‘buildings where anonymity is accepted to be the style’.

Bernhard “Bernd” Becher and Hilla Becher, née Wobeser (1931–2007; 1934–2015) were a married collaborative duo of German conceptual artists and photographers. In the forty years in which they worked together, they are best known for their extensive focuses on the disappearing industrial structures and buildings, often arranging them into grid formats. They are said to have changed the course of late twentieth- century photography and pioneering the thought behind these industrial spaces being something made, artifacts frozen in time to tell a story of history.

They originally began working together in 1959 after meeting each other at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 1957. Bernd began as a painter whilst Hilla was a trained commercial photographer, marrying after two years. The documentary style of their images were of water towers, coal bunkers, gas tanks and factories just to name a few, presented in black and whit in the form of typologies. These images never including people and just focused on the industrial structure. These images focused on Western Europe and North America where the modern era was fuelled. The Becher’s tended to call the subjects of their work ‘anonymous sculptures’, leading to this referral, and produced a very successful photobook of these images in 1970. This meant that in 1990, they received an award at the Venice Biennale for sculpture due to the powerful ability they had to illustrate the sculptural properties of architecture in such an aesthetic way. The themes represented in their work was commonly about overlooked beauty and compiling an in-depth study of the intricate relationship between form and function. This addressed the effect of industry on the economy and environment.

Typologies:

a set of images made with a common subject or idea in mind, repeated through out the set. 

One of the first photographic typological studies was by the German photographer August Sander, whose epic project ‘People of the 20th Century’. He produced a large volume of portraits entitled ‘The Face of Our Time’ in 1929. Sander categorised his portraits according to their profession and social class. This methodical and disciplined approach later influenced many other photographers at an enormous scale, notably Bernd and Hilla Becher. Each image is replicated in a consistent style, shooting from the exact same angle and distance from the same building, documenting how the building would change over time going unnoticed. This not only makes the viewer become more considerate of their surroundings, but question the subject’s reasoning/place in the world. It also invokes questioning revolving around the rate at which we develop as a society – for example these industrial structures are being taken down for developments to move towards urbanization and modernization. Bernd and Hilla Becher also used this technique to group images together of structures that had similar styles, just with size differentiations, yet still keeping that structure consistent throughout the grid. Each subject has a relationship with the other.

They used a large-format camera and carefully positioned it under overcast skies. This was necessary to record shadowless front and side elevation views of their subjects in a deadpan way.

Their key pieces of work began with their first photobook in 1970 named ‘Anonymous Sculptures’, being their most well-known piece. The title was chosen through not only the referral of their images as ‘sculptures’ but due to Marcel Duchamp’s ready-mades:

This noted that the Bechers acted as if these industrial pieces of history were like found objects. This photobook acted like an encyclopaedic inventory, documenting kilns, blast furnaces and gas-holders, categorising them into their related sections.

Bernd and Hilla’s work left a legacy that led to influence minimalist and conceptual artists such as:

• Ed Ruscha
• Carl Andre
• Douglas Huebler

Alongside being photographers themselves, they were also professors at The Dusseldorf School of Photography, continuing to influence their German students such as Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, Thomas Ruff and Thomas Struth. Bernd died on June 22, 2007 in Rostock, Germany, while Hilla died on October 15, 2015 in Düsseldorf, Germany. Today, their works are included in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Tate Gallery in London.

Urban Landscapes Context

What is the meaning of urban landscape photography?
Focusing on the study of objects and elements in urban environments, urban photography usually emphasises the surroundings and uses them to make statements about time and place. People are not always included in the images, unlike in street photography.

Photographs of things you wouldn’t normally give a second look as they aren’t usually seen as’ beautiful’ or fit into the standard of ‘pleasing’ to look at. However, famous photographers successfully execute this idea by using man-made features or un- aesthetic atmospheres.

Urban photography is a genre of photography concerned with capturing scenes from urban spaces, such as towns and other ecological spaces. It has become more popular over the years as the world has become more urbanized. It is an interdisciplinary study which links to landscape and street photography.

CONTACT SHEET-

Firstly, I went around Havre De Pas and attempted to take urban landscapes obtaining natural scenery as well as industrial and man -made features. To help organize these images I started by flagging and rejected them therefore being able to give them the correct amount of stars. To finish this off, I lastly flagged my five star images green as they are my preferred ones therefore it will be more time efficient and easier to edit my favourite pictures therefore have a choice to pick my favourite one in the end of this project.

