be more dramatic making them stand out to the viewers more.

face of half dome:

Ansel Adams was known for his most famous images called ‘face of half dome’. The image captured the attention of the public and art in the world. It showed the viewers the sheer mass of the rock and how powerful it made the image with it being so intimidating. The different tones that run throughout the image allow it to take on the sublime look conveying fear and power.

comparison:

Edward Weston was also an American photographer who influenced many others in the 20th century. Weston was also a part of the Group f/64 who promoted a style of sharply defined, and detailed photography. The photographers in the group focused their work of it being ‘pure’.

Adam’s wrote to Weston reassuring him how powerful his work was,  “I can’t tell you how swell it was to return to the freshness, the simplicity and the natural strength of your photography”. Both used great depth of field to add sharpness and detail in their images with the ten different tones. This tell us that even though the two were against each other in the photography industry thy got along and thought greatly of each others work.

some of Adams’ work:

photoshoot plan:

Who: I will be the photographer and wont include other people in my images so that my images focus on the landscapes them selves, rather than people.

What: I am going to take image inspired by different romanticist photographers such as Ansel Adams of the landscapes in Jersey.

When: I will take my images when it is fairly clouding and dull to add a dramatic effect on my images i.e., in the late afternoon with dark weather.

Where: I am going to go to different points of the island, as seen below, to try and recreate some of the artists images of different landscapes etc.

Why: I am taking these image to show my take on some artists work to see different landscapes of Jersey and find out what is was like taking images back then.

How: I will use a camera and a tripod to take my images and ensure that they are in focus and steady.

What is romanticism:

Romanticism was an artistic movements that promoted nature and embracing your emotions in the end of the 18th century. It rejects classicalism and focused on nature and emotions. Romanticism in photography focused on landscapes including: coastlines, valleys, beaches, rocks etc. Before romanticism was the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution was a product of enlightenment in the 1700-1800. Many artists and writers rejected it as they were a part of romanticism which disagreed with it.

5 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

romanticism in art:

romanticism in photography:

The Sublime:

The sublime was a theory put forward by the philosopher Edmund Burke in 1757, embracing our emotions and the natural world. He claims our emotions overwhelm us as we experience ‘the wonder of creation’ or an extraordinary experience. The sublime is said to be power that compels and destroys us, as well as restores out perspective of the world and its beauty. The sublime in photography made photographers focus of things such as: dramatic weather, seas, rocks, coastlines etc.

Sublime in photography:

Sublime in art: