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.

Photoshoot one (Le Bray)~

Photoshoot two (petrol station)~

Photoshoot three (plemont)~

Photoshoot four (studio) ~

What is AI?

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human intelligence and problem-solving capabilities. Making jobs quicker and faster to do, instead of humans sepening hours or even days to complete a task.

How is it used within photography?

“To create AI-generated images, the machine learning model scans millions of images across the internet along with the text associated with them. The algorithms spot trends in the images and text and eventually begin to guess which image and text fit together. Once the model can predict what an image should look like from a given text, they can create entirely new images from scratch based on a new set of descriptive text users enter on the app.”

To produce an image, a user enters keywords and a model generates images utilizing those keywords. Strings of words can be used.

How do you use it?

Ai has recently been introduced to adobe photoshop in the form of generative fill, this not only allows photographers to add elements to their images that elsewise would have been difficult or impractical to accomplish, this makes a photographer much more able to accomplish what they envision

#AI image mood board inspiration

Experimentation

Example Of Creation

I used AI to adapt this image within photoshop, I sed the generative fill tool, i selected the sky and then simply typed in “Stars”, and it generated this. It was once just an image of a plain purple looking sky which has now been transformed into a beautiful starry sky.

Final Three Favorite AI Images and Evaluation

This is one of my favourite photos’ I have created due to how the sunset is so dim yet so bright, when you first look at an image you are instantly drawn to the brightest thing within the image. So I like how the faint people swimming within the water are almost like a challenge, you have to almost focus too see them swimming down there. My concept for this image was that the ocean is a part of mother nature and the earth its self, and we are merely sharing in her offerings, I have portrayed this by making the people swimming in the water so small compared to the massive scene around them. I used photo shop to AI generate the people swimming in.

I really like this image of a starry night due to the contrast I’m the colours of lighting, this image has a very wide tonal range, it almost looks strange to the human eye too see a sunset mixed with a sky full of stars as generally the stars don’t come out until the sun has fully gone away. I love just how realistic the stars look, giving the image texture and tone. My concept behind this photo was to portray what our sky’s could actually look like without light pollution, artificial light has done much to safeguard and enhance our night time environment but, if not properly controlled, obtrusive light can present serious physiological and ecological problems. Yet another issue that humans have created which takes the earths natural beauty away. I used generative fill on photoshop too add the stars in this image.

I used ai generative fill on photoshop to add the boat within this image. This image alone was not one of my favourite’s at all, due to how blurry it is and how strange the lighting is within this image. But I do like the movement shadow’s off the model in the centre of the image, as I think it adds surface leading the eye to that golden section. I think the composition of this image is very important as it takes away from the blur/shake and makes it look less harsh. My concept within this image was to portray how, there are always many different scenario’s happening around us, including our own one, and we are only the main character in our own story, which is why it makes it even more important too look after our planet, as you are the only person to blame for what you are doing, its your own scenario and your own life, so it is all on you what you do in regards too things like pollution.

Past

For my AI generated image of the past I have used a photo of le bray beach, where you can see the La Rocco tower, which was the 23rd and last coastal tower in Jersey to be built following the Conway design and was also the largest and most heavily armed of the whole series. It maintained a military role into the mid-19th century, as evidenced by a Royal Engineers report in January 1848, which records that La Rocco Tower and Battery (as it had by then become known) was armed with five 32-pounder guns. I used the selection tool to get rid of the people I originally photographed on the beach, and then used generative fill to create a narrative of soldiers shooting up at an enemy plane.

Present

For my AI generated image of the present I used a photo that I took up at active in St.Brelards, I originally took this image to capture the storm damage of the fallen trees, and I used AI generate tool to add people walking on the grass, too show that present life doesn’t just stop when an issue as big as a storm occurs.

Future

For my AI generated image of the future I used another image that I took along the five mile road, I used the AI generate tool to add many things to this image, for example, a car on the sand, a robot on the grass, flying cars in the sky, a big cruise ship in the water, and wind turbines. Wind turbines have been something already discussed for Jerseys future so I thought this would be a more realistic thing to incorporate rather than the flying cars, but you never know what the future holds for Jersey.

Ideas

Living in Jersey makes it quite difficult to photograph the impacts on the environment from humans as it’s not as obvious as other places in the world due to the island being less developed and big on agriculture, however, here are some of my ideas:

Idea 1

My first idea is to photograph areas in Jersey which experience traffic and over-population, specifically St Helier. My plan is to go into town around rush hour and take photos of the traffic in various places, preferably from above. Some places I could do this are along the Waterfront near La Frigate and from above the tunnel. I am also planning on taking images of full car parks and places which are clearly over-populated.

