Robert Adams

“I think if you placed me almost anywhere and gave me a camera you could return the next day to find me photographing. It helps me, more than anything I know, to find home.”

ROBERT ADAMS

Adams was born in 1937 in New Jersey and was then raised in Denver, Colorado, where many of his photographed were taken. Then in 1947 they moved to Madison, Wisconsin for five years, where he contracted polio at age 12 in 1949 in his back, left arm, and hand but was able to recover. Other photos were also taken in California and Oregon as he moved to Southern California in 1956 to attend the University of Redlands where he majored in English literature and went on to achieve a Ph.D. Throughout his childhood, Adams would often accompany his father on walks and hikes through the woods on Sunday afternoons which may be where his love for landscapes was found. In 1963 they moved back to Colorado, and Adams began teaching English at Colorado College and In 1963, Adams bought a 35 mm camera and began to take pictures mostly of nature and architecture.

His interest in photography derived from the work of photographers such as Timothy O’Sullivan, William Henry Jackson, and Carleton Watkins. Their work, together with that of Lewis Hine, Edward Weston, Dorothea Lange, and Ansel Adams (no relation).

“What I hope to document, though not at the expense of surface detail, is the form that underlies this apparent chaos.”

Adam takes his photos in order to show the changes wrought by humans upon nature. his photos can very often come across as boring and dull but his aim is to show that and show the natural world in a realistic way. the use of using black and white in almost all of his photos also adds to this idea.

In this photo you can see rows and rows of houses. each structure looks almost identical which can make the image come across as boring and repetitive. Without all the buildings, the scenery would most likely be a long stretch on a field creating a very pretty landscape. however, Adams has photographed this to show how that has been ruined by human structures. The use of black and white in the image makes it more unappealing to see the rows of structures. if the image was in colour then it may not carry the same message as people may enjoy looking at it more. Adams has taken this image from a high point above which works really well as you can get a good look at a lot of structures that carry on for miles.

WHAT IS ANTHROPOCENE?

Anthropocene is a term that describes the recent evolution of the earth, and how it is changing through the influences of humans. It is clear, through overwhelming global evidence, that humans have become the most influential factor that is affecting the earth’s systems, environment, processes and biodiversity. Most of these impacts on Earth are long-lasting or potentially irreversible. Pollution is a key marker of the Anthropocene. Earth is now full of plastic – millions of tons are produced every year. As plastic doesn’t biodegrade, it ends up littering soils and ocean beds, which harms animals and habitats.

The genre I have chosen to focus on for this topic is landscapes, because I think it links really well with Anthropocene as I can clearly show evidence of it through my landscape images.

MOODBOARD

EXAMPLES OF ANTHROPOCENE

• Global warming
• Rapid population growth/ overpopulation
• Carbon dioxide emissions
• Ocean acidification
• Habitat destruction
• Extinction of animals and life
• Pollution

HISTORY OF ANTHROPOCENE

The Earth’s history is divided into a series of different, small time periods, this is referred to as the ‘geologic time scale’. These divisions are called eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages. However, the Anthropocene Epoch is an unofficial unit of geologic time which is used to describe the most recent period in Earth’s history, when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems. 

Lots of people have debated on when the Anthropocene period actually started. One popular theory is that it began at the start of the Industrial Revolution of the 1800s, when human activity had a great impact on carbon and methane in Earth’s atmosphere. Others think that the beginning of the Anthropocene should be 1945, when humans tested the first atomic bomb and then dropped atomic bombs on Japan. This resulted in radioactive particles being detected in soil samples all around the world.

In my opinion, I think photos that focus on Anthropocene can be seen as quite beautiful and moving, whilst still having a powerful message behind them about our environment. However, some photos, for example pollution and habitat destruction, can be seen as disturbing and scary for people. Photographers like to focus on these kind of images as it spreads awareness about the destruction humans are causing to the Earth, and can lead to encouraging people to help solve these issues more day by day. I don’t think that these photographers are solving these problems, but they are trying to help people see the destruction that humans have caused from a different, more realistic, perspective.

What is Anthropocene?

Anthropocene is the Human effect onto Earths topography, in photography, it covers a variety of images containing human impact to the earths geology, landscape, limnology, ecosystems and climate. With the use of photography, we as a society can observe how the implications of our lives into Earth can change it over time. With photography being around since the early 19th century, observations can be made on how over time, places change in shape, size and appearance.

Evident in Jersey, with the developments of new housing, financial buildings and overall re-urbanisation in places like St Helier we can see from Jerseys past to now, the changes put in place and how the effects of alienisation and disassociation can generate from what things where like and how they appeared compared to modern day.

Mood board –

Mind map –

Location photos –

(Val de la mare)

(Queens Valley)

(Airport)

(Town)

(Historical sights)

Corbiere

Elizabeth Castle

(Abandoned areas)

(Quarrys)

(Harbour)

Contact Sheets

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AEB/HDR merge – I set my cameras settings to Auto Exposure Bracketing to take this photo, and merged them together in Lightroom to make a HDR photo.

