Artist References:

Sammy Baoji:

Biography:

Sammy Baloji was born in 1978 in Lubumbashi. He studied Computer and Information Sciences and Communication at the University of Lubumbashi. With a borrowed camera, he began photographing scenes as sources for his cartoons. Baloji juxtaposes photographic realities, combining past and present, the real and the ideal, to illicit glaring cultural and historical tensions.

What inspired Sammy Baloji?

Sammy Baloji was inspired by the history of his country. His photographs are related to The industrial culture of Congo.

What was Sammy Baloji known for?

Sammy Baloji was famous for his photography, film, installation art and archival research into the history and legacy of colonialism. His exhibition and research project Hunting and Collecting, staged initially at Ostend’s Mu.

Sammy Baloji Mood board

Personal opinion:

What I like about Sammy Balojis work is the way he sets up his camera and is able to capture both the past and the present day within one photo, I really like his style of work as he has found different ways to include different generations of the world and how it works within one image.

Image Analysis:

Within this image there are wide variations of natural lighting in different brightness’s within different areas of the image. The colouring is like a warm yellow/orange colour with the people in the image being in black and white this creates an opposite colour contrast from the foreground and the background. The white balance holds a warm temperature. In this image there is a rural landscape with a broken/unfinished building along with a metal tower in the background, there are also some dirt piles covering the land and some yellow crate boxes near the red building. In the foreground there are 7 age ranging black children/teens stood completely naked, they almost look like they have been cut out from a previous image and merged into this image to create the contrasting effect. the focal point of the image is definitely the children as they stand out amongst the yellow/orange sunset backdrop.

Artist Study :

Mandy Baker

Biography:

Mandy Barker is a British photographer. She is mostly known for work with marine plastic debris. Barker has worked alongside scientists in hopes of bringing awareness to the mass amount of plastic that is floating around in our oceans.

who inspired Mandy Barker?

Mandy Barker is not inspired by any specific people however she says “My work is inspired by current scientific research, by way of reports or directly with scientists. Science is not subjective; it is factual. There’s no room for aesthetics or emotion. So, the work of an artist and a scientist are opposed in approach, but, in some way, they seek to achieve the same outcome.”

what is unique about Mandy Barkers photography?

Mandy Barkers photography is unique in its own way, She creates beautiful images of plastic and waste from around the world and creates montage photos of all that she finds within one image, Her work has a deeper meaning behind it all and represents the effects and the pollution which surrounds us every day.

Personal Opinion:

I love Mandy Barkers style of photography as she has a very unique way of both making an image so delicate with detail and beautiful whilst also having such a strong meaning behind her photography painting a story behind her images and educating people with her photography about the state of the world and the impact humans have had on it.

Mandy Barker Mood board:

Image Analysis:

In-depth analysis:

In this image of Mandy Barkers it really creates a hidden message. She has used multiple layers of a few images and resized each one either larger or smaller creating a full scene on the screen. Each of the individual elements of the image have really good strong lighting which makes us able to really make out every little detail of the objects used. For me this image is really unique and almost creates a sense of power and meaning whenever I look at the image. The structure she has used is where the objects almost fade into getting larger when in the centre of the screen and a lot smaller around the outsides. This image almost creates a story behind pollution and why it is so important to try and avoid any form of throwing waste into the sea or anywhere in which it doesn’t belong. This image gives me this impression as the objects in the image look to be worn pieces of rope which she has probably found on a beach as it is very common to find however with the way she has presented it, the balls of rope look like little jellyfish and octopuses, this creates a deeper meaning to her image as it almost shows the impact that the waste has on our sea life and the animals creating a picture of the animals being turned into plastic as due to all the waste that ends up in the ocean thousands of our sea creatures die from eating plastic every single year. That is why Mandy’s photography is really eye-opening and creates a deeper meaning and value to her photography.

Anthropocene is the Impact humans have had on the earth over the years and still to this day. For example humans are main cause for all the issues that are going on in the world and with nature, such as pollution, due to all the products we make using non-biodegradable materials like plastic, it is causing plastic to be floating everywhere from the seas, to the lakes and even just on the streets.

Where did Anthropocene originate from?

light pollution

What is light pollution?