EDITING –

I chose this image as it obtains natural scenery such as the sand, seaweed etc and man-made features such as housing. The most interesting factor is the scaffolding and the different styles and wealth within each house. This significantly shows contrast between the man-made and natural scenery which ultimately links to Robert Adam’s famous image of the housing and the mountains in the background. I attempted to emphasize the clouds to make the image more interesting and eye catching to the viewer. I did this increasing the temp so it looked more aesthetically old and vintage which links to the theme of nostalgia as well as the aesthetic of the houses as they are not modern and are being renovated. I emphasized the clouds by decreasing the exposure as the image has no detail in the sky and increasing the contrast for more detail. I decreased the highlights so it looks slightly gloomy as in my opinion Adam’s images are as his work is mostly in black and white. Lastly, I increased the texture so the housing is not just the main factor of the image as the natural scenery such as the sky and sand is just as important. To do this successfully, I increased the texture to create more focus to create equality within both significant features.

I found this image very interesting as it clearly and successfully shows different levels of wealth or how the world and humans adapt slowly throughout life. An example of this, is housing as it was traditional to have an old granite exterior and eventually it has been adapted to a modern organized dull but clean aesthetic house. This image shows the modern habits as well as the traditional habits. However the old traditional house has scaffolding around to be renovated like the other one which significantly shows the following of trends us as humans fall into. I decreased the exposure as the clouds were very white which made the image over exposed but ultimately within this image it was not necessary to over edit as there is already a lot of significant factors so I did not want to make it ‘ too much’ or over stimulated.

This is one of my preferred images as it contains the different stages and levels of wealth and poverty. The building on the left is modern and fits the human eye standard to this day. However the right building is more traditional and has an older aesthetic to it which is shown throughout the type of windows. the middle is a contrast of both as it is a tall structured building. All three of these buildings conflict within one another. I made the image more eye catching by lowering the exposure so it was correct for that image itself and increasing the contrast and highlights and decreasing the shadows to create more detail. Lastly, I decreased the clarity and increased the dehaze which ultimately made the sky look slightly more unrealistic however I believe it makes the image look a lot more aesthetically pleasing.

I like this image as it contains industrial subjects as well as non-man made objects that are seen as ‘beautiful’. Normally, industrial features are a necessity such as this one as it burns waste for the island. Therefore it isn’t really seen as a typical photograph you would take however Robert Adam’s took photos of a untypical photo that does not fit the ‘aesthetically pleasing’ expectation although he successfully made them interesting to look at and he grew in his career for that reason. Therefore I took this photograph as it obtains both factors and attempted to emphasize the sky to enhance the natural scenery.

This image, to the viewer at first glance it isn’t significant. However, it isn’t necessary beautiful or pleasing in anyway but after I enhanced the vibrance and from the point of view I photographed this industrial subject it is clearly the main feature and the editing around it automatically makes the viewer look directly to this factor. This is interesting as viewers don’t normally give images like this a second glance however after editing the industrial feature to make it enhanced to make the viewer focus on it it changes the perspective. The point of view this is photographed is important as it is from the bottom looking up emphasizing the size and shape. It is also significant as it is showing what it would like to the naked eye’s perspective.

This image focuses on texture. I increased the temp to make it look older as the subject is already rusting. The most important edit technique I executed was increasing the texture as it showed the camera every detail in which the naked eye can not do as successfully.

Straight away, I noticed 3 main factors of this image. Industrial, environmental/natural and textual features. An interesting part of this image is that the rocks are obviously not man-made however it is clear to the viewer they have been put around this island which was man structured and handled. This shows conflict and contrast and possibly the debate of whether it is man-made or not. We also can see the industrial building in the background which is impactful and significant as it is a necessity but not exactly seen as aesthetically pleasing or beautiful. I made this image look more unrealistic by increasing the texture, clarity and dehaze which created more detail within the texture on the rocks and enhanced the sky and clouds so the viewer wouldn’t forget about the importance of the environmental factor as they are all equally important in this specific image. Lastly, I increased the vibrance so the image looked brighter and less dull so it fit into the expectation.

A famous book- This Equals That by Tamara Shopsin & Jason Fulford

This book, shows juxtaposition and how both link and differ.

” One thing leads to another. Isn’t’ that the best way of being in the world?” Maira Kalman in response to this book.

