I want to explore the contrast of nature and technology though a documentary.
Why it matters to you?
It matters to me since I was born in 2006 and the first iPhone was released in 2007 so I have basically grown up with technology and watched it develop over time. Even though it has made a positive impact on todays society such as medicine and businesses, It has become a world wide addiction debilitating multiple people with how much time they spend in nature which has decreased more than half since the 1980s. The use of technology is also causing a world wide epidemic with the eyesight condition ‘Myopia’ which effects peoples Near-sightedness, this has gone up 26.9% since the year 2000 and is still continuing to increase. The addiction of technology is often ignored or not looked at by most people comparatively to other addictions such as tobacco, alcohol and Caffeine due to it not being perceived as ‘harmful’. It is also disregarded due to it being society’s norm. Its also something that I’m trying to improve on as I spend multiple hours a day on my phone which distracts me from real life. Every day we are surrounded by people generally hypnotised by technology and ignoring that actual real world.
How you wish to develop your project?
For my project I am planning to take pictures of people using different types of technology but in a dystopian setting with artificial lighting, and then contrast it with pictures of wildlife such as plants and wild animals which have been undisturbed by humans, to do this I am going to use natural lighting in my garden and artificial lighting in my house.
When and where you intend to begin your study?
To begin this study I am going to use some old pictures that I have taken over the years of different types of wide life that I haven’t used in previous projects. In the next few weeks I am going to be taking multiple images of my brother, friends using most the most common forms of technology inside and outside. and then I am going to take pictures in my garden of wildlife such as fish, birds, squirrels, plants etc. To combine the two themes I am going to take pictures of people using their mobile phones while sat in nature such as sat around a pond and under trees ect. This will also be done in my garden. I have been developing my study for the past month and I am going to continue to develop pictures in the next two weeks.
For this photoshoot I was inspired by Eric Pickersgill, though I took a different turn on his style there is definitely a resemblance of our images. I tried to follow the aspect of a dystopian society but is contrasting with my First photoshoot.
For this photoshoot I decided to do it at 3pm when the sun was radiating so I could use the natural lighting, I did this photoshoot with five female models, taking images of them on their mobile phones around my front garden. I chose this setting as my garden is surrounded by nature such as plants, ponds and creatures such as rabbits and birds. The idea behind this photoshoot was for the female models to ignore the nature that surrounds them and for all of their attention to be on their devices. I took various images such as the girls sat on a bench in front of a pond. One of the models on a swing with her full concentration being on her phone. 3 of the girls sat with a rabbit but again only looking at their phones, One of the models looking at online images of nature while oblivious that they are surrounded by similar surroundings, and multiple more.
The images below are raw and unedited
In conclusion I am very happy with how this photoshoot came out as I feel that it really captures todays society of technology and the ignorance of people when they are surrounded by nature.
For my first photoshoot I was inspired by Andreas Varro, This is due to his use of artificial lighting and dystopian feel that his images produce
For this photoshoot I decided to do it after the sun went down, I did this to eliminate all natural lighting that could intrude into my pictures, I did this photoshoot in a bedroom at my house to create a natural setting. I used my 2 models including a male and a female and took various images of them including them together and them individually. For my first set of images I decided to take photos of them together laying in a bed while ignoring each others presence while all of there attention is on their mobile phones.
For my next set of images I took single images of the male model on his laptop working on his trading business with the artifical light from the laptop highlighting his facial features to create the feel of him being oblivious to the outside world and all of his attention in on the pixilated screen.
For my final set of images I took pictures of the Female model on her phone listening to music though a wireless Bluetooth earbud, Again only having her attention on her mobile phone while the light from her phone illuminates her face.
In conclusion I feel that this photoshoot really portrays the dystopian reality of todays consumption of technology from an outside point of view. I am very happy with how the images turned out.
Due to this photoshoot being similar to my first, My inspiration was again Andreas Varro. This is due to our similar use of artificial lighting and the dystopian look that we both aimed to get.
For this photoshoot I decided to do it after the sun went down, I did this to eliminate all natural lighting that could intrude into my pictures, I did this photoshoot in a bedroom at my house to create a natural setting. I used 1 model who was a female and took various images of her in bed while on her mobile phone. To achieve the outcome that I wanted I took multiple images of her in different positions and asked her to represent her ‘Natural state’ meaning to portray what she is usually like when she in in bed on her phone.
