What is it?

Anthropocene in a way is a unit of time, it is used to describe the period within Earth’s history where human activity started to have a significant impact on the planets climate and ecosystems. This period is also sometimes known as the period of the great acceleration, things like carbon dioxide emissions and global warming that have significantly impacted our planet.

Plastic Pollution

One main key aspect of the world’s pollution is plastic, the earth is now awash with plastic with millions of tons being produced every year, plastic doesn’t biodegrade which ends up littering soil and ocean beds. Scientists are going as far to study if plastic is the peak of anthropocene, the golden spike.

Why would we explore the concept

Humans tend to be very sensitive about their actions, humans like to think that they are the alpha and always correct, so bringing out their flaws and confronting them tends to get a rise out of them mainly in a positive way. By embracing anthropocene we can show humans what they have created and just how significant the damage they are doing is, which in turn will hopefully embarrass them in a way causing them to alter their ways and become better people altogether. It was a collective of the whole population that created this mess, so we will need a collective of the whole population to reverse these effects’ and save our planet, one person at a time.

Naomi White

Naomi Whites photoshoots include plastic bags under a studio light. This is to portray how this brightly coloured thing can effect so much of the world. As we know nearly all plastic ends up in the ocean due to litter being dumped into rivers.

“In Plastic Currents, the every day plastic bag is transformed by light, turned from something familiar into something strange. Undulating and fluid these forms transition from non-biodegradable, reviled plastic bags into seemingly organic forms, imitating the very nature they threaten.”

My Main Inspiration From Her

“Through explorations of the material I am interested in the way plastic responds to touch, its surface, its weight, how it clings to lighter elements like lint and dirt through static electricity, and the way each bag is its own marvel.”

Her description of the exploration of the material is going to be my main inspiration for my images, the images I would like to produce include the use of how plastic can transform, whether it be floating through the air, ditched within the sea or transformed into fashion.

Although I don’t want to just take images of plastic under a studio light to do this, I still think that she has been my main inspiration, showing the beauty of plastic but also how it can kill, taking something so regular and making it so unique.

Image analysis

The use of fluorescent lighting portrays the true colors of what would generally be described as just a ‘clear plastic bag’. This is also exposed by the bright white background. The 3 dimensional aspect of this image adds texture, showing all the crinkle’s of the plastic bag, showing its lifetime and portraying how it may almost be up. It all portrays a very clear conceptional idea about how bags and plastic have gone through alot, showing how this inanimate object can react to things such as touch and useaged.

The use of fluorescent flash studio lighting creates a more dynamic effect, it is a lot more intense than natural lighting which really extenuates the blue,green and yellow colours of the plastic bag which wouldn’t be seen during natural daylight. There is a sharp, focused lens used, generally meaning higher aperture which really captures a more significant depth of field when it comes to all the ageing within the plastic. It has a good tonal range and looks like a higher exposure has been used, as the image looks to have been taken on a white light box. There is lots of texture and tonal range within the image, for example the gradient of the different colours as the plastic wears down, and the wrinkles which can be seen throughout the bag have a 3D form. The images has been selectively cropped to show just the inner/middle of the plastic bag where it would have aged the most. Which leads the eye into this middle ground forepoint. This plastic bag has a historical context too it which can be displayed throughout its ageing. It makes a person wonder, where the bag would have gone and been, how many people would have used this bag and where it actually originated from. But it also leads people to think about how many of these bags are actually out there, how much waste humans have made and how it will never die. How much harm we must have caused to the earth by using thousands of these each day, and the worry about the fact that this is still continuing, there is someone purchasing a brand new plastic bag right now which will yet again never die, and we are just letting our earth suffer. Naomi White made people feel this by taking something so regular that we see every day and simply making it look different by adding more depth into such a simple thing.

Lucas Foglia

Today, nature both heals us and threatens us. As we spend more time than ever indoors looking at screens, neuroscientists demonstrate that time outside is vital to human health and happiness. Yet, we are vulnerable to the storms, droughts, heat waves, and freezes that result from climate change.

