In my final piece exam period I learned how to manage my time better so that I have time to manage every single step.

In order to cut the photographs to a satisfactory measurement, I used a Kraft knife and the metal paper trimmer as well as a long ruler to balance the other subject in a straight line. As well as using black thick card used to border the photographs and white mount board on all my final pieces.

Anthropocene Final Pieces:

Firstly, I focused on my Anthropocene photographs and decided to layer them horizontally on top of each other. I mounted them up with white behind so that the colour can pop and so that the photographs aren’t all over the place. The presentation of the photographs mean that they are easily seen by the viewer and they look interesting in the way they are put as there’s only three of them not four.

Presented in the image at the top, I decided to include a photograph I took at the reservoir in St Ouens and I used Photoshop’s artificial intelligence to dry up the highlighted water area in order to make it appear in a different time, potentially something as a result of the climate’s impacts. In the middle photograph I placed two images side by side to contrast each the as the image on the left is of nature and the yellowy branches, whereas the image of the right of it is of the zoomed-up La Collette tower flipped. I thought it was especially interesting to flip this as the black and white imaged flipped looked like some sort of structure that can be climbed up or some sort of puzzle.

Lastly, the image at the bottom is taken in a near by beach near St Brelades called Beauport. Along the trail there is a cliff which ha been photographed, in this photograph on the left where there are normally fields upon fields I artificially placed some virtual houses over looking the bay. I believe these houses look realistic despite being the opposite.

Landscape Photographs:

I placed and bordered my landscape photographs in white mount board to level my image as well as to have a white border around.

In terms of my landscape photographs I focused on taking them in a different positioned and direction despite being in the same location around.

I like the fact they are in black and white as it adds to the photographs and they’re textures, layers and other aspects like the outlines contrasting with the white elements.

I found it important that the photograph is close up as the structures of the land and nature are more prominent whereas if it were at a further distance the detail would not be that clear, there is one photograph which is photographed from a higher perspective and more distanced, on this occasion the photograph is further away but there are details which make the image more elaborate and full.

Urban Landscape Photograph:

In my urban landscape photograph I decided to present this individually as I think it is effective singularly. I mentioned in my plan that I would have presented it by itself.

In final pieces I decided to put them together, not in the way I shall compose final prints when mounting but in the virtual gallery as if it were in a exhibition. I find it important for the final pieces to be in the order similarly when presenting as it gives the effect of opposing features to juxtapose the anthropocene inspired photographs with the input of artificial intelligence.

In terms of this virtual gallery, I feel that the three landscapes demonstrated look like a continuation of a project as the photographs are very similar in terms of location, colour scheme and general appearance. The textures and shapes are obviously different, making the three photographs work well.

In terms of this urban landscape photograph I like the fact that it is the centre of attention and that it is very much singular as it does not correspond with the other photographs well. If I were to change anything in my virtual gallery above I could have removed the other plain white frames so the main urban landscape frame is the most prominent or had placed the urban landscape frame onto a smaller virtual gallery with a portrait like border.

In my final piece plan I plan to present my three black and white landscape photographs mounted and presented. I feel that the triangular composition looks effective and playful as it’s an odd number of images so it’s not exactly symmetrical yet the outcome still looks interesting and unique.

I believe that the composition between the photographs is good as the white blank space breaks apart from the rest of the photographs.

I decided to do this arrangement/composition of these photographs as it would have looked not as effective having the three landscape photographs individually mounted and presented by itself.

In this urban landscape image I decided to present it on it’s own as it would add to the photograph, not collaging/grouping the photograph means that it would be singular and individual compared to the others, that’s how it would be different and therefore make it unique.

I like the idea of presenting it by itself as there are many colours and textures included in the photograph which don’t need to be paired with any other image to add to it.

The image almost looks split as the coast line is directly contrasted from the sand textures from the bottom of the image to more than half way through it.

The opposing locations look symbolic and deserve to be individualised in this composition as it is presented better.

In terms of the anthropocene photographs, I’m planning to present the photographs mounted up and in a collage with the anthropogenic AI impacted images and in between those two image, I plan to put photoshop made collage as a contrast to the naturally coloured anthropocene photographs.

I believe this will look interesting as despite all three of the images being from the same topic, I feel that the black and white/ yellow coloured collage will oppose the other two images and will appear fascinating.

The screenshot above demonstrates what I may do, I will either separate the images and keep the white border around them as it may look effective rather than keep it all together.

Each of the photographs has a different colour scheme despite being similar structures/ land. The photograph in the middle counterbalances the others as the middle image is of a tower similarly to the one at the bottom photograph despite the in in the middle being more close-up, flipped as well as in black and white and the nature of the middle left

 

Stephanie Jung is a Berlin-based photographer. She’s known for her experimental take on multiple exposures. Her constructional shots show cities that represent reality but lead to a different as well as surreal dimension apart from our real world. She shows her infinite multiple exposure technique, this time with the help of the “Lomo’Instant camera”.