Idea 2

My second idea is to create an altered landscape image (or two) which consists of the various industrial areas and areas which have been hugely impacted by humans around the island. This will be inspired by Emily Allchurch, an artist who hosted a talk at Jersey Library last year which I attended with my Dad. I was really inspired by her work, therefore I have decided that it is something I would like to do for this project as I think it would be an effective way of displaying our Island’s impacts on the environment. Some locations which I am planning on photographing include La Collette, Bellozanne, German Bunkers, Le Marais Flats, Quarries and Dams. I will then create my final image by using photoshop.

Another photographer who has similar work to Emily Allchurch that I am greatly inspired by for this idea is Tanja Deman. (Link to my blog post about Tanja Deman)

Idea 3

My third idea is to take images of potholes as there are many in Jersey and they are caused mainly by traffic and not being able to support the weight of vehicles, therefore, they are caused by human activity and sometimes you could say overpopulation, corresponding to themes of Anthropocene. I am planning on editing these images to look like moon craters by making them appear as similar colours to the moon. This idea hasn’t been inspired by any photographers as it is just a thought I had, therefore, I may not go ahead with this idea as the outcomes may not align with my vision.

Idea 4

My fourth idea is to photograph agricultural land in Jersey as, although agriculture is great for the Island’s ecomony, it can also have harmful impacts on the environment such as polluting water and soil and releasing CO2 into the atmosphere. Moreover, around 50% of the Island’s area consists on agricultural land and it is also one of the factors which promotes a great problem on the island – sea lettuce. The Island has had numerous problems with sea lettuce, which is often caused by streams running onto the beach containing fertiliser. For this photoshoot, I am planning on photographing fields from above, most likely in Grouville and St Ouen, inspired by Edward Burtynsky’s photograph of plastic-covered fields. In addition, I will also photograph old glass houses around the Island.

Idea 5

My final idea is to photograph rubbish which I find on the beach and on the streets in its place but also collect it to photograph it again together and create an abstract image. This may, however, be quite difficult as it’s not easy to find rubbish on the beach at this time of year compared to summer. My inspiration for this is Many Barker’s: Our Plastic Ocean.

The Ideas I have gone for

For my photoshoots, I have decided that I am going to create an altered landscape, inspired by Emily Allchurch and Tanja Deman, of the industrial areas around the island. The areas featured within this landscape will be similar to what can be seen in both Edward Burtynsky and George Marazakis’ photographs. The locations which I will be taking these photos include Bellozanne, La Collette, Sorel and St Peters Quarries, Val de la Mare Dam and various fields round the island. This is a rough sketch of my vision:

I am going to present the images I take both on their own, similar to Edward Burtynsky and George Marazakis, and as an altered landscape.

Mood Board:

Peter Mitchell is a British documentary photographer born in 1943, and is known for documenting Leeds and the surrounding area for more than 40 years. Born in Hope Hospital, Salford, Peter lived briefly in the North West before relocating with his family to London during the 1950s. He grew up in Catford and attended Hornsey College of Art. Following a brief period working as a trainee travel agent for Thomas Cook, he worked for a number of years in the Civil Service as a draftsman. Later, he found steady employment as a graphic designer. Peter moved to Leeds in 1972, into the house in Chapeltown where he still lives and works today. Whilst having a stint working as a delivery driver around the city, he started to photograph the shops, houses, and factories that didn’t have long before they were to be demolished – or “goners,” as Peter referred to them.

Mitchell’s photographs have been published in three monographs of his own, as well as his work being exhibited at Impressions Gallery in 1979, and nearly thirty years later was included in major survey exhibitions throughout the UK including at Tate Britain and Media Space in London, and the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford. Mitchell’s work is held in the permanent collections of the Royal Photographic Society and Leeds Art Gallery. Peter’s striking images were an essential part of the colour documentary scene in the seventies and eighties and often featured shopkeepers and factory workers outside their places of work.

Not much is known of Mitchell’s practice through the 1990s and early 2000s. He did continue to photograph, filling his home with negatives, prints and artwork. Mitchell’s work came back to public attention in 2007 with its inclusion in How We Are: Photographing Britain, exhibited at Tate Britain. By this time, Mitchell’s one-time co-exhibitor Martin Parr had become significantly influential not only with his own work, but in his championing of British Documentary photography as a whole. Parr identified Mitchell’s significance to the development of British photography and with some cajoling, and the help of American publisher Nazraeli, Peter’s first Monograph, Strangely Familiar, was published in 2013.

