When the word 'landscape' is said, most people think of a horizontal image depicting a scene of nature. This is significant, as a photo is able to put a frame around an element of life. There are many different types of landscapes, being urban or natural, but these landscape photos are usually taken to capture something that they want to remember. After a google search of the word, I can see that the majority of these photos are of nature, and are heavily saturated. This is significant, as it demonstrates that the 'normal' photo of a landscape is highly colourful, and if it is not, the photo may be seen as odd, or even a failure.
Collaging
Above are the first 4 photos you see when you search 'landscapes'. They are over-saturated, detailed, and bright. As these are the first photos you see when you search 'landscapes', you would be lead to believe that these are the ideal landscapes. Using similar photos to this, I have created a collage of landscape photos, but instead of using scenes that fit and match each-other, I have used two scenes which could not possibly exist in real life. My collage can be seen on the far right. I think that this photo is successful, as it shows the ordinary conventions of a landscape photograph, such as over-saturation. Overall, I think that this photo comments on how similar each landscape photo is, and by combining them, there is an overload of texture, detail, and information.
Comparing Landscapes
The first photo shows a man riding through a barren land on horseback. This photo clearly captures depth and movement, as the man is on a horse, moving from left to right, at the very edge of the photo, which suggests the photo was taken very quickly, and so not framed properly. The depth of the photo comes in through the landscape, with the vivid blue and white portraying an image of the sky, which could signify freedom. The second photo is more desolate, and when combined with the Canon balls on the road, this creates a feeling that this photo was taken at the aftermath of a war. The differences in this photo are mainly seen in the colours and shadows. In the first photo, the bright blue and white contrast the subject, which immediately demands our attention of him. In the second photo, there is very little colour difference, creating a more featureless and flat photo. This is significant, as it demonstrates that the landscape of a photo is one of the main elements in a photograph, and when the landscape is changed, the whole of the photo is as well. A similarity between these photos is the idea of finality that is present at all times. This is achieved in the first photo, as the man is at the very edge of the photo, implying that his story has come to an end, and that there is no more to see. In the second photo, this sense of finality is achieved by the lack of a different path, signifying a lack of choice but to finish.
Tanja Deman
Tanja Deman is a photographer who experiments with a fusion of urban and rural landscapes. Above are 3 photos created by her, and they have been created using the method of collaging. I think that the photo on the left is the most effective, as it comments on the wonder of nature. This is because it replaces the stage in a theatre, which would be the form of entertainment of the people in theatre. This photo could also signify how humans have used nature for our benefit and amusement. I also think that the second photo is effective, as it demonstrates the extreme relationship that some cities have with a landscape. This photo may also relate to how humans have used and abused nature to our advantage, and this photo could signify the consequences. Most of Tanja Deman's work is in black and white, which could signify how humans are simplifying and desaturating nature, again referencing the possible dystopian future. She has created these photos digitally, not by physically collaging, which is effective as it allows the composition to look more realistic while still being supernatural.
Dark room experiments
To develop a photo in the dark room, you need to follow a specific process. First set the timer to around 3 seconds on one of the lights. The time of light depends on how much exposure you want on your photo. Then, put the photographic paper under the light until the light goes out. Put the photo through the specific chemicals. Put it in the developer until it looks how you want it to look, and then put it into the "stop" chemical for around one minute, and finally, put it into the "fix" chemical for around 2 minutes. This will make the photograph permanent so it does not get damaged over time. Put the photo into water to wash the chemicals off, and then hang it up to dry.
Dark Room work
This is my favourite photogram that I created in the dark room. I think this because it has not been perfectly developed, and so there is a sort of billowing effect over the entire cityscape. Also, the bottom right and left corners of the photo are over-exposed, but I think that this combined with the billowing effect gives great texture to the photo. This is because there is a lot more going on in the photo, and even somewhat gives the effect of movement in the motionless photogram. I also think that this is a very effective photo to develop, as it is already quite a surreal image, and the effects given by the dark-room process highlights this surreal, eerie image through the use of the ever-present fog.
Cyanotypes
A cyanotype is a type of photogram that uses the sun's rays to print a picture of something that was lying on top of it. I think my photo is effective, as it still explores the idea of collaging, but also gives the same collage a faded, mysterious look. Furthermore, the photo is completely covered in a cyan-colour, which takes away any of the shadow or colour that would be in the original collage. This collage is the same as the photogram that can be seen above, so the difference between the two photos is substantial. To improve this cyanotype, I could try again to stop the blurring at the top and side from taking place. Overall, I think that this is an effective cyanotype, as it is simultaneously blurry for a normal collage, but also quite clear for a cyanotype.
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Blurred landscapes
These three photos are blurred landscape photos. They defy the conventions of what a 'good' landscape photo is, and how even though the only subject of the photo is out of focus, they can still be successful. Instead of showing the features of the land as a 'good' landscape photo does, they explore the idea of abstraction, the removal of unnecessary detail. By removing these textures and details, a scene can be made unrecognisable while still being recognisable. Through this method, the hidden meaning behind a photo is uncovered, which is the automatic conclusion the brain jumps to due to lack of detail. For example, in the middle photo, your brain will instantly jump to the correct conclusion that there are buildings in the photo. However, in this photo, these could be trees, or another vertical object. Another aspect that influences this action is the colour sceme. As the photo is grey and monotonous, the landscape of a city is immediately invisioned. Therefore, these photos are successful, as they explore how much detail can be removed from a picture, while still making it recognisable.
Bill Armstrong
Bill Armstrong is a photographer who takes blurred landscape photographs. In his photos, there is usually a person against a colourful background. As these photos are blurred, the person in the photo embedded, and even combined with the background of the photo. I think that this is effective, as it explores the boundaries between humans and landscapes, and so creates a fusion of colour, landscapes, and people. As for the first photo, the circular pattern is based on what is called a 'mandala'. These are Buddhist paintings that relate to ideas of central themes in Buddhism, such as the wheel of life, or the map of the cosmos. Through the blurring and simplification of the photo, the photo relates to the theme of the mandala, but also to a theme of radiance and warmth. This is achieved by the blurring of the photo, and also using warm and vivid colours, which captivate the viewer. Overall, I think that these photos are effective, as they push the limits to reality, and relate to wider ideas surrounding life.
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Hiroshi Sugimoto is a Japanese photographer who explores the different genres of blurred landscapes. For example, the first photo explores the concept of architecture. This is one photo of a collection of blurred landscapes all relating to modern architecture. He chose four photos that expanded on ideas of simplification. He chose photos of buildings that had very few distinctive features, but were instantly recognizable. He wanted to see how far he could push this idea of simplification, and so distorted some of his photos. The second photo explores the concept of electricity. It captures the exact moment when static electricity is released into it's surroundings. This photo is effective, as it shows the complicity and unpredictability of nature, and also, as it is blurred, explores the boundary of how detailed a photo has to be before it becomes unrecognizable. Overall, I think that Hiroshi Sugimoto makes effective blurred landscape photographs, as he gathers high quality recognizable photos, and distorts them to explore the shortcuts that the brain makes to connect two unexplained concepts.
Response
Above can be seen 20 photos that are an attempt of blurred landscapes. I have ordered these photos least to most blurred to figure out where to draw the line between recognisable and un-recognisable. I think that this is successful, as it expands on the idea of removing detail until a person cannot distinguish what the photo is of. For some of the higher-up photos, I think that the brain can fill in what is missing, being texture and detail, however, further down the list, a viewer cannot place what is in the photo.
Dione Lee
Drafts from Dionne Lee on Vimeo.
Dione Lee is an artist who creates collages and drafts. In her work, you can see that she re-assembles different landscape photos, and some of the time, she will not actually know what will turn out in the finished product. She will cut out different clippings from newspapers and magazines and compile the together, creating an abstract form of collage, where little of the elements involved correspond with each-other. This is effective, as it relates to ideas of unpredictability, because a lot of the time, the viewer will not know what will be coming next in the collage, as the page is face down before the landscape is revealed, and so embodies this abstract idea that surrounds the collage.
Response
To create this response, I photocopied pages from national geographic magazine, ripped them, and then re-arranged each of the pieces to create a collage. This is effective, as it combines natural and urban landscapes into a harmony where everything slightly corresponds, and is in the correct place, but would still be impossible to happen. This collage also mimics the abstract and unpredictable style of Dionne Lee, as it is impossible to guess what will be in the next image if you have not seen it before, like in Lee's composition. To improve this response, I could use a time-lapse video to further mimic Lee's style, but I think that the composition is still an effective response as a collection of images. Overall, I think that this response is effective, as it mimics the unpredictable and chaotic style of Lee's collage. In doing this, I have also created a landscape that makes perfect sense in its framing, but in real life, it would be naturally impossible.
Minimalist landscapes
Minimalist landscapes isolate and replace different elements of a landscape, changing the context of it, and even changing the landscape itself. A landscape always has many distinctive parts, and when these are removed a completely different photo is created.