This book, signifies and shows 2 opposite or similar images and makes you question how they are similar/different?

My response to this book –

This juxtaposition shows us rust which is the similarity both these images have. However, they are in different shapes, different textures and different lining and geometry. Although it has the same element, they are displayed in different ways. The texture tells us both of the rusts in these images would feel significantly different. The subject in the first image is more displayed portrait, although the second’s subject is not as observable and outstanding, and is rather landscape and subtle.

These two images have more to contrast, as they have less similar key features. These 2 images show significant natural damage. The difference is that the first one is scratches, and the second are cracks. A similarity they both have is that you actually cannot tell what each image is which keeps the viewer guessing and intrigued.

These were two separate shoots of landscape and nature.

Photographed at Harve de pas, la collate and near highlands college. I tried to encapture nature, background and landscape in my photos. There are many different angles with many different angles and shots. It is important to put in the time to learn the basics of photography, including the exposure triangle, white balance, focus and metering modes. Learn how to use filters such as polarizers, graduated neutral density filters and regular neutral density filters

What is an urban landscape?

An urban landscape means a dense accumulation of building structures with a rich stylistic variety of shapes, sizes and proportions located over a fairly extensive territory. The landscape, development block, and movement framework are the three main design elements of an urban project of any scale.

Urban photography is a genre of photography concerned with capturing scenes from urban spaces, such as towns and other ecological spaces. It has become more popular over the years as the world has become more urbanized. It is an interdisciplinary study which links to landscape and street photography.

I photographed this image at a deadpan and low angle, to emphasise the different patterns and textures in the rocks, while also eye-catching the viewer. This helps bring their eye towards the contrast between the dull sky and the different sceneries such as the trees and the rocks. By increasing the contrast by a significant amount, I was able to add to this. The image is also interesting as there is a range of materials; man-made vs natural, therefore I did not want to edit it to a point where it looks surreal. To keep it realistic, I decreased the exposure in the photograph so it is possible to see the variety of tones throughout the sky, which helps add an ominous effect. However, in order for the image to not appear dim, I increased the whites which creates a bigger contrast between the shades.

For this image I did not edit too much as it is a minimalistic photograph with potential. With the colours only being black and white, this can also accelerate the modern vs industrial theme I have looked at within my photoshoots as it unites with the modern approach to many images today. I only increased the contrast and exposure to highlight the simple details, to appear more eye-catching, as well as juxtaposing the bright whites with the dark shades.

Within this image, there is another divergence between the modern and historical approach, as I have integrated the top of the apartments, where we can clearly assume they were newly built. Whereas I can infer that the tree is ancient, as it was extremely tall meaning it had been growing for decades. This adds interest to the overall outcome because by embodying ancient nature, I am able to encourage comparison of our present with our past. This can also successfully add a mood of nostalgia for the viewer. By increasing the contrast, it can foreground the plain colours in the image. I emphasised the clouds by decreasing the exposure as the image has no detail in the sky and increasing the contrast for more detail.

I photographed this image from As the purpose of this photograph I captured was to capture the texture, I kept the clarity and dehaze neutral, as I think it takes away from the distinctive details throughout. Therefore I made small changes like increasing the contrast in order to despair a range of tints and complexions within.

For this photoshoot we went to Havre Des Pas and took a closer look into the different urban landscapes such as industrial monuments and buildings. We attempted to focus on obtaining natural scenery (sand, seaweed etc) as well as industrial and man-made features (houses and buildings).

Within the image above, it has more man-made and modern features rather than historical which can be observed through the metal fountain as the subject of the image. This contrasts well against the other images of the natural scenery, taken by Ansel Adams. The photograph above links successfully to Robert Adams as he focused on housing as the main subject, but incorporating natural scenery in the background. My images differ from this as instead of embodying nature, I included the modern apartments.

While editing this image, I increased the exposure to make the image appear brighter and reveal the details in the shadows. I wanted this photograph to appear bright as it contradicts the white buildings and the shiny monument in the centre. I decreased the shadows because I did not want an extreme contrast between the different colours and shades within the image, and I wanted to achieve an overall beaming and intense mood which highlights the modern man-made world in which humans have adapted to.

selection:

Artist Reference ~ Stephen Shore

Stephen Shore is a Contemporary American Photographer, best known for his colour images of street corners and plates of food, suburban baseball fields and parking lots. Stephen Shore said “I discovered that this camera was the technical means in photography of communicating what the world looks like in a state of heightened awareness,” which made him take his photography seriously as his photos show a different side of the world.