His project ‘human nature’ contains a series of images of humans pictured surrounded by nature’s strongest elements’ such as volcanoes, and caves. The photographs examine our need for wild places in the context of the Anthropocene.

My Main Inspiration From Him

Obviously just being a A-Level student I don’t have the facilities to photograph all these crazy element’s of photography within Lucas’s work, but I want to still be able to capture an element of humans interacting with anthropogenic locations. This image is my main inspiration due to the way that the people are interacting with the natural landscape, and how they are still going through any weather, no matter the fact that they are walking separately they are still in this together, they are all-in the same location, doing the same thing, and battling through the same weather. I really like the idea of anthopece bringing people together.

Image Analysis

This image is very conceptual, with the lighting have a binary opposition of the dark sky and the bright fire. It portrays the extremes of mother nature, and how she can sometimes contrast herself. The tonal range within the image portrays of darker dimmed colours and then is contrasted by the brighter colours of the fire. This image also uses space perception to portray how humans can stand right next to the thing that they are using to destroy the world, and look proud about it, like that’s what makes them human. This image shows the raw elements and composer of anthropocene and how people are effecting’s the world.

This image has used natural daylight but also the natural flame behind the model to light up the image. It has a wild level of control due to the fire burning in a wild pattern. And has quite distant lighting. The depth of field is very deep, making you mainly focus on the lit up burning fire rather than the natural sky light. There is a motion blur at the top of the flame where it is turning from fire into smoke, oxidising. The image is quite grainy due to the use of moving light. It has quite a warm white balance, with the use of oranges and yellows spread throughout. There is a sharp shift in tone, when it comes to the grey dim background, bright orange middle ground and greeny dying foreground. The image is 2D but also 3D in a way, the woman stood still doesn’t seem to be popping out at all but the wild flame almost attacks your eyes. Your eye is led to the fire straight away, but then also led to the weird harmony and separation of the image, the way all the colours seem to be working together yet fighting against each other, there’s almost a tension within the image. Something that would instantly catch someone’s eye would be the deep black smoke coming out of the flames, our brains have been embedded with bad thoughts when it comes to black smoke, not just how bad that can be for the environment but also just how bad it can be for someone to breath in, it is a very conceptual image, making you really think. The essence of being placed in front of one of the strongest elements in the world makes people think just how easy things like that are, everyday people use lighters but the fact that the earth offers so much where you can just go out and abuse the fire element makes people really value the earth more, and may also make them think about their mistakes.

Why is Ed Ruscha my inspiration?

My plan is to link an artist that I have studied previously (Ed Ruscha) to the theme of Anthropocene. This is because Ruscha chose to photograph the trivial objects like gas stations to express his interest in the things we usually ignore. Through elevating these humble structures to the status of art, Ruscha asks the viewers to review the notion of beauty and value. From my research I can gather that Ruscha mainly photographed petrol stations in Santa Monica Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway and Melrose Avenue between 1974 and 1975. He has managed to complete over 40 shoots since 2007. I also chose to focus on Mitchell because he captures ancient and vintage buildings, in which I assume he does this to create nostalgia. I can recreate this by going to St Helier as I believe that is a place that carries many historical buildings rather than newer.

How does the artist link to my aim?

I can successfully link Ruscha’s work to my own because petrol stations are one of the main causes of air pollution, in which I am trying to send a message to the viewer on the dangers of air pollution, and also how it has been normalized through recent decades due to new, advanced technology. Therefore the main focus of my photoshoots will be local petrol stations and I will approach this by using similar methods to Ruscha e.g colours, editing and angles. I like the angle of how Ruscha captures his photos, as he incorporates a large setting within the image which helps the viewer gather more of a realistic idea. I also find it interesting that the photos are not taken from an accurate deadpan angle, but they are slightly off centre. This could be seen as unusual for photographers to do as it can sometimes make the image look rushed. However I do not believe this within Ruscha’s images because it is still in focus and includes the features that need to be included.