My response
This is simply a photo of a tree. I have made this photo by photocopying a page of a national geographic magazine, and then by cutting away all the leaves from the tree. By doing this, I have created a new object, completely different from a tree, but fundamentally, still just a tree. I think that this photo is effective at conveying the idea of minimalist landscapes, as I have removed the simplest parts of an ordinary object, and I have created a new landscape entirely. The original photo also had leaves overlapping the trunk and branches of the tree, but I decided to keep them in, as they give good texture and depth to the photo. In the future, I could improve this photo by making the cuts of the leaves a little bit cleaner, and also by flattening the paper further. Overall, I think that this photo effectively conveys the concept of minimalist landscapes, as I have very simply removed some aspects of an everyday object, but have also completely transformed it.
Google street view: Indonesia
I have chosen Indonesia to look around in google street view because I think that there are many simple concepts of life in the UK that are the same in Indonesia, but can be overcomplicated, and can also be confusing to people that live in developed areas. I think that these photos are effective, as they show the difference between my life, and the people in Indonesia's lives. For example, I think that some of these photos show ordinary people, living their normal working life, next to huge, impressive houses. Also, next to some of the more basic houses, there can be objects such as barbed wire, which, in our society , is seen as unattractive, but in theirs, only the function is seen. I think that this way of living makes much more sense, as if an element of living functions as it should, then there should not be any problem. There are also some photos with someone's house, and in front of it, there is a large piece of advertising, which demonstrates the opportunity that people are more than willing to take in their culture.
Lagos to London exhibition
The Lagos to London exhibition can be seen above. It captures different elements of life in Lagos, and brings them to Britain. I think that the most effective piece out of these is the photos that were saved from being thrown away. These are the photos which have been damaged and warped, and I think these are effective because they look as if they are almost intentional, as the framing on some of them are near perfect. These photos are also just family portraits, so they were als0 not intended for this purpose. I think that they effectively demonstrate the concept of constructed landscapes, as they show that the concept and meaning can be completely changed just by he context of the photo.
Peckham photo walk
I think that these photos effectively capture urban landscapes, as they show photos of what a person would see everyday in Peckham. I think that this is effective, as it demonstrates the imperfection of some landscapes, and the exploitation of the societal expectations of a landscape photo. In particular, I think that the last photo represents this concept the best, as the typical London landscape can be seen, but is partly obscured by dirt on a window, which is an effective demonstration of the concept of constructed landscapes, as the typical photo is changed into a new photo. I can possibly improve these photos by editing them to look like they are incorporated into natural scenes, and to even mimic the style of Toshio Shibata.
Dafna Talmor
Dafna Talmor is a photographer who removes certain elements from her photos. One of her photos can be seen on the left, and it encompasses ideas of layering and collage. This photo is an effective example of constructed landscapes, as it demonstrates that when elements of a landscape are removed, a new photo entirely is created. I think that this landscape must have originally been of the ocean, but the new collaging of this photo has made it look like a mountainous photo, but with all the elements being completely mixed up and placed out of order. I think that this landscape is also effective, as the parts of the photo that are removed have a border that looks as if they have ben burnt off. This creates a supernatural effect, as some of this photo would have surely been burnt completely off, and yet the edges are nearly perfect. I would like to try this with one of my photos, as it introduces the unpredictability of nature back into the landscape, where it would have once been. I also think that this effect brings the photo to life, as a sense of movement is created. Overall, I think that this photo is an effective demonstration of the concept of constructed landscapes, as it shows that a new photo can be made just by removing some of the elements of a photo.
"Straight lines are a human invention."
I think that this quote encapsulates the concept of Dafna Talmor's work, as it relates to the idea that everything in nature is spontaneous and chaotic, and yet the landscape photographs that we create are basic and predictable. However, Dafna Talmor attempts to bring back this unique nature back to a landscape. I think that she is successful in this attempt, as the unique characteristics of her photos mirrors those of nature. I think that the combination of two traditional landscapes contributes to this chaotic effect, as the viewer cannot truly comprehend what is going on in her photos. I think that her work is similar to that of Tanja Deman's, because their works both have elements where the simplest elements have been removed and replaced by something that should not logically belong there. Overall, I think that these photos effectively demonstrate the main concept of constructed landscapes, as they show the viewer that a landscape can be altered to create a new photo altogether.
