Constructed Landscapes
When I hear the word landscape I think of the landscape format, landscape paintings and photos. I also think of a view of a certain place in time.
My ideal landscape would be a mountain range, with a sunset and lake. I also like skylines with skyscrapers at night. I have always been pleased with the landscape photos I have taken in the past. I think they came out well as I thought about the angles I was taking them from. When I search 'landscape' on the internet, some nice photos show up however lots of them are very generic and unrealistic. Similarly, an urban landscape search shows images that also look very generic but also very interesting as contain lots of detail.
My ideal landscape would be a mountain range, with a sunset and lake. I also like skylines with skyscrapers at night. I have always been pleased with the landscape photos I have taken in the past. I think they came out well as I thought about the angles I was taking them from. When I search 'landscape' on the internet, some nice photos show up however lots of them are very generic and unrealistic. Similarly, an urban landscape search shows images that also look very generic but also very interesting as contain lots of detail.
Ten words that come into my head when I hear the word landscape are: hills, lake, tropical, views, paintings, photos, desert, hills, ocean and beach. I think that these are the sort of words that would come into most peoples minds, mainly because these are the sort of images that you would see in a stereotypical landscape image. I think that the words that will come into my head will change throughout this project.
Above is an spider diagram of the words themes and objects that come to mind when I think of landscapes.
Helene Binet artist research
When looking at her images one of the things that immediately hit me was the use of lines and angles. She uses a variety of straight and curved lines as well as angles. I think that her use of shadows and angles which creates different shades of black and white make the curves on the buildings much more prominent and allow you to see small details you might not normally see
Artist response.
Guy Tillim and Lucien Herve are two photographers who create landscape images. Personally I really like their work as they use really interesting angles.
'These are two examples of Guy Tillim's work. I really like his use of people as it adds a familiar feel to the image, it is something I don't tend to see in landscape photography. I think the top left image is a great example of this. I think the use of space and angles really help the image as a whole. In the mid ground in both images, there is a focal point which is cantered between some other objects, for example buildings, trees and in some cases people. This adds a minimalistic effect to the image that I like. There is also not an abundance of things going on allowing you to appreciate the intricate angles and shadows. I also think that the wide background, filled with scenery, gives a lot to look at and fills up the otherwise empty space.
These are two examples of Lucien Herve's work. The reason I like his work is because of his use of black and white and he uses lots of different and interesting angles to create weird shapes.
I think overall both photographers use shadows and the lack of colour to their advantage which creates a really interesting variety of landscape images with intriguing angles.
I responded to these artists by creating 10 images for each artists trying to mimic their techniques . Here is how they came out:
I responded to these artists by creating 10 images for each artists trying to mimic their techniques . Here is how they came out:
WWW: I think that all good examples of Guy Tillim and Lucien Herve's work as I tried to keep the angles they use in mind when taking my pictures.
EBI: I think that when taking my images I could have incorporated shadows and created effects similar to that of Lucien Herves work
These images are inspired by Guy Tillim, I decided to go to Greenwich Park and the area around my house and photograph the different urban landscapes. I focused my images on various buildings which involved different intriguing shapes. I experimented with taking images at certain angles, for example the sides and edges of the buildings that I came across. I also wanted to experiment with colours and tones so I used an app on my phone to change the colours of my images, this also added texture to the images which definitely improved the images.
EBI: I think that when taking my images I could have incorporated shadows and created effects similar to that of Lucien Herves work
These images are inspired by Guy Tillim, I decided to go to Greenwich Park and the area around my house and photograph the different urban landscapes. I focused my images on various buildings which involved different intriguing shapes. I experimented with taking images at certain angles, for example the sides and edges of the buildings that I came across. I also wanted to experiment with colours and tones so I used an app on my phone to change the colours of my images, this also added texture to the images which definitely improved the images.
DAFNA TALMOR LANDSCAPES
I think that all of these images are really peculiar. The techniques used to create each image make them look very different to stereotypical landscape pictures you would normally expect to see. The way the images seem burnt at the sides gives them a really interesting and original look that you don't normally see. Some of the images seem to be made from different landscapes that are quite similar that are put together with the lines at the side of each section, where it seems they have been cut, to emphasise the different parts of the landsccape.