Sir Yank’s Records (& Heavy Disco). Leeds, 1976.

 “I’m a Buddy Holly fan, that’s why I took it. The single Rave On was released in 1958, it’s one of my favourite Buddy Holly tracks!”.

Mitchell focuses on capturing old, casual buildings such as red brick houses without a pleasing aesthetic or any modern features. This can be seen as unusual from a viewers perspective as typically photographers focus on photographing large or beautiful buildings. Mitchell differs from these artists, making him stand out against them as he has a much bigger sense of realism throughout his work, without using many editing apps either. He tends to keep his work very natural looking, and always taken from a deadpan angle, allowing maximum capacity for the surroundings of the subject too. Overall these factors give a significant, vintage and antique aesthetic. From this, we can gather that Mitchell is a practical photographer, who manages to make simple buildings seen from different views, which opens up our outlook on Anthropocene photography. This ultimately influences other photographers, who also capture the impact of humans on the environment, to perhaps also take on a more realistic approach. Overall, the commonsensical approach that Peter Mitchell takes forces the viewer to realise the changes that have happened in the world due to humans and how we have adapted to a more modern world.

“I’ve been a fan of Peter Mitchell since I first saw his photograph of Mr. & Mrs. Hudson outside their newsagents in Seacroft, Leeds, in 1974. It is a brilliant image that is part of Peter’s body of work documenting Leeds from the 1970s onwards.”

Image analysis:

Mitchell has also produced images like this where slightly more modern buildings are featured next to the industrial buildings, ultimately creating a contrast between the new and the old. Although, I can infer that the shop on the left is still not a modern building, but the use of painting it white reflects today’s world as we now see the colour frequently. This effect enhances the similarities and differences between them which adds a sentimental mood into the image, showing how humans have adapted to modernity. The use of including a church, which is connected to the shop, could also be significant as it may highlight that the couple in the image are religious and they may own the church as well as the shop. From this, as a viewer I could also assume perhaps the artist is religious too, and he may be photographing his passion to communicate a message with the viewer. Additionally, Peter Mitchell has involved the sky and some background into his photo, adding a more casual aesthetic, which can take the viewers eye away from the main subject in the image. As I can see the sky is a dull, white shade this can be seen as reflecting the emotions hidden behind the image. Perhaps Mitchell is implying he might be sad by the new changes and portraying them through the emotionless tones throughout.

In contrast to this, we can also see that half of the shop on the left has been knocked down, with what we assume as the shop owners still standing at the entrance. From this we can presume that they have owned the shop for many years and are about to get it knocked down. This links to the Anthropocene as humans and their updated, advanced technology has caused many buildings etc to be knocked down and replaced by more modern versions. This again adds to the sentimental affect throughout the photo, and perhaps Peter Mitchell can relate to this feeling and is sending a message through his photography to people, so we can see the damage and change.

Overall, this image is effective because it explores the contrast between the new and old, while also incorporating a sense of realism. The artist also manages to create an overall mood throughout one image, as he includes many features that tell a story without speaking. I find this very inspiring as Mitchell has a unique perspective and aesthetic in his photos despite capturing every day, simple buildings.

Sammy Baloji v  Liu Bolin

Sammy Baloji is a photographer from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He works in Lubumbashi and Brussels, and held exhibitions in Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Bilbao, Cape Town and Bamako. He worked on anthropocene artists photographs, such as ..

Why have you chosen this artist?

I’ve chosen this artist because I admire his work and the way he presents his photographs. the way he contras colours and the way his image is presented out interests me the most because it shows us that he takes a lot of work and effort into his images. I want to recreate similar, aesthetic images such as some of his most famous photos. His work relates to anthroponce because its to do with trees and how we are affecting the planet which shows us an insight into the bigger picture he is trying to get across. I am going to respond to his work by recreating similar images such as these:

Here is one of my own images, to nature and sea.

Liu Bolin

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. His work is very inspiring, especially if you love nature. I love the idea of taking photos of nature and making it look presentable and showing the world how we are destroying the planet ourselves and I think this is how the two photographers relate because they are both giving the world an insight as to how we are ruining the world, however Bolin more focusing on flowers and beautiful nature which is what I prefer. Bolin’s work relates to the theme of anthroponce because. This is what makes them so similar yet so difference as they are both trying to resemble the same thing but in different ways. As a response to this I am going to photograph nature.

eg.

