The term “new topographics” is used to describe a select group of American photographers whose pictures had a similar aesthetic. Their pictures were black and white with some colour and they were all landscape. The term was first used by William Jenkins in 1975. These photographers included:
Robert Adams
Lewis Baltz
Nicholas Nixon
Bernd and Hiller Becher
The subjects in these photos were car parks, houses, trailers and ware houses. These kinds of places were picked to display America as matter-of-fact and disillusion people to the American dream. By shooting everyday homes and revealing the truth about how Americas landscapes actually look these photographers dismantled the idealised landscapes that are normally seen in photography.
Through out the shoot I was altering with the settings to make sure the photos came out clear and and that the exposure was right.
I started with 294 and dwindled it down to 86 decent photos.
From here I picked 13 that I really liked and created black and white copies. I also created copies with different editing styles and experimented a bit to see what style I like.
This photo of the fish shop by la Collette is one of my favourite I have taken. and I made a black and white copy as well.
Before the 16th century, landscape didn’t really exist as a genre in its own right. Landscapes were merely seen as backgrounds for portraits and other forms of paintings. the term “landscape comes from the Dutch word “landschnap” which means “region” or “tract of land” but became associated with the art in the early 1500s, this is due to the fact that in the Netherlands landscapes be came popular with protestants to decorate their homes. Outside the Netherlands, landscapes often depicting scenes from mythology or biblical settings, as well as historical scenes.
The 17th century brought around the ear of classical landscapes. Rome became the ideal place for landscapes to be painted. Everything within the paintings became purposefully placed to create the balanced and timeless mood to help the paintings seem harmonious. Many of these landscapes sought to illustrate an ideal landscape recalling Arcadia, a legendary place in ancient Greece known for its quiet pastoral beauty. However, despite the commissions and popularity of them they remained low in the hierarchy of the academies.
Bridge with a Sluice, Jacob van Ruisdael, 1648–1649
The late 18th century saw Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes change the views on landscape paintings, he saw them as something to be celebrated and considered with a worthy status. In 1800 he published the Eléments de perspective practique which emphasized the aesthetic ideal of the “historic landscape.” Generations of French landscape painters would benefit from this book and the recognition Valenciennes’ received.
As the 19th century brought round the industrial revolution, the standard hierarchy of art collapsed land scape paintings gained in popularity. Barbizon painters such as Théodore Rousseau and Charles Daubigny became less concerned with idealized, classical landscapes and focused more on painting out-of-doors directly from nature—a practice known as plein air painting. The 19th century also saw the start of landscape photography which would greatly influence the landscape painters’ compositional choices. Courbet’s radical painting techniques and independent spirit paved the way for the next generation of painters including Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Auguste Renoir, and Alfred Sisley, these would become some of the most famous painters in history, other wise know as the impressionists.
Claude Monet, waterlilies, 1910
During the 20th century, artist used landscape photography to create interpretations of the land through pictorial effects and, later, through formal compositions of close-up, cropped views of the landscape. Photographer Ansel Adams captured attention with his breath-taking views of the wild beauty of the American West. In the second half of the 20th century, the definition of landscape was challenged and pressed to include concepts like urban landscapes, cultural landscapes, industrial landscapes, and landscape architecture. Today, the landscape continues to be a subject artists turn to when contemplating the ways we relate to the places where we live and the impact we as humans have on the land.
For this shoot I wanted to create the classical Hollywood female lead sort of feel, they often look like they glow and this creates an ethereal resemblance and in many ways they have influenced todays beauty standards.
To create this effect I focused on the beauty the area we shot in and how the model was dressed and situated herself. I had her dress in a dress that complimented her skin tone and hair colour. We walked around for a bit then came across this beautiful little place with a stream going around an island type piece of earth which had trees and bushes growing all around.
These where my camera settings through out the shoot.
