Contact sheet:

My photos:

My edited photos:

For this final image, I edited it using Lightroom and I decreased the saturation for all of the colours except for red. This left the image black and white, apart from the parts which were red. I then used the adjustment brush tool in Lightroom to paint the remaining unwanted coloured areas to make them also black and white. This left the image black and white, with the red backpack still the same colour as I expected.

For this particular image, I experimented using two different editing techniques. Firstly, I chose a photo where the main subjects were focused, and edited the photo using Adobe Photoshop. I selected both of the main subjects and added the filter ‘motion blur’ to make it looks as though they were moving. I then edited the image using Lightroom so that the man’s shorts was the only colour left in the image. To do this, I decreased the saturation for all of the colours apart from yellow and orange, and used the adjustment brush to paint the unwanted coloured areas black and white.

Finally, I cropped the image to make it squared to focus on the main elements of the image.

Evaluation:

In St. Malo, I focused on taking images on either the French aspect of architecture or people living an ordinary life as I think they go really well together because they all hold a certain spontaneity. I found that my photographs linked well to the topic and I think all of my edits were very successful as I experimented with new editing techniques.

Anthropocene:

For Anthropocene, I decided to stick to the theme of plastic to focus on for my edited images, so the photos would all link to one theme.

I really like these images and how they were all the same but portraying different emotions, but I wanted to add more. So, I then made them black and white using Adobe Photoshop:

Whilst editing, I increased the brightness and contrast to clearly show the textured lines within the plastic around her face. I also increased the red hue to exaggerate the colour of her lips and cheeks. I really liked these images so I continued further to crop the photos to make them square, and add them into a grid layout.

I think these are really successful images, and I’m happy with the structure of using a grid to produce them. I’m using these photos for my final images because I really like the black and white contrast and how the light reflects off the plastic, so the crumpled texture is clear to see.

Landscapes:

I only chose to use two photos for my final images as I felt they were my strongest and best images I edited. I also think that none of my other photos would link as well as these ones do together.

Topographics:

I really like these images because I edited them similarly, so it shows that they were all taken on the same day. I chose to edit them in black and white because I was inspired by the photographer Robert Adams, who focuses on landscape photography and edits his photos into black and white.

Virtual Gallery:

CONTACT SHEET:

For this photoshoot, I decided to stick with using plastic and rubbish to represent Anthropocene as I think Plastic pollution is a huge factor to Anthropocene and the damage to the earth. I used AI on all images to add plastic and texture to the image, so it reinforces this idea around pollution.

Edit 1:

Edit 2:

Edit 3:

Final outcomes:

These edits were my personal favourite because they are 4 different photos of the same person, portraying different kinds of emotions. I made sure the model was not looking directly in the camera, therefore we find the emotions are represented through her facial expressions.

All four photos are in black and white, with increased highlights, to show the texture of the plastic cling film. I also increased the brightness to emphasise the light reflecting on the plastic. Finally, I chose to present them in a grid layout, so that it’s clear they all link together.

CONTACT SHEET:

ARTIST INSPIRATION:

I was inspired by the photographer Matt Emmett, who focuses his photography on old, abandoned buildings. Although these buildings aren’t being used, they still look beautiful even though they are crumbling and decaying.

Examples of his work:

First edit:

This is the process of my first final edit where I decided to turn a modern, appealing block of apartments into an old, neglected building.

Firstly, I edited the image on Lightroom Classic to add a modernised affect by increasing the saturation and vibrancy of the image. This improved the image as it make the building look more appealing and full of life.

I then used AI in Photoshop to reconstruct the building and make it look as if it is decaying. Finally, I added vines to make it seem as though the building had been deserted and the vines add a natural affect to it.

Second edit:

Firstly, I edited the original image using photoshop to make it look monotonous and dull. To do this, I decreased the saturation and vibrancy to make it lack colour. I also increased the contrast so the shadows and darker areas were made to look lifeless. Lastly, I cropped the image to discard any unwanted areas in the image, so I could focus my editing on the main area of the building.

Finally, on photoshop I used AI to completely change my image. I decided to make it look wild and deserted, with added vines on the outside of the building. In conclusion, the block of apartments were changed into a futuristic, neglected building.

I was inspired by Matt Emmett to create and edit these images as I think his photography is meaningful, and it shows that abandoned places can still be viewed as beautiful even though they have been neglected.

