For this Anthropocene Photoshoot, I went around the parish of St Clement and I took I did some research and I really liked images taken By Camilo Jose Vergara so I took inspiration from him and tried to take photographs similar to his.
Camilo José Vergara is a Chilean-born, New York-based writer, photographer and documentarian. Vergara has been compared to Jacob Riis for his photographic documentation of American slums and decaying urban environments. Camilo Jose Vergara`s images strongly show how American cities change over time, he focuses on capturing the neighbourhoods and how buildings streets and communities change over time. His photographs tell stories about urban life and decay showing the difficulties of being in these cities. I really like his type of photography and his technique.
Anthropocene Photoshoot
I think this photoshoot could have been a lot better, however I did get some strong images. I think my images could’ve been taken with better composition and I could have focused more on the framing of the image.
Below are my final best images from this location and Photoshoot, I really like how the first two photographs turned out. I think they are both dramatic and very strong images.
Anthropocene is a geological period where human activity impacts the earth and the environment. Photographers explore Anthropocene for many reasons however the main reason is to spread awareness of how much humans affect the world negatively. In my opinion the most effective photos which catch the viewers eyes to spread awareness are close up images of the issue, for example a close up photograph of the litter on the streets or a close up of factories causing pollution. Anthropocene images can be pleasing and nice looking however they can also be ugly, despite these photos being beautiful they do mainly have a ugly meaning behind them, like this image on the right, viewers may see this photograph at first and think that it is a beautiful landscape however the image is trying to show the factories causing air pollution. This image below gets straight to the point and I think it is the most effective form to spread awareness as it is such a disturbing photo.
The four causes of Anthropocene
Signs of the Anthropocene – Agriculture, Urbanization, Deforestation and pollution have made significant changes on Earth. All four of these activities have created noticeable changes in the planets natural activity for example: increased species extinction rates, changed conditions of the environment and atmosphere and a drastic impact to the land and water systems.
Agriculture – Agriculture is farming but more specifically the Agriculture is the main source of pollution in many different countries and agriculture also plays a part in climate change through green house gas emissions.
Pollution – Pollution is when harmful chemicals or rubbish get into the air, ocean or the land/ ground, pollution can make people sick and it also damages nature drastically. Common sources of pollution are: factories, cars and littering. Anthropocene Photography can help spread awareness of this issue and influence others to reduce pollution and keep our environment safe and clean.
Urbanization – Urbanization is the process of more people moving to cities and towns which cause the town or city to grow bigger. Urbanization normally happens because people are looking for jobs and better living conditions . When cities expand more buildings are built, more roads and more traffic which also causes pollution.
Deforestation – Deforestation is the cutting down of trees in forests to use for other things, like farming or building. Deforestation can lead to: loss of animal habitats, unclean air and drastic changes in the climate. Whilst deforestation can provide good resources and space for people, it also harms the environment and reduces biodiversity.
For this New Topographic Photoshoot, I went around Havre Des Pas and I took photos of the environment around trying to capture images with buildings in it and i also focused on taking the photographs straight on so that it would link to The New Topographics.
Below are my best images from this New Topographics Photoshoot after having experimented in photoshop with the images.
I Cropped these two images into 1×1 squares, i did this because i think these two images both work really well with eachother and are similar images. I put them both into monochrome to match Ansel Adams and to add a mysterious effect/emotion to it.
These two images below are also very similar to eachother, these images would go very nicely displayed together because they were both taken front on, both are portrait and both are edited similarly. I really like how these two images turned out, the first image of the hotel was taken from a worms point of view. These images are also Juxtaposed, for example one is a old, dirty sculpture and the other is a modern, new and clean hotel.
Panoramas
During this photoshoot i also took 3 images of the Havre Des Pas outside swimming pool with the purpose of turning it into a panorama.
First i selected my 3 images by clicking on the first photo holding shift and then clicking the last image i wanted to use in this panorama.
Secondly i right clicked once i had selected my images, clicked photo merge which then gave me a drop down list of HDR, Panorama and HDR panorama. I selected panorama.
Final Image Without Editing
Final Image After Editing
Overall i think this panorama turned out really well however, i think the image would have been stronger if i used a tripod so i was in the same position for all 3 of the images. I did not have a tripod on me so i used my hands which caused the edges to be a bit rough and curvy.
For this first photoshoot I went to St Brelade and took landscape photographs around the Bay area. This photoshoot overall turned out pretty good I got some good images, whilst taking photos at St Brelade there were horses on the beach which I also captured and came out pretty well.
