Romanticism, perspective or intellectual induction that was characterized in many works of literature painting, architecture, music, criticism and historiography in Western civilization over a period from the late 18th to the mid-19th century.
In landscape perspective it is typical “moody” in atmosphere; it is more about the subjective feelings of the artist, than an objective record of the observable world.
Examples: (referring to romanticism in other art forms)
Explanation: when an extradionary romantic era in landscape art , moved artists to capture nature and infusing it with emotion and drama. This pivotal period gave rise to a new form of artistic expression, one that sought to reveal the emotional depth and sublime beauty inherent in the world around us.
Definition of sublime and picturesque
Sublime: The sublime is the understanding of the quality of greatness or glory that stimulates awe and wonder. From the 17th century onwards the concept and the feelings it inspires have been a source of creativity for artists and writers, especially when it comes to the art of natural landscape.
Picturesque: an aware manipulation of Nature where it creates foregrounds, middle grounds, and backgrounds so that it can highlight a variety of provocative formal elements.
Romanticism was a early 19th century artistic and cultural movement which was mostly popular in the beginning of the 19th century (beginning around 1770). Romanticism is shown by its focus on imagination, fantasy, love and the sublime. Romantic artists often painted landscapes, storms and nature to create emotion of nostalgia, Surprise and surreality. Romanticism also focused on themes of love, passion and the paranormal. Romanticism was not created or founded by a individual person, however it grew as time went on. Romanticism was a reaction to the social changes which was brought during the industrial revolution.
Romanticism in photography was a response to the romantic and cultural movement in art in the 19th century. Photographers would look to capture the emotional qualities of the nature and the world. Romanticism in photography is sometimes shown in photos of dramatic landscapes, imaginary scenery and different weather such as fog, cloudy, mist and stormy. Overall, Romanticism in photography is a wide-ranging artistic theme that still influences photographers today. Romanticism photography lets viewers experience the beauty of life and celebrates the beauty, mystery, and spiritual significance of the natural world.
The sublime is used as a theme in literature and art, with authors and artists trying to capture the emotion of the sublime in their work of art. In order to show the beauty of the natural world, artists, poets, and photographers were attracted to the sublime. They would show views of dramatic landscapes, stormy sky, and mountains to make the person looking at the photo feel interested and mystery for the viewer.
Ansel Adams was a talented pianist before an accident which damaged his confidence. This damaged confidence pushed him away from music and instead towards a different creative outlet: film photography. At 12 his uncle gave him a camera (Kodak Brownie which was the first ready available and reasonably priced at $1 when released(about £30 now) and introduced many amateurs to the subject), he began to take uninspired photographs on his trip to Yosemite National Park. It wasn’t until he finally decided to experiment that he had his first ‘successful’ photograph of the half dome:
He used both a yellow and red filter on his camera(Now a large format camera). The yellow filter (right) has the exact same composition as the red filter(left) only the red filter gave the photograph a greater variety of tone. The sky is much darker and the stone has more contrast creating an image with a stronger identity and looks significantly more dramatic. Using film was expensive and difficult which meant that you could only take a handful at once maximum. This resource management lead him to develop the zone system. The zone system was an 11 part gradient means to visualise how colours would translate into black and white where colours were assigned numbers on a scale with ‘0’ as pure black and ’10’ as pure white. In addition he began to take his photos 2 stops under exposed for exaggerated tonal values and edited them slightly while the glass films were developing. This 11 shade system shows the contrast in his images best when pixelated. The above is this same image with each pixel showing the tonal shades. Every neighbouring pixel is a different value and range massively across the image, this showcases the contrast present in the image. This process is reflectivitve of the quote “You don’t take a photograph, you make it” which was said by Ansel Adams himself. A photograph can be deceiving or awinspiring similar to art and requires much input from the photographer themselves. It was not just shot and taken away instead it was carefully planned and developed, requiring the photographer to make and weave a narrative. His well known grand images popularized art photography among the American public and inspired many to truly appreciate the natural landscape. The zone system also affected how other photographers could control exposure and achieve richer tone in their own images.