Image Analysis

His images are recollections of experiences but they are taken in a careful and considerate way. His images are taken with a large format camera which makes his images a lot more precise and increases the quality of his images both in colour and in the form. The layout of this photo is very chaotic and there is a lot of things going on in the image which makes it quite confusing to look at. There is a petrol station and cars parked in a parking lot both in one photo which creates a more interesting concept. The rainbow in the sky creates a contrast between the dark colours of the cars and of the background of the image as its all very dramatic dark colours whereas the sky is a pale blue and white colour. The lines in this image from the car and from the reflection in the puddle act as leading lines to the focal point of the image.

Contact Sheet

In this photoshoot, I focused on trying to merge the manmade world, such as the seawalls and buildings lined across the seafront, and the natural world, like the beach and the ocean.

I found that including wildlife in the photos also created a good mesh of natural and man made.

Here are the ones I though were best from this selection.

When editing these photos, I could play around with cropping the images into a square format and then presenting them as a triptych.

I also experimented with the rocks along the beach and trying to combine them with the built environment around Harve des Pas, such as the industrial buildings at La Collette.

In these photos, I tried to blend the buildings and the rocks by finding dips in the rocks where I could see the buildings in the background. Additionally, I tried to use the sea as kind of a middle ground to separate the natural rocks from the manmade buildings. Here are the ones I thought were best.

Here are some other photos I took also using these buildings in the background that I thought worked well as new topographic photos.

When editing these photos, I could play around with the cropping to make the buildings more contained in the frame and more of the focus in the shot. Additionally, I could make these black and white to emphasise the lack of emotion that is common in new topographic photos.

Editing

While editing these photos, I want to focus mainly on how these photos are going to be presented together. This means that the photos will have to be cropped the same way, the colouring will have to be the same, and I need to find a way to portray these buildings in a negative way. I could do this by displaying the photos together as different sections of the landscape, going from the beauty of the beach and the rocks to the drabness of the industrial buildings. I could also alter the colouring to go from happy and vibrant to sad and colourless.

To start with, I looked at the photos I took of the ducks. I also found that these photos had a blue sky, whereas the photos of the buildings were cloudy and drab. This meant that I could use this to help me with my idea of changing the colour between the photos.

Here is the first draft of the triptych I wanted to create with the photos of the ducks and the distant background of the coast.

With this draft, I was happy with how the photos turned out, but I felt that the two photos on either side were too similar, so I decided to change the one on the left to another photo.

I was much happier with this second draft, as it also followed my idea of gradually panning towards the industrial buildings, however I felt that the colouring of each photo wasn’t similar enough to create the same effect.

With this draft, I altered the colouring by taking the vibrance and saturation out more and more between each photo and making the photo colder. I also adjusted the exposure and the shadows to amplify this effect. I was very happy with this draft, and I felt that changing the colouring created the slow decline that I was aiming for.

I also tried this with black and white.

I felt that this worked very well, even more so than the previous draft. I was happy with this, so I then moved onto trying something with the industrial buildings. I was thinking of trying to add these photos with the triptych above.

This is what I came up with. My idea was that the top line of photos would gradually decrease in colour, and the bottom photos were completely black and white. However, I felt that these photos were too repetitive in triptych format, so I decided to separate these photos from the triptych of the ducks and rather make these their own presentation.

I thought that this combination turned out fairly well, and both of these photos clearly demonstrate new topographical work.

I also wanted to try and use these photos to tell a story of how mankind has ignored these new ugly developments. I had a few ideas in mind. Firstly, I could present the images like this from left to right. Secondly, I could present the images from top down in square format.

However, I wasn’t sure how I could present the photos in this format. Thirdly, I could crop out the subject in each photo and place them in one photo, and gradually increasing the opacity between each of them.

I thought that this idea worked fairly well and told the story that I had in mind. The subject walks past the tower, completely ignoring it, rather he focuses on something outside of the frame with his camera, demonstrating the aspect of ignorance that is presented in new topographics photos from artists like Frank Gohlke.