The photos are not 100% clear. I wanted blurred lines in some aspects to help display that beauty does not equal perfect. the lack of clarity also creates a sense for intrigue as it is not revealing the whole truth. This is a problem that some people meet when they grow up as they either have their trust broken or don’t know who to trust as others may have lied to them about something in the past. This is a serious problem especially with the popularity of social media where you don’t know who is on the other side of some social media accounts.
I ended up with 69 photos and selected them down 4. I then made different versions of them and colour coded them according to the which were the best in my opinion.
Purple symbolises the photos which I don’t think are the best, where as yellows represents ones are particularly my favourites.
With some I tried to make to model stand out more from the background.
My final selection
This is one of my favourites. the way the models face is obscured creates a mystery in which viewer does not know what the model looks like or who she is. Visually her body follows a 3X3 grid drawing attention to her and not so much the background. The larger depth of field give the photo an ethereal feeling.
This was a fun shoot to do but if I could go back I would create more variety on my photos as a lot of them where very similar. I would also bring some props and carry out all the ideas that we came up with whilst at the soot sight.
Butterfly lighting is a technique of lighting the forms a small butterfly shape under the nose, where it got its name, and it can also highlight the cheekbones.
It is a technique that will flatter anyone. Then taken with soft light it can cast a delicate light to create an ethereal look. here is a example that I took.
to create the technique have a light directly faceing down on to the models face, as seen below.
Rembrandt lighting is a way of taking a photo and creating an upside down triangle on one side of the models face just under the eye. The technique got its name from Dutch painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
Rembrandt
It was commonly used throughout 20th century Hollywood, often with hard light to create harsh dramatic shadows. As seen in the photo below.
It was often used for promotional pictures as by highlighting part of the face the model could either look dreamy or possibly serious. The technique is considered one of the main five studio portrait techniques.
To set up the studio for a Rembrandt photo sit the model at a 45 degree angle to the light then position the light accordingly. the model then could sit in a comfortable position unless there is a specific position the photographer is looking for.
Here are some photos that I have taken.
I brightened up the photos by bringing up the exposer slightly, same with the contrast. I used the adjustment brush to help brighten the eyes just lightly.
An environmental portrait is a portrait that captures a subject in their natural surroundings, such as their homes or workplaces.
here are some examples of environmental portraiture:
Enviromental portraiture is full of emotion and can display more of a story than the average photo. this allows the view to create stories and fantasise about the lives of the people in them.
This photo is an excellent example. it shows an older man sitting of a rowboat, possibly waiting for someone or resting before going out or bringing the boat in.
These wear the three pictures I liked the most. The lighting for all three photos didn’t change and neither did the background.
Growing up I played violin for six years and music has always been a part of my life so having a tattered stringless violin in the photos displayed how growing up music has changed around me and my taste in music has changed, whilst also reminding the viewer that eventually everything must come to an end like how this Violin was played for the last time before becoming a prop. I have also loved reading since I was younger, and I used to read with my mum when I was little.
The candle stick holder and the little pot bulk out the images whilst maintaining a vintage sort of look the wear and tear on the holder helping to do so.
By having the background be black card and the objects on white card and creating this sharp corner it helps the image to seem more streamlined and elegant with how smooth it is. the violin almost stands as a separate being; and in the last image lays back and pulls the piece to gather like a lady in a renaissance painting.
For the shoot I started out by choosing objects that I could make a nostalgic tie to, for example I used to play the violin and music has always been a big part of my family. I then added in some objects that looked cool or
I started off by thinning down my photos to the ones I thought where the best. that got me from 66 down to 12. However, I then further removed a photo as it wasn’t the best.
I then edited my photos to a basic level with pushing up the exposer in darker ones, altering the shadows so they looked a bit better and cropping them, I could see which ones I liked the most.
Picking the three that worked the best I then further edited them changing the temperature on some and sharpening the others to just get the letter right on the book without making the scratches on the violin to distinct.
Using colours and stars to identify which was my best and which was the best out of the three and these were my final pieces.