Another interesting factor within Ed Ruscha’s work is the border around the edge of the image that also includes the date. I find this very intriguing because it adds an old aesthetic, and makes the viewer link this image to images taken on a polaroid camera. The use of the image being in black and white also adds to this theme because we know that colour in photographs was only enabled in the early 2000s.

Mood board

Why?

I want my photographs to enrapture how man have changed things along the island, I want to portray a concept of change, how we have damaged this planet and in what ways we can fix it. I think by taking photos of people with plastic on the ocean will create something, as you look at the images you wonder to yourself “Did they pick that litter up”, but in reality at home you are the one using single use plastic, harming the earth yourself yet you are so worried about how other people are.

Photoshoot Ideas-

Idea 1,

Photoshoot at Plemont where the puffins are and the bunker there, also images off the cliff side, in order to show our everchanging landscape, and the man made structure of the puffins and how it has implanted its self in-between the never-ending nothingness of nature.

Idea 2,

My second idea will be a group of people sat at either a harbour or a beach within the gloomy weather, to portray how the weather is changing due to climate change, and how humans think that its too late to reverse any damage that they have created. I will take these at places like St.Cathrines breakwater and La Saline car park.

Idea 3,

My third idea is too take some inspiration from Naomi White and Lucas Foglia , I want to embed plastics and plastic bags within my im ages as a representation of people facing their consequences.

Overall Plan

Creating a plan to capture “Anthropocene images”—photographs that reflect human impact on the Earth in the current geological age—requires a blend of visual storytelling, a deep understanding of environmental issues, and a sensitivity to how these impacts manifest in everyday life. Here’s a comprehensive plan to guide your project:

1. Define Your Concept and Theme

• Anthropocene Overview: The Anthropocene is the proposed current geological age viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment. This can include themes of environmental degradation, technological advancements, urbanization, deforestation, pollution, etc.
• Narrow Your Focus: Decide what aspect of the Anthropocene you want to explore. Some ideas include:
  • Pollution: Air, water, and land pollution.
  • Climate Change: Evidence of rising sea levels, droughts, or wildfires.
  • Urbanization: Expanding cities, infrastructure, and human-made landscapes.
  • Biodiversity Loss: Endangered species, deforestation, or changing ecosystems.
  • Resource Extraction: Mining, oil drilling, or agriculture.
  • Technology and Surveillance: The omnipresence of digital technologies, smart cities, and surveillance.

2. Research and Identify Locations

• Urban Areas: Look for places where human infrastructure and nature collide or have transformed the landscape, such as cities, industrial zones, or sprawling suburbs.
• Nature Sites Impacted by Humans: Consider places like deforested areas, polluted rivers, waste dumps, or wildlife habitats affected by human intervention.
• Industries and Factories: Capture images in places like manufacturing plants, mining sites, or energy production facilities.
• Rural Areas: Sometimes the Anthropocene is more evident in rural landscapes, where agriculture, logging, or overuse of resources is visible.

3. Develop a Shooting Style

• Wide-Open Landscapes vs. Close-Up Details: Wide shots can convey large-scale environmental destruction, while detailed shots can capture the impact on individual elements of nature (polluted water, deteriorating structures, wildlife struggling with human development).
• Contrast: Show the clash between nature and human progress. Capture the juxtaposition of man-made objects with natural elements (e.g., an oil rig against a backdrop of a natural landscape).
• Light and Mood: Depending on the subject, adjust your lighting. Harsh midday light can emphasize the starkness of industrial landscapes, while the golden hour might lend a more poignant, melancholic feel.
• Long Exposure or Time-lapse: Consider long-exposure shots to show movement in urban spaces or time-lapses of changing landscapes (e.g., the erosion of coastlines, or construction projects).

4. Shooting Techniques

• Documentary Style: Focus on realism and authenticity. You may want to shoot images that tell a story, similar to documentary photography. This could include people in these environments and their relationship to the changes happening around them.
• Aerial Photography: If possible, use drones or aerial shots to provide a bird’s-eye view of environmental changes, urban sprawl, deforestation, or agricultural monocultures.
• Night Photography: Urban environments can look dramatically different at night, where lights, smog, or artificial landscapes come to the forefront.
• Perspective: Experiment with unusual perspectives—looking from above, low to the ground, or through windows or fences— to reveal different layers of interaction between humans and nature.