CONTACT SHEET:

My images:

Before:

After:

For this image, I increased the vibrancy and saturation to make the photo look more exciting and engaging, rather than characterless. Before I edited this image, it was producing a sombre, upsetting feeling because the lighting was darker, so therefore the image was dull and colourless.

I continued to further edit this image by using AI, and I think this changed the image as it shows the rising tide in the harbour. Rising tides can be due from change in the water cycle which has been affected and impacted on by humans. This reflects on Anthropocene, as it shows the natural change in tides from low to high.

For this image, I came out with two successful photos of riding tides. To do this, I used AI on photoshop. Here, you can see that the buildings in the background have been affected by these unexpected rising tides, and it looks as though the buildings are sinking. The photos look natural, and suggest that high tides can be damaging to the human life.

Artist Inspiration

I was inspired by the photographer Michael Marten who is a seascape and landscape photographer with an interest in tides, seasons, and other natural phenomena.

“I am interested in showing how landscape changes over time through natural processes and cycles. The camera that observes low and high tide side by side enables us to observe simultaneously two moments in time, two states of nature.” -Michael Marten

Examples of his work:

Before:

After:

I really like this image because it shows the contrast between the large, yellow building which feels out of place, compared to the nature in the foreground of the image. I made the vibrancy of the colours more illuminous to make the landscape look more lively. I think the final edit of the image was really successful and the contrast between the dark, black windows compared to the bright yellow building makes the lines in the image stand out and make it look sharp.

Additional artist inspiration: Keld Helmer Petersen

Keld Helmer-Petersen was born 23rd August 1920 in Copenhagen, where he lived and worked most of his life until his death in 2013. He started photographing in 1938, when he was given a camera as a high school graduation gift. In just a few years he began working in a visual figurative language.

Keld Helmer-Petersen was one of the most influential Danish photographers in the 20th Century. His career spanned 70 years and he had strong interest in modern architecture, industrial areas and structures.

I really like Helmer-Petersen’s work because it is original and unique. He uses lines to construct an image.

Examples of his work:

CONTACT SHEET:

I explored with different filters to add onto the same image to see which ones I prefer or look the best. Here are a few examples that I chose to lay out in a grid:

This photo shows the contrast between the old water tanks that were built many years ago in St. Helier compared to the grassy cliff on the opposite side of the photograph.

I like these edits because it links back to topographics also. I think having presented this images in a grid, the photo has become more interesting and bright rather than the initial photo which is dull and colourless.

Initial edit:

Final edit:

I experimented with montaging different edits of the same image to create one final photo. I think this is quite successful and I really like the way this came out because it shows the different ways to edit images using different filters and tones.

Before:

After:

At first, I edited this image to make the colours more vibrant and illuminous, rather than lifeless and monotonous. Then, I cropped the image to the size I wanted it including the wanted contents of the image. I created four copies and flipped them four times in opposite directions to create this final outcome.

Photoshoot one: For this photoshoot, I decided on taking photos around the recycling centre because I think it really links to the topic Anthropocene. This idea is different as the recycling centre shows a positive perspective on how we can reduce pollution and can impact people’s decisions.

Photoshoot two: For this photoshoot, I decided to take photos near the tunnel in town because there is a large rate of traffic congestion near there. Also, I decided to take photos of man-made sculptors and buildings which look out of place and are affects from the Anthropocene historic period.

Photoshoot three: For this photoshoot, I decided on taking photos around the waterfront because it is packed with newly built, modern houses and this shows clutter and chaos.

Edward Burtynsky

Edward Burtynsky was born in 1955 in Ontario after his parents migrated in 1951 to Canada. He is a famous, Canadian artist who is known for his large format photographs of industrial landscapes. Burtynsky is known as one of Canada’s most respected photographers. He conveys the unsettling reality of parts of the world that has surreal qualities of human-altered landscapes, and locations that represent the increasing development of industrialization and its impacts on nature and the human existence. His photographs are included in the collections of over sixty major museums around the world, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Museum of Modern Art- New York, and the Tate Modern- London.