Panorama – I experimented with making two panoramas out of six landscape photos by merging them in Lightroom, I decided that I preferred the second panorama, which will be the one I am going to edit.

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Edits

Edit 1

In black and white:

Before and After

Edit 2

Before and After

Edit 3

Before and After

Edit 4

Before and After

Edit 5

Edit 6

Before and After

Edit 7 & 8

Before and After

Photoshoot 1:

This photoshoot was done as a class during our lesson time. the location was harve de pas swimming pool and round to La Collette. I think these locations were good as it gave you different variations of building types and sceneries. For example, the reached the modern built apartments which contrasted to the older buildings that stood behind them. I was able to capture a photo where this contrast was shown. further round, you reached the industrial areas where I was able to take photos of Jerseys incinerator and waste buildings. I think thus part of the photoshoot turned out nice as I loved the reflection the clouds had on the windows of the building creating a warm tone to the image and showing the beauty of the sky. overall, in this photoshoot, I think the time of day and weather worked really well. the position of clouds really helped bring across the romanticism theme as in some photos they come across as quite stormy and a darker grey.

My favourite photos from my shoot (colour and black and white)

One thing that I would change next time would be to aim on not getting people in my images. from the ones I didn’t show above, I captured a few good photos but there was presence of other people stood in it which brought the photo down and I chose not to use it. however there were a few photos where having people worked, for example the father and daughter stood on the top by the railings. Another weakness of my shoot was the blurriness of some of the images. I think I should’ve took more time to stop and capture images as you can tell I might’ve been in the middle of moving when taking photos which decreases the quality by a large amount.

The photo above is one of my favourites, though it can look like simple photo of 3 buildings, it is showing the contrast between all 3 styles. the left building is very obviously the newest building out of the three. The modern structured style with the smooth brick work and use of black white and grey makes this building stand out and noticeable by the viewer. The building in the background is the tallest and furthest away. its presence behind the newer building makes it clear to the viewer that it is older and in not as good of a condition. the building on the right may not be clear if its older than the back building or not however the decorations of the exterior could remind someone of an older home.

Mood board

New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-altered Landscape

The New Topographics photographers were Robert Adams, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Lewis Baltz, Joe Deal, Frank Gohlke, Nicholas Nixon, John Schott, Stephen Shore, and Henry Wessel Jr. They decided to not focus on the pristine features of sceneries like national parks, instead, they focusses on suburban places such as freeways, gas stations, industrial parks, and tract homes.

What was it a reaction to?

The New Topographics was a reaction to both a reflection of the increasingly suburbanised world around them, and a reaction to the tyranny of idealised landscape photography that elevated the natural and the elemental. Overall, it was the opposite of what Ansel Adams and Edward Weston had created which was landscape photography focussed solely on nature where no people/man-made structures were present. It emphasized the relationship between man and nature by brining them together to show manmade landscape with the addition of nature. Many of these photos are in black and white and are of urban areas. One characteristic of many photos is to be empty. using black and white really works with this idea since the simplicity of the shades are simple and there isn’t an over contrast of colours involved making the image feel hollow. this will then be accompanied by nature in some way

The New Topographics was inspired and taken by the expedition called “New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape,” which was mounted in 1975 by William Jenkins. It then became popular and signalled a radical shift away from the traditional depictions of landscape.

In this photo, you can see its a good example of an empty feeling photo. The clouds are very faint making the sky blank with one shade of lighter grey. i think this works well as taking a shoot when the weather is looking more like a storm would further fill up the image taking away the emptiness and adding more aspects into the image. the image is an example of a desolate street without the presence of human life, this allows the viewer to simply focus on the manmade houses which in this case would be the large house which takes up a large portion of the image.

The naturalistic part of the image would include the grass, fields and trees in the background and finally the large mountain in the background.

Final presentation of images:

These images, are my final outcomes of my ‘New Topographics’. Inspired by Photographers of the topic, Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz and Frank Gohlke. Inspired by their modern approach to Landscape photography, their Photoshoots can be shown to leave heavy influence on my work and that of many other photographers who choose to capture the aesthetic of urban landscapes.

(Influence – Robert Adams: His image shown below of a large stretch of land, urbanised due to a change an increased need of homes, can be seen similarly in my images above, Rapid projects of destruction and construction of mass amounts of homes shares the conceptual basis Roberts drives behind his pictures).

(Influence – Lewis Baltz: Inspired by these images in particular, their use of large open space and stark bold lines with the bland rooftops, designed purely for functionalism, show how its remarkableness is intentional, with the soul focus based within its walls).

(Influence – Frank Gohlke: Inspired by this image, Gohlkes’s use of a long line of stretched road balanced with a large industrial structure to the left, was available for me to try and replicate myself in which I have done well).