5. Photo Series and Narrative

• Consider structuring your images into a cohesive photo series, where each photograph adds to the overall narrative of human impact.
• Use captions or small narratives to add context. The Anthropocene is about the story of human interaction with the Earth over time, so offering insight into the history or consequences of a place can add depth to your project.
• For example, in a series on deforestation, you might juxtapose images of thriving forest ecosystems against those of clear-cut land, followed by a close-up of machinery and the resulting barren ground.

6. Editing and Post-Processing

• Enhance the Message: Post-processing should be used to enhance your narrative. If your aim is to emphasize destruction or deterioration, you might adjust contrast, saturation, or introduce desaturation to make images look more somber.
• Manipulate Colors for Impact: High contrast and heavy editing can evoke a sense of crisis. For example, you might intensify the browns, oranges, or reds of polluted skies or urban decay.
• Add Texture: Subtle textures, like dust or grain, can increase the tactile feeling of environmental damage or neglect in your images.

7. Incorporate Human Presence

• Humans are integral to the Anthropocene. Including people in your photos—workers, consumers, or activists—can convey how humans interact with or are affected by environmental changes.
• Contradictions: Show the contrasts in human behavior—people benefiting from industries that harm the environment, or individuals working to restore ecosystems.

8. Social Commentary

• Many photographers who work within this theme, such as Edward Burtynsky, have an underlying social commentary. Consider how your images can raise awareness, evoke emotion, or call for action.
• Use images to show the consequences of unchecked industrialization, environmental destruction, or consumerism.

9. Ethical Considerations

• Authenticity: Ensure that your images reflect the real impacts of human activity without exaggerating or misrepresenting.
• Respect for Subjects: Be sensitive to the communities or individuals whose lives are impacted by these phenomena. This includes obtaining permission if necessary and respecting privacy.

10. Exhibition or Sharing

• Online Platforms: If you want to reach a global audience, consider sharing your images on social media platforms, photography blogs, or online galleries. Instagram and platforms like 500px can help you build visibility.
• Physical Exhibitions: You could organize an exhibition to present the images in a physical space. You might pair the images with text, statistics, or video to help tell the story.
• Collaboration with Activists/NGOs: Partnering with organizations involved in environmental or social justice issues can help get your message out to a wider audience and have an impact.

Example Timeline for the Project

Week 1-2: Conceptualization and Planning

• Finalize theme and select locations.
• Research environmental issues and any necessary permits.
• Organize your gear and plan logistics.

Week 3-4: Location Scouting and First Round of Shooting

• Begin photographing key locations based on your research.
• Capture a variety of angles, light conditions, and perspectives.

Week 5-6: Continued Shooting and Editing

• Refine your shots and add any human presence if necessary.
• Begin initial edits for lighting, contrast, and narrative flow.

Week 7-8: Final Edits and Arrangement

• Complete editing of all images.
• Arrange photos into a cohesive series or narrative.

Week 9-10: Preparation for Exhibition

• Finalize captions, narratives, or additional media.
• Consider how best to display your work, either digitally or in physical form.

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This plan is flexible, so feel free to adjust based on the locations you have access to and the specific Anthropocene themes that resonate with you. The project has the potential to spark important conversations about humanity’s role in shaping the planet’s future.