Light pollution is the excessive and poor usage of artificial outdoor lighting. This disrupts the natural patterns of wildlife.

Deforestation

What is Deforestation?

Deforestation is the purposeful removal of wide areas of trees and forests. It is destroying wide areas of habitats and leaving various animals without homes.

climate change

what is climate change?

Climate change is when greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun’s heat. This leads to global warming and climate change. 

fossil fuels

What is fossil Fuels?

A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material such as coal, oil, and natural gas, formed naturally in the Earth’s crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel

What aspect of Anthropocene am I taking photos of ?

I’m going to take photos inspired by light pollution and the amount of light that is emitted from buildings and large areas that overlook town, I’m also going to get photos of sunsets over buildings and over St Helier.

Where am I going to go ?

I’m going to go to high advantage points that overlook large area of land. For example I’m going to go to Fort Regent and walk all the way around the Fort to get views from all different angles so that I get photos overlooking Havre de pas but also overlooking town as well and then around by the car park on pier road at a high advantage point so that I can get photos looking down on to the car park and I’m going to use artificial light to brighten areas up on the photo and to highlight certain areas. I’m also going to go to the other side of town by Peoples Park and walk up the hill by the park so that I can get a better view of the bay and also that overlooks the other end of town. My final place that I will go to take photos is over dale hospital as there is a big drop right behind it that overlooks St Aubin’s bay and the other side of the island. I will do two areas per photo shoot.

What time of the day will I take my photos at ?

I’m going to take my photos at night time and then use exposure bracketing if I want to make my photos darker or lighter or make it look like there is more light pollution. I’m going to take photos from all different times of the day ranging from the morning to mid day and then at night to get different perspectives of light pollution throughout the day.

Definition

-the current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment. “some geologists argue that the Anthropocene began with the Industrial Revolution” The Anthropocene is sometimes used to describe the time during which humans have had a substantial impact on our planet. Whether or not we are in a new geological age, we are part of a complex, global system and the evidence of our impact on it has become clear.

Mood board

Mind map / ideas

i will attempt to create a high fashion inspired garment out of waste products and photograph it in natural environments, i also particularly find inspiration form the photographs of women wrapped is clear plastic, as is packaged making a comment about consumerism and the effect of it on wildlife from a human perspective.

Artist Inspiration

during this project i intend to create photos that create a feeling of shame and guilt about the destruction of the world around us and put humans in situations that are reminiscent of the situations we put animals and nature in .

Why did I take photos of petrol stations?

For my first photoshoot I made it my aim to focus on capturing one of the main causes of air pollution rather than the outcomes and results of it. This was an important focus for me as petrol has been extremely normalized since more cars have been invented and adapted, therefore the damage through the use of it has increased significantly. Air pollution has long term issues such as damage to the human brain, kidneys and liver etc, and can even lead to a person’s death. Therefore I went to local petrol stations and photographed the petrol pumps as it has significance to the issues. This photoshoot relates to Ed Rusha and the Anthropocene as the petrol and gas humans use massively effect the air pollution. Therefore, my idea was to take images of petrol stations in the modern aesthetic and attempt to edit it to make them look nostalgic. This is effective as petrol stations are a useful feature for humans in everyday life, meaning as many people are using them they are overlooking the issues and damage they are causing the environment.

During this photoshoot I also incorporated photos of scaffolding and build-work as they contribute to environmental impact through energy and resources consumption. The construction site requires energy for lighting, heating, and cooling, which all contribute to carbon emissions. Additionally, the mining, drilling, and transportation of the materials used contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, and deforestation. These factors have also heavily increased in the last 20 years, which has ultimately had negative affects on the environment.

Through this project I aim to catch the viewers eye by exploring the cause rather than the harm that has been done, which should inspire the viewer to recognise the deconstruction of the environment and how it has increased heavily. This should also help spread a message of how humans should stop using so much petrol and ignoring the harm.