Below are my best images from this first location after having experimented in lightroom and photoshop.
HDR/Photo Merge
HDR/Photo Merge
Overall i think the photoshoot in this location was very strong. For this photoshoot i focused on the compositioning and the positioning of my camera. I edited some of my photos in to black and white, inspired by Ansel Adams style, this made the images look old fashioned whilst also highlighting the contrast in the landscape.
Photoshoot 2 – Sand Dunes
For this second photoshoot I went to the sand dunes, this photoshoot did not turn out as well as i wanted it to. I did not go into the sand dunes and just stayed on the outsde of the sand dunes.
Below are my favourite images from this location.
This photo was edited in the style of Ansel Adams, i decided to use this image in specific because the pathway reminded me of the river which Ansel Adams captured. I put this image into monochrome and increased the blacks and the contrast to give it a more mysterious look.
Photoshoot 3 – Plemont
For this third photoshoot I went to Plemont to take some landscape photos, these are my best images after experimenting in lightroom and photoshop from this location (plemont). I turned two of the images into monochrome into monochrome to match Ansel Adams.
HDR/Photo Merge
Overall i think i got some strong outcomes from this location. I really like how these two images turned out below. I used exposure bracketing during this photoshoot which allowed me to create images which look unrealistic in lightroom by using Photo Merge/ HDR. I also like the other photo in sepia tone i really like this image because it is captured with no people around and the clouds in the background make the image very dramatic.
My first two Photoshoots were focused on the damage which Storm Ciaran left behind in jersey. for the first photoshoot I went to St Catherine`s Woods, I went here because there are many trees there and St Catherine’s is not often visited and maintained so I thought there would be still some storm damage left there. I went there and took photographs of the damage left there, mainly the fallen trees and branches.
In this Contact sheet you can see I changed the exposure every now and then to get a darker tone in the photographs I took. Overall, I think this photoshoot turned out fine, I did as I had planned out to take the images which relate to the storm however only some images in this photoshoot link with The Sublime.
These images below are my best outcomes from this photoshoot after experimenting with them in lightroom. I put all of these images into monochrome and i took inspiration from Ansel Adams and added a sepia tone to some of my best images from this photoshoot.
Overall i think i could have done alot better with this photoshoot, i think i should have maybe zoomed out and took photos from a far instead of just getting close ups and getting a variety of both.
This is the Contact Sheet for my second photoshoot, this photoshoot was taken around le Rocquier school. I chose this location because St Clements was the parish which was affected the most by Storm Ciaran and the le Rocquier area had a lot of damage to it.
Below are my best images from this second location after having experimented with them in lightroom. For these images i thought that they would turn out better with a retro filter on them.
Overall i think that i got greater outcomes out of this location compared to the first location, This location had more damage and i was able to capture it. My favourite outcome from this photoshoot is the photograph of the house with the broken face, this photo is very simple and has been taken straight on with minimal editing however i think it is a strong image as it links to the sublime and clearly shows evidence of damage.
William Jenkins first used the word “new topographic” in 1975 to describe a group of American photographers (that is Lewis Baltz and Robert Adams) whose images had a simple style in that they were formal, mostly black and white photos of the urban landscape.
Many photographers linked with new topographic like Lewis Baltz, Nicholas Nixon, Hiller Becher, Robert Adams and Lewis Baltz were affected by the virtual world and chose to focus on daily subjects. Warehouses, car park and suburban houses were all photographed with simplicity that was similar to how early photographers photographed the world.
The New topographic was a reaction to the temptation of imagined landscape photography, which lifted up the natural, the basic and the increasing suburbanized reality. The new topographic represented leaving traditional landscape photography by focusing on urban landscape and man-made landscapes instead of romanticized natural landscapes. The new topographic movement changed how photographers would normally capture the city/town environment and the landscape.
The New Topographic exhibition aimed to change classic landscape photography by showing everyday places impacted by people. These photos were taken in a lot of different places where human impact had changed the landscape or area, this was locations such as: construction in suburban areas, urban areas and various locations which are seen everyday which have been changed by the humans. Robert Adams is a good example of a photographer who would capture the growth of housing and the construction of housing in the Western United States.
