This is a reflection of my favourite topics that I have studied throughout my A level photography course. I have really enjoyed exploring all of these different topics and artists, and I feel that I am a much greater photographer for doing so. These projects have really helped me in developing my ideas, and understanding what a photograph really needs to be.

Landscapes and Romanticism

With romanticism, we started by looking at its origin in landscape paintings from the early 1800s, and their relation to the sublime – a combination of extreme beauty and overwhelming scale that evokes a strong emotional reaction. I was very inspired by Edwin Deakin and his paintings of the beautiful Yosemite Valley.

In the rise of the industrial revolution, I related heavily to these artists who escaped to the natural world and found freedom through their art in spite of the realists and rationality that plagued their homes at the time. Later, through the work of Ansel Adams and his own attachment to the Yosemite Valley, I found my own deep fascination with the natural landscapes of my own home, Jersey.

Here are two of Ansel Adams’ photos that I attempted to recreate at Plemont beach near my home. Plemont has always been a place for me to walk to and explore. It has these tall cliffs and deep caves, with jagged rocks scattered everywhere, as well as this huge tidal range that engulfs the entire beach at high tide.

(high tide photos)

Further on in the landscape module, we were asked to produce a new topographics photoshoot. I was inspired by the works of Joe Deal, a photographer who is known for his sky view photographs. In order to do this, I would need to stand at a high vantage point and take photos looking down at the scenery.

This is one of the photos I came up with in comparison to Joe Deal’s work. This technique is like a ‘birds eye view’ of the world, and offers an interesting perspective on the exponential increasing of distance as you look further up through the photo. Further on in the same photoshoot I focused more on Ansel Adams, and portraying Jersey’s various natural landscapes. From this, I produced my favourite set of photos from throughout this course.

Henri Cartier-Bresson and Saint Malo

Later on in the course, we studied Henri Cartier-Bresson and the decisive moment. The decisive moment is the moment in time, from that exact perspective, where everything aligns perfectly. A perfect example of this is Cartier-Bresson’s infamous image named ‘Derriere la Gare Saint-Lazare’.

When studying him, I was fascinated with his method of taking photos, by simply allowing the world to move in front of his camera and waiting for the perfect moment to take the photo. When we visited Saint Malo for a street photoshoot, this was my exact mindset. Ultimately, I found myself wondering alone through the streets of Saint Malo, looking for these decisive moments.

These were the first photos that I was very happy with during the photoshoot. To me, they are related to each other as two opposing sides, an admiration of photography, and the taking of a photograph. I felt that these both related to me in a way, as the photographer of both of these photos and also an admirer of both of these photos.

This is my favourite photo from the photoshoot.