I think that this quote encapsulates the concept of Dafna Talmor's work, as it relates to the idea that everything in nature is spontaneous and chaotic, and yet the landscape photographs that we create are basic and predictable. However, Dafna Talmor attempts to bring back this unique nature back to a landscape. I think that she is successful in this attempt, as the unique characteristics of her photos mirrors those of nature. I think that the combination of two traditional landscapes contributes to this chaotic effect, as the viewer cannot truly comprehend what is going on in her photos. I think that her work is similar to that of Tanja Deman's, because their works both have elements where the simplest elements have been removed and replaced by something that should not logically belong there. Overall, I think that these photos effectively demonstrate the main concept of constructed landscapes, as they show the viewer that a landscape can be altered to create a new photo altogether.
Disrupting landscapes
Above is my response to Dafna Talmor's work. I think that these photos are an effective response to her work, as they experiment with the idea of altering landscapes so that they create something that is not recognizable, and can often create new landscapes altogether. One thing that I could improve about this work is that next time I could try and alter them more, and experiment with the coloured gel more. Also, these photos are very low focus, but I cannot easily change this, as the photos were photocopied, so the quality is reduced, and the projector enlarges these photos, so that this lack of detail is even more evident. Overall, I think that these photos are an effective representation of the concept of constructed landscapes, as a new landscape is created by altering an already existing landscape.
Toshio Shibata
Toshio Shibata is a photographer who explores the concept of constructed landscapes. His photos investigate both the harmony and destructive relationship between nature and urban settings, often merging the two together. Many of these photos also create a balance between formation and line, and how some natural elements fit perfectly within man-made structures. This concept is evident in the photo on the far left. The photographer has edited a picture of a man-made structure so that it aligns with the curve of the hill in which it is situated. The result of this experiment is a construct in which nature is intertwined with engineering. This effectively captures the concept of constructed landscapes, as the photos show how a landscape can be so vividly changed, and yet still feel somewhat familiar. Furthermore, in the second picture, Toshio Shibata has edited a man-made structure into the style of the unpredictability of nature, as a chaotic and spontaneous scene is created. Again, this relates to the concept of constructed landscapes, as the photographer is exploring how he can transform a normal, urban photo into something that is familiar to a natural landscape. I would like to attempt to re-create one of his photos, as I think that I could make something similar to his photos, in the sense of making an urban photo seem natural.
First response
This is my first physical response to Toshio Shibata's work. I think that this image is somewhat effective, as I think that it shares many elements with Toshio Shibata's work. For example, I have joined a natural scene and a cityscape together, which is effective, as it shows the harmony between nature and urban scenes. However, I think that I could make this a lot more effective, as the the overall meaning is undermined, as there is a wall running through the picture. I think that this actually enforces a barrier between cities and nature, as a physical barrier appears to be in place. Furthermore, I think that this image could be a lot more effective if there was not such a contrast between the elements in this picture. I think that I can improve this concept by creating an image in photoshop instead of physically cutting the images out and re-organising them. However, I do think that this is a good first response, as I can take the concept and improve it by working through photoshop.
Second response
I think that this is an effective response to Toshio Shibata's work, as I think that the flow and alignment of this photo works a lot better with this response that with my first response. This is because I think that the combination of natural and urban landscapes works well in this photo, as it makes good use of the leading lines and main elements of the original photo. However, I think that this photo needs a lot of work, as I think that the joining of the natural and Urban elements can be noticed, especially on the left side of the path. Furthermore, in the second photo, the focus of the grass does not perfectly align with the focus of the path, further back. This may be down my photoshop technique, as I have taught myself. In the future, I would like to be more ambitious and experimental with the concepts of the combination of Toshio Shibata's work, and I can do this by finding more natural landscapes that align better with the original photo.
Fong Qi Wei
Fong Qi Wei is a landscape photographer who experiments with the concept of time in his photos. This relates to the idea of constructed landscapes, as he attempts to combine natural elements with urban settings. This is achieved by him taking multiple photos in the same position throughout the day, and then cutting each photo so that the different colours within the light correspond with different elements in an urban structure. This create an effective photo, as all different views of the same scene can be seen at the same time within one of his photos. For example, in the first photo, the photos taken during the lightest part of the day converge with the main element in this photo, framing an otherwise unremarkable object to make it seem supernatural and significant. I also think that the second photo is effective, as it is a more subtle, gradual change in the light, and brings back a natural sense of movement to this man-made structure, challenging the fundamental concept that a photo is captured in a single moment. This again relates to the idea of constructed landscapes, as a new photo is created, even though it is created from different versions of the same photo. All of these photos bring a striking sense of colour that, even though it can be viewed normally at different times of the day, brings life and vibrance to the photo. I would like to try to re-create one of his photos, as I am interested in looking at the border between the urban and some fundamental elements in the natural world.