The reason I have chosen to display my images in this way is because they both have the same type of lighting, being natural daylight, with the sun quite low and setting. This gives a less intense look but a vaster tonal range. They are also both taken with a wider angles lens, and are both portrait photos rather than landscape. They have a similar yellowy golden colour temperature which gives them both a warm feeling. I have used foam board to originally mount the 6 pieces of image and then stuck it into black card to create a vast tone between light and dark. This makes the image 3D and gives it a simple repetition pattern, I have jumbled up the composition of the two images with each other, creating a hybrid blend of harmony. This changes a person’s viewpoint of the image, and creates an illusion which people would generally get lost within. By doing this I have combined the history and context of the two images, see one image is of a sculpture of the puffins taken through the gates of a bunker, this contrast the history of the bunker with the futuristic sculpture. Maybe showing that no matter how hard we try to change, and rebuild the earth our past will always follow us. I have contrasted that image with a image of a radio tower taken only a few meters away. I think this portrays irony within trying to save the planet and the animals, whilst literally creating disruption a few meters away. I think this is quite a conceptual image as people really have two look at it to understand and work out how he two images have been put together.

The reason I have chosen to portray these three images in this way is yet again because they all have a similar daylight to them, with the sun setting, and all have that warm feeling. I stuck these images on a big piece of black card after putting them on foam board. There is a 3D pattern to these images, and a lot of space between them but one of the main reasons I have put these together and cut the top right into four is because I wanted to change the harmony, I wanted to disrupt a person’s point of view, and create tension in people’s minds so they don’t actually know where to look first. I think I have achieved this by mixing up the images, cutting it into four and having so many bright bold colours. The reason I have done this is because of a contextual elect, the bottom right image is a photo of an old bunker, and the top right image is a photo of an old castle, whereas the photo in the middle on the left is quite a new and modern structure. This can get people’s minds thinking about the past and the future and the present. It can make them wonder how the damage that we used to leave was just a simple structure whereas now the damage we are leaving is endangering animals.

The reason I have chosen to put these two images together is because they have a similar lighting to them, a dimmer gloomier tone rather than my most recent warm pictures. The image on the top left is also under exposed, making the moon look like the sun, although this makes the photo a little bit blurry I think it correlates well with my idea of being left in the darkness. I mounted the images and the text onto foam and then onto black card. This makes them 3D and stand out, I have made no ‘middle image’ so that nothing stands out massively as I wanted both the photos to be equal. The reason I have decided to include text is too add a context to get my point across. I didn’t want these images too just be seen as people having fun and just throwing rocks, I wanted the image too be seen as something more, something like people being lost in the darkness. When you read the description it makes the images quite conceptual and makes your brain think more about the image creating an essence of having to listen to me and my ideas and agree with them, almost brain manipulating humans into changing their ways.

The reason that I have chosen to put these images together is basically because they are all the same thing. They are taken with studio lighting ( flash ) and have a black curtain background creating a massive tonal range. You can see texture within my images, where the paper bag is wrinkled and my model is trying to breath it in. I wanted to create drama, a dramatic piece to embarrass humans as they have done this to animals but just find it insane when it happens to one of them. I think these images are really conceptual as they really get people thinking about how they would like it, and they very clearly wouldn’t, so this embarrses people.

My first artist case study was Naomi White and her Plastic Bags, where she took something so normal and dramatized it to make it portray a feeling.

My response to this was this image –

The reason that I think this image relates to her work so much is because of the use of an ordinary plastic bag, created into something special. She was interested in the way that plastic responds to touch, you can see that my model is breathing in and suffocating herself with the bag portraying how the plastic bag is responding to touch. The main reason I wanted to take inspiration from her was to spread awareness, almost everyone has seen an animal entrapped in a plastic something, in danger and in pain. This doesn’t faze people anymore, whereas something as dramatic as this happening to a person will faze people, this will raise awareness and almost embarrass and scare people, they know that they’ve used many disposable plastic bags before, harming the earth, and will end up feeling guilty for harming an animal now that they see it happening too someone who could be them. Although her images are studio lighting, portrait and on a light box I did keep it similar with the use of studio lighting, keeping it plain and simple.

My second artist case study was Lucas Foglia and his ‘human nature’, where he dramatises misuse of the earth’s element’s.