Conclusion
In conclusion I feel that this photoshoot really portrays the dystopian reality of todays consumption of technology from an outside point of view of how isolated a person is/looks in their usual day to day life’s. I am very happy with how the images turned out and I am looking forward to editing them in the future.
Final edits
I edited all of the above images above on Lightroom classic.
Marsal van is a Dutch photographer who specialises in nature and wildlife photography. He started his career in advertising. As an art director at various renowned agencies and has won numerous awards for his captivating work. Van made a Dutch nature conservation organisation which is representative of both his creative and emotional approach to communication as well as his love for the natural world and his concern for the environment. After a trip to Tanzania and Van’s close encounters with animals really sparked his love for wildlife and drew a deeper passion for photography. Now van’s lives in South Africa when he is not traveling and runs specialised nature photography tours for people to destinations worldwide. Van’s has been rewarded “Travel photographer of the year” and the overall winner of “Wildlife photographer of the year”
Image analysis
This captivating image by Marsel vanis really stuck out to me Due to my project being about the contrast of technology and nature this image brings the both worlds together. The dystopian effect of the monkey in the natural lake while holding a manmade item helps portray the theme of addiction towards technology. I also feel that the use of the closest species to man is significant in the evolution in animals but still how they conflict with humans due to this image looking unnatural. I admire the way that the lighting in this image is natural with the innate tones of the money and the bold focal point of the mobile phone.
For my initial idea I don’t think that any of the artists referenced on the exam booklet would link to my take on documentary photography very well, so I have decided to research into my own photographers.
Eric Pickersgill
His background
Eric Pickersgill is a full time photographer and father working in North Carolina. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree at The University of North Carolina in 2015. He was born in Homestead, Florida in 1986 and spent his teenage years in Charlotte, North Carolina. Pickersgill received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in Fine Art Photography from Columbia College Chicago in 2011. Between 2011 and 2013 Pickersgill taught high school in Charlotte, NC via Teach for America. His passion for teaching and image making allows him to see the connections that the two share. The work Eric makes is often about photography as he explores the psychological and social effects that cameras and their artifacts have on individuals and societies as a whole. Eric has exhibited and presented his work internationally at institutions, galleries, and art fairs such as The North Carolina Museum of Art, Pantheon-Sorbonne University, The Ackland Art Museum, Rick Wester Fine Art, Pulse Art Fair Miami, AIPAD, and many more.
His work
Pickersgill quoted ‘The application of the personal device in daily life has made tasks take less time. Far away places and people feel closer than ever before. Despite the obvious benefits that these advances in technology have contributed to society, the social and physical implications are slowly revealing themselves. In similar ways that photography transformed the lived experience into the photographable, performable, and reproducible experience, personal devices are shifting behaviours while simultaneously blending into the landscape by taking form as being one with the body. This phantom limb is used as a way of signalling busyness and unapproachability to strangers while existing as an addictive force that promotes the splitting of attention between those who are physically with you and those who are not.’
‘Family sitting next to me at Illium café in Troy, NY is so disconnected from one another. Not much talking. Father and two daughters have their own phones out. Mom doesn’t have one or chooses to leave it put away. She stares out the window, sad and alone in the company of her closest family. Dad looks up every so often to announce some obscure piece of info he found online. Twice he goes on about a large fish that was caught. No one replies. I am saddened by the use of technology for interaction in exchange for not interacting. This has never happened before and I doubt we have scratched the surface of the social impact of this new experience. Mom has her phone out now.‘
I find his work inspiring in the factor that he is exploring some of the negative implications that come along with todays overly developed technology which
Personal image analysis
The large format portraits are of individuals who appear to be holding personal devices although the devices have been physically removed from the sitter’s hand. They are asked to hold their stare and posture as I remove their device and then I make the exposure. The photographs represent re-enactments of scenes that I experience daily. We have learned to read the expression of the body while someone is consuming a device and when those signifiers are activated it is as if the device can be seen taking physical form without the object being present. Removed avails performance, portraiture, and photography to question the physical utility of personal devices and the ways they influence society, relationships, and the body. The photographed scenes are derived from observations in my daily life. I ask the sitters to re-enact my original observations of them and seconds before the exposure is made, I remove the device from the their hand. The sitter is asked to remain frozen as if they were still engaged with their device, producing a photograph that points to the performance of being photographed and making them. The project is a form of intervention, calling attention to the use of devices by family members and those around me that I do not know. The making of the photograph operates as a way of disrupting the isolation I feel from strangers who barricade themselves behind their technology. This exchange creates new relationships while also asking the viewer to question their own device habits. I am excited by the way the viewer fills in the device at first look. It is as if the device has become one with the body and can be seen when not present.