Stephanie holds a B.A. in art history and literature from Harvard University. She also worked as a translator, international affairs officer, and junior curator for the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre in Beijing for three years. Such as she organised exhibitions such as “Ai Weiwei: New York Photographs 1983–1993” (2009) and “WATW: We Are the World” (2009).

I believe that her work can be considered to be a creative and memorable hallucination as the images look deformed and look clear that two photographs have been layered on top of each other creating a very special and unique effect for the audience’s eyes.

I think Stephanie’s work is very admirable as she uses opposing photographs and creates something special with them. What to must special effects only using specific camera settings and layering images on top creates a sci-fi/ science fiction movie effect, something that could be seen in the movie Blade Runner possibly where cinematic effects are presented through the streets and roads, this could send a link through the audience’s mind if they see something that looks similar to a hobby or just a pleasant memory.

Themes that Stephanie’s photographs could link to are Distortion, Complexion, and Disfigurement.

(Damn/Reservoir La Mer)

In this photoshoot I wanted to explore the impact of man/man-made on the world, and including the topic of Anthropocene and how it plays into it.

I explored the Val de la Mare reservoir down at St Ouens as I believe that it is important too to get many perspectives as from one perspective the reservoir may look very small and not full indicating that potentially due to environmental changes the damn has decreased. From the bottom the structure looks huge, it contrast to the photographic perspective from above as its not evident how extensive the damn is.

In terms of using photoshop and artificial intelligence, I think it would be interesting to paint the reservoir in a different outlook. Adding connotations such as “drought”, “desert”, “dryness” and “empty” etc. , this makes the AI undersand i mpre and adds the ffect as if climate change has

For this photoshoot I decided to take photographs inspired of Anthropocene, I felt it was important to include the walls of nature and rock above snow hill car park as the opposing worlds between machinery below and the nature above looks quite appealing to the eye as well as the overcrowding of buildings in the islands centre, I took photographs overlooking the centre, the square and the lively streets . The second section of the photographs on my contact sheet appear busy and actively overpopulated due to the crowding.

I like this photoshoot as I feel it explores the topic of Anthropocene to a degree, the ideas of overcrowding and the opposing element of nature and rock are presented and show St Helier in a complex of structures having the coast right by it, alongside many buildings located in one area as well as the roads being busy meaning more pollution. Whereas one thing I would have changed is taken more photographs exploring other locations with the same if not similar ideas like these.

Introduction:

Henri was a French humanist Photographer influenced by surrealism. He was born in Chanteloup and studied literature at Cambridge university in 1928-29.

The photographer was best known for his mastering in candid photography and he pioneered the genre of street photography.

The photography of Henri Cartier-Bresson is all about and his photographs can be summed up through the phrase of the “decisive moment”, this a bit like like hunting as mentioned in the previous video concluding his work. He described photographs a bit like hunting without the killing, therefore metaphorically speaking about waiting for the right moment to take the shot, being patience and observing.

Henri’s camera:

Henri used a and was known for using the Leica rangefinder with a 50mm lens, it was considered revolutionary at this time and it was much more of a natural appeal as it it offered a view close to the human eye, therefore looked realistic like a human looking straight on onto a scenery. The Leica was much more compact and in conspicuous which the design was more discreet than a larger more conspicuous cameras of the era.

His background:

Henri grew up in a wealthy family and he initially liked art and painting yet progressively throughout t the years his passion sparked when he found his other interest for photography, his “extension” of his eye, he saw it as an extension of drawing. This caused him to travel extensively with the camera , places such as Africa and Europe.

His experiences helped him understand that photograph isn’t just about capturing photographs, it is about capturing thee essence of existence. His philosophy helped him shape the term coined of “The Decisive Moment”.

He described it also as the exact instance when a unique event is captured by the photographer, when something that may never happen again is frozen in the frame.

Analysing the photograph: the decisive moment

Looking at the photograph of the “PLACE DE L’EUROPE, GARE SAINT LAZARE 1932”.

The photograph was taken behind a train station in called the “man jumping in puddle”. The image was considered through a change in photography and it didn’t just capture this “fleeting” moment, it set in motion a journey that resonated throughout the photographic community. This symbolised a shift from stages, compositions to spontaneous ones with the interference of candid photography in the moment./ symbolising the importance of human experience withing the image frame.

I can depict the leading line ( balance ) and effect of rule of thirds, negative space. The use of leading lines drawn at the top of the railing and bottom of the man, as well as the balance being presented.

Especially with rule of thirds that the subject almost escapes the centre and pulls away that focus, the lines of the image such as the the ladder in the middle center of the image pairs well with the rest of the image, I believe that idea that the other items are position in the way they are make the images look more stabilised and comparable.

I the other elements below the subject of the ladder there are other dark toned items. Despite the items not looking very neat and organised in a way, I believe it adds to three images as there’s more to make it counterbalanced with the man running and its shadow below. The image is busy too so there’s not too much negative space.