I chose to analyse this image because in my opinion it looks the most interesting.. It looks as if the artist has gone to one place however taken many images of parts that look different to each other and put them together to create the sort of otherworldly looking image.
In this image I feel like there is no foreground or background. When I look at it it looks quite flat which I think is interesting because you hardly ever see pictures especially landscape pictures that have this flat look to them. It looks as if the different sections were burnt and then placed in certain ways. |
Corinne Vionnet
I really like Corrine Vionnet's work as it is very strange. You can see the main focal point of the images however in the foreground you can see a blurred image which seems to be completely different. For example the bottom right image can see what seems to be a small town.
,I chose to analyse the picture of Big Ben because I can see more in the foreground than some of the others. What I found interesting about the picture was that the background picture of Big Ben looks to be a painting or picture of London in what seems to be the Victorian era. The blurred foreground image you can see however looks like modern London. There are different times in history all in one image. In the left of the image there is a building that looks to be the Shard very faintly plastered on. Something odd is that you can see boats and bridges at angles you wouldn't normally view them, overlapping each other and some bridges not going over any water.
I think that the landscape is constructed from 2 maybe 3 different images I can see modern buildings and technology in what seems to be historic London, which is very interesting. I think that the artist has found multiple landscapes and then made the two images she was going to use for the foreground very blurry, so all the images seem to merge into each other. I also think that the photographer wanted to make the images this way so that it was different to a traditional landscape photo and added something new to the process. I personally really like the idea of a landscape being a composite image, it is original and full of new things to notice the more you look at it. |
Charles Wilkin
These are 4 images by the artist Charles Wilkin. When I look at the images I can see a background that is very distinct and the artist has then put bits of what appears to be fabric in layers. The images don't really remind me of anything because they are so distinct and weird.
The fabrics are placed in certain ways so it is believable that they could be part of the image. In some cases for example, the top left images, the coloured shapes do make sense as it does look exactly like the silhouette of a person. I think that the artist has placed the shapes over the image to give a bland image a new burst of colour and make it more exciting. I also think that they are placed thoughtfully because they fit with the image and the lines seen in the base background. it has clearly been carefully constructed. In lots of the pictures the shapes have been placed over certain parts of the picture. For example, the top left picture the objects are covering the man sitting on the wall.
The fabrics are placed in certain ways so it is believable that they could be part of the image. In some cases for example, the top left images, the coloured shapes do make sense as it does look exactly like the silhouette of a person. I think that the artist has placed the shapes over the image to give a bland image a new burst of colour and make it more exciting. I also think that they are placed thoughtfully because they fit with the image and the lines seen in the base background. it has clearly been carefully constructed. In lots of the pictures the shapes have been placed over certain parts of the picture. For example, the top left picture the objects are covering the man sitting on the wall.
Making Day- evaluation
Today we had a full day to create some final pieces. I found it quite challenging. I couldn't come up with any ideas or ways to create my piece but I decided in the end to make a collage. The frustrating part is that I came up with a good idea for my second final piece which I will definitely make in my own time. I think it will look really good if it comes out like I want. I think that my collage came out decent but I'm not that happy with it. I think that it did come out with a theme as it seemed very "British" I feel like I sort of just went for it and that's where it sort of came together a little bit. The images I used I felt had a lot of potential but they were quite hard to use and I had to think where to put them to make them that wouldn't make it to cluttered. I chose pictures that were not too flashy or "out there" as I think that would have looked ugly.
Group Project
WWW: I think that some of them do look quite good but I am not entirely happy as it was very hard to try and avoid getting any buildings or people in my images which restricted the things I could photograph.
EBI: I think that I could have taken better pictures that were more like landscapes and less focused on singular objects.
EBI: I think that I could have taken better pictures that were more like landscapes and less focused on singular objects.
Awoiska van DerMolen
Awoiska van DerMolen is a Dutch visual artist who specialises in photography. She lives in Amsterdam. She has written three books: 'the living mountain','Blanco' and 'Sequester' each of which showcase her photographs. Her images are abstract images of untouched natural places. She has been shortlisted and also won many awards including the Harabian Award and the Harry Pennings prize.