Technique and methods
Photographers who contributed to The new topographics usually took their images straight on, focusing on balance and framing, photographers taking the images straight on normally that the image has no emotion or a certain way to view the phtoo. In The New Topographics, the photographs are slightly edited and are normally edited to change features like esposure, brightness and contrast. The composition is normally clear, tidy display of the focal point/subject. The camera which would have mainly be used by photographers is large format cameras to get an image with alot of detail and clarity.
Large format camera
Robert Adams
Robert Adams is a well known american photographer who was mainly known his images of the changed environment in the western united states. Roberts Adams was born on the 8th of may, 1937 in New Jersey, around 1960 – 1970 he began his photography career, taking photos impacted landscapes. Most of his work focused on the development of suburban areas and the impact on the natural landscape made by people. Adams is known as one of the most important people in the New Topographics movement, he also raised awareness of environmental problems through photography which inspires other photographers to this day.Roberts Adams work stands out because it is so simple which makes the image easier to understand and view.
Ansel Easton Adams was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist who was known for his monochromatic photographs of the American west and his work of the country`s leftover pieces. Ansel Adams was born February 20th, 1902 in San Francisco, California. During Adams early childhood at 4 years old He was watching the smoke from the fires caused by an earthquake but then Ansel Adams went face first into a wall which broke and scarred his nose, The doctors recommended for it to be fixed when he matured but he never fixed it because he says he never matured. Ansel Adams did not fit in at school because he was shy and his disfigured nose did not help. His house surrounded by sand dunes and a forest which he would take walks through. Adams is also known for developing the famous “zone system” which is a tool to help in visualizing a photograph before the exposure was made.
Yosemite National Park
Growing up Ansel Adams became interested in playing the piano, he taught himself how to play and read music at the age of 12. However, Adams stopped playing the piano and focused on photography. His first camera was an Eastman Kodak Brownie Box Camera which he would take to the Yosemite National Park and take photographs there, especially The Sierra Nevada. In 1927 Ansel Adams became the tour guide and photographer of the Sierra Club. However, he was not just a tour guide and photographer Ansel Adams also was an environmentalist at the park.
Kings Canyon National Park
Ansel Adams was highly associated with Kings Canyon National Park. He was known Because of his photography which was photographs of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range which includes Kings Canyon and its surrounding nature. In the 1920s/1930s Ansel Adams explored the Sierra Nevada, he photographed its natural areas, high mountains and rocky settings. As well as his photography work at the national park, Adams would also protect the environment there and was a part of the board of directors for the Sierra Club which is a popular environmental organisation. He used his photography work to influence others to protect and admire the natural world around them.
Ansel Adams invented the Zone System in the early twentieth century. The zone system is a technique for picking the best exposure and controlling the tones in monochrome photos. The technique breaks down a photos tone into 10 zones, starting with pure black (Zone 0) and ending with pure white (Zone X) with shades of grey in between, which is shown in the image above. Photographers use the Zone System to guess how different shades in a place will appear in the final photo.
Romanticism was a early 19th century artistic and cultural movement which was mostly popular in the beginning of the 19th century (beginning around 1770). Romanticism is shown by its focus on imagination, fantasy, love and the sublime. Romantic artists often painted landscapes, storms and nature to create emotion of nostalgia, Surprise and surreality. Romanticism also focused on themes of love, passion and the paranormal. Romanticism was not created or founded by a individual person, however it grew as time went on. Romanticism was a reaction to the social changes which was brought during the industrial revolution.
Romanticism in photography was a response to the romantic and cultural movement in art in the 19th century. Photographers would look to capture the emotional qualities of the nature and the world. Romanticism in photography is sometimes shown in photos of dramatic landscapes, imaginary scenery and different weather such as fog, cloudy, mist and stormy. Overall, Romanticism in photography is a wide-ranging artistic theme that still influences photographers today. Romanticism photography lets viewers experience the beauty of life and celebrates the beauty, mystery, and spiritual significance of the natural world.
The sublime is used as a theme in literature and art, with authors and artists trying to capture the emotion of the sublime in their work of art. In order to show the beauty of the natural world, artists, poets, and photographers were attracted to the sublime. They would show views of dramatic landscapes, stormy sky, and mountains to make the person looking at the photo feel interested and mystery for the viewer.
A landscape is any area of land that can be seen it can be both man-made things like buildings and natural features like mountains. The look of landscapes can change because of things like the weather, geography and things that humans create. Landscapes are important in culture, the environment and for enjoyment. Artists, photographers and people like going outside normally take inspiration from different landscapes and locations. Landscape photography is a genre of photography which focuses on taking photos of natural landscapes and views. Landscape photographers usually show the strength and drama of the world through there photos. landscape photography can be a common hobby however it can also be done professionally.