Final Images

New Topographics was a response to increasingly suburban surroundings and idealised landscape photography showcasing and elevating the natural world. It showcases the effect of man on the surrounding world and a sense of beauty in its dull change. These are documentary photographs typically contrasting square manmade buildings with soft mountains capes and open land. New Topographics saw the work of Ansel Adams and found the ideas of environmental protection and preservation inspiring however the approach disingenuous. He showed the beauty of the natural landscape without the effects of man by carefully framing whereas new Topographics would move the camera slightly to show a trailer park. They aimed to preserve the environment by showing the effects of man on the environment. Humans want for constant expansion and the need for more housing post war meant that more and more space was being cut up and built on. Influential artists included:

• Nicholas Nixon

• Henry Wessel Jr

• Bernd and Hilla Becher

• Robert Adams

Robert Adams photographs could be split in two. On one half there would be a traditional landscape slightly too far away and the second half would contrast with a road or building with harsh lines and dull appearances. He rose to prominence through his project ‘The New West’ and participation in the exhibition ‘The New Topographics: Photographs of Man Altered Landscapes’ in 1975.

Case Study – Henry Wessel

Henry Wessel was an American photographer and one of ten collaborators in the exhibition ‘New Topographics: Photographs of a Man Altered Landscape’. His work consists of isolated observations of the typical environment surrounding him such as roads and pavements.

This photograph focuses on a house surrounded by a growing plant such as maze or grass. This plant towers over the house like nature taking back the space. The house is a small one-story bungalow which is associated with the elderly which plants the idea that the plants haven been trimmed due to a lack of ability or that the house has been abandoned. This photograph is also in black and white made up of mid tone greys and whites. This light colour pallet creates a softer atmosphere and radiates a bright, sunny day. The only dark parts are inside the house to create depth. This also makes the outside seem more friendly than the inside of a building commenting on the isolation and coldness of modern buildings/communities. Additionally there is no sign of life inside such as a light to show that the building is still in use furthering the idea that it has been abandoned and unappreciated. This photograph sits eye to eye with the building which would require the photographer to be stood far away. This causes the road to take up the bottom of the frame. This shows how plant life has to push through human created surfaces such as pavements and roads. The plant life has been surrounded by stones and tarmac without a second thought.

Henry Wessel Jr took this photograph in landscape to reflect the reach of the house as its short but wide. If this was taken in portrait it would make the building seem even smaller and showcase more of the sky which isn’t the focus of this image. The plant life is cut off by the frame which shows how much space it has taken unlike the house which is rigid in shape and doesn’t fill the whole frame. The house is visible through the plants which shows it only thin coverage as surrounding the plants is harsh materials which is difficult to grow through. The contrast between the bottom half of the image and the top half shows a balance. The top half shows the natural sky and the plants while the bottom half shows the building and the road however they met and merge in the middle.

I believe this photograph is to show consumerism and a lack of care for the environment. This is shown through the abandoned building and overgrowing plants. The house with harsh lines and unnatural shapes stands apart from the grass like plant. Houses are built using precious resources, take up beautiful land and only get a lifespans time of use for one single person. The environment and its resources are not one persons financial gain, the land would have probably been used by wildlife and plant life and since the plants have been left long enough to grow over 4 meters minimum (which depending on the plant could take anything from 1 year upwards.) they have begun to slowly take back their land.

Bernd and Hilla Becher – Typology

This German couple were the only Europeans in the exhibition new Topographics. They were inspired by another German photographer who experimented with typology. Typology is the study of types. The inspiration showed dried plants in a triptych.

The couple photographed disappearing industrial architecture around Europe and north America such as water tanks. They never included people in their images as the focus was solely on the architectural feats. The couple were influential in the appreciation of industrial architecture.

Each of these images have been taken with a similar distance and angle. This uniform approach helps to link each one and to create a more coherent grid, which was a staple of their work. This grid presents 9 different images of the same industrial sculpture. Each one is from a different location with different designs. Since they all have the same function they are bound to have similarities such as size and materials however what’s suppressing is the different shapes they have. By combining these in a grid it showcases these differences and the detail put into a simple structures composition. Since Bernd and Hilla Becher photographed disappearing industrial structures this grid would have been made to highlight the unlikely beauty in these temporary industrial tools. Had you stumbled across one of these in an area naturally you wouldn’t acknowledge the structures or their intricate composition.