My response to this was this image –

The reason that I think this relates to Lucas Foglia’s work is because it is a dramatic difference. I didn’t take use of how he used elements simply because I thought that would be too difficult for me to do, but instead I took use of his contrast. He usually takes images of humans sat with something very dramatic which can create a huge scare within people, wondering how they ever managed to do that. I have used natural lighting, which portrays the earth like he does and have taken a photo of a new sculptured through the gates of an old bunker dramatising change. Maybe proving that people cannot change their ways, there will always be some type of disruption that they leave behind no matter how hard they try to change.

Image 1

I have chosen this as one of my final images to come out of my anthropocene project, because I think it clearly incorporates one of my artist case studies ‘Lucas Foglia’ this is due to the way he uses natural earthly lighting to create a raw natural imagery effect, as to show the world how it is. He also incorporates a depth of field by having his model close up to the camera compared to the rest of the landscape behind them, I think he uses this to create a conceptual idea of the destroyed vs the destroyer. His images are often 3D, including a lot of textures caused by weather, for example in his images you can see raindrops on peoples clothing, so I have incorporated this by using the wet sand to portray how the tide has just been up and that it is raining. His images are often very conceptual and I think I have portrayed this, by showing a sort of ‘ghost town’ something that may happen in the near future, and how destruction needs to stop.

Photo 2

I have chosen this image as one of my final images for basically all the same reasons as the first one, the use of depth of field, 3D texture, and a contextual meaning. But I really like this image as I think it portrays something more, I think it portrays a type of group of people, like no one knows what to do but they all know that about each other, they all know they need to do something. I think this is influenced by the contrast of the moon against the sea, the moon often tends to create a different feeling within peoples heads than the sun, the moon often tends to bring more peace to people’s minds and more comfort. I wanted to use this image as it’s not as harsh as my other ones, and not as much of a blame to humans, but rather a sign and green flag that we are trying to move forward.

Photo 3

The reason I have chosen this image is because I was inspired by Naomi White, Naomi Whites images are of objects, plastic bags under bright lighting, the reasoning for this is because she wanted to turn something familiar into something strange, this is what I also wanted to do. I wanted to take something as familiar as a plastic bag and change it into something strange, I wanted to create an image that people generally don’t want to look at, one that exposes the harsh truth that plastic won’t only end up killing all our wildlife but also us. I have used texture and studio lighting to portray how we will be choking on the plastic bag, or even choking on our words that ‘everything will be fine’.

Photo 4

The reason I have used this image is because in a way it relates to lucas foglia’s work, but I have also used it because I wanted to portray the history of the Island compared to now. I took this image up at plemont, where we spotted an old bunker, and they went in and explored while I took images. I think this portrays a massive contrast, of what that bunker would’ve been used for compared to people just using it to explore now. I think that this image is the definition of anthropocene,  ‘humans have had a substantial impact on our planet‘, something made over 100 years ago is still standing, showing how much of an impact we have actually had on the planet.

George Marazakis is a Greek photographer, he looks at a link between civilization and nature.

He takes pictures of his native Crete during winter where he can achieve the soft light. This effects the viewer in ways which makes it memorable to us, as it allows us to look from different perspectives where we are able to notice different things that are communicated to us. The first glance we notice and admire the aesthetics of the photo, whereas the second glance is more thoughtful, allowing us to reflect and contemplate what humans leave on the surface of earth and landscapes.

George Marazakis captures is photographs, that show the impact the world has on climate change, in subtle ways. The reason for this was because most people would visualise Anthropocene as visual impacts on the environments showing clear destruction happening for example, manufacturing or incinerator buildings with smoke.

His style of photography was capturing landscapes effected by human interactions in the middle of natural spaces.

“If humans are a product of nature, then we can say that we are a disease attacking our own organism, just like an immune system can attack its own body – like autoimmune diseases.”

https://www.lensculture.com/articles/george-marazakis-a-cure-for-anthropocene

I find George Marazakis photographs really interesting and engaging because I like how he subtly describes climate change through the use of his minimal subjects in his photos allowing you to depict what he is trying to communicate and tell you about climate change or environmental changes. For example the photo above depicts a green house with sunlight shining through leaving you to engage with it. I think this is an interesting way for you to engage with the photo, because for some photo’s at first are not obvious that the message is trying to perceive about climate change.

