Edgar Martins & Rob Carter – Research/Inspiration

James Thorley in our class showed me these two photographers after I saw how our work was quite similar.

 

Edgar Martins – The Accidental Theorist

 

Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

Sourced from:

http://minimalexposition.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/meditation-edgar-martins-accidental.html

http://www.aperture.org/exposures/?attachment_id=3846

 

Martins explains how the pictures show a landscape which is familiar but at the same time are not what we are used to. It’s taking a space that we usually see in a busy and happy way and removing what we connect with it. Leaving it plain and uncomforting.

 

–       Strong shapes and space used

–       Familiar objects used in an unfamiliar and disturbing way

–       Taking the normal and making abnormal

 

I like the minimalism of the pictures. Almost look like unused tv sets. The sudden pitch-blackness gives it a very eerie feeling, ike a drop off at the edge of the world.

 

I like the work but it doesn’t have the same feeling that I want in my work. I will keep in mind the use of minimalism and simple shapes and lines though.

 

 

 

 

Rob Carter – Travelling Still

 

Botanic Gardens, Barbados 2005

Tulip Fields XI, Holland 2004

Buldoo Highland, Scotland 2003

Sourced from:

http://www.eyestorm.com/Pages/Browse.aspx/Artist/Rob_Carter/167

 

“Travelling Still is an ongoing series of photographs I’ve been working on over the last 5 years. As the name suggests, Travelling Still is all about creating the feeling of movement within a still image and tries to represent the experience of travelling itself. They stretch the ‘moment’ both literally – in that the camera shutter is held open – and visually, as the details of the subject blur out horizontally.

All the photographs contained within this website have been shot using a revolving-lens camera. The movement is created ‘in camera’ on to film, with no digital intervention – and are subsequently printed directly from the original transparency onto Cibachrome paper. ”

– Rob Carter. Taken from his website.

When I saw this work it clicked in my brain that this is something very similar to what I was aiming for. I saw a real connection between what I had done in my room with the 360-degree picture and what was here.

I really like the simplicity of the pictures. Taking a landscape and stripping it down to the bare building blocks of what makes a cliché landscape photograph a landscape photograph. Land, horizon, sky. The colour showing the general interest as to why the picture was taken.

 

Carter says that he wants to create the feeling of travel with these pictures, and you get that. But I like to see them as a single shot. Just really simplifying what is there. Taking it down to the minimum.

 

This is definitely something I will keep in mind with my work. I can see that what I thought was very original with my work before is not. But it doesn’t stop me from continue to explore my ideas I have had.

Crowd Funding

We started the year with a lecture by Peter Dench on crowd funding and have forgotten to include it in my project so far.

Crowd funding is basically the idea of preselling before a product is finished. You are basically asking people to pay a small amount to help fund a project that you can’t fund yourself and at the end you will give them the product in return or something else that you may agree upon. You are under a time limit though. You need to make a certain amount of money for your project to succeed. Some sites let you keep what you have made even if you don’t make you final aim, others won’t let you have any money if you don’t make your target.

 

It is used to support many different things such as disaster relief, political campaigns, small companies starting up, films or video games, free software, scientific research or for the reason I am looking at it, artists getting funding for projects or a gallery etc.

 

Peter Dench explained how he had used it to get his book ‘UK uncensored’ made. This is his crowd funding site:

 

http://www.emphas.is/web/guest/bookproject?projectID=485

 

Emphas.is is just one of many crowd funding websites though.

Others include, crowdfunder, kickstarter, indiegogond many others.

 

http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/

 

http://www.kickstarter.com/

 

http://www.indiegogo.com/

 

He explained how you need to really pitch your idea or project to your audience. Show them a few pictures, show them the design of your book. Make a video pitch or a power point pitch. Try and have a video of you explaining your project and how you need the funding. He also said use social networking sites to get your product or idea known. Use facebook, twitter, youtube etc.

 

 

 

We have been asked to look into crowd funding and see if it is for us in funding our own projects. Some people in the class have had a go at it to funding there final prints mainly. I on the other hand don’t feel it is for me right now.

 

I would rather use it to fund a project I really had some weight behind instead of a work in progress. I understand that it is also to help fund projects but I don’t need the funding. I can use the university media store and I am financially strong enough to pay or my own final prints or book if I want to make one.

 

I will definitely keep crowd funding in mind and when I have a project I am particularly passionate about or need help in funding then I will turn to one of these sites. I think they are great ideas and really helpful for anyone out there looking for money for a project.

Group Crit – Deciding on a Project

So I began with my three ideas which you can see in my previous posts.

Idea 1 – From a Train

Idea 2 – Personal Space

Idea 3 – Small Journeys

 

The feedback I got was:

There was interest in the first idea, not sure about the idea of photographing from a train but some about the pictures.

There was also some interest in the video from the train.

Idea 3 didn’t really receive much praise and was pointed out how it had been done before in a way.

Idea 2 some people found interesting but were not completely sure. Heike (our head lecturer) Pointed out the 360 degree shots and said they were interesting.

 

With this feedback I’ve decided to go down the routes of idea 1 but I am also really drawn to this 360 degree shooting style and want to explore it more. I’m going to keep both options open and work a little on both and see how they do.