The pair used a large-format camera, same as Ansel Adams, which would produce high quality black and white photographs on glass sheets. They would photograph on overcast days for dingy lighting, a white background and to present the structures as they would be seen. Between the lights and darks is a clear contrast which differentiates the sky, building and its metalwork. This lighting was different to natural landscape photographers who photographed early or late for soft lighting. Occasionally when the sky was blue without clouds, they would use a blue filter to compensate. A blue filter creates a cooling effect to correct warm lighting and can enhance shadows. The photographs are taken in portrait to cut out backgrounds and get close to the subject. These tight frames draw attention to the subject matter and create an intimate aesthetic showing the photographers appreciation while also showcasing the height. The angle is at normal eyelevel and has been taken ‘dead pan’ which in comparison to the structures appears low which furthers the massiveness of these structures and makes them seem powerful. The dead pan approach is an approach which showcases the subject as is without decorating or manipulating it in anyway which was deliberately used to showcase the structures in their natural state.

The metalwork and shape is what differentiates each structure. Not only are these factors significant in the functionality of the structures but also creates a unique appearance. The metal bars creates lines which compliment the subjects shape and have unique patterns which makes it a shame that they will be taken down. If each one looked the exact same then there wouldn’t be any attachment to the structures. Time and thought had clearly gone into the appearance of these structures and would mostly go unrecognised by the public. In contrast, the metal bars are rigid harsh lines which are clearly man-made and resemble prison bars. This menacing message of captivity and lack of power could also be highlighting the photographers feelings about the environment. They have a lack of power against man made structures which take over the landscapes. The new Topographics was made to showcase how the landscapes are being destroyed and this photograph is significant in showcasing the feeling surrounding this topic.

Photoshoot 1

This photoshoot covered both seascapes and industrial spots. Over the hour the weather changed several times. There was mist, rain, sun and clear skies which made lots of images look different.

I changed the photographs to black and white, cropped them and rotated each one. In addition I adjusted the contrast slightly and I think these images turned out better than the coloured ones. This is because I don’t think that the colour images fit into the new topographics theme as much as the others.

Panorama

I used some images of the same setting taken a slight different angle. This meant that using about 5 different images could show space on either sides of a normal image which creates a wide angle. The first one shows the jagged edges created when combining the images and the second shows it cropped for a clean shape. I liked the unique shape created and will try experimenting with this shape at a later point. There are two automatic panorama features: One in photoshop and one in Lightroom.

Photoshop

In photoshop the panorama option is accessible by selecting file(on the home screen)>Automate>Photo merge.

A pop up appears which has several different layout options. For panorama images the perspective option needs to be selected. To choose the images the files need to be selected from the files on the hard drive once the browse option is selected.

The combined images are then combined into one photoshop tab. This allows for further editing which would be absent in Lightroom.

When taking the initial photographs I managed to hold the camera at a consistent angle which produced an image with a naturally rectangular shape. I didn’t like this one as much for two reasons: This one doesn’t show the high rise flats and there was no interesting shape created.

After experimenting with the first two, I combined more images and kept the jagged shape. I like how this image turned out edit wise however next time I will be taking a photograph of a landscape with a more consistent and interesting subject such as higher tide and more rocks.

Lightroom

In Lightroom you select all the images that will be used and then the panorama option is under photo merge.

A pop up appears which is where final alterations are made. This then merges the images into one final Lightroom image which cannot be altered outside of typical Lightroom editing.

Using the Lightroom option I produced another strangely shaped panorama image. I wanted to experiment a bit more with the outcome so changed the image to black and white.

Final Images

This image has interesting lines and shows off modern architecture with simple colours and basic shapes. There is little going on with the shapes or exterior however it so obviously man made. I like the different floors with the contrasting shades and I think the shapes came out well.

This one is split into 3. The first part is the old building taking up the right side of the frame. The second part fills the middle of the frame with a reasonably aged and outdated block of flats. The size of this high riser is rare on island. The left part of the frame shows a modern block of flats that only finished construction recently. Representative of jerseys varying architecture. I would have liked the sky to have been a lighter white to contrast with he shadows of the buildings.

This image shows an industrial structure is ‘polluting’ the sky and blocking out the sun. The details are still visible on the beams despite increasing the contrast.

I like this photograph because it shows a lack of respect for the environment. there’s litter on the ground and graffiti on the bench which has taken valuable land space and gets much use.