How I could improve:

The first issue I faced within this shoot was the angles in which I took the photos. In many of my photos I have had to crop irrelevant artefacts from the edges of the photo, which I could have saved time by making sure they were not in the frame before I took the photos. The second main problem with this photoshoot was I only photographed two different petrol stations, rather than photographing lots of them around the island. This prevented me from capturing a variety of different stations, meaning I am unable to compare them in size and see which ones are more harmful. The third main factor which limited my success was the majority of my images being live photos. This was because I used my phone for this shoot, and accidentally put the settings on “live” rather than regular. This caused issues during my editing process because sources like photoshop and Lightroom are unable to edit live photos/videos.

On Lightroom, I put all my images in a folder and rated them individually from 1-5 stars and colour coded them showing my favourite and least successful images in the photoshoot. This allows me to identify which photos I can edit and use for my final pieces in the future. Also, by looking at the amount of images I colour coded red, I can then conclude how to improve my photoshoots overall so I can prevent this happening in future photoshoots. I can do this by looking at the angle of the image, the exposure and the shutter speed, as all of these factors influence the success of the final outcome.

Then, I went through all my images and deleted some of the worst ones, so it narrowed down my photoshoot to my best photos. This is likely to increase my chances of producing better final pieces as I am only able to choose between photos that need some improvement, and photos that were taken well.

Who is Paul Nicklen?

Paul Nicklen is a Canadian photographer, filmmaker, and marine biologist who has documented the beauty and plight of our planet for more than thirty years. Focusing on the polar regions, his evocative nature photography displays a deep reverence and sensitivity for the wildlife and environment of these most isolated, endangered places in the world. Over that time, he has said it is one thing to capture the natural World in a moment of grace and dignity, but that pales in comparison to an image that shines a brighter light on the
environmental crisis and drives everyday people to action, even if only in some small way.
Nicklen did not come to this style of documentary photography by accident. He was born to it. Through the power of the image and, just as importantly, emotion and raw power, his work has been singled out for creating a unique connection between image and viewer by featuring wild subjects in some of the most extreme conditions known on Earth.

What photography techniques does Paul Nicklen use?

Lenses: Nicklen has utilized a variety of lenses for his photography, including wide-angle, telephoto, and macro lenses from Canon, allowing him to capture diverse perspectives and create compelling compositions

Why did Paul Nicklen become a photographer?

Paul Nicklen was born in Canada in 1968 and spent his childhood in Baffin Island with the Inuit community. They taught him the love for nature, an understanding of the Arctic ecosystem and the survival skills that helped him to become one of the greatest nature photographers.

Why did I pick Paul Nicklen?

I picked Paul Nicklen to inspire my photoshoot for anthropocene as i like that he photographs animals to represent global warming.

These are some examples of his work. I like how warm he makes the photo feel, reminding the public to make a change to keep wildlife alive.

Liu Bolin is a contemporary artist born in China’s Shandong province, who specialises in self-portraits where he is disguised to match his surroundings. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Shandong College of Arts in 1995 and his Master of Fine Arts from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 2001. “In 1972, Liu was allowed to attend college in Beijing, where she studied until 1975. Following graduation, she attended graduate school at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Socialist Realism supplied the guiding principles at both schools, and there was very little room for deviation.”

Art hacker:

Liu Bolin, shows in his photography work that he holds no emotions in the photos to represent a neutral emotion, it makes it harder to identify a person in the photo. This is the artists way of doing a silent protest against the Chinese government’s policies. 

I really like this artists as it helps me to get different opinions and perspectives of the world and how people let the world shape meaning in their lives, for example I feel that this artists can might show an opinion on the world quite positively and helps us understand why everyone is different and why our opinions should be heard and why we should be seen as a person however i do believe that this could make people feel the opposite as the artist is blended into the buildings and surrounding’s meaning that they are trying to blend in with everything/ everyone else, they aren’t standing out or being their selves they would rather be seen as everyone else as they are too afraid to be seen as ‘different’ and would rather stay ‘normalized’ like everyone. The artist has put a lot of thought to show that everyone has an opinion in whatever way they show it. He wants to show people the power of the photograph itself and how the photo holds the domination of a government’s political power.

What would make the photograph look really cool is if they painted on the model in black and white so that the model stands out but we can still clearly see the details used in the photo. Although I feel that it would be a lot harder to create the same effect as not all details and shades would match up perfectly, but it would make the model stand out a lot more and create that meaning of being your own person and having your own thoughts.