Group f/64 was made up of 11 photographers with a common style of photograph with sharp focus and careful framing. It was founded in 1932 by Ansel Adams with the name referring to the aperture on a camera resulting in sharp images. Ansel Adams was an environmental conservationist and his photographs were a way to protest the abuse of land. His photographs were made to showcase the beauty of the land to push for its protection. This was a sentiment that was common among the group of landscape photographers. The group was made up of Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, John Paul Edwards, Preston Holder, Consuelo Kanaga, Alma Lavenson, Sonya Noskowiak, Henry Swift, Willard Van Dyke, Brett Weston, and Edward Weston.
This photograph showcases a landscape of the American west. In this specific photograph value 10 is present in reflective river and the left snowy mountain without any overhead clouds. The river is surrounded by much darker trees which makes the brightness stand out significantly and is also near the centre of the image which helps to draw the eye. The value 0 frames the bottom of the frame which pushes attention upwards of the frame and makes it seem shorter which in tern makes the landscape seem wider and larger and therefore more impressive. The large range of tones makes the image seem like it has genuine depth, similar to how it would look to the natural eye. This makes the image seem much more impressive as it almost looks as though it could creep out of the frame. The whole photograph was lit with natural lighting, diffused by the clouds overhead for a softer outcome. The details are sharp throughout the whole image requiring and was taken 2 stops underexposed. The viewpoint was up on a bank which flows around the left of the frame. This angle allows the river to run below and be visible in its entirety. A grassy plane many meters away is visible clearly which would only be in frame if the viewpoint was higher like it is.
His work is reflective of romanticism. This one in particular encapsulates the sublime with grand, towering mountains. These large mountains and gushing rivers are awe-inspiring but also dangerous. The viewpoint alone could be dangerous with its height however provides a beautiful vantage point. Ansel Adams also valued the environment and large land masses. He created his photographs in an attempt to have the land protected by photographing and capturing the beauty in the landscape and to raise public awareness. He deliberately framed his images to cut out any human activity to show how the land should stay and to appreciate the natural landscape.
Edward Weston
Over the course of 40 years, Edward Weston photographed in monochrome. His work varied between still-life, landscapes and even parodies. He also photographed the American west and was the first photographer to earn a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 1974, for the final 10 years of his life he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and focused on printing over 1000 of his most famous images.
This photograph encapsulates the sublime through the crashing waves. It is taken from a high viewpoint in order to capture a birds eye view and the effect of the waves along the beach as opposed to a normal viewpoint which would focus on the skyline. This photograph is in black and white and in a 4×5 frame. The sand is all one shade without contrast which is broken by the rocks and sea. Pure whites, shade 10, is present in the foaming waves and creates a clear contrast from the rest of the sea. This contrast shows the movement of the water while also showcasing danger which is furthered through the high viewpoint is looking directly down a drop. Pure black is present in the rocks which creates contrast with the fluffy water.
Compare & Contrast
This photograph was taken by Ansel Adams and also shows a beach with moving waves. This photograph however has darker rocks and lighter water. This creates greater contrast across the image as mid-tones are almost non-existent. This one was also taken from height however looks across at the landscape instead of down. By looking across at eye level the photograph is not looking down or belittling the sea. This gives the sea more power and therefore makes it more dangerous. This image also shows the sea during heavier winds with larger waves which are more dramatic. The raging waves juxtapose with the sunny, clear sky above and shows the dual nature of the natural world. Romanticism was the movement that acknowledged and marvelled at nature and I believe that both photographs reflect ideals carried forwards from the movements impact such as the sublime. I believe that both images are representative of the sublime however Ansel Adams shows much more danger and therefore is more intriguing.
Ansel Adams and Edward Weston were two visionaries in photography and both were a part of f/64 with similar styles and ideals. They both took high contrast photographs of nature and travelled together on occasion.
— A letter from Edward to Ansel in 1936
“I cant tell you how swell it was to return to the simplicity and natural strength of your photography … I am convinced that the only real security lies with a certain communion with the things of the natural world.”