I really like these images and i think this is because of the use of shadows Especially in the middle and far left picture the bottom section is much darker than the top section. This gives a mysterious and ominous feel to them and makes me wonder what could be behind the shadows, they seem very eerie.
Luke Saxon
Luke Saxon is a 23 year old photographer from the north east of England. He tends to take urban landscapes with a tone that try's to be humorous. He has a degree in photography from the University of Central Lancashire.
The pictures above are all from Luke Saxons portfolio called "True North" in Luke's words the pictures are "A series of images that, for me represent the North West of England." I do like these images because they are bright and have lots going on. For example the first one which is my favourite has so much to look at. In the picture I can see a person who could be one of the focal points there are seagulls just above the bus stop, there is also a book shop and what looks to be a restaurant called "The Pier" which tells us this photo was taken by the sea. The photograph reminds me of family holidays to Cornwall so I can imagine why he could have an emotional attachment to it. I also do not feel like it is different to real life, it is just a normal day with people going about their daily lives and it is not staged. It is something you might see in everyday life. I think what interests me the most about the image is the use of colour and space. Everything is spaced out really well so it does not seem cluttered and like there is too much going on. The use of colour interests me because it has some very contrasting colours. There are bright greens and reds but also some dark blues and yellows. I find this very nice to look at. I think if I was inside of this picture it would be reasonably loud with the voices of people on a day trip but with the noise of the seagulls above and the distant sound of the waves. I think one thing that ruins this photograph is the cars. They just seem out of place and I think it would be better without them.
The pictures above are from the portfolio "The same but different" Luke Saxons description of the project is "Exploring the contrast of ethnicity and class in contemporary Britain, ‘The Same But Different’ is a series of collaged photographs that depict cultural diversity." I disagree with this however because there is an extreme lack of culture despite what he says in the description. There are only around 3 pictures that could be classed as cultural the rest I don't think are. Despite this however they are extremely good pictures that are really clever. The way he uses multiple pictures to complete one is really imaginative and they look very good. For example the picture of the cat and the plastic bag makes it really look like a complete animal. The thing I like about them is the simplicity of them all. For example the middle image of the goal post it is just a picture of a brick wall with some chalk on it but the addition of the second picture just adds some character to it. I think that what is effective about it is the fact he didn't try to add anything new and exciting like an intricate background, he just kept it as it is. I also feel like it is slightly cultural. It shows how popular football is and how much people play it whatever their background may be. In some ways he is romanticizing these living conditions and styles of living. I think he chose the perfect name for this project "The same but different." The photos are all the same thing but wildly different.
DISTORTED IMAGES
This week we had to go around the school to 2 different places and take landscape photos. We were also given plastic folders to take the images with so I decided to take one with the bag and one without. Personally I don't like the images with the bag as it doesn't really add anything to it, it just makes them seem blurry and weird which ruins the picture for me. But overall I do like these landscape images especially the last one.
Landscape photoshoot homework
For the homework this week I went to a landscape that meant something to me. I decided to go to a place where I used to spend lots of time when I was younger. I like these images because I feel like there was a mix between nature landscapes and urban landscapes. I also like these pictures because they brought back lost memories. If I were to do these pictures again I think I would take them in a more confined area, as I think the places where I took the pictures were a bit spread out. I think it would have been nice to focus on one small area and be forced to experiment. However, although I like these pictures there is something not quite right about them, I think it could be because as I've mentioned they are too spread out so they are less personal than I would have liked. I think I will take some more images but limit myself to a small area to see if I can get a bit more imaginative.
final project
For my project I decided to use pictures with a theme. The theme I think my pictures best represents is "deserted". I think that this theme fits my pictures as when initially looking at them there are no obvious people and even when looking closely you can barely see any life. I like this as you never really see places like parks with such a prominent lack of life and it feels quite eerie and unusual. When taking these pictures I decided to make them black and white using the photo app on my iPhone as it is a quick, easy and reliable way to do this. I think using Photoshop I will edit bits about them to add a burst of colour. For example in my image with a 'road closed' sign I think making that a really bright and deep red will contrast very well with the black and white background, it will give it a unique look. I predict that this will be challenging as I have never done anything like this using photoshop before but I think it will be very rewarding.