First responses
I think that these piece of work are a good start on my idea to try and mimic Fong Qi Wei's work. I think that the first picture is the most effective at trying to mimic his style, as I think that it is comprised of many of the similar ideas the can be seen in his work. For example, I think that the use of focus on the center of the image, as the corners and sides fade out is also present in many of his photos. However, I think that many aspects of this work can e greatly improved. For example, I think that the top right hand corner is not particularly effective, as it is much clearer to see where the corner fades in and out due to the much lighter background. I could fix this by adding more layers that continue to go darker, but this would also impact the other corners of the image that work a lot better. In the future, I would like to make a much more ambitious photo, perhaps having more of a sense of spontaneity, as the overall composition may work better if the shadows focus on the main elements of the photo as a whole. The third photo in this series is also very effective. I think this because it is very effective at combining Fong Qi Wei and Toshio Shibata's work. Instead of taking the more direct approach towards Toshio Shibata's work like the first and second response, I have tried to embed an element of unpredictability, and this can be through the use of the random removal of elements of the photo. I may also try to combine Fong Qi Wei and Toshio Shibata's work in other ways, perhaps by applying this 'faded out' concept to a response to Toshio Shibata's work. I could also try to use more complimentary colours that can be mirrored to the scene behind them, as I think that my second photo works well, but does not really have much in common with the photo. I can try to take inspiration from some elements that can be seen in Fong Qi Wei's work, for example, the first photo in the series seen above, where the main element of the photo is the only thing in the picture being highlighted.
Final outcome + Making day
Constructed landscapes mindmap
For my final outcome, I would like to investigate the structure of photos, and possibly the composition of light and shadows within this. I think that this would make an effective final outcome, as it relates to the composition of landscapes, and the relation between two settings.
Experiment 1
Above is my first experiment during the making day. I think that these photos are effective in response to constructed landscapes, as they relate to the composition of landscapes and relation between urban and natural landscapes. For example, I have created the first two photos by removing the center of each layer, and moving outwards, reducing the opacity each time. I think that this is an overall effective photo, as it relates to ideas of collaging, and the chaotic relationships between urban and natural landscapes. I also think that the last two photos are effective experiments, as they relate to the abstract and unpredictable style of natural landscapes. More significantly, these photos create a large and immediate contrast between urban and natural landscapes. This is firstly achieved by the harsh tearing of the two photos, creating a more visceral image, and also by the use of straight lines between photos. Furthermore, the contrast in colour adds to this effect, as the cityscapes are darker, with grey colours, whereas the natural landscapes are much more vivid.
Experiment 2
I think that this is a very effective experiment, as it closely relates to concepts of constructed landscapes, but is also an effective response to Fong Qi Wei's work.For example, minimalist element of this photo relates to constructed landscapes, as the conventions for a landscape are broken. In addition, the element of colour and life is very prominent in this response, highlighted by the gradual switching of gradient throughout the photo. By taking away the background, there is an absolute focus on the 'lido' sign. Furthermore, the switching gradient creates both a complete frame for the sign, and the effect of leading lines towards the sign. This establishes a complete focus on the sign, as the eye naturally follows the leading lines towards the sign. I also think that the use of colour is very effective, as a sense of vitality and energy is captured, similar to Wei's work. However, there are a few prominent differences from his work, most notably, I have not adopted the method of taking multiple photos at different times of the day, and compiling them together. Whilst this is a difference, I don't think that the photo loses any effect, and still contains a similar feeling of spontaneity. To improve this photo, I could align some of the components again, particularly at the top of the photo, but I don't think that this is a particularly drastic mistake, and so will not be changing the photo.
Process
The first step in creating this photo was to isolate the lido sign so that there would be no background, and I could arrange the gradient behind it. After this, I sampled the colour from both parts of the lido sign. Then, I changed the shade of each colour by changing the exposure of each colour to -1, -0.5, 0.5, and 1.with these colours I created a gradient spanning from light to dark shades. I then arranged these shades to create a flowing gradient across the frame. The use of this gradient mirrors the spontaneity and vitality of his work, highlighting certain areas of the subject.
Overall, I think that this was a relatively successful making day, as I managed to create 5 responses closely linked to the concept of constructed landscapes. However, I think that my first four photos are much less effective, and this is possibly because I spent a lot of the making day on the last piece.