I want to focus my photoshoots on the themes of pollution and overcrowding since they are the most prominent issues for the island ( Jersey ) .

Mood board 1 ( pollution ) –

My idea for the photoshoots surrounding pollution definitely include the use of portrait photography to include the idea of how pollution effects the human population and animal habitat, and I think that will be the best way to show this.

As of 2019, there had been 6.67 million deaths due to air pollution in the world which is almost 14 times the amount of deaths due too drug use. Air pollution has also been a leading factor of deaths due to disease killing almost 214 million people as of 2019.

Hopefully, with the use of making art to spread awareness of the issue more people will start to understand the issue and maybe it would make more of impact with the issue brought to light.

Mood board 2 ( overcrowding ) –

For this idea, I want to focus my photoshoots on the centre of St Helier mainly King Street especially on busy weekends because that is when the streets are mostly overcrowded. The photos that I could get would show the idea of overcrowding very well if I’m successful.

In the 19th century ( the 1800’s ) the worldwide population was 1 billion, the population was at 8 billion which shows a dramatic rise over a small period of time and by the end of this century the population is estimated to peak higher then ever before, hitting 11.2 billion by 2100, as of 2022 statistics.

Impacts –

With my work, I want it to really impact people and spread awareness on these causes. I want to show people the issues our world are facing and although I know that not one person can do something individually to solve these problems I thought by spreading awareness it educates and explains these issues through art instead of people having to read articles and watch news articles on the issue to be educated, which not everyone wants to do.

Another contradicting impact I want my work to have on people is that I want them to be scared. I know that my photoshoots and final photos will not be directly ‘scary’ however, when people see my work, I want them to feel uneasy or even scared. I want anyone who views them to feel guilty, this is because people seem to react better to fear the being ‘told what to do’. If I am even able to make someone feel uneasy that is the way to get people to make a difference.

For this photoshoot, I went to Havre Des Pas and took images of the various landscapes seen around it eg natural and urban. I also took some panoramas of the beach and close ups of various textures seen on a wall. It was quite cloudy whilst I was taking photographs so I had to adjust the exposure and white balance of the camera. Once I had taken my images, I imported them into Lightroom and turned each of my images black and white as seen in Robert Adams work.

These images were inspired by the New Topographics. I think the area of Havre Des Pas successfully shows how mankind has ruined our natural landscapes eg the beach. As by building on the beach, it obscures the beautiful, natural landscape behind it. I think the clouds helped to create that dull, melancholy tone seen in the New Topographics’ images.

I also got to take images of an industrial area (La Collette), giving me even more variety in landscape types. I took pictures of Jersey’s incinerator and waste disposal buildings, which is a complete contrast to the natural landscape seen close by.

This image was inspired by Lewis Baltz. I like how this image looks as you can see a variety in buildings styles. For example, there are newer buildings and older buildings all in the same frame. This emphasises the clear contrast between how building styles have evolved as mankind has. Overall, I like the clarity of the image and I think I managed to successfully recreate the work of Lewis Baltz.

Overall, I like how my images came out as I managed to capture a variety of landscapes all within a small radius. However, one improvement I would make to my images is I would edit the sky in the photographs as due to the clouds, it caused my sky to be a dull, grey colour. I think by adding shade into the sky, it would make my images more interesting to look at as it would give them more depth.

anthropocene is defined as the current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment. The official geological time is the Holocene (begging 11,700 years ago) making Anthropocene an unofficial unit of geological time, but as humans have changed the climate and ecosystems so much recently, many are beginning to accept it as a new geological time. The national geographic go into further detail about anthropocene.

Anthropocene in photography/Mood Board:

The main issues explored in Anthropocene photography mainly the human effects, and future of or planet. We all live on the same planet, and will be doing so for many more years, so humans need to start looking after the planet that they live on. This could be through less human resources being produced (for example, recycling plastic so less new plastic will need to be made), or from being conscious of using fossil fuels (like walking to the store instead of driving and turning off lights when you leave the room). Voting for environmentally conscious governments can also help keep the planet sustainable for future generations, meaning we would not need to create a new geological time for humans effect on earth.

A lot of the photos above are showing the human effects on the environment, but allowing the viewer to work out how to solve these problems. A lot of the photos can be seen as quite beautiful, with lots of symmetry, geometric shapes, vibrant colours, and being very dramatic. This is done to draw the viewer in, and as they look, they see more details and more destruction of the natural environment. The difference between these highly human impacted areas, compared to work like Ansel Adams with the untouched, natural landscape of parts of America, it can make the viewer hope these areas wont disappeared forever in the future.

do these photographers solve the problem of environmental destruction?

Not directly, but indirectly I would say they are contributing to helping the environment. They are trying to change the viewers ideas on the environment, which it turn leads to better actions and habits that will ultimately be better for the world. For example, many photographers take photos of the plastic that’s been eaten by birds in areas full of plastic. Lots of bird see plastic as food, so they eat it and it stays in there digestive system, building up and eventually taking there life.

Mind Map of photography Ideas/ where I can take them?

I will be going to the Pyrenees over Easter, so I’m planning to take some photos over there. When I get back to jersey I will find some photographers that I like and use there photos as reference for my second photoshoot.