 

 

I’ve decided to ask myself why I am doing each project to make it clearer to myself but also to anyone reading this.

 

Why am I doing 360 landscapes?

 

It lets me use a technique that I found and enjoyed using last year with abstract photography and look at it again with landscape in mind. A long exposure with movement is used quite a lot in photography but usually with the camera kept stationary and the subject would have movement in or will be moving.

 

I wanted to break away from this like I had before and move the camera instead of the subject. In this case it means I will have to move the camera around a landscape. I could do this quite erratically and move the camera and myself completely around a landscape. I have done this before, in a way, if you look at my third idea. Although it is interesting it is not the effect I am after. I want to abstract the picture but also keep the feeling of a landscape. It is the bringing together of two genres and ideas, not using one to engulf the other.

 

Why am I making the video?

 

The video stemmed from the music video for Clock Operas song ‘Belongings’ which I talked about earlier. I really like the simplicity of it but also the hypnotic effect it has. When you see a traveling video its usually shot from the front so you can see where you are going and what is next. This is just like the journey one would take. You usually look forward and are more interested in where you are heading rather than what is happening around you. On a train you do look out the window though and literally watch the world go by. I love this view, you watch a constantly moving landscape and you can sit there and pick out points of interest. I thought a video is the best way to capture this. I could take a series of pictures but then you are just looking at my chosen points. With a video you can see the movement of near or far buildings and trees etc. Perspective plays an important role and gives you a different view of the landscape every second as you fly past at sometimes hundreds of miles per hour.

Inspiration and Research

For my three ideas I drew a lot of inspiration from the same artists.

I knew I wanted to simplify landscape with the use of abstract photography. The first people that came to mind when I was thinking about what I wanted to do and what I wanted from my work was Andrea Gursky and Hiroshi Sugimoto.

The Andreas Gursky work I had in mind was his Reine II.

Rhine II

http://c4gallery.com/artist/database/andreas-gursky/andreas-gursky.html

Famous for being sold for over $4 million, it has been mocked by many for being so simple but that is where its strengths lie. A very small colour pallet of grey and green works really well with a very simple layout. Gursky edited the picture so as to remove any distractions. He wanted to keep it as simple as possible, the only real detail being in the textures. This is the only real thing that tells you that it is a landscape, if he had edited the texture from the grass or the water it could be questioned as to what it is. Of course you would still assume landscape as that is Gurskys main area of work. This is something that I would like to create in my work, a feeling of confusion but also the feeling that you know what it is. I want people to see my work and have an idea of what there looking at but at the same time question that idea.

The Sugimoto work I was thinking of was his seascapes.

Aegean Sea, Pillon, 1990. Silver Gelatin Print

Ligurian Sea, near Saviore,1993. Silver Gelatin Print

North Atlantic Ocean, Cape Breton, 1996.. Silver Gelatin Photograph

http://c4gallery.com/artist/database/hiroshi-sugimoto/seascapes/hiroshi-sugimoto-seascapes.html

 

Sugimoto’s seascapes are extremely well known, for there beauty, originality and the way he makes them. Sugimoto will set up his large format camera on a beach somewhere facing the sea are open the shutter for hours. Instead of trying to capture a moment, he is capturing a huge segment of time. With this he creates beautiful pictures and uses amazing tonal range. It is a sort of complex way to create a very minimalistic picture but with that minimalism, like Gursky, he has made them very powerful and striking. Again this is what I want, minimalistic landscapes which can still hold the viewer and are very powerful within themselves.

Idea 3 – Small Journeys

This is sort of an evolution from ideas 1 and 2. Looking at movement and journeys but in a smaller area and probably places I know better. These pictures were taken just down my road.

down the road

yellow lines

red lines

red and green lines

 

Idea 3 contact sheets

 

I’m still using the same techniques and keeping in mind the joining of abstract and landscape photography to create this work. It has some interesting points. I like the sort of lighting bolt lines that wave across the picture. Although quite obviously they are man made lights, they seem to have this very natural and organic feel in the way they are shaped. They flow and entwine like seaweed in a current, or perhaps like smoke from a candle that has just been extinguished.

Although this work has an interesting look to it I’m not sure what more I could do with it, so unless it gets a really good reception at the crit when we decide what to continue with, I don’t I will continue with it.

Idea 2 – Personal Space

For my second idea I wanted to look at my personal surroundings. I wanted to keep the idea of using abstract and landscape but bring it closer to me. Abstracting my personal space and photographing in a landscape style. Still using long exposures but I thought I might try to include myself within the pictures. Making the personal about my space and objects around me but also about myself.

My inspiration to include myself comes from a single picture by Robert Frank.

http://www.artnet.com/artwork/426205132/119642/robert-frank-barber-shop-through-screen-door-mcclellanville-sc-1955.html

Barber Shop through screen door – 1955

In this photograph you can see the chair in the barbers shop but you can also see Frank in the reflection of the window with the houses behind him. This sparked my interest for photographing myself within the pictures.