George Marazakis photos are taken in Greece, using the original colours and scenes in his final outcomes. His photographs are never taken in harsh light, as he loves photographing the scenes with heavy clouds and fog, so to achieve this he generally photographs during early morning or late afternoon. I think how he chooses to take photos is interesting because it sets the tone for the photo, making it more obvious of the message he is trying to portray, otherwise without the cloudy, fogy, morning or evening effects you wouldn’t understand the true message.

Virtual Gallery One (Plastic Killer)

Anthropocene is used to describe where human activity started to have a significant impact on the planets climate and ecosystems. I wanted to reflect this within this photoshoot by describing how plastic is a killer. Plastic is not biodegradable and is just filling up piles and piles of waste. Many animals within the ocean and on land get caught within this plastic causing them to become seriously injured or even die, you don’t see a fish walking around carrying a plastic bag so why do they have to be punished for our actions? I wanted to create something similar to the work of Naomi White, who takes still life imagery of plastic bags, she has described her reasoning for these photoshoots as ‘taking something from everyday life and making it look strange’. That quote was my main inspiration for my photoshoot. I wanted to take something that we use everyday and portray the dramatics of it, and the fact that these dramatics are happening to living things who didn’t cause the damage but not to the ones who did. I used bold studio lighting so create a contrast between the dark background and the fluorescent bright white light on my models face, this helped really emphasis all the wrinkles within the bag that something could get caught up in, and the fact that my model is inhaling trying to breath through the bag but it is suffocating her. I have also included an image of my model on her phone, whilst inside the plastic bag being unable to breath, this is to portray just how unbothered we are with the damage we have done.

Virtual Gallery Two (Time is catching us)

The anthropocene period is also sometimes known as the great acceleration. I wanted to take some imagery whilst the sun was setting to portray how an acceleration will always have a decline. For this photoshoot I went to plemont, where they have a sort of puffin sanctuary in order to portray how they are endangered and we need to save them, but upon my visit I found the place to be almost like a ghost town, no sign of any life at all, not even the noise of birds tweeting, I also found a lot of history such as old bunkers. Therefore I used all the things I saw to portray that our efforts are now not working, the effort of building these big puffins in order to make awareness has now not worked, it is too late and we are running out of time, by incorporating the old bunker and the sun setting it can portray nostalgia and history, that maybe too one day these puffin sculptures will be sat growing moss, deteriorating away just like the bunker. My artist case study reference for this idea was Lucas Foglia, his project ‘human nature’ photographs humans in the strongest of elements, now although I haven’t photographed in very strong elements my inspiration from him was to put the subject in the middle of what they have created. It was to create something bold and frightening to humans, to really open their eyes to what they have done, and explain how time is running out and if we do not take more action it will end up becoming a ghost town. I have used natural sunset lighting, due to its beauty but also its dramatic effect, because as we all know after sunset comes the darkness. I have used composition within my images to put my models up front and center.

Virtual Gallery Three (Sensitivity)

Humans tend to be sensitive about their own actions, not taking criticism very well at all. Within this image you can see my models being sensitive, embracing nature by throwing rocks in the rain, loving all the elements. But yet they cannot see how they are damaging these elements. By loathing in mother nature, humans will eventually reveal to themselves what they have done, so I wanted to portray their sensitive side, in order to show how they may not know how they caused the damage or how to reverse, therefore embracing their sensitive side.

Virtual Gallery Four (In the darkness)

We have created so much damage in the world, which is what anthropocene describes, but the ways of anthropocene are very harsh, calling humans out for their actions and embarrassing them when many people may not know the next step forwards, they may not know how to reverse all the damage, or even how to stop in from happening therefore many people are left in the darkness. I wanted my imagery to portray how sensitive we can be, and that really all we are on this earth for is to help each other and join together. No one can truly live a happy life without friendship so by joining together maybe we can not only be happier but also fish ourselves out of the darkness. By helping each other out we may be able to reprimand what we have done.