Detailed Research

Nadege Meriau:

Nadege uses organic matter in the formation of her images, she shoots her organic images using macro photography in a studio, in order to specifically control her lighting. Meriau's use of everyday, recognisable objects to create more abstract images interest me as I would like to recreate this in some of my images also (similar to my shoot number 4.) Nadege creates visual artwork which entices the viewer to question what object it is they're looking at, Nadege feeds off of the world around her. In Nadege's images she allows nature to freely take it corse, whilst manipulating it also to fit her aesthetic aims, she is constantly trying to push boundaries. To Nadege a pumpkin is not just a  pumpkin, it's a cave, or a hole in the ground, she uses large/medium format cameras in order to capture her masterpieces;moreover, Nadege prints her images big, in order to allow the viewer to 'travel into' the image itself. Nadege transforms a variety of organic objects like chicken carcasses, snails, honey and melons... 

This photograph is of a dismantled pumpkin, however the image is dark, and dingy appear as though it's a cave, with a star-lit sky being displayed outside. The fibres running down the edge of the pumpkin appear to be hanging tree roots, scraping down the edge of the pumpkin innards. The moistness of the fibres on the floor of the pumpkin, create the image to the viewer that they would be emerged into this, unable to move, almost like quicksand. The fact that Nadege has made the star-lit sky so evident to the viewer demonstrates the direction at which this pumpkin is standing up, therefore showing to the viewer that there is no way out from this pumpkin- you can only look up. In addition, the darker and lighter sides in the pumpkin create a contrast within the pumpkin's structure, making the left hand side of the image appear more mysterious- due to the darkened colouring. 

This photograph takes the viewer to an 'underworld', the small beam of light that is projected down onto the weed-looking object in the cave-like space implies that there is a way out to the upper world above the weed, which it is trying to grow towards, as the weed is growing upwards, as it needs nourishment. The surrounding environment around the weed is empty, and hollow implying nothing thrives, or exists here creating a negative perception in the viewers head of this environment; this also creates a question 'why is this weed the only object here' in the viewers head, this causes the viewer to look deeper into the image. The dark brown and greens imply that there's not much light, or water in this environment, as light and water is a life source for plants, helping them to thrive, but, in this image there's no thriving plants. When looking at this image questions also arise of 'what is the environment like in the world above the plant' and 'where is the light coming from', these questions disorientate the viewer. 

This photograph is of honeycomb, this is an object we wouldn't usually associate with being photographed, I believe this is why Nadege has photographed this organic object, in order to show that literally anything can be made into art. This photograph is not as abstract, and ambiguous as some of Nadege's other photographs, it's evident that this is a honeycomb; however, the lighting within this image is what really makes this photograph special, the flooring in this photograph is lit up, with some areas darker than others which implies to the viewer that there are some areas thicker of the honeycomb, and others that are thinner, which would let more light through. The peak of honey within the image is framed so it's directly in the middle of the image, drawing the viewers attention straight to this object. Additionally, the dark spots catch the attention of the on-looker as their black colouring sharply contrasts the yellow colouring of the rest of the photograph. 

Ansel Adams:

Ansel Adams was born on the 20th of February 1902, and died on the 22nd April 1984, he was born in California and became a strong environmentalist due to the fact he was an only child, consequently he often used to walk in the American countryside whereby he fell in love with the beautiful landscapes. Adam's next love was music, whereby he taught himself to play the piano, however he eventually gave up a musical career for a photographical one. Adam's first started his photography career using a Kodak Box Brownie which his parents had bought for him. The sierra club allowed Adam's his first photographical success- allowing him to publish his first images in 1922. Paul Strand influenced Adam to shoot 'straight photography', not 'pictorial' images, Adam's went on to be the successor of straight photography, whereby Adam's would manipulate the tonal range of his images. Adam's often came into financial issues, which affect his photography greatly as he couldn't always travel to where he wanted to shoot, due to his financial instability. 

