Questions to consider?

• How successful were my final outcomes?
• Did I realise my intentions going forward?
• What refernces did I make to artist references- ( commenting on technical, visual, contextual,, conceptual?)
• Is there anything I would do differently/change etc.

I believe that my final outcomes were successful. The parts of the project especially Masculinity and Femininity that I enjoyed was bring able to be creative and experiment with the playing around with photographs/ideas such as using the mirror, playing around with hair and experimenting what bit of the human skin and body can be considered to be more masculine and feminine and taking close up shots of elements specific to that.

I realised my intentions going forward and the motive that I was going for, I wanted each photoshoot to focus on individual parts that we consider more or less feminine or masculine.

Reference to artist references that I have made in my photoshoots have been Cindy Sherman where I have followed and took inspiration from her work and specifically inside the house photographs representing a housewife aesthetic. As well as taking photographs of Cindy Sherman I took photographs inspired by Lauren Withrow where she took field-like photographs of the subject and mysterious like images with themes of secrecy, abandonment and confusion.

One of the challenges that I faced in this project was timing and lighting. I believe that if I spent more time on the photoshoots and looked more specifically at the setting of the camera/how to make the photographs appear more intense and change the background inside the studio-like photographs in some of the photoshoots I think there would be more appealing approach towards my outcome of photographs.

Another aspect were I could have improved in my photoshoots is the blurriness in some of my photographs. I could have looked back on my photographs, see what didn’t work well specifically in what background did the blurriness occur/did it ruin the photograph or appear better with the rest of the photographs/if it pairs well.

• My final outcomes very successful in my opinion as they came how I wanted them too. I’m especially proud of the first edit despite it looking simple yet complex at the same time due to the collision and blending of the “housewife” photographs and look at the darker sinister yet troubled feeling behind the final outcome with the black and white. I decided to use both the masculine (focus on skin and body) and focus on the traditional female housewife in 1950-60s in the kitchen and how that plays a part with the subject looking upset, innocent and fragile.

• My intention with this photograph above was looking at Cindy Sherman’s photographs including her vulnerability and angles that she used in her photographs and her “untitled still life” work and adapted it into my work and the way I decide to position my camera.

• In these photographs I decided to focus on the different lighting techniques such as split lighting, butterfly/loop, rembrandt. I looked at my headshots and other studio photographs and chose my best one and the ones a think look the brightest and most creative and yet simple. I included my remembrandt bright photograph that I think looks sweet and minimalistic, that it emphasis even more the apples in her cheeks. In the centre photograph I included one of my edits of the “disguise-like ” covered hands photoshop editing. I believe it looks creative and interesting like a hand in motion type of story, how the hands looked being covered over the eyes vs how they look moved away from the face.
• In the third photograph I included the subject with half the face being covered with the light (split lighting). I think it looks sinister and appealing to the audience as the subject appears to be smiling at the lens so it gives it a more uncomforting sense to the image.

• In these environmental portraits I included two female works both in selling items to consumers but different environments. I realised my intentions with the photographs and photoshoot, I intended to make the workers the main and centre body of the image as they made it a whole as without the subject the background body of the photograph would only be an “environment” not “environmental portrait”. I wanted the photographs to look positive and not complex to understand for the audience so therefore the mugs in the first picture especially with the colourful background meant that the audience knew that the “environmental portrait” made sense with “pottery” and the element of painting and creativity in that specific place of work. Whereas the lady subject on the right had being selling knitting and different types of yarn ,I positioned the individual with the item therefore being able to deliver the message and understanding to the audience.

The Origins Of Landscape

• For my presentation of final outcomes I decided to put my edited images of masculine & feminine portraits, a couple of the different lighting techniques I experimented with and some of my environmental portraits in a “virtual gallery”.
• For the first virtual gallery I chose to present my virtual gallery with my four monochrome Cindy Sherman inspired photographs. I chose to put a slight black border around the image and a very slight drop shadow to present the effect as a “shadow” of the photograph “border”.

• In this photoshoot, I focused on producing photographs inspired by the ideas and features of stereotypical and general make/masculine bodies and outlooks. Whether that is a pose or body art I decided to include it in my work. I took photographs highlighting the muscular parts of a male body and or experimented/played around with poses the male subject felt comfortable with (UFC Face-Offs).
• One aspect that I would have changed in my opinion would have been the lighting in the photographs as many of the photographs have a black/generally dark background so therefore I would change that so that the editing of the photographs would be easier to modify like the levels as the photographs are already dark enough. Creating a brighter/lighter atmosphere would ensure that the photographs are easier to edit and therefore look better/ more presentable, the subject looks more focused and important.

• In these specific photographs, I decided to focus on the subject’s defined features like muscle and especially flexing something that can be specifically connected with masculinity and the themes of power, strength, and force. For all three of these photographs presented above I edited and modeled in black and white for the centered body part to be even more defined and structured as I believe these tones paired well together in the monochromatic style.