Andreas Varro
Varro looked also at the dystopian effects of mobile phones using multiple images and then bringing them together as one. Compared to Eric Pickersgill he looked more at the effects that social media had on peoples mannerisms compared to the physicality’s of someone on their phone. He generates some of his work with the help o artificial intelligence.
His background and motive for his work
Andreas Varro’s internationally awarded and published artwork represents human behaviour through the medium of satire art. He uses conventional methods to create props and construct scenes. Using photography, he captures and manipulates images using digital techniques. As a child, Andreas had a social phobia, and he lived with an intrinsic fear of expressing his ideas to others, afraid of being judged and punished for them. He chose to self-censor during his boyhood which haunted him and was painful on several dimensions. Having a quiet and thoughtful nature made him the target of bullies. Later on, life drastically changed and threw him into the abyss. After his father died from cancer, a man brutally murdered his mother a year later. Andreas asked himself what drives people to do the things they do? The quest for understanding the motivations of individuals came at a time of darkness which fundamentally reconstructed him. Using art, he started to express the transformation he hoped for in society. The darkness he experienced shaped his artistic style which seems to derive from Renaissance paintings with those illuminations shrouded by dark canvas. Universal themes are inspired from ancient mythical stories which are translated into contemporary messages in his creative work. Over a short period of time, Andreas has received over 50 prestigious awards for his art, and his talent is now recognized worldwide. Surreal artist Andreas Varro creates thought-provoking art and highlights modern concerns like technology, social media, and power structures. By blending elements from myths, stories, and pop culture, he crafts art that triggers reflection. Varro’s art prompts dialogue about crucial modern issues. His surreal art becomes a focal point at home, urging people to engage. Seamlessly blending past and present, Varro’s surrealism sparks curiosity and meaningful conversations.
Image analysis
In this photo Varrous is trying to show the detrimental effects that ‘too much screen time’ has on a young child. He has taken a portrait of a young girl with a screen that looks attached to her face. He has used warm tones with the background being black/dark grey and the only light that appears is artificial lighting projecting from the screen of the phone. Not only does his work look at the obsession from adults about technology but also the developing addiction that the newer generations are starting to establish.
Observe: to watch somebody/something carefully, especially to learn more about them or it: The patients were observed over a period of several months
Synonyms of Observe
study.
examination.
inspection.
monitoring.
review.
surveillance.
watching.
Seek: the act of searching for something.
Synonyms of seek
pursue
hunt
search
chase
quest
Challenge: something that needs great mental or physical effort in order to be done successfully and therefore tests a person’s ability
Synonyms of challenge
objection.
exception.
question.
complaint.
protest.
difficulty.
My first idea when I heard the 3 themes was to take pictures of the natural world around us such as animals, plants and general wildlife. The more I thought bout the idea I started thinking about the actual world that humans have created such as technology. Since 2007 when the first iPhone was developed , it have become a common mannerism in 1st world countries to be on their phone. Globally the average screen time is around 7 hours
These statistics mean that the majority of these users are getting preoccupied by technology and spending less time observing the real and natural world that was given to us.
This is also having a physical effect on peoples eyesight as Near-sightedness is on a rise world wide, due to the lack of observing objects from far away.
I am incorporating it into the themes that we are assigned such as ‘Observing’ the world around us (the rise in technology) ‘Seeking’ for nature and ‘Challenging’ the addictive behaviours that the world is becoming immune to.
If I did follow along with this idea then it would be classified as a documentary, inspired by page 28 from exam booklet