Influence on photography

When Burtynsky was 11, his father purchased a darkroom, including cameras and instruction manuals, from a widow whose late husband practiced amateur photography. This gave him a starting point of starting photography as a hobby. In the early 1970s, Burtynsky found work in printing and he started night classes in photography. From the mid-1970s to early 1980s, Burtynsky formally studied graphic arts and photography. He obtained a diploma in graphic arts in Ontario, 1976, and a BAA in Photographic Arts in Toronto, Ontario, in 1982. Burtynsky’s early influences include Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Eadweard Muybridge, and Carleton Watkins, whose prints he saw at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the early 1980s.

Examples of his work:

Burtynsky’s photos are unique, and are purposely a vivid reminders of humanity’s impact on the planet in haunting aerial photographs. His Anthropocene photos can be seen as beautiful, but also scary and daunting. They are different to other photographer’s images as he captures the truth around the world from an above angle- an aerial view. His large-format view depicts humanity’s scarring on the landscapes. He creates the subject, with “astonishing colour and relentless detail”, always focusing on the consequences of global consumerism.

WHAT IS ANTHROPOCENE?

Anthropocene is a term that describes the recent evolution of the earth, and how it is changing through the influences of humans. It is clear, through overwhelming global evidence, that humans have become the most influential factor that is affecting the earth’s systems, environment, processes and biodiversity. Most of these impacts on Earth are long-lasting or potentially irreversible. Pollution is a key marker of the Anthropocene. Earth is now full of plastic – millions of tons are produced every year. As plastic doesn’t biodegrade, it ends up littering soils and ocean beds, which harms animals and habitats.

The genre I have chosen to focus on for this topic is landscapes, because I think it links really well with Anthropocene as I can clearly show evidence of it through my landscape images.

MOODBOARD

EXAMPLES OF ANTHROPOCENE

• Global warming
• Rapid population growth/ overpopulation
• Carbon dioxide emissions
• Ocean acidification
• Habitat destruction
• Extinction of animals and life
• Pollution

HISTORY OF ANTHROPOCENE

The Earth’s history is divided into a series of different, small time periods, this is referred to as the ‘geologic time scale’. These divisions are called eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages. However, the Anthropocene Epoch is an unofficial unit of geologic time which is used to describe the most recent period in Earth’s history, when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems. 

Lots of people have debated on when the Anthropocene period actually started. One popular theory is that it began at the start of the Industrial Revolution of the 1800s, when human activity had a great impact on carbon and methane in Earth’s atmosphere. Others think that the beginning of the Anthropocene should be 1945, when humans tested the first atomic bomb and then dropped atomic bombs on Japan. This resulted in radioactive particles being detected in soil samples all around the world.

In my opinion, I think photos that focus on Anthropocene can be seen as quite beautiful and moving, whilst still having a powerful message behind them about our environment. However, some photos, for example pollution and habitat destruction, can be seen as disturbing and scary for people. Photographers like to focus on these kind of images as it spreads awareness about the destruction humans are causing to the Earth, and can lead to encouraging people to help solve these issues more day by day. I don’t think that these photographers are solving these problems, but they are trying to help people see the destruction that humans have caused from a different, more realistic, perspective.

In this photoshoot, I mainly focused on the urban area around Havre des Pas beach as I thought this could link really well to New Topographics. I also tried to include photos of man-made structures vs nature to show the difference and development between the two. It was very interesting seeing the contrast between the older, traditional houses compared to the newly-built, modern ones. I was very much inspired by Robert Adams and his photography, and I tried to use his work to influence mine.

MY PHOTOSHOOT:

MY BEST IMAGES:

All of these following images are my final outcomes of the topic ‘New Topographics’. I edited them using Lightroom Classic, and I think they were all very successful. My favourite edited image is the last one, because I really like the dramatic detailing of the rocks and also, how the clouds have been exaggerated to look as if they’re looming over the beach. The clouds have been edited to make them look emphasised, as if they are storm clouds, which creates emotion within the image and towards the viewer. I have edited all of these images similarly to each other to make sure all of the photographs hold the same amount of feeling, and they present the natural world in a straightforward, realistic way.

ORIGINAL VS EDITED:

PANORAMIC PHOTO EDIT:

I tried to make a panoramic edit by merging 3 similar photos together, which then resulted in a panoramic-like image. I think this was very successful, and it’s a new way of exploring landscapes through different ways of presenting them. This is a good way of presenting landscapes because it includes all 3 images into 1, therefore it’s unique yet detailed. I carried on to edit this image to make it black and white, which links it back to New Topographics.

VIRTUAL GALLERY