Both artists respond to dire global and local circumstances with resistance and imagination sustaining an openness, wonder, and curiosity about the world which is what I admire in these images. I like the fact you can take photos of certain and still backgrounds focusing on stuff that we can change and affect.

Anthropocene is the effect that mankind has had on the natural world. This has only come about in the past few centuries since the beginning of the industrial revolution, and has exponentially become a global problem.

This is a good topic for photography, mostly because it is everywhere, and a clear message can be received, for example, global warming.

There are 4 major signs of Anthropocene; agriculture, urbanisation, deforestation and pollution. Each of these are the root causes of the major problems mankind faces today.

When did Anthropocene begin and end?

Anthropocene Epoch, unofficial interval of geologic time, making up the third worldwide division of the Quaternary Period (2.6 million years ago to the present), characterized as the time in which the collective activities of human beings began to substantially alter Earth’s surface, atmosphere, oceans etc.

It began in 1950. The resulting radioactive particles were detected in soil samples globally. In 2016, the Anthropocene Working Group agreed that the Anthropocene is different from the Holocene, and began in the year 1950 when the Great Acceleration, a dramatic increase in human activity affecting the planet, took off.

What is the Anthropocene project?

The Anthropocene Project is a multidisciplinary body of work combining fine art photography, film, virtual reality, augmented reality, and scientific research to investigate human influence on the state, dynamic, and future of the Earth.

What is the main idea of Anthropocene?

The Anthropocene is sometimes used to simply 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.

What is an example of the Anthropocene?

The Anthropocene is a new, present day epoch, in which scientists say we have significantly altered the Earth through human activity. These changes include global warming, habitat loss, changes in the chemical composition of the atmosphere, oceans and soil, and animal extinctions.

Why was Anthropocene created?

In the years since the term Anthropocene was coined by Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen in 2000, it has increasingly defined our times as an age of human-caused planetary transformation, from climate change to biodiversity loss, plastic pollution, megafires and much more.

Mood Board

This mood board shows the variations in Anthropocene. As you can see, each section of the mood board has different scenes and representations of what people believe Anthropocene looks like. However, all the ideas start off somewhere, for example, the top middle image could represent climate change/global warming. That is why the image has two main colours (blue to represent water, and red to represent the heat).

Jersey Areas that provide Anthropocene;

• Open Cast Mining – Quarries: Ronez, St Peters Valley, Sand Quarry St. Ouens
• Power Stations – La Collette, Bellozane Sewage Treatment
• Urbanisation – St Helier: Grands Vaux, Le Marais Flats, Le Squez etc.
• Mass Wastage – La Collette recycling centre
• Disposable Society – La Collette recycling centre – refrigerator mountains etc
• Land Erosion – farming industry: poly tunnels, packing sheds, plastic covered fields etc. Old Glass Houses
• Over Population – poverty/social divides: Social Housing sites. Car Parks, traffic etc.
• Industrialisation – La Collette area, Bellozane, industrial estates. Desalination Plant, German Fortification (WW2)

Mood board

What is Anthropocene?

Anthropocene is used to simply 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. The current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment.

Consequences of the Anthropocene

These human actions cause, among other consequences, changes in the water cycle, imbalances and destructions in the marine and terrestrial ecosystems, the increase of extreme meteorological phenomena, the acidification of the oceans or the disappearance of the forests.

When did Anthropocene begin?

It began in 1950. The resulting radioactive particles were detected in soil samples globally. In 2016, the Anthropocene Working Group agreed that the Anthropocene is different from the Holocene, and began in the year 1950 when the Great Acceleration, a dramatic increase in human activity affecting the planet, took off.

The Anthropocene Project

The Anthropocene Project is a multidisciplinary body of work combining fine art photography, film, virtual reality, augmented reality, and scientific research to investigate human influence on the state, dynamic, and future of the Earth.

“UNLIKE PAST MASS EXTINCTIONS, CAUSED BY EVENTS LIKE ASTEROID STRIKES, VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS AND NATURAL CLIMATE SHIFTS, THE CURRENT CRISIS IS ALMOST ENTIRELY CAUSED BY US — HUMANS.”

An armed soldier stands guard as the 105 tons of ivory are burned in a game reserve outside the capital city of Nairobi, a stockpile that would have been worth more than £100million to smugglers.