If I were to recreate this I would use a projector to project an image onto a person, this would help create the image that technology has shaped this society and people these days cant live without technology. This would be an easier way for me to take photos with as I don’t have the skill to paint a background on a person. Although my photos wont have the same effect as lio Bolin’s work but it would have a similar effect.

Here is one of my final images that I am presenting, I really like how this photo turned out with all the editing as its a really bright and colourful photo as well as its a broken down greenhouse which is a topic of Anthropocene, it slightly represents what happened after the storm and how it has effected the world in general, the storm was a natural disaster created by the world, it was also created by us humans as we keep polluting the world and we aren’t now living with the consequences.

Here I put some of best photos from my Anthropocene photoshoots and made them big, so that stand out. I really like the green house photo as it helps to picture how green houses are left, unused and abandoned. The picture of the green house I took, looks like its been taken care off almost as if there are still people using it. I got a picture of two different green houses, one was the inside of one while the other was the outside and it was visible to see that.

I really like these photos put together as the are quite similar, however you can clearly tell they are different, I really like how I put the photos into black and white. I presented my best photos on a virtual gallery, I really like the texture of these photo as they look more rough and sharpened. This makes the photo have an older look and effect.

This photoshoot was successful and helped me view the world in different ways and why we should save out planet, to be able to get the images to be clear I edited the photos in photoshop, I was able to level the photos with the lighting and crop them to make sure nothing in the background of the photo will distract the eyes of the viewer. Most of the photos had quite a bright lighting so it wasn’t needed to add anymore lighting however I did also put (ctrl m) to adjust the curves in the photo.

This photoshoot was quite successful as I managed to get photos of different areas of jersey and see what bits have been affected by the storm or just globalisation in general. I’ve turned the stones picture in black and white to show how old these stones are and what they can represent, the black and white effect creates an older effect to the photo as the rocks are quite old and don’t necessarily look old and ancient therefore the black and whit effect helps to see the value in the rocks. The lighting on the rocks are really bright so I had to edit them in photoshop to make the lighting darker. This helped to see the photo better and make the whole picture look more clear to the eye. I also feel that the black and white makes the photo look better, it looks more modern but also takes away the distraction if the colours.

I really like how these photos are different from my other photos as there aren’t any people see in this photoshoot as the photos are hidden away for people and not many people will come to this place unless they live close by or they work around there. As this place hasn’t got many people walking by there isn’t much litter scattered around the area. This helps to make the photos look cleaned up and completely changes the perspective of the photo.

Michael Marten

Michael Marten was born in London and fell in love with photography as a teenage boy which then lead to him being involved with photography ever since. His first job was caption writer at the Camera Press photo agency. In 1973 he was one of a group who published ‘An Index of Possibilities’ which explores the secret world of sound in everyday objects. Using found sounds, homemade constructions, and cheap toys.

Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre

Marchand and Meffre are two French photographers who both have interests in contemporary ruins which brought them together. They began their interests in 2002, exploring Parisian urban remains before their interest took them to Detroit. This resulted in their work The Ruins of Detroit (Steidl, 2010). They currently live and work in Paris. They began having focus on theatres. walking past them and noticing the state they were in they photographed the ruins and documented different abandoned movie theatres in America. In downtown Detroit, the streets are lined with abandoned hotels and swimming pools, ruined movie houses and schools, all evidence of the city’s decline. Both photographers successfully capture what remains of a once-great city – and hint at the wider story of post-industrial America.

This photo stood out to me as a lot of their photos focus on the inside of buildings whereas this one is simply the outside. I think its a good representation as it shows that not just the inside of buildings that became abandoned, also the outside, showing how the city itself had a massive decline. I like the angle the photographers have taken this from as it almost creates a contrast by it being directly opposite the water. the building can bring across a destructive and almost creepy feeling towards the viewer whereas compared to the sea it more represents peace and tranquillity. This could also allow the viewer to think about how they think the building would of looked, being near the sea could interpret a very posh/expensive looking building that may have once been very popular. The colours in the photo are interesting as they create another contrast. The building is full of various grey colours with the addition of the black showing the emptiness inside the building. in contrast, the sea is bright blue and the sun is making the whole side of the image feel a lot brighter.