“the human desire to seek and explore the unknown has driven artists to look for fresh inspirations throughout centuries, compelling them to diverse subject matter and experiment with new materials”
historic paintings examples:
these paintings maybe thousands of years old but can still have many influences on artists around the world. For example Banksy a graffiti artist produced a piece in London’s Leake Street tunnel to comment on the fact that we seek the idea of attempting to preserve prehistoric examples instead of trying to do it with modern art such as graffiti in this case.
Banksy, Cave Painting Removal
(this is the painting referenced in the text above)
the soviet propaganda posters started in 1917 after the Bolsheviks took over Petrograd now known as saint Petersburg. as it was quite a young state it needed to spread an ideologies around the state effectively. this was going to be challenging as the literacy rates were only 37.9%, this meant that the image had to be the driving force of the poster not the words on them. this has influenced the modern age by propaganda now becoming used by for many things such as combating against world problems (COVID-19, climate change) and for things such as presidential election.
Ai Weiwei, Study of Perspective, 1999
this project was produced by Ai Weiwei to project the idea that people shouldn’t just listen to governments and should have there own beliefs. he done this by going to significant monuments and putting up the middle finger. this obviously has had an influence on the modern day with many people speaking up against government, a big example of this would be Greta Thunburg as she challenged the Swedish government to take part and battle against climate change which then turned then helped raise awareness around the world drastically.
Painter Jackson Pollock, cigarette in mouth, dropping paint onto canvas
Joe Pollock was an artist that used the “drip” paint technique, the reason he used this technique was to help explore themes such as surrealism navigation of the unconscious and Jungian symbolism. this basically means he wanted people to connect to his images through emotions what it made them feel and why? “The Search to unravel the working of the Human psyche and understand the very nature of consciousness has often inspired artists.”
Rogan Brown is a British artist based in France. His inspiration stems from his interest in the complexity of nature, creating pieces that help us look at the world on a different scale.
question: what are the differences between images that windows and mirrors?
John Szarkowski believes that photography falls into two categories, these categories are known as windows and mirrors. As Szarkowski states “The distance between in terms of their conceptions of what a photograph is: it is a mirror, reflecting a portrait of the artist who made it, or a window, through which one might better know the world?”. To put it simply when making an image does it represent you as an artist if so this would be a mirror image, or does it show the exterior world, with its natural elements this would be a Window image.
words that associate with mirror photography
subjective
reflective
personal
unique
aesthetic
individual
romanticism
words that associate with window photography
documentary
realism
views
objective
optical
unaltered
genuine
artist that include windows and mirror photography
(mirror image: Richard Hamilton)
Richard Hamilton was a painter who created painting based on his views and ideals on the world which is was what made them unique and different. he produced his own atheistic which is what is known as pop art and was it to be believed to be one of the first paintings consisting if pop art. These are the reasons to why I believe this image is indeed a mirror image as it fits the criteria of Szarkowski’s theory’s about photography.
(window image: Ansel Adams)
Ansel Adams was a landscape photographer who travelled all of America to capture images similar to the one above. His photography consisted of capturing the beauty of nature in ways never seem before in photography which is was made his work so special, he visited Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, all the time to capture its change over the years of his career making it documentary, realism and unaltered which is why this contributes to the mirror aspect of Szarkowski concept of his photography theory’s.
Texts > Write a short introduction or statement about your picture story, image captions
Typography > creative uses of words, letters, font-types, sizes
Add a selection of your final 10-16 images as a moodboard/ gallery to the blog post too, including any archive material too.
story
3 words: past and present
a sentence: the history of the jersey harbour, what its jobs is, and who is doing the work that we don’t see, and the locals that take in the site.
A paragraph: Jersey Harbour, once a bustling hub of maritime trade and fishing, has evolved significantly from its historical roots. In the past, the harbour served as a critical gateway for commerce and a refuge for fishing boats, its quays lined with warehouses and bustling markets that reflected the island’s vibrant economic activity. Today, while still a functional port, it has transformed into a picturesque destination, blending its rich maritime history with modern amenities. Visitors can now enjoy waterfront cafes, art galleries, and recreational activities alongside traditional boat moorings, illustrating how Jersey Harbour has adapted to contemporary needs while honouring its storied past. This juxtaposition of history and modernity makes the harbour a compelling focal point for both locals and tourists alike.
how are you going to tell your story?