Around this time saw the great depression and the world wars which were major events and seen as even bigger ‘failures’ of modern society. The great depression was caused by banks going bust and loosing money which created an unsteady, unreliable and unforgiving environment. This understandably soured people opinions of the government and the ways the county was evolving. Not only were people wishing to go back before the banks crashed, but also back to simpler times without the need for them. In addition more people then ever were working on farms or ranches and pushed them closer to nature which were reliable. People embraced nature and again romanticised a simpler life.
High Dynamic Range
Exposure bracketing is when 2 or more of the same images are taken at different exposures. One under-exposed and one over-exposed taken with the same composition so that they can be layered together, needing a tripod. High Dynamic Range (HDR) combines these images to create a uniquely exposed image as a camera has a limited dynamic range and can typically only capture lights or darks in detail.
Lightroom
This selection of images shows a normal exposure, 1 up/down and 2 up/down. This means there are a minimum of 5 different exposures for a range in detail.
I selected each exposure I was going to use and right clicked to create the drop down. One option: Photo merge, has an option called ‘HDR’ which automatically masks and layers the different exposures.
This opens a pop up which has 4 total options of customisation. I selected the ‘Deghost Overlay’ which shows in red the masking this option used. I then used the graduated filter to change the sky slightly so that it would not be one flat shade. This also meant that it would contrast with the trees. I then set the image in black and white and adjusted with some basic editing. This was to achieve a similar outcome to Ansel Adams where there would be high contrast in greyscale.
Photoshop
In photoshop, file has a drop down with option ‘Automate/Merge to HDR Pro’. This allows you to add in all the exposure brackets after selecting the option and also has more options than Lightroom.
These options include saturation, gamma, exposure, edge glow etc. These options allow for more control over the final outcome than Lightroom provides.
For the final outcome I again set it in black and white and adjusted the hues. Red and yellow made the most differences to the contrast whereas magenta changed very little. In normal images the sky did not have as much detail as the ground however this editing allowed both to have detail. I used the dodge tool to lighten the wooden whites as there was no other light parts in the ground which had little contrast. The sky had lots of light shades however that was the only light in the whole image. Overall I prefer how the photoshop one came out as I had more control to make the image how id planned. It has more contrast and detail. The Lightroom was too light with little dark whereas the photoshop one had more darks which made the split more even.
A landscape is all the visible features of an area of land, often considered in terms of aesthetic appeal ( nice to look at .) Landscape emerged during the renaissance in the 16th century but is said to have originated around 1826 – 1827 where the first landscape photograph was ever taken by a French inventor that went by the name Nicephorus Niepce.
Classical landscape art emerged during the 17th century however and eventually gained prominence in the late 18th century with the rise of romanticism, and often continued to carry a religious significance. Additionally, it became a method of self expression, with the emotions of the painter and their appreciation of nature demonstrated in the painting.
Mood board –
The origin –
People have been fascinated by landscapes long before photography technology came around. This is proved by the multiple hundreds of landscape Paintings that came before the technology of the time, was advanced enough to produce photographs. In the earliest days of landscape photography, technical issues meant that photographers were bound to work with blurry views, this was due to long exposure times because of the technology and it being not very advanced, which made any movement blurry. This made landscapes and cityscapes perfect material for there unadvanced camera exposures.
According to the records, the earliest known evidence of a landscape photograph was taken between the years of 1826 and 1827. It was an urban landscape photograph taken by a French inventor by the name of Nicephore Niepce. It was noted that the first exposure took him an astonishing 8 hours, which makes it understandable that he chose a still subject. A few years later, around 1835, an English Scientist named Henry Fox Talbot entered the scene and introduced innovations into photography.
It was quite revolutionary back then because this allowed people a much faster way of rendering reality into a two dimensional physical format that they were previously only able to do through painting, since the paining process took so much longer then taking a photo.
Frances Frith was a photographer from the 19th century, born and raised in England. He was most famous for his photographs of Egypt and the pyramids, he travelled around places like Egypt, Palestine, Jerusalem and other countries in the east to capture his photos. In Frith’s photographs he wanted to make the viewers feel like they were there with him and thought about how to bring to mind the feel of things for people who weren’t there to see what he did.