“The Great Plains of North America exists for me both as a physical landscape and as an idea, or internal landscape” – Joe Deal

Joe Maurice Deal was an American landscape photographer, who became one of the ten founding photographers of specializing in depicting how the landscape of the earth had been transformed by people. Born in Topeka, Kansas on August 12, 1947, Deal attended the Kansas City Art Institute where he subsequently earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. After his graduation in 1970, Deal worked as a janitor and guard at at the George Eastman House in New York within its museum of photography instead of enrolling in the military. This led to him receiving his Masters degree in photography alongside his Masters of Fine Arts degree in the University of New Mexico, paving his way to becoming one of the participants in the movement of New Topographics.

During the mid-70s, Joe Deal was chosen for an exhibition, alongside 9 other photographers, curated by William Jenkins named “New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape” at the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House. This was an exhibition focusing on the effects human beings as a society have on the landscape and furthermore, the globe. Deal contributed 18 black and white photographs in a 32 cm × 32 cm format, submitting newly constructed homes against the desolate landscape of the American Southwest. These housing developments were presented at various stages of completion, using indicators of development from newly-laid roads with construction materials spread nearby, adjacent to mounds of dirt and other piles of destroyed plants.

“anthropological rather than critical, scientific rather than artistic.” – William Jenkins

Joe Deal and his colleagues rejected Romanticism from their predecessors and aimed to achieve a realistic and straightforward document of contemporary society by using emotional indifference. Through square formatting, viewers could read the landscape as if it was traces of human decision-making. The moments of too-perfect symmetry in the patterns of rocks and bushes expose the landscaping as unnatural. Joe Deal photographed suburban development in the form of construction sites which become contrasted against the large piles of refuse and empty lots regularly shown in these images that suggest the wastefulness of abandoned projects. By framing the land in this way, he created a space where his viewers must consider the cost of rapid growth in the fragile desert and how dangerously this would be impacting these natural spaces that should be protected and preserved.

 Analysis:

Joe Deal’s work actively focused on the destruction of these natural spaces due to the inclusion of construction sites against the decaying deserts with rubble and waste discreetly scattered around. The angle of the camera looking above and over this area whilst using a 32 cm × 32 cm format causes the viewer to face and understand the uneasy coexistence of man and nature along the San Andreas Fault in Southern California. This was a key feature continued through into his portfolio of images, “The Fault Zone,” in which he created after his huge success within the “New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape” by William Jenkins. His worked acted revolutionary towards Romanticism and ideas of The Sublime in landscape photography. In a monotone way, Deal presented tract houses, industrial sites, motel, warehouses and highway projects in a deadpan and uninflected style, looking at these spaces straight on. The mundane style of this image, this desolate areas guided by three homes with a dividing road resonates with climate change and global warming as it depicts how humans are consistently “having a want for more”, urbanizing and emptying these natural spaces, blankly showing society the personal intrusion we do consciously or unconsciously. The scattered construction materials discreetly point out to the viewer, unmanipulated, alongside the tire marks swirling around on the grass, giving evidence of human interruption. The housing is shown in a more accurate 3D form through the shot being taken from a high angle, contrasting against the harsh decaying bushes surrounding, patchy and destroyed. The black and white gives a large tonal range, resembling Ansel Adams’ work, appearing perfectly exposed. The image brings a lot of sharp and fine detail taken in daylight yet even though it is quite far away, the long depth of field captures it at a wide angle. The cropped section of grass laid out purposefully at the back of the house, being the focal point, appears wilted and especially sparse being left to be destroyed by the next building development.

A few of his other exhibitions:

In these images, Deal took these images on the concept of geology and land use however are seen to be memorable from their beautiful composition and structures rather than subject matter.

In West and West: Reimagining the Great Plains, Deal used a gird format once again. In this series, Joe Deal captured much of the Midwestern United States which led to it being exhibited at University of Arizona’s Centre for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona. This series opened at Rhode Island School of Design which led to it being presented again at being presented at New York City’s Robert Mann’s Gallery. This image gives a clear notification towards the work of Roger Fenton in his series of the Valley of the Shadow of Death due to their composition. The resemblance between the two is very obvious, and has connotations towards how the landscape changes over the years.

Subdividing the Inland Basin featured suburban areas east of Los Angeles, tending to include people within the landscape. This is a notification towards the way humans almost ‘conquer’ the landscape, for example in this image this is done through graffiti as if society claims these beautiful things only to destroy them in a selfish way.