images: old photos provided to me and present photos taken by me
texts: write short texts in the begging and end of the
typography> use creative words, fonts, letters and sizes
long before the introduction to photography the idea of it had already existed in the ancient world. this known because the evidence shows that the earliest use of camera obscura dates back to 4th century BC. the ideas traditionally came from places like china and the ancient Greeks. ideas of photography were raised by people such as Mozi a Chinese philosopher. How was camera obscura done? Camera obscura was achieved by setting up in a dark room with a little hole in one of its wall, then light is needed from the outside of the room (daylight from the sun) reflecting an image of the outside world on to the wall opposite the hole in the wall. This method has been used and refined developing it to become more modern in the present. most well known examples of camera obscura would be the following, Leonardo Da Vinci using the method to study proportions an perspective in art, and Athemius of Tralles a Greek mathematician who used camera obscura for his experiments.
photo example of camera obscura
modern day recreations
the first ever picture when was it and is it really the first ever image?
unlike most historic things no one is actually sure of when photography actually started or if we really have found the first ever photo. However its widely believed that the first ever photo was made in 1827, by Nicéphore Niépce.
calotypes and Daguerreotypes
(henry fox talbot)
in 1839, development of photography started with a two step process. Henry fox talbot’s process started by putting images through light an silver chloride coated on paper, this produces a “negative” this invention was seen as groundbreaking. By exposing a little bit of light, over a short period of time these images would turn darker creating what we would call a “negative image” due to it having a limited amount of light in the image. From this process you could then use these images as templates to then create clear images by using chemicals on these papers then you’d be able to numerously print them. This is what we know as Calotypes.
(henry fox talbot example)
Louis Daguerre
the second type, that takes inspiration from Nicéphore Niépce’s work using heliography, created by Louis Daguerre he used iodine-sensitized silver plate and mercury vapor. The method named after himself the “Daguerreotype” its process of making the image is quite unique. This method creates an image much different in comparison to Henry Fox Talbot as this process helps create a more 3D effect instead of a flat 2D image. despite the more unique image and method of creation the Henry Fox Talbots method would be superior as its was more simplistic making it the easier choice for everyone who wanted to make an image. however, his method would become more popular in the distant future due to the invention of the film camera.
Richard Maddox
Richard Maddox, suggested that sensitizing chemicals, calcium bromide and silver nitrate, would be be coated on a glass plate in gelatin. From this idea, Charles Bennett, made the first gelatin dry plates for the public to purchase, soon after the emulsion of these chemicals could then be placed onto celluloid roll film.
these gelatin plates helped create a revolution in photography. as they were commercially marketed as people bought them as if they were a necessity which helped create an even bigger interest for photography for people among the UK. it also saved time for photographers from having to sit in a dark room to create there images, instead images could have been stored away and developed whenever necessary. his work would also help with the construction of small cameras that could be held with your two hands.
(example of the work that helped create the said camera)
George Eastman
George Eastman was an America entrepreneur born in New York, and invented the first ever kodak camera (this lead to well known photographers such as Ansel Adams and Weegee to using this camera or later installments of it). However before he created the kodak camera he was already an expert in the field of photography as he had mastered the ability to make dry plate for photos. he manufactured these plates in London in factory and established a film company named “Eastman Dry Plate and Film”. This lead to him applying the dry plates process onto film therefore creating the Kodak to which he then made available for the public in 1888.
(this was a marketing poster for the camera when it was first created)
The Kodak Brownie- the camera that made photography accessible
out of all the installments of the kodak camera one of their most important creations was the kodak brownie, this is because it was a user friendly camera for people who weren’t exactly experts with a camera (similar to a camera on a phone) as it was as easy as pressing a button and it would create an image, it also a whole new market of people as photography was mainly for people of the upper class as it was pretty expensive to indulge in photography in its early days however this camera changed that and made it available to people of the middle class. In the 1900s the amount of people that had this camera sky rocketed on a mass scale.
digital photography
with film photography predominantly being used in the 20th century because of George Eastman’s invention it was bound to change with the tech development happening around the world. This lead to Steve Sasson’s invention of the first self contained digital camera for kodak. with this invention it became even more simple for people to use cameras which then obviously lead to modern day cameras being developed into what they are easy to use and accessible to anyone in the world.
(side by side comparison of film and digital camera)
after this a rapid growth in camera development happened from the 1970s up until the modern day
history of jersey photography
Thomas Sutton
Thomas Sutton is a well known photographer he was the first ever photographer to take a colored image by that isn’t the only reason he is well known Establishing a studio in St Brelade in 1848 here he worked alongside another photographer, Frenchman L.D. Blanquart-Evrard were they had a printing establishment. In 1850 this studio was advertised as “founded at the suggestion of, and patronized by, H R H Prince Albert” who was known to be a keen collector of photographs.
these photos are rated 1-2 stars because they didn’t meet the criteria of what I needed to accomplish inn terms of the quality of the photo itself or what the image its self consisted of.
photos rated 3-4 stars
these photos I believe are rated 3-4 stars because it has some of the criteria that is needed for project but is missing somethings that I would consider for the photos to be 5 stars. for the most part I would say the photos are missing the quality of the image or it doesn’t project the idea of the difference between the modern day harbour and the original harbour.
photos rated 5 stars
these eight photos are what I believe to be the best photos I took on this trip to the harbour as I think it captured what the harbours about as it shows how the modern day harbour works in comparison to the 1800s
Edited images
evaluation
overall I believe that I got a good set of images on the trip to the harbour as they capture the history of the harbour but also capture the changes and how its changed over the years of the harbour. However for next time I would prioritise getting more images of higher quality as I think I missed out on some images that could have been better due to the quality of the image.