When I began to experiment with Photoshop I found that I liked brightening and blurring certain parts of my images as it seemed to add something that had been missing to it. I experimented with things like how much I blurred the subject or how much I brightened it. I also, in some cases, blurred the surroundings and not the subject but I didn't like this. Once I had edited my pictures came the printing phase. I found this very challenging as I was having issue after issue. First the images were not being sent through to the printer and when they did it would print duplicates and pictures that failed to print. I found this very frustrating but I persevered. I think it is good that this issue presented its self because I think it improved my resilience.
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I think that my images came out great and the edits I made on photoshop really improved the images and added to the theme of it being "deserted". My favorite image is either the top left image or middle image of the bench. The unedited surroundings combined with the edited central focal point gave the overall image a really interesting look. This task and experimentation definitely motivated me to experiment much more with photoshop as there are so many ways you can experiment.
Making day 10.12.21
For our making day I began by finding some artists to research. I looked at the Thomas Tallis Weebly page to find some inspiration. I found four artists that I liked but decided I had to narrow this down as my goal for today was to create two final pieces. The four I found were Martin Seeds, Yossi Milo, Jiro Takamatsu and Hugo Demartini. I think what I liked about these artists was the addition of something new to the image that was not originally there. I think the two that I liked the most were Yossi Milo and Martin Seeds images.
I thing I liked most about the Martin Seed images was the contrast as it added so much to such a simple image. Yossi Milo and his 'tree' series added something to an average landscape image.
I decided to begin with a Yossi Milo response. My first step was to go around the school taking pictures of various objects like bins, lamp posts and trees I would print these out and stick them on the larger landscape pictures that I took. Once I had taken the images I had to print them off however make sure that the trees and other objects were smaller than the landscapes. Once they were printed I would have to cut everything to size and stick it together. I wanted to find an interesting way to present the pictures but I wasn't too sure how. In the end I decided to stick them to a plain white wall so it would be a small display and overall I think it came out well and presented the images in a good way. |
I walked around the school taking images of landscapes and normal objects that i found around the school. I tried to take images that were quite boring and were nothing fancy so that i would have to use my imagination more to try and make something new and interesting. These are the pictures i took to start off with:
Cutting out all of the images was long and quite difficult as there were lots of short lines and getting them straight was very tricky. It took a long time and in the end not all of the lines were perfectly straight however I felt as if I had to move on and make progress a bit faster.
These are the final products and overall I think they came out very well. I tried to make sure that all of the pictures I put together. matched and looked similar in ways. This meant that I had to think about things like colour and lighting and I feel that I did a good job at this.
WWW: Overall I think that my images are good representations of Yossi Milos work and I personally like my images. I also like the lighting in my images, as in some of them it gives them a warm feel and for others it gives it a dramatic and cold feel.
EBI: I think that something I would do if I were to remake all my images is be a bit more precise when cutting and sticking as in a few of my images some parts were a little bit wonky. If I were to have another making day I think I would be a bit more time efficient as I didn't have enough time to create a Martin Seeds response which is quite a shame as I really like his work and it would be a new challenge because I have never made an image that looks like his before so it would be a new process. Making a response to his work is definitely something I will do in my spare time.
EBI: I think that something I would do if I were to remake all my images is be a bit more precise when cutting and sticking as in a few of my images some parts were a little bit wonky. If I were to have another making day I think I would be a bit more time efficient as I didn't have enough time to create a Martin Seeds response which is quite a shame as I really like his work and it would be a new challenge because I have never made an image that looks like his before so it would be a new process. Making a response to his work is definitely something I will do in my spare time.
I think that one of the main positives of the days work was that I learnt a lot about persistence and sticking with my own ideas. and not letting others ideas make me doubt my own. I had to stick with challenges and some things that were out of control which I think will help me when creating photography projects in the future.
Stefano Canto
Stefano Canto is an Italian artist from Rome, Italy where he was born in 1974. Stefano's work immediately caught my eye due to the multiple layers and simple yet complex style filled with little details to look for. I also like the combination of styles as the main image is a natural landscape but also includes elements of architecture. I think it is really interesting the way he has combined different aspects of his life to crate one genre of art. He graduated in architecture and looking at his work this is a very prominent theme.
Personally I find it really interesting the way that if you look very closely at his work you can see lots of lines drawn over the work to create a grid that allows him to create very precise lines and cuts. "The landscape is therefore deconstructed into basic forms"
I like these two images from his series of images form Scomposizioni Fotofgraphiche the most because I feel like they are the two sides this series. One obscures most of the landscape with 3D shapes and cut outs but one still has a focal point in the centre of the image. |
I decided to take inspiration from Jaqui Kenny also known as the agoraphobic traveller. She travels the world using google maps taking images of what she sees. I decided to use some pictures I took using google maps when creating a response to Stefano Cantos work.
These were the images I found on Google maps that I decided to use for my response. The first step was to print off all of the images and cut off the white border. Then I had to try and mimic what Stefano did with his work and draw a grid across the image to allow me to create the precise squares and triangles he uses. This part was very challenging as I had to try and make the lines the same distance apart and also make sure that you can see them everywhere on the image but this turned out to be a challenge because of the dark bits of the image stopped the pencil from showing.
I decided to give Photoshop a go and see if it looked nice and was easier. I think it was much better.
Once I had finished my first experiment by playing around with the 3d work space on Photoshop, I felt like it was too plain so I wanted to add some more colour. I decided to use the hue and saturation tool on Photoshop to try and add a bit more colour. I did this by layering colours onto the image using the printer.
Overall I really like my response to Stefano Cantos work. I also like the way that I have created the 3d sections of the image. I think this is because it does not have the same drawn on effect and is a more animated look. I personally like this more as combined with the colour changes it gives it an almost otherworldly effect, there is something almost alien to it. My personal favourite is the pink and blue response. I think this is because of the colour combinations of pink and blue. These colours make me think of some sort of alien planet due to the pink background. It evokes my imagination and I find this does not often happen with some of my responses as they can sometimes be basic but this has another aspect to it.
WWW: Overall I think that my responses are good and I am personally really proud of them. I think that my next step is to make more responses using different background images and also play around more with the 3d workspace on Photoshop creating the different sizes of shapes. I would also like to find different ways of changing the colour as this could add a whole new effect to it.
EBI: I think something that I could work on is using space more efficiently because when I look at my image I can see there is a lot of empty space in the middle left and the bottom sections of the image and there is a lot in the top right making it look cluttered. I think if I do all these things it will make my images much better.
WWW: Overall I think that my responses are good and I am personally really proud of them. I think that my next step is to make more responses using different background images and also play around more with the 3d workspace on Photoshop creating the different sizes of shapes. I would also like to find different ways of changing the colour as this could add a whole new effect to it.
EBI: I think something that I could work on is using space more efficiently because when I look at my image I can see there is a lot of empty space in the middle left and the bottom sections of the image and there is a lot in the top right making it look cluttered. I think if I do all these things it will make my images much better.
Group collage
Today we experimented with found images of landscapes. We had to follow instructions that included ripping up an image and swapping it with whoever sits around you.
I really like my collage and the small gaps in the images helped to add depth to collage and make it visually pleasing. I think that to improve my collage i should have removed the white borders on the image as these make it much less immersive.
Sustainable Darkroom Workshop.
Today we had a workshop with The Sustainable Darkroom, an artist run group focused around making photography a more sustainable practice. Due to climate change this is more important now than ever and I think it is important that we begin to think about how we can make our hobbies and jobs more environmentally friendly. The process began with making our own photographic developer using things like rosemary which we boiled along with lavender, vitamins and various other natural materials. We then went outside to collect some leaves to print onto our light sensitive paper using things like sun cream to help make the image print onto the paper. One of the advantages of using natural resources is that it will not damage the environment like normal developer as it does not contain the harmful toxic elements that default developer does which travel into the rivers and effect the habitat and animals. I think that this process could be developed more to have uses that are similar to normal developer. I also think that it would be good to use it for more precise lines and shapes that could make chemigrams more neat and maybe so the artist could have a bit more control over their art. However the more random method could also give it a certain look that I think is unique to this sort of method as I have never seen something like this before.
This is how my images came out and something that I find very interesting is how they have changed since we made them. The colours have changed and it looks like the lines have thickened.
Below are my images the day we created the images. I used a variety of substances to create my images. I used Vaseline and olive oil however I think these were very hard to use as I seemed to always be putting too much or too little onto my leaves causing big blobs of colour which I did not like.
This is how my images came out and something that I find very interesting is how they have changed since we made them. The colours have changed and it looks like the lines have thickened.
Below are my images the day we created the images. I used a variety of substances to create my images. I used Vaseline and olive oil however I think these were very hard to use as I seemed to always be putting too much or too little onto my leaves causing big blobs of colour which I did not like.
Weeks later my images now look very different. Some of the things I have noticed are: a change in the light sensitive paper. It is now much more pink. The white which I created using a different chemical is much more prominent and some of the black has lightened. This is what they look like now:
I think it is really interesting how the colors have changed as i have not seen this when using any other process and especially in the case of the third image it has really improved it. The white is now very bright and contrasts well with the dark background and black lines.
Slides
We experimented with some found slides of landscapes, we began to distort them. We used different techniques for example drawing on the slide, scraping them using a scalpel, cutting the slides and putting coloured film over the top..
Personally I liked the idea of scratching the slides to remove the colour as it gave it a rough unique effect and did not like putting a layer over the top as I felt that it removed the unique colour.
The images above are all my adaptations to found slides however they have been projected onto a large white screen and have had pieces of cardboard held over them, some with holes cut into them. I think the final image is my favorite as the edits that I made to the original slide were my favorite and the boards that my classmates held up the the image helped to distort it further which added depth to the image. I think this experimentation inspired me to try this sort of project again, taking images, editing them using physical processes and then doing things similar to projecting them and distorting them using different objects.
Final project- Mandy Williams
I decided to create a final piece inspired by Mandy Williams. I really liked her style of using big geometric interventions as well as overlapping photographs.
For my first final project I took inspiration from Mandy Williams. I took various photographs from around school and put them into Photoshop. My first response was ok but I think there is a lot I could do to improve, for example using more white space and
My second response I think is much better. I added more white space and added triangles as well as separating the image into 3 sections. I personally like this one much more but I think moving the photograph around and moving the 3 sections would also make it better.
For my third response I decided to follow the natural lines of the image as well as warping the image and I think it has improved the image. I used the transforming tool and warp function to distort the image and I really like the way it mirrors the image on the bottom side as you bend it. My only critique is that I don't particularly like the large black block that was created when drawing the big geometric shapes. I also think that i could fill up the negative space and experiment with it, adding more small details.
For my fourth response I decided to move away from the geometric shapes and take inspiration from her photographs which use more overlapping shapes. I used 3 different images and experimented with them. Drag tool negative space.
I think that the image is decent. I quite like it because of the different colours of the images and the way they contrast with each other. Some of the images are bright and some are dark as well as the one on the right having a large shadow and the others not. I think they are quite different to Mandy Williams work but I like that as it makes my image more unique.
Final project- Tanja Deman
For my second final project I decided to take inspiration from Tanja Deman and his deserted utopia project. I loved his images as the contrasting environments made it seem otherworldly and alien. I decided to use different methods when creating a final project. It looked like she used printed images and made a collage with them but I also wanted to experiment with Photoshop and do things like changing colours.
I decided to take screenshots of landscapes from Google maps to use when making my piece.. I also wanted to use images of space from Google as I think that would be interesting to experiment with. |
Once I had found some images from Google maps I found a secondary image to layer underneath. Overall I think the image looks ok but I think one of the reasons I like Tanja's work is due to the style of architecture he uses so next I want to experiment with different sorts of buildings next.
For my second response I decided instead of removing the sky, to remove the ground and see if that gave it a different effect.
Personally I didn't like this. I think that it looks like two images have just been placed together and with my previous responses it is more like something is intruding onto the background, which I prefer.
I continued to experiment with different backgrounds and foregrounds.
I continued to experiment with different backgrounds and foregrounds.
I think my images came out really well, my favourite would have to be the top left and top middle images as the background blends in really and looks very natural. I really enjoyed this task and it has made me want to experiment further with these images for example recolouring them using photoshop or the printer.