The Romantic period began roughly around 1798 and lasted until 1837 (Peaked during 19th century/Times can be negotiable). During this period the political and economic atmosphere was heavily influenced, many writers finding inspiration from the French Revolution. It was a movement in the arts and literature, it was characterised by emotion and by imagination and by individualism (constant poetry of emotions/subjective own opinion/not factual).
Other focuses in the Romantism era was an emphasis on nature, freedom of form and the exploration of the Gothic and unknown.
The main idea of Romanticism is that it is the celebration/the movement (of the 18th and 19th centuries) of the individual, idealisation of women as well the emphasis of emotion and glorification of the past and present (medieval over classical).
Linking French Revolution with the Romantisism period
It had a significant impact on on the work of romantic poets, it inspired the themes of of liberty, equality and individuality in their poetry
The Revolutions ideals of freedom and social change resonated with the romantic movement, making them lead to themes of and exploring nature, rebellion and passion in their work.
Social Change
During this change many things happened like:
Calls for the abolition of slavery became louder and there was a lot more writing that was open about their objections.
People moved away from the countryside and farmland and into the cities after the Agricultural Revolution.
Where the Industrial Revolution provided jobs as well as technological innovations that after would spread onto the US in the 19th century, Romanticism was a reaction against this spread of industrialism.
As well as the criticism of aristocratic and social norms (“ruling” social class) and a call for more attention to nature).
The Sublime
The sublime (from the Romantism era) in my opinion is the overwhelming feeling of awe mixed with terror in it’s most “fearsome”, as well as danger (Edmund Burke’s Philosophical Enquiry (1757)). Edmund saw “nature” as the “most sublime object, capable of generating the strongest sensations in its beholders”.
He was not the first philosopher to be intrigued and interested by the power/ complexity of the idea of the sublime but his account of it was very influential. Edmund broke the idea of the sublime down into seven aspects, all of which he argued were visible in the natural world and in natural phenomena:
Darkness – which constrains the sense of sight (primary among the five senses) Obscurity – which confuses judgement Privation (or deprivation) – since pain is more powerful than pleasure Vastness – which is beyond comprehension Magnificence – in the face of which we are in awe Loudness – which overwhelms us Suddenness – which shocks our sensibilities to the point of disablement
‘The sublime’ is many things: a judgement, a feeling, a state of mind and a kind of response to art or nature. By about 1700 an additional theme started developing, which was that sublime in writing, nature, art or in human conduct was regarded as of “such exalted status” that it was beyond normal experience, maybe even beyond the reach of understanding in human. As well as generally regarded as beyond comprehension and beyond measurement.
It has been long understood to mean “a quality of greatness or grandeur that inspires awe and wonder”.
Edmund thought that the ruling principle of the sublime was that “terror is in all cases whatsoever, either more openly or more hidden and not obvious in the moment”.
The first step to making a panoramic image is to select the photos which you would like to merge together. You then select merge and select the ‘panorama’ option. Once you have done that it will create a panoramic image and you can then move onto editing it.
2. Next I adjusted the settings and turned the photo into a black and white image by removing all saturation. I also increased the contrast slightly to make the darker areas and lighter areas more dramatic.
Finished product:
I like this photo however I feel it is slightly dull as there isn’t many bright areas especially in the foreground. However the panoramic itself has combined well and it looks as if it is one long photo rather than many combined.
Taking panoramas using a phone:
As well as making a panorama through adobe light room I also took one using my phone camera. I done this by using the panorama option when taking a photo.
2. I then applied the same settings I used in my other panorama edit to make the photo a highly contrasted black and white image.
3. Finally I cropped the image as I found that some areas looked off such as the curve of the railing in the foreground. I also wanted to crop out the people as I only wanted to capture the landscape.
Finished product:
I prefer this image which I took using my phone as I prefer the way the clouds look as they are extremely bright in contrast with the sky. This gives a romanticised feel as it looks very dramatic and strong, this effect is created by the extreme dark areas and the extreme light ones.
Panorama by hand:
To create this I used tape to tape three different landscape images together. I don’t like how it has turned out as all the images have a different brightness level, the middle one is too bright compared to the other two.
Virtual Gallery:
I added both the panoramic images into my virtual gallery collection (landscape gallery).