Final presentation of mobile edits:

produced using a camera, but edited on a mobile device with the app Snapseed, their use of filters and variety of adjustment tools, produced to what I believe are some good images, influenced by Adams, Baltz and Gohlke.

Mind map:

Mood board:

Photoshoot 1

Contact sheet:

I started off with 113 photos of different places around Jersey these places were: Gorey, St Catherines, Archirondel.

Flagged photos:

I then flagged the images I thought looked best and there were 49 remaining.

After I flagged the photos I went through them and chose my favourite of each setting and scenery. Lots of the Landscape photos I chose looked similar so I went through each one and chose my favourite.

Landscape 1:

For this image I turned the vibrance up and the temp a bit to make the colours brighter. I turned up the texture and dehaze as the original looked a bit unclear and this made sure the nature in this image was clearly visible.

Landscape 2:

For this image I didn’t like the original way it looked as I thought it looked dull. To change this is turned up the vibrance and made the colours in the image really bold and stand out.

Landscape 3:

For this image I changed it to black and white because I think it looks good with the dark hills and the foliage. I turned up the texture and clarity to show all the rocks and patterns in the waves.

Landscape 4:

For this photo I turned up the vibrancy to make the sky bright blue as I think it looks really pretty with the brightness of the sea. The castle looks really nice with the natural scenery which is opposite to the theme of the new Typographics

Landscape 5:

This image of St Catherines Pier was originally in colour I turned it to black and white. The lampposts was a main part of my reason to turn it to black and white as they gave off this vintage, olden day look which is why I think it suits the black and white. I turned up the contrast, texture, clarity and dehaze to make everything look more clear and less mixed together. Another thing I like about this image is the clouds, they look like they are being pulled away making this photo look very dark.

For this image it is much darker than any of the other ones. I added blue mid-tones to the image to make it look a lot moodier. I love how this turned out because you can see the darkness is the clouds and the see, this made the image look a lot more dramatic and it gives off a scary vibe which I think looks really good with the theme. The original looked very grey and less vibrant which to me looked boring and dull, by turning up the contrast, highlights and whites this made it more bright, then by turning the mid-tones a dark blue gave this photo a lot more contrast to the final image.

This image is much more vibrant where the yellow and blue tones of the path and the sea are really bright, I turned up the contrast to make this look better. I also turned up the vibrance and saturation to make the image look brighter and stand out.

Photoshoot 2

For my second landscape photoshoot I chose to take pictures around town.

For this image I went to the top of highlands hill and took a picture of the view from there. I changed the image to black and white as I think it suited the image better than from when it was in colour. For the overall tone I turned everything down as I like the dark look at the front and as the buildings go further back it gets lighter.

For this imagine I also took it on highlands hill. In the image you can see lots of buildings with foliage on the right side of the picture. The thing that stands out in this image is a person. I gave the image a blue tint as I think the blue makes the picture look cold which I like and I think it matches the vibe well. I turned the texture up for more detail. I turned down the exposure as the lighting looked weird with the blue tint.

This image was taken near Harve Des Par. I gave the picture a yellow tint to give the image a yellowish retro look. I think the features in the image suit this look because of its suburban look. I turned up the exposure, contrast and highlights so yellow tint didn’t make the image look too dark.

What is Anthropocene?

Anthropocene is a proposed geological era dating from the commencement of significant human impact on Earth until now

The history of earth is split into a hierarchical series of smaller sections of time, often referred as ‘the geologic time scale’. These divisions, in descending length of time, are called eons, periods, eras, ages and epochs.

Anthropocene Epoch is an unofficial unit of geologic time. it is used to outline the most latest period in Earth’s history where human activity started and where it began to have a major impression on the planet’s climate and ecosystems. The word Anthropocene is obtained from the Greek words anthropo, which stands for “man,” and cene which stands for “new,”. This was coined and made by the popular biologist Eugene Stormer and chemist Paul Crutzen in 2000.

 There is a known theory that states that all of this began at the beginning of the industrial revolution of the 1800s, where the humans activity had significant impact on carbon and methane in the earths atmosphere.

However, others think that the actual beginning of Anthropocene was in 1945. This era was when humans tested the first ever atomic bomb and then proceeded to drop atomic bombs in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki, japan. This dangerous act, resulted in radioactive particles that were detected in soil samples, globally!

How and why are photographers exploring this concept?

Many photographer explore Anthropocene because its almost like a meeting point. It makes photographer stop, rethink and overcome the separation between the environment and humanity. It reflects this climate urgency which produced awareness to the environment and responsibility towards the planet that holds us and that we inhabit.

What are the 4 causes of the Anthropocene?

1. Agriculture: encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, fisheries, and forestry for food and non-food products.
2. Urbanisation: the process of making an area more urban.
3. Deforestation :the purposeful clearing of forested land.
4. pollution: the introduction of harmful materials into the environment

Consequences of the Anthropocene:

1. habitat loss
2. global warming
3. animal extinctions
4. changes in the chemical compositions of the atmosphere, oceans and soil.

Moodboard: