Idea developing and research after Environment tutorial

In tutorial with Steffi Klenz I introduced my idea about Dungeness for environment project. I showed my test shoots and bring two ideas:

• ·      How landscape was dwarfed by massive power stations
• ·      To reveal weird Dungeness landscape

Steffi gave some artist names and I done research. Firstly I took book from our library – Nigel Green “Dungeness”. He is a British artist who spends a year photographing in and around power station of Dungeness. It is really similar to my first idea. But later I confronted with some difficulties. In our days these power stations are very protected and they not allow any visitors inside or around it. So it will be very hard to reveal these monstrosities.

Nigel Green picture from his book "Dungeness"

After this my ideas look very weak and with second one I really don’t know what I want to say to viewer?

Another book that Steffi recommended was – Erasmus Schroter “Bunker”. It is amazing book with great images! German photographer refers to the colours he uses to appropriately show off the bunkers and bastions of the beaten “Fortress Europe” - or, more precisely, its relics - as "obscene colors". 

Erasmus Schroter picture from his book "Bunker"

I was inspired of this artist and now my idea developed to specific environment – war environment. It will be good task for me to find these historical – political, weird buildings. Firstly I will go where I started – to Dungeness. One of strange war structures are exactly there – Sound mirrors.

Tacita Dean explores the elastic nature of time and space, and is intrigued by futuristic-looking abandoned buildings that have been ‘left to leach their enigmatic energies into the surrounding territory.

Tacita Dean - Sound mirrors, 1999

Next steps after sound mirrors structures will be bunkers search around Kent coast. I've heard that there are still a lot of them left. I want to visit maunsell forts as well. It depends on my circumstances when I will go there.

Image from wikipedia

Black and White Printing Induction

In this induction I was introduced to black and white printing with a very useful information and techniques. Firstly we made a contact sheet from my medium format negatives. It's very helpful to check them. Then I choose one negative and done first test strip on aperture F8 with a various exposure time (5s;10s;15s and 20s) 

After examining the test strip I was not happy with exposure so I increased the aperture to F11 and done another test:

In this strip 5s exposure was very light and 10s too dark, thats mean happy medium should be between these exposures. So I've choose exposure time 7s and done a full print:

After that we was introduced to grading to correct certain tones within the image. To get best result I increased everything one step and done test strip with aperture F16 and exposure time 14s, but 4s did on grade 0 and other 10s on grade 2. That's mean I will subdue the highlights in the background:

Now I was happy with tones in the background but I've lost a contrast on extinguisher. To increase it I added another 5s on grade 5 and this is what I've got:

This is was too dark. Now I was confidence to print final image just with less time on grade 5.

Final Print: F16; Grade 0 - 4s; Grade 2 - 10s and Grade 5 3s.

Ideas and test shots for Environmental project

My idea for environment image: to reveal how humans are taking over the landscapes with industries. This weekend I spend time and done some shots in Dungeness. This place is very weird. Dungeness sits about 3 miles out into the English Channel, is an area of Special Scientific Interest, a bird sanctuary and an area protected from any future development. But there are two nuclear power stations. These two monstrosities, one already past its sell by date but making a profit and the other white elephant are likely to be joined by a third and then possibly a fourth in the not too distant future. For my final work I want to discuss this idea and how I can improve it on Wednesday’s environmental tutorial with Steffi Klenz. I know that I will take that picture early morning to try to catch same fog effect as on Robert Adams “On Signal Hill” image. 

            Some test shots with my Bronica SQ-A and Fuji Acros 100 film:

The Environment: Research and Ideas

Brief, part 1:

In the first task we are asked to submit a photograph that pastiches one of below images:

Roger Fenton “The Terrace and Park at Harewood House”, 1860

Robert Adams “On Signal Hill, Overlooking Long Beach, California” 1983

Jem Southam, “Seaford Head”, 1999

            The picture I have chosen to pastiches – Roberts Adams “On Signal Hill, Overlooking Long Beach, California” 1983. I prefer images more like Jem Southam, but my idea for this project will be similar to Robert Adams. In this photograph, and in many of the pictures from Adams's series Los Angeles Spring, trees symbolize nature as a whole. The tree in the foreground is not only dwarfed by the enormous sprawl of the city behind it, but it also acts as a lone and pathetic reminder of what has been displaced by urban development. Photographed along highways and on the fringes of suburbia they appear out of place, puny, strangled by smog. Photograph was taken in natural light and I think in early morning because it looks very foggy. From researches I found that this image was done on gelatin silver print. This BW picture has rich tonalities and high contrast.

Brief, part 2:

            In second task we was asked to submit a set of images based upon your conceptual approach to representing the landscape. I’ve chosen to pastiches Robert Adams so I didn’t went away from him and done a research. I really liked his series “What we bought” which helped me to come up with some ideas for my own environmental landscape.

 New tracts, west edge of Denver, Colorado, 1973–74

 Outdoor theater, north edge of Denver, Colorado, 1973–74

North edge of Denver, Colorado, 1973–74

            Source: http://artgallery.yale.edu/adams/

“Between Frontier and the Back-Garden”

Deconstructing Environmental Photographers

Simon Norfolk

After Steffi Klenz lecture we got a task to select one of the seven contemporary photographers given on the list and do a research. I selected Simon Norfolk. The video that was shown on lecture “Burke+Norfolk: Photographs from the war in Afghanistan” - inspired me a lot.

Simon Norfolk was born in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1963 and educated in England, finishing at Oxford and Bristol Universities with a degree in philosophy and sociology. After leaving a documentary photography course in Newport, South Wales, Norfolk worked for far-left publications specializing in work on anti-racist activities and fascist groups, in particular the British National Party. In 1994 he gave up photojournalism in favor of landscape photography.

            As Norfolk himself writes, in a short but profoundly interesting text called Et in Arcadia Ego: "These photographs form chapters in a larger project attempting to understand how war, and the need to fight war, has formed our world: how so many of the spaces we occupy; the technologies we use; and the ways we understand ourselves, are created by military conflict." 

            The images I have selected come from series: “Beirut: How did you come to smell of smoke and fire?” In this series he presents photographs from Beirut, taken following the three-day war of September 2006.

In this picture we see oil-fired Power Station at Jiyeh which was bombed in the first few days of the war. From first view you can find that is nice and beautiful resort near the sea.  But empty pools, putted down umbrellas, chairs in the corner tells to us that is something wrong here  – something happened and viewer can decide it from large plume of smoke.  Smoke contrasts against this unpopulated and beautiful landscape. Natural light is soft and warm because usually Norfolk is taking pictures early morning – that’s why we’re not seeing any people. He’s always trying to pull people out of the pictures because for him people aren’t that important; it’s more about human power and his intervention on the land.

This is a Fidar Bridge, bombed by the Israelis, early on 4 August. In this picture we can see people standing near destroyed bridge and they represent an idea. The bridge is the main motorway running north from Beirut to the border. Again it shows human power and how has ruined the environment and people living in this society too. People are standing close to edge and can’t understand these unbelievable destructions. Maybe they were using this bridge every day? It can be very emotional for them.

And final picture that I select is “The fishing harbor at Quazai”. Image is filled with contrast, where the refuse of destruction disturbs the serene peace of still water beneath waning sunlight. In these images, Norfolk's classically inspired aesthetic captures both the peculiarly abstract and strikingly beautiful, yet all in the shadow of war's horrific effects.