Despite the image not having an colour, the use of the black and white camera that Henri had it added to the the “timeless quality”. The use of no colour means that the focus is more in depth and the colour in images means tat we’ll find it difficult to analyse the sole content of the image itself.

The image doesn’t need a pop of a different bright colour to be effective to the eye. The use of the monochromatic scale and adding the graininess looks even more old-fashioned ad mysterious as well as the surface of the ground appearing scraped up as well as the deep black tones of the subjects in the frame.

Henri likely used a small aperture to allow more depth of field in his image, the foreground focus was more clear, sharp and it allowed more detail to be provided when observing it. He used a short as well as fast shutter speed to capture the moment of the man running to pin point the blurry effect of sudden movement.

In terms of lighting, the image relies on a natural daylight, the shadows in the photograph suggests that the image was capture at midday when the sun itself was high up.

The use of just having daylight and no artificial light adds to the authenticity and simplicity of the image.

Generally photograph are aware of the problems of midday sub as it s prone to the harshness and the strong shadows it can cast. Wheres, Henri uses these elements to his work and the features construct it to look more compelling with the geometrical shapes when adds deepness to the scene.

The photographer was born in 1976 in Creta Island Greece where he lives with his wife and their son. He studied mechanical engineering and works for the municipal of Heraklion.

George photographs and seeks to capture our “degradation of the planet” as an “autoimmune disease”.

The idea to frame his natural landscape as a symbol for disease did not come to him right away. He slowly made the connection over time after he realized that he was continuously drawn to a generating a certain type of landscape photography.

While I was photographing the landscapes affected by human interactions in the middle of natural spaces, the topography started looking like a body to me – like something with the early stages of psoriasis on its skin,” he explains. “If humans are a product of nature, then we can say that we are a disease attacking our own organism, just like an immune system can attack its own body – like autoimmune diseases.”

In George’s photographs of the ominous tone as well as the muted colour scheme of the landscapes were surprisingly taken in Greece. George tells the reader that “I almost never go out shooting in harsh light, and I really love heavy clouds and fog, which are hard to find in Greece. To achieve this result, most of my work is made in the winter, in the early morning or late afternoon.” I like in George’s work that the term composition visually it is a recurring pattern seen across as each of his photographs focus on a sort of shaped layout like the use of rectangular buildings across the image or the muddy ground formed in an “x” positions in contrast to the greenery around it.

Whilst George works with this critical issue of the climate degrading he still hopes that the series can shed light on the possibilities of finding a cure. That hope is solidified in the title, which directly points to the possibility for this ‘cure.’ Marazakis concludes.

What is it?

It is used to describe the time where human being simply had a real impact on our planet. Whether our planet is part of a “new geological age” or a “complex, global system”, the evidence is clear through just observation.

Some may think that it is a reaction due to the topic of “climate change”-regarding the warming of our atmosphere, air and oceans through the use of fossil fuels. The age of humans is about much more than this. Awareness of the current state and the effects of actions (ours especially) is a key factor in the “Anthropocene”.

Natural causes have been triggered e.g asteroids, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes etc. (Agriculture, urbanisation, deforestation and pollution have caused extraordinary changes on Earth) This can also be due to the “mass extinction events” in the planets history where the vast “swathes” have been wiped.

The “mass extinction events” have been happening frighteningly quickly as the species are happening at a significantly faster rate they they have for “millions of years before”.

Photographers are exploring this concept as it can rethink and overcome this “separation of humanity from the environment “as well as to “make us reflect on the climate urgency” and “generate awareness environment and responsibility with the planet that contains us and that we inhabit” (as mentioned before about awareness of this situation).

The photographs which are taken with this theme of “Anthropocene” are beautiful yet ugly at the same time, whether they are the stereotype fit for whether they are pretty or not, the photographs is very appealing to the eye as the photographs look very interesting and engaging for the viewer as they almost suck the viewer in the image as there is such much yet so little going on.

They aren’t solving any wide-world problems they are just making these situations aware to the public and spreading these outlooks widespread.

Photographers that focus on this theme are Edward Burtynsky, Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier. In terms of Edward Burtynsky, his work is the most favourable as they look very complex and present the right amount of awareness about the catastrophises that have raised. I like the photographs that he takes in terms of the rubbish and landfills especially as it really project the extensive amount wasted and thrown onto the piles and piles present in the world scale. The photograph only shows a smaller quantity of a larger and more prominent problem as well as scale.

In his photography expenditure Edward followed from “quarries in Portugal to rice fields in China to oil refineries in California”. Edward publish a book named “AFRICAN STUDIES” which “focuses on a region he calls globalism’s “final stop”: sub-Saharan Africa”. In his photoshoots he captures the impact of industrialisation on the landscapes of Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Ethiopia and more from a higher point (birds eye perspective) such as e.g. aeroplanes, drones and helicopters etc.

His camera can document the “stunning detail” and “vibrant hues the toll of human intervention on our planet” from the salt and sapphire mining to plastic recycling and dams.