I used the square crop for this image because I think that it suited it the best as I was able to zoom in on this couple and make them the main focus of the image and it also helped make the image look more like a polaroid image which is what I wanted to go for.
panoramic crop:
I think the panoramic crop was ideal for this image as it helps zoom in something in the image that makes it look more interesting to look at instead of having a bunch of empty space in the photo making it less appealing to look at.
landscape crop:
I believe that the landscape photo was appropriate for this image as it helps focus on the person in the image as it got a lot less of the space underneath the railing with the bright leaves which most people would probably be drawn to as they are very loud colours
for this project I wanted to use AI on images that I had taken to try and show how we are damaging the planet in many different ways. so I want to use my images to make people think what can we do to stop it?
the idea behind this three piece image was inspired by Michael Marten’s sea change however I made my piece different to his and interpreted it in my own way by getting a picture in town and using AI to make a past and present image of what this image could have possibly looked like in the past and future. I thought this fit the theme of Anthropocene as it shows much we have changed the planet from the past to the present and possibly what the planet could like in the future.
this image that I edited aims to show Anthropocene through pollution that we have caused in the sea and on the surface of are planet I done this by using AI to add things to the image such litter and a construction site to the image. I think this image helps shows what we need to change in order to stop these problems we have that have been happening for a long period of time. I liked how this came out because the shadow is creeping up slowly on the other side of the image to represent the fact that the damage humans have done has almost taken over everywhere. I also like how the image looks similar to a painting which gives it more of a dramatic effect to the image.
in my opinion I think this image was a bit over the top with everything that was happening in it but I also think it still achieves what I wanted to produce and I think it does a great job at that. this is because, it demonstrates everything that is a problem in the modern day planet such as planes that are polluting the air all-over the globe along with the abundance of litter that’s been left in this location even the fact that there is a bin in plain sight
i think these three images perfectly showed off over population as you had all these buildings pilled up on top of each other with narrow streets filled up to the brim with cars everywhere which would get in your way when trying to navigate the small town. also another issue these three photos may represent is mass tourism which could be the reason why these small towns maybe over populated in holidays such as the summer and winter.
inconclusion I believe that I was successful with portraying Anthropocene in many different ways by showing various different ways we pollute the planet (overpopulation, air pollution, littering, construction and polluting are seas).
virtual gallery
for my virtual gallery I decided to use the images I decided was the best images out of all of my final outcomes. I decided to put them in a gallery of there own so they stand out and speak for themselves which suits the topic of Anthropocene. I also included some of my typography images as well to go along with them in a separate gallery as I didn’t want them to get jumbled up with my Anthropocene images. for next time I think I should take more photos so I can come out with more final outcomes and more photos to edit for next time.
Anthropocene is essentially the effects/impacts that humans have on the earths topography. it covers everything that impacts the planet such as landscapes, ecosystems, and limnology. this was driven mainly driven by industrialisation such as deforestation and urbanisation. The term Anthropocene originated from the Greek words “Anthropos” and “kainos” (which mean human and new)
Why and how are people exploring Anthropocene?
photographers have started to gain a big interest in this topic as its all of the things its linked to (damage to the earth) is being spoken about on all social media which is why i believe the topic has gained to much interest over the years this is how
documenting environmental degradation: photographers are capturing images degradation of the environment, such as climate change, overpopulation, and deforestation. the point of these images is to show the evidence of the damage that we have made to the planet.
the human-nature relationship and how its portrayed: photographers are exploring the relationship between nature and humans. these photographers are taking photos to essentially document how we are treating the planet, as well as how we are damaging it
raising awareness and advocacy: through photographers work they are helping raise awareness of all the problems that we are creating. they use tools by to help engage peoples emotions and to get people thinking about how we can change what we are doing to the planet basically getting people to take action and make change.
showing how nature is fighting back: some groups of photographers and single photographers are capturing what nature is doing to fight back. they do this by capturing ecosystems and species that are able to adapt to the damage that we have created to help survive.
Overall photographers are very important when it comes to documenting Anthropocene not just for the present by also for the future so we can look back to see if we have made difference in the future if that’s going to be positive changes or negative changes who’s knows. inconclusion these photos can inspire people and also encourage people to be different.