I believe this photograph highlights the issue of pollution, as the image is of roads, with cars on them and cars give of co2 emissions, which contribute to pollution/ the growing hole in the ozone layer. The twist and turns of the roads take the viewers eyes on a journey within the image itself (corresponding with the cars themselves in the image which are all going on a literal journey.) The roads start off reasonably straight, but eventually all end up intertwined with each other. The majority of the roads cluster at the top of the image, the viewer knows that these roads carry on beyond the image, due to their directions and angles which they're positioned, suggesting that these cars will carry on causing pollution, and roads will continue to be constructed. Adam's would have had to photograph this image from a high-up position (e.g. in a helicopter) in order to achieve the angle he has obtained- that similar to a birds-eye view. The birds-eye view of the image suggests that Adam's is a bird looking down on the world below.

The vast contrast of black and white tones really allows the lighter tones to jump out from the image, for example the lake and the mountain are highly visible, compared to the jet black terrain down below in the foreground of the image. The dodge and burn tool would have been used by Adam's in this image to create a vast tonal contrast. This image appears to be God-like as the mountain becomes whiter as it reaches closer to the sky, simulating the idea that it's becoming 'purer' (more white) the closer it becomes to God (the sky.)  The lake which is central in the image is almost mirror-like, this may imply that Ansel was asking the viewers of this image to look at themselves in the mirror, and evaluate how their actions effect the environment.

The smoke in the background of the image submerges parts of this photograph, only allowing the viewer too see certain parts of the environment/ image; Adam's may have captured this to symbolise how the media/ Government only wish the public to see certain parts of the environment or have a certain view of it, to shield the troubling effects of pollution. The tree tops in the foreground of this photograph almost appear as though they're spikes, protecting the landscape behind from any harm (pollution), this is symbolic of a mother protecting her child. The harsh contrasts in tones within the image is due to Adam's using the dodge and burn tool to enhance his images, this allows him to control the contrast, and overall have control over the outcome of the whole image. 

Stieglitz:

Alfred Stieglitz was born on January 1st 1864 in New Jersey, and died on the 13th July 1946, an American photographer he was instrumental in championing the acceptance of photography as a modern art form, he was also known as a 'perfectionist' in his photographic work. Initially, Stieglitz would not sell any of his images, he kept them all, until his dad set up a photography business for his son to attempt to make some money from his images. In 1892 Alfred bought his first hand-held camera, which was a 4x5 plate film camera, this made it easier for Alfred to carry his camera around as his previous camera always needed a tripod (the 8x10 plate film camera.) Alfred merged the two photographic groups called society of amateur photographers, and the New York camera club in May 1896, he wanted to change their old fashioned ways and develop their photographic skills. Stieglitz's cloud study occurred between 1922-35, he believed he was combining photographic objectivity and personal emotion, it could be suggested Stieglitz was portraying his own emotions/ideas through the clouds and their shape, lines, tones and patterns; therefore you could suggest that the clouds were very much Stieglitz himself. 

This photograph of clouds is textured due to the clouds appearing 'rippled' in the sky, when initially looking at the image it is not clear what this photograph is of, as the whole frame of the image is submerged by clouds making it hard to see any surrounding stimuli (e.g. the sky) which may give away a clue of what this image is of. The various tones within the image are created by the lighting, and shadowing that occurs within the environment of the photograph, the sun would control this in the instance of clouds. The overall colouring of this image is dark, and dreary suggesting that this photography may have been taken on a stormy day, representing Stiegltiz's emotion in that moment of anger, or frustration. The angle which this image is photograph appears to be looking upwards at the sky, this could imply Stieglitz was trying to looking up, and be positive despite his angry and emotional state of mind.

The clouds in this image appear tranquil and calm, which again would have reflected Stieglitz's emotions at the time when photographing this image; the vast contrast of tones within this image could imply that at the back of Stieglitz's mind was slight anger (the small dark patch in the image), however the majority of the image is of lighter tones, implying that he was mostly feeling calm and positive. Moreover the brighter area of the image (top left) may be symbolic of the 'perfect' human as this section is perfectly white- in contrast to the rest of the image which is darker, this may represent the 'real' world, as evidently not every human is perfect. This image appears to be photographed at an ambiguous angle, as you cannot quite see whether this is from underneath or from within the sky itself, this ambiguity allows the viewer to explore the image and question it.  

This photograph is extremely interesting as the clouds are shaped in an unusual way, in which we wouldn't usually expect to see them. The linear shaped clouds appear to be gate railings which are spaced roughly evenly apart, blocking vision to the ball of light (the sun) which appears to be behind them- this is symbolic of a gate/railings blocking the way to the 'light at the end of the tunnel.' This symbolic image may imply that the emotions of Stieglitz were negative, as though he feels there's no end, as he cannot reach the 'light at the end of the tunnel.' The fact that you can only slightly see the light is almost teasing the viewer, by allowing them to see this but not quite have it or understand what this light is, or leads to. The ball of light could also be symbolic of heaven, and the idea of trying to lead a good life in order to reach and achieve this goal of getting to heaven; in this context the dark gates (clouds) around the light may symbolise his life and how this can be dark/negative, but his ultimate goal is to reach heaven at the end, and this is his main focus. The angle of this photograph makes the light seem like it's attempting to break through the gates and push forward towards the camera lens. 

Edward Burtynsky:

“[we] come from nature.…There is an importance to [having] a certain reverence for what nature is because we are connected to it... If we destroy nature, we destroy ourselves" is a direct quote from Burtynsky, this shows in itself why Burtynsky photographs his images the way he does, and the reasoning behind this (preservation of nature) all of his images contemplate the modern issues of life, concerning greed, pollution and destruction of the world. In Burtynsky's images he predominantly focuses on how nature is transformed through industrial means (stone, oil, coal, steel) showing that there's a fine line in the images between attraction and disgust, as the images appear aesthetically pleasing, but not morally  appealing/justifiable. Often Burtynsky's images are of rubbish yards, mining areas, quarries... as he states that these are all "places outside of normal experience" yet "we partake in them on a daily basis", essentially the world suffers at our selfish and greedy expense, as we depend on nature so heavily to feed, and fuel us and our machinery which powers our humane world. [http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/site_contents/About/introAbout.html]  

This photograph shows roads all intertwined and leading to one route, this could be symbolic of what Burtynsky wants the human race to do; as he wants nature to be preserved, and to do this all humans need to come together with one common aim (to stop pollution) and work on this together, no matter what cultural background. Where the roads meet is in the centre of the image, this may suggest that we will all have to compromise, and 'meet in the middle' if we wish to reach the goal of slowing pollution. This photograph would have been taken up high, in a plane or helicopter, as Burtynsky is extremely high in the air and has a huge wide angled view over this city. The wide angled view of this city could represent the world itself. The horizon in the distance obtains mountains and natural objects, this could imply that if we all follow and co-operate down this road, then we will reach this eventually. 

This image emits an uneasy atmosphere as the planes are organised neatly in an empty 

field, this pattern is strange as the viewer would not usually see planes placed strategically

 like this- therefore questions are created in the viewers mind. These planes may be army planes as no windows on the planes can be seen, these planes may be being held at a base camp, and will be used to drop bombs on civilians, this creates an uneasy atmosphere as these planes then become 'killing machines' in the viewers mind; contradictory of their perception of planes being positive, as they're used to take individuals on holiday. The angle which Burtynsky has photographed this image is from above, implying he wants to be dominant over this man-made machinery as he believes it could be destructive, and he doesn't want it to dominate or overrule him/his life. Burtynsky has photographed planes as they contribute to the pollution of this planet, the reason that he may have wanted them to be placed so they appeared organised is that possibly this would show how although something can appear quite aesthetically appealing, it can still destroy life, in this case in the form of nature. 

This photograph is industrial, as cranes are present in this image which implies to the viewer that there may be building work going on, this will show how there's going to be further disruption to wildlife here in this particular area. Burtynsky may have wanted to highlight the area of industrialisation of new builds to show how this can even effect pollution and he lives of wildlife, something which individuals do not think about on a daily basis. The colours in this image are reasonably muted, and are not overly bright or eye catching, this may have been done in order to not take away the attention from the true meaning of this image. This image explores line thoroughly as there's many different types of lines occurring in this photograph, there's straight, curved and diagonal lines within the image which all tell different stories; straight lines imply power, curved lines take your eyes on a journey, and diagonal lines show depth within the image. The two main diagonal lines travel down the centre of this image, they create depth within this photograph as they allow the viewer to see how the background is far away as the lines get smaller the further away they are, in comparison to the foreground, highlighting how big this site actually is. 

Edward Weston:

Edward Weston was born in Illinois, and began taking photographs from the age of sixteen when his father bought him his first camera, which was a Bulls Eye 2 camera, before later progressing onto his 8 x 10 view point camera. In 1908 Weston went to college in order to perfect, and train his photographic technique, lighting and positioning were Weston's strongest technical abilities. Weston's images of high key portraits and soft pictorial images gave him a portfolio abroad; however in 1922 Weston turned his focus to a more abstract style of photography, in order to bring out the textures within the organic objects and focus on their structures. The group f/64 was founded by Weston, and contained high-profile photographers including: Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham and Willard Van Dyke. Weston's images of organic objects are my main focus for my project, as they tie in with my Nadege Meriau work, Weston's images are extremely abstract, creating new images and environments using just a singular natural object.

This above image is of a carrot/potato, it is hard to work out what the object is which from the off creates confusion in the viewer. The long tenticle-like branches intertwine with each other suggesting unity, as they're all together in one group, this may link to how nature sticks together and stands against any adversity. The viewer would find this image of interest due to them not seeing this type of object in everyday life, therefore due to them attempting to work out what the image is of this would make them more interested and intrigued by this image. The black and white edited colour of this photograph also creates ambiguity as the viewer cannot pull any clues from this image, as to what this subject may based on its colourings. 

This photograph is of a cabbage, the vast amount of texture on the top leaf of the cabbage creates a brain-like image within the viewers head, the different lines which sprout off of each other appear similar to the cortex of a human brain, this creates the connotation that nature is the brain of our modern world. The black background allows the cabbage to stand out from the background, as the lighting is just reflected off the object; moreover, the low key lighting creates shadowing on the cabbage, due to the way Weston has placed his lighting, this enhances the texture within the  image, and the tonal range- I would like to focus on lighting within my shoots as I believe you can really create the whole image through how you place the lighting this will also help me experiment with tonal range, therefore linking my work to Weston's more effectively. 

This image is of a cabbage leaf, although initially I personally believe that it looked like a ladies dress, with all of the pleats flowing down the edges. The texture in this image is highly detailed as the folds in the cabbage leaf overlap and creates shadowing combined with texture. In addition to this, in the bottom left-hand corner of this image it's extremely dark in comparison to the top of the cabbage leaf whereby it's reasonably light, this is exploring the tonal range which creates texture and depth in the overall image. 

Animated Gif - Definition Post

Shoot Two - Image Bank

In the above image there's a black table, with a vast amount of rain on it, the way in which the rain covers the table appeals to me, and this is something which I would like to recreate when on my shoot. This image emphasises and fits my aim of showing how a natural element like rain appears on man-made objects. 

The depth in this image is evident as the leaves in the foreground are in focus, with the background being out of focus, I could try to recreate a depth of field similar to this in my work, in this image the viewer can see how the rain looks on both man-made and natural objects (e.g. pathway, and the leaves.) In my shoot I would like to get an image showing both of the natural and man-made objects in one, however I will need to experiment as I believe they may appear more efficient in separate images as I do not want to confuse the viewer. 

The rain is submerging the pathway in the above image, and it's evident how the raindrops make ripples in the water that's along the path. I would like to photograph a puddle in my shoot, if this is possible in the location I will be shooting at, as I believe the ripples of the rain drops explores the element texture efficiently. 

This image is taken extremely closely to the object, possibly on a strong macro lens, the water appears to be sitting on the leaf. I want to shoot using a macro lens, however I would have to borrow one from the college, therefore on this particular shoot I will not be able to, however I will use this lens on another. Moreover in this image a narrow depth of field is explored as you cannot see the background but the leaves are sharply in focus, I want to explore this depth of field in my shoot. 

In this image the viewer can clearly see the outline of a city landscape behind the scattered raindrops. The raindrops in this image appear delicately placed, almost in a pattern, in my shoot I would prefer the raindrops to be random and scattered as I believe this will create a more efficient effect, whilst showing a chaotic atmosphere. 

This image is an extremely close up photograph of some flowers, the bright colours in this image are extremely eye-catching and interest me, I would like to recreate these bright colours in my images; however, I will be photographing my images on a dull day therefore it'd be hard to obtain all of the colour in my image. The rain drops almost appear to be crystals on the flower.

Essay On Project

An investigation into the effects of nature by the medium of photography:

Introduction:

Nature is a vital factor in our society, arguably 'everything is nature', focusing on raw and natural nature, and how this can be ruined by a single building, or man-made object is the aim of my project. In my shoots I want to portray how vulnerable, and precious nature is; simple images may allow me to show how visually pleasing nature can be, or through images of huge sky scrapers, which can also be aesthetically pleasing, but with no nature to be seen due to their dominance. 
The topic of nature is extremely prevalent in today's society due to global warming, and how the earth is becoming increasingly in danger of this, therefore I believe this topic is key to speak about, and show in my images. Despite there being numerous nature programmes, which show how beautiful nature is, there is not too many news articles focusing on nature, and how we need to protect it. Most programmes on TV are reality shows, or soaps which do not cover pressing matters like global warming, or the value of nature. Children should be taught from a young age in schools how to value nature, whilst being taught the severity and very realistic aspect of global warming, and the effects us as humans can have on the earth- children get taught to value, and care for others so why should they not be taught about how to value to earth they live on?
By shooting both images of nature, and man-made objects (e.g. buildings) I am hoping to show the contrast between the two, and how we have control over how much nature preserved. How different nature is in different countries will also be explored in my shoots, this will show that nature is everywhere, and all buildings look the same whilst nature can vary so vastly. 

Brief history:

I'm studying the use of documentary photography, Jacob Riis was responsible for being one of the first American's for using flash, and he was also one of the initial pioneers of documentary photography. Riis used his camera to capture the poor living conditions on the New York streets in order to expose this to the middle and upper classes. Camera lenses in the 1880's were slow, and did not have flash, therefore they were initially no use to Riis (who at the time was a writer about poverty in New York) as the conditions he wrote about were dark, and dingy, no use for a non-flash camera; however, when Riis realised the potential in flash photography to aid his work, he began to photograph the slums. Riis did a lot of his photography work at night, meaning he could capture the darkest times on the New York streets, due to his use of flash. Riis violently promoted the spread of wealth to the poor through improved social programmes, despite this due to the many prejudices at the time it was hard for him to be heard. Below are a selection of Riis' images. 

This image shows three boys sitting in what appears to be an alley. The boy's faces are not clearly seen, however due to the fact they have their heads down it's evident they may be ashamed, or embarrassed of their current living situation. The young boys in this image have no shoes, showing the extremity of their poverty. The dark tones in this image correspond with the message, and aim of this photograph about poverty. 

This image is again of three young boys, sitting at the bottom of steps. The boys in the image have shoes on, which may suggest they are slightly less poor than the boys in the image above who have no shoes, these two images show different sides of poverty. Moreover, the boys are placed directly in the middle of the image to catch your intention, and draw your focus onto this sensitive topic. Riis may have photographed young children to trigger more empathy in his upper class target audience. 

Technological- Flash photography was used in both of the above images photographed by Riis, the flash powder used was initially a concoction of magnesium, and potassium chlorate with antimony sulphide all contained in cartridges which would fire when used. Riis developed this way of 'flash photography' by using magnesium powder and a frying pan, he would remove his lens cap, whilst simultaneously igniting the flash powered, before placing the lens cap back on; this method of flash photography occasionally created blur.   

Henri Cartier Bresson was a French documentary photographer, who pioneered street photography, using a 35mm film. Bresson's use of the 'decisive moment' changed photography and the way people see images, as this is considered the spontaneity of the image, and how it represents itself; Bresson said "I suddenly understood that a photograph could fix eternity in a instant ." When young Henri photographed images using a Box Brownie, which is where he found his love of photography- Bresson later investigated his passion further with a 3x4 inch view camera. In 1952 Henri's book named 'The Decisive Moment' was published, whereby the images below were held. 

This image demonstrates Bresson's decisive moment well, as if he'd of photographed the image a few seconds later, or earlier the image would have been completely different; the birds may have all been on the floor, or have all gone, therefore this is a decisive moment. The depth in the image is evident due to the stairs winding upwards out of the shot. The lady is in the centre of the photograph, where the viewers eyes travel instantly.

This image is a decisive moment, as the man on the bike was only there in that moment had the image been taken any other time there would not have been the same outcome. Blur is evident due to the man riding past quickly on his bike, this is the only section of the image which is blurred, the rest is in focus. The angle this image is photographed is interesting as Bresson is looking downwards onto the streets, the winding stairs are captured also which take your eyes on a journey down into the depths of the photograph. 

Technological- Bresson shot his later images using a 50mm lens (which makes images appear similar to as they would tot he naked human eye) on his Lecia 35mm rangefinder camera. Bresson did not use camera equipment, he found it draining, he merely used his eye and his camera in order to capture his shots, Bresson liked natural images with no distortion or effects.

Photographer's Research:

Nadege Meriau

Meriau is a French photographer who lives, and works in London, Nadege uses organic objects to create her abstract and ambiguous photographs, she lets nature have control in her images whilst she manipulates the image she wishes to show. Nadege's images are often dark and mysterious, almost sci-fi like; her clever ideas convert edible food into hellish scenes which capture the human eye. Nadege's quirky personality allow her to convey this trait into her photographs, she uses the technique of macro photography, combined with enhanced colours and textures in order to create her overall images. Nadege has also been involved in a variety of advertisement campaigns including: Lurpack, Innocent smoothies and Ribena.

This photograph taken by Nadege demonstrates how she creates hellish environments, as this is extremely dark and narrow, indicated to the viewer that it may be a cave, as there's a little tunnel of light in the distance, which suggests this is the way out. The deep red colours used in this image trigger thoughts of blood in the viewers mind, as it appears as though it's almost dripping down the sides of the cave, this reinforces the idea of the cave being 'hellish'. A vignette is used to darken the outer edges of the image, Meriau may have done this in order to direct the viewers eye down to the end of the tunnel, showing there's a way out. This object I believe is a watermelon, which is usually associated with summer, and sun, this directly contrasts the overall look of the image as it appears cold, dark and dull in this cave-like structure. The lighter areas of the image make it appear as though there's light coming in from outside somehow, whether this may be a slight whole in the cave, to another exit to the right that the viewer cannot see. A reflection is seen in what appears to be water, although this is a reflective table top; this creates the idea that this cave is on the ocean. 

This image is lighter in colour than the image above, it appears as though this is a photograph of ice/snow in a cold region of the world (possibly Antarctica.) The pours, and dents in this image make it seem as though the snow is melting, Nadege may specifically framed her shot this way in order to highlight the effects of global warming in today's society. Towards the bottom of the image it appears as though the snow has melted, which again highlights the very important issue of global warming. The issue of global warming links to my topic of nature, as it displays how we need to protect nature, as without it we wouldn't survive. The lighter and darker tones in this image suggest that there is some sun around in this photograph as it's shining on parts of this image; however, the majority of the image is in the dark, implying that the majority of nature is in danger. I believe that Nadege has actually photographed ice cream in this image, as ice cream has a similar consistency to snow, which would allow her to make this image more realistic as a whole. Contrastingly, this image could possibly be of a coconut, as there's black areas of this image, which may be the outside skin of the fruit, by using this natural object it would have allowed Nadege to control her photograph slightly better, as coconut will stay stationary, and won't melt lie ice cream. 

Ansel Adams:

"I hope that my work will encourage self expression in others and stimulate the search for beauty and creative excitement in the great world around us" is a quote taken directly from Ansel Adams, the quote itself demonstrates how Ansel believed that we should all admire the nature, and the world around us more, and not be caught up in city-life, or technology- this belief is shown directly in his photographs. Adams was always at one with the American landscape, and he is considered monumental by many environmentalists, due to his advocation of the preservation of landscapes and nature. Due to Adam's troubled childhood he would take long walks, surrounded by nature which eventually led him to his love of nature, and therefore his passion to photograph it. In 1927 Adam's took his first pivotal photograph. 

The lines in this image appear in the shape of tiger stripes, the lighter and darker tones contrast each other, combining with the dark shadow left by the sandy hill. The curved line of the top of the sand hill takes your eyes on a journey through the image. Moreover, the angle at which Adam's photographed this photograph intrigues the viewer, as it's from the side slightly, he may have framed this photograph this way in order to capture both sides of the hill. The dark, and light tones in this image may signify the dark (bad), and light (good) sides of nature; good being the beauty and tranquility it holds, whereas the bad would be the fact that no one appreciates its beauty, and that landscapes are becoming ruined daily (deforestation...) In addition, Adams may have deliberately hid the sun from the viewer, to suggest that there's no hope for nature in our current world/society, as the sun is our source of life, and light, whereas in this image there's no source of light/life for nature. This image influences me to explore black and white landscape photography in my project, in order to display to the viewer how breathtaking nature is. 

The clouds in this photograph taken by Adam's appear to be smokey, due to the various tones of grey, white and black combining to create form within this photograph. The dark peaks of the mountain break the skyline of cloud. In this image the clouds appear dominant over everything else of the image, as they take up half of the frame; they appear to be violent and have a purpose, as they aren't round, fluffy clouds, they're edgy and textured. The foreground of the image is filled with a lake, this lake is smooth and appears to be calm, this implies that the lake may feel safe under the God-like clouds. This image is framed perfectly straight, symbolising organisation and almost perfection suggesting that organic objects are absolute. Various tones and contrasts are displayed in this photograph, which Adam's would have enhanced using the dodge and burn tool in photoshop, he did this in order to unnaturally highlight the tones, and various textures in order to make this image more eye-catching to the viewer. 

Relevance of photographers to my project:

Both Nadege Meriau and Ansel Adam's have already influenced some of my shoots (shoot 4/shoot 6), and will be influencing my future shoots also. I'm also going to compare one of my images to Steiglitz's images as I will be exploring this photographer further in the future also. 

This image was taken from my shoot number four, whereby my studio shoot was based on Nadege Meriau. I believe this image is similar to many of Meriau's images as it's abstract and the viewer cannot see what this photograph is of. A narrow depth of field is demonstrated within this image as the foreground is in focus, with the background blurred. I photographed this image using a macro camera, which allowed me to get extremely close to the organic object, allowing the abstract element of the image to occur. I converted my image into black and white in order to create more ambiguity as to what the object was; I thought that having colouring in the image would hint to the viewer what the fruit was, which I didn't want. 

Ansel Adams was the inspiration behind this image, due to his photographs of American landscapes/environments. In the above image I ensure that I framed this who that the two trees either side were placed evenly from the edge of the image; moreover, the path runs through the centre of the image acting like a leading line, whilst splitting the image into two. The trees in the foreground have no leaves on them, whereas the trees in the background appear full of leaves; this contrast is shown deliberately in order to demonstrate how the change of season is commencing (autumn.) 

The future:

Due to the ever-growing population of the world there will be an increased strain on natural resources/nature, as there will be a higher demand for such objects; I believe this will cause more photographers to focus on this issue, and explore the issue in their photography. The focus of 'nature' photography will move more towards the championing of its preservation, due to the increased pollution effects/worries on our world (for example the slow death of the Great Barrier Reef.) I believe that by focusing on the pollution of nature, and its struggle this may encourage more people to think about their actions, and the effects they have on pollution (e.g. co2 emissions from cars.)

Conclusion: 

Overall, Nadege Meriau and Ansel Adams are the main influences on my work when progressing forward as I will be focusing on macro-photography and landscape photography. Nadege creates surreal environments using organic objects, which is what I will try to recreate in my work. Adam's captures the beauty of landscapes, as he is an environmentalist, I will photograph British landscapes in order to also capture their beauty.

The technological development of colour being introduced allows images to become more detailed, and interesting to the viewer; although Adam's images are black and white as he wants to highlight the contrast to the viewer, Nadege's use of colour adds to the effect of her images.

I am going to improve on the detailed meaning behind my images, in order for me to make my shoots more creative and interesting, with deeper meanings. Moreover, I am going to attempt to increase my knowledge of the lights used in the studio, and how I can manipulate these within my images, to enhance the overall look of my photographs. In addition, I'm going to experiment with the dodge and burn tool in photoshop, to enhance the contrast between the black and white colouring in my landscape images. 

References:

Kestenholz, D (2014), Don't just shoot 50mm because Henri Carter-Bresson did so, accessed 3.11.16 [http://www.the.me/dont-just-shoot-50mm-because-henri-cartier-bresson-did-so/]

Wikipedia (last edited 13 October 2016), Henri Carter-Bresson, accessed 3.11.16 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Cartier-Bresson]

Wikipedia (last edited 6 November 2016), Jacob Riis, accessed 3.11.16 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Riis]

Carlisle, J (2015), Nadege Meriau, accessed 8.11.16 [http://www.jessicacarlisle.com/nadege-meriau/]

Metcalfe Lancaster, Nadege's workshop at launch of new Switch wing, Tatemodern, accessed 8.11.16 [http://metcalfelancaster.com/photographer/nadege-meriau/]

The Ansel Adam's Gallery, About Ansel Adams, accessed 1.12.16 [http://anseladams.com]

Shoot Ten - Work Diary

In this shoot I wanted to further explore the object that is a seasonal squash, which I previously explored in my shoot number nine. Similarly to my shoot number eight and nine I wanted to explore cave-lie structures in organic objects and create abstract environments from this- using my inspiration of Nadege Meriau. I conducted the shoot in the studio, using a reflector dish to light up the front area of the squash, a snoot in order to control the direction of light, a tripod to steady my camera, a macro camera to take the images on, the object itself in order to have something to shoot, a black backdrop to aid the low key lighting effect, a knife to cut the object open, a light meter in order to help me set my initial camera settings, and lastly a table in order to have something to place the object on. Below is a lighting diagram of how I set up the studio:

For this shoot I picked a bigger squash than I used in my previous shoot number nine, as I believed this would be easier to explore the inside of this. I cut a hole in the back of the object, and positioned the snoot here in order to add depth to the photograph. I believe this shoot didn't go as good as I expected it to due to the sheer amount of seeds, and string inside of the squash which made it increasingly difficult to cut open the squash. Furthermore, the squash used for this shoot was more flat than the previous squash used in my shoot number nine, which made it hard to create depth within the squash. My shoot number nine I believe is better than this shoot; however I do believe my straight images are a strong series from this shoot, despite not having as many straight images as my shoot number nine, I do believe I improved my lighting technique in this shoot as I moved around the lights more and explore with their angling, as we as moving the object itself more.

Best image from this shoot:

This photograph is one of my better images from this shoot, the light coming in from the hole   in the back of the squash due to the snoot is substantial in this image as this alone creates the depth in this image, as it highlights the hanging fibres in the squash aiding the cave-like environment I was aiming to create. The camera settings which I used to photograph this image are as follows: ISO 200, F 8, shutter speed 1/200. I believe that I should have made the reflector dish light lower, in order to create a lower key lighting effect, as this would have made the image as a whole more effective, whilst satisfying my aim of this shoot further. The fact that the viewer feels as though they're looking through a hole into this cave is effective, as again depth is created through the blurred edges of the squash. 

Worst image from this shoot:

This image is one of my least effective images from this shoot, as there's no cave-like structure created as all of the seeds are in the way. This image was taken early on in my shoot, prior to me digging out all of the seeds to create the better depth I have in some of my later images. Additionally, all of the squash is in focus due to the high aperture used to take this photograph (32), this also allows a lot of light into the lens which doesn't aid the creation of a low key lighting effect, the shutter speed of 1/200 also lets more light in than a quicker shutter speed, which again adds to the brightness of the image as a whole. If I was to reshoot this photo I would have first taken all of the seeds out of the image, and also created a lower key lighting by adapting my camera settings better, or adjusting the light which the reflector dish was on. 

Progression:
For my next shoot I would like to move on from using a seasonal squash onto using a pomegranate  as I believe they obtain a lot of texture and detail which I could explore through the use of macro photography. I will again shoot this in the studio, moreover I would like to use some coloured gels in my next shoot in order experiment with other techniques apart from macro photography.

Studio Equipment:

Snoot- a tube object which fits over a light in order to allow the photographer to control the direction of the light more precisely.

Reflector dish- a reflective surface which fits over a studio light, and is used to project light onto the object.

Tripod-  a stand which holds a camera on top, in order to keep the camera still to prevent any blur that may be caused. 

Shoot Ten - Straight Images

All of these images explore the object of a seasonal squash, likewise to my previous shoot. I chose to use a larger seasonal squash than that used in my previous shoot in order to shoot into the object itself more, and therefore get a better effect, making the viewer feel as though they're inside the object itself. I wanted to explore how I could create a cave-like structure within my images through my use of lighting within the studio, I believe I achieved this however due to the squash being quite flat, it was hard for me to scoop out all of its innards and therefore making it harder for me to create depth overall; despite this Im pleased that I progressed and explored the squash more in this shoot as I believe it aided my experimentation within my project. 

 

ISO- 200

F- 32

Shutter speed- 1/200

ISO- 200

F- 8

Shutter speed- 1/200

ISO- 200

F- 32

Shutter speed- 1/200