• In these photographs, I presented a less formal approach and decided to play around with the position of my subjects in the photographs, and considering both the subjects are male I s]wanted them to feel what they felt most comfortable doing.
• Overall I wanted both subjects side by side representing the difference in head and structure, for example, if the male subject has broader shoulders or not (something that can be described/thought of as more of a masculine feature)

• In these two photographs, the image is taken from a closer perspective of the subject. The features of a masculine-like body can be presented again as Adam’s apple is presented as well. This particular feature is more prominent in male bodies and the “thyroid cartilage”. Therefore the recognisable Adams apple can be recognized as a more male-like attribute and something to bring attention to.

• In this photograph the subjects are presented opposing each other, as mentioned before at the beginning the subjects are in a similar position as a UFC face-off. Despite the positioning not being formal, I believe this positioning can represent this childlike boyhood playfulness and immaturity coming from two teenage boy subjects with bright and cheerful facial expressions.

• In these three photographs presented, I wanted to include and compose basic close-up portraits of the male subject. I wanted the photographs to focus solely on the subject and to look formal and somewhat strong through the stare in the camera, through the side profile emphasizing a masculine jawline, and once again Adam’s apple making an appearance. In the last photograph from the right the subject appears to look smiley and breaks the contrast from an intense glare/ confident approach towards the photograph, though the subject doesn’t have the stereotypical and sturdy look of a masculine-like individual, the photograph still presents an open display of emotions (something that may have been demonstrated less in photography a couple of decades ago).

In this photoshoot I focused on taking photographs with the femininity outlook and played around with props and item such as e.g. perfume and makeup. My subject experimented with this “girly” outlook and how it can come across as being soft, playful and appear bubbly like. I also looked at perfume and specially female advertisements and how they appeared to look like with the perfume bottle, on some of my photographs these ideologies and experiments can be presented.

The things at work well in the photoshoot was that I knew what I wanted to photograph and how, I knew how I wanted to position the subject in front of the lens with the prop, as well as the subject in front of the mirror and from what angles would look good to appear well in the lens. The vision I had for the photographs was accurately translated I would say.

If I were to change anything in the photoshoot I would add a white background/backdrop to contrast with the individual as most of the photos can appear quite dark. Other than that I would say that the photographs worked well and that I could have increased the ISO so the photographs and in general appeared brighter. Something else that I would have included if I had thought more broader about the photoshoot would have been too included more items that were feminine like and potentially included items that appeared more masculine like and create that diversity between the subject itself in the photographs and the item that they are positioned with or holding.

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What is a landscape?

The term comes from the Dutch word landschap, the name given to paintings of the countryside. all the visible features of an area of land, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.

History of the landscape genre

Like most genres, Landscape as a genre first appeared in art. It was very niche and unpopular at first but slowly grew into one of the biggest genres.

It first became the subject of artists paintings in the 16th century in the neverlands but was not very popular compared to the art from Italy and France.

In the 17th century the classical landscape was born. These landscapes were influenced by classical antiquity and sought to illustrate an ideal landscape recalling Arcadia, a legendary place in ancient Greece known for its quiet pastoral beauty. Many people described it as being pastoral simplicity and was the place to go for many landscape artists.

In the Late 18th century, landscape art finally became accepted in the academy because of the artist French Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes. In 1800 he published a groundbreaking book on landscape painting, Eléments de perspective practique. The book emphasized the aesthetic ideal of the “historic landscape,” which must be based on the study of real nature. The success of the book pushed the Academy to create a prize for “historic landscape” in 1817.

Landscape kept gaining popularity through the 19th century, This is likely due to many people moving into less rural areas, caused by the industrial revolution. This made many people miss there old life in the country side, so they would turn to art to remember the old life.  Barbizon painters such as Théodore Rousseau and Charles Daubigny became less concerned with idealised, classical landscapes and focused more on painting out-of-doors directly from nature—a practice known as plein air painting. The 19th century also saw the birth of landscape photography, which would greatly influence the landscape painters’ compositional choices. Gustave Courbet (an  Impressionists) pushed the boundaries of landscape painting even further.

In the early 20th century, painters continued to embrace the landscape. As photography gained acceptance as an art form, artists used the medium to create interpretations of the land through pictorialist effects. Ansel Adams captured the country’s attention with his breath-taking views of the wild beauty of the American West.

What does Landscape mean ?

All the visible features of the land, often considered in terms of how aesthetic they are.

When did Landscape emerge as a genre in western culture ?

Landscape as an independent genre did not emerge in the western culture until the renaissance in the 16th century.

When did classical landscapes emerge as a genre ?

In the 17th century the classical landscapes were born.

What prompted the rise of Landscape Art during the late 18th/19th century ?

With the rise of romanticism, and often carried a religious reference.

When did landscape photography originate ?

1826 and 1827

For my photoshoot focused on landscapes, I went to an area which had trees and nature like a forest but also some sand dunes. I tried to capture images of every aspect.

These are some of my final photos from the photoshoot:

I really like this photo I think the lighting really makes the models face stand out which works well with the eye contact as it makes her appear really confident and serious which society associates as quite a masculine trait to have.