Classical Landscapes
Classical Landscapes are a unique style of painting which became known during the renaissance and gained its popularity during the 17th, 18th century. Classical landscapes usually include imaginary landscapes, sometimes influenced by the countryside of Italy and other countries. Most classical landscapes include hills, lakes, ancient ruins and trees. Some artists who are known for their classical landscapes are Claude Lorrain, Nicolas Poussin, Albrecht Altdorfer, Pierre-Henri De Valenciennes and Gaspard Dughet. One of the earliest artists of classical landscapes was Giorgione in the early 16th century. One of Giorgione’s most popular piece of work is “the tempest” which had a more poetic approach to landscapes.
Giorgone, The Tempest
Landscape Photography
Not too long after Photography was created/originated, landscape photography also created, originating some time around the 1820s and 1830s (19th century). examples of photographers who were taking photographs of landscapes during this time are: Nicéphore Niépce, Louis Daguerre, and William Henry Fox Talbot. However Nicéphore Niépce is the photographer mainly associated with the creation of landscape photography. The earliest landscape photograph was taken by Nicéphore Niépce. Nicéphore Niépce`s first ever landscape photograph was called “View from the Window at Le Gras” which is claimed to be the first ever landscape photograph still existing. The photo shows the view from Niépce`s window in Burgundy France, This is one of the first moments where a camera was used to capture a landscape.
“View from the Window at Le Gras” – Nicéphore Niépce
During the 19th century, landscape photography was rising as well as creative photography technology, for example the creation of more portable cameras. In the 20th century photographers like Ansel Adams took landscape photography even more popular and influential, this was done by taking classical landscapes of natural scenery, these photographs still are inspirational in the modern day.
For this image I increased the saturation and added a filter over it in Lightroom. When I was happy how the original image looked I opened the edited version in photoshop, I then duplicated the layer so that I could have one layer in monochrome and one in colour. On the monochrome layer I used the lasso tool to cut out certain sections of the models face. This edit was inspired by Cindy Sherman’s photoshoot where she would distort her face to create a more unique image and question beauty. Overall I think that this photo turned out pretty good and is similar to what I was aiming for, however I think this could have been a better outcome if I had taken more close ups of the model and some with her showing no emotion as Cindy Sherman does. Below is a comparison of my image and Cindy Sherman`s Image.
Edit 2 – masculinity
This is a before and after of the four images I used in this second edit.
These are the final four images once I had edited them in Lightroom, I put all the images in monochrome to refer back to the artist Sam Contis, Sam Contis also focused on the male body like I did with my photoshoot and his images are in black and white so I took inspiration and did the same. With these final four images I put them into an A3 canvas/document in photoshop in which I created this:
I really like how this edit came out, this edit really portrays the theme of masculinity. I used a technique I have used in the past , multi exposure so for this image I took inspiration of Sam Contis and Muhammed Faread who gave me stylistic inspiration for this image. Here is a few pictures taken by Muhammed Faread which inspired me :
Muhammed Faread is a talented Egyptian photographer who is recognised for his multi exposure/ double exposure work. Muhammed Faread said that he sees double exposure as a form of poetry. I like the concept of Fareed’s images and i really like how they turn out therefore I took style inspiration from him.
Edit 3– femininity
For this edit I used this photo of the model holding a flower in the mirror and I put the image into black and white changing the temp and exposure until I got the right tone I wanted on the image. Then once I had edited it in Lightroom I thought that making the flower in the image the only thing in colour was a great idea as it changes the focal point. So then I put the image into photoshop, duplicated the layer, made it monochrome and then selected the flower to keep the colour.
Edit 4 – femininity
For this image I did a simple edit in Lightroom, I turned the image into black and white and I played around with the exposure, highlights, temp and etc until I was happy with how the photo looked. This photo was inspired by a photo on my femininity mood board which is the image on the left of the mood board.
edit 5 – Femininity
For this edit I put a filter over the natural image and adjusted exposure and shadows on Lightroom, Once that was done and I was happy with the overall photo I then opened the photo in photoshop ,duplicated the layer, made the new layer monochrome and selected her lips as it is associated with femininity and removed it so that the lips would be in their normal colour.
edit 6 – Masculinity
For this edit I thought that this image was too overexposed and that the body was too white so in Lightroom I played around with the exposure and added filters to it until his body was clearer.