2 point spin

4 point spin

8 point spin

failed 360 degree spin

360 degree spin

 

Idea 2 contact sheet

 

 

I feel that including the photographer can completely change the view of the picture. It opens your mind around the camera. Without the photographer you focus on what the camera has framed and what is in the picture. I think that when you include the photographer in the picture it starts to create a 3D idea in your mind of the area around the camera. It give you the picture in your head of the photographer pressing the shutter and moving infront of the camera. Completely breaking down the idea of where the photographer is supposed to stand.

I used the same techniques of long exposure and moving the camera but this time I kept it on a tripod. I wanted to try and capture my entire room in one frame and all in camera, not post production. I used a fish eye lens to try and get a wide angle on the room, it also adds another sort of abstract feeling to the pictures but I’m not sure if I would keep using it.

I tried a few different ways to capture the whole room in a frame and I have sort of named each way. Here are some.

4 point spin: As it is a rectangular room you have 4 walls, so I would face the camera at one and time it for a quarter of the shutter speeds duration. I would then spin it to the next in a anti clockwise direction and capture the next wall. I would continue this until all 4 walls had the same time.

8 point spin: This would be the same as the 4 point spin but I would include the corners, therefor getting 8 different shots instead of 4.

360 degree spin: I would fire the shutter and spin the camera 360 degrees hopefully ending at the same point as I began if timed correctly. I didn’t have anything to turn the camera but myself so I would just try and spin it so that everywhere got an even amount of time. If I kept it on one section for too long or opened the shutter and was delayed in beginning the spin then you can see one part much clearer than the others.

I like the work and think the pictures with myself in are interesting and there is something to work from them. But my personal favourite is the 360 degree spin shot. Not just because I didnt use the fish eye but it has an interesting quality to it. Its very calming but also seems very powerful.

Idea 1 – From a Train

So I’ve taken my first shoot which is always a good start! It was taken on a train from Derby to Leicester and I just thought I would see what I could do with long exposures with the landscape. There are some interesting shots and many failed shots. You have to expect failed shots with something like this. You are working with long exposures and movement which can lead to a lot of trial and error, you are also working with a landscape which is changing very quickly and you dont know what you will be going past next. (unless you know the route which I didn’t).

Photographs from a train

I wanted to simplify the landscape and abstract it so the viewer can’t easily determine what they are looking at. When you are on a train and you look out of the window you can either focus on something for a few seconds before you are past it and it is gone or you can just see a blur as everything rushes by. With these photographs I wanted to capture both these views.

I would keep the camera focused on one object whilst the train went past with about a 2 second exposure. You can see this with the picture of the electricity pilons. Or I would just keep the camera at a 90 degree angle to the window and let it capture whatever went past, getting that feeling of fast movement and loss of detail.

So here is my contact sheet and also some favourite shots from it.

Contact Sheet for Shoot 1

Video from a train

I shot this video on a train from Reading to London Paddington. It was shot by just pressing my iphone up against the window of the train and trying to keep it as level as I could. The original video is about 34 minutes long but I have cut it down to the last 10 minutes because of size issues but also incase so that if I want to use it later it isn’t online for anyone to take. I also have some other videos I shot whilst in London but they do not work as well.

I took inspiration for it from a video for Clock Operas single ‘Belongings’.

The video was directed by Andy West who is actually the guitarist in the band. Ive drawn my inspiration from around 1.30 – 2.20. I love how simple it is but also that by simply mirroring it he has created an amazing look. Almost like a landscape by a crystal clear lake. It gives a very floaty a calm feeling. Works very well with the music.

My Videos

The escalator and walking videos are not as strong for a few reasons. They are not long enough, they are very shaky including many others.

I chose to get rid of the sound with the train journey purely as you can hear myself and friends talking in the background. If I go on to use it later I will probably include some music.

I wanted to show travel and movement with these videos. Looking at how we dont actually acknowledge a lot of our surroundings but just pass them by. It was also a look at perspective. Looking at the world from another angle that you are not used to.

 

Overall I think they are a success but definitely need a lot of work if they will make it as my final project. There is definitely potential though.

I apologise for the quality of all the videos and the sound.

Landscape and Abstract

So as this is supposed to be a project which is evolving from last years modules I thought I better take some of what I did last year and work from there. Two projects I was pleased with and had never actually explored before were my landscape project and another that delved into the abstract. Both were areas I never thought I would get into but in the end really enjoyed and completed with some success. From them I will continue to try them separately but I am thinking about ways I could unite them also.

Abstract

Made in response to one of our first modules in my first year at uni. (Vis 1: The Camera). We were told to only photograph in Markeaton Street Campus and we had the whole term to complete the project. These are some pictures from my experimentations during the project as well as some finals.

Landscape

Made in response to our module on advanced processes when we had to focus on landscape. Before the project I had no interest in landscape photography but since I have seen it in a new light. These pictures were all taken at Markeaton Park.

Adobe are being difficult…

So the other day I said I was going to begin getting some work on here but there has been a bump in the road. An adobe shaped bump. I recently changed laptops and with that I moved photoshop to this one. To cut a long story short, I can’t use photoshop at the moment and therefore I cant watermark my work as I would like to. People have been saying I dont need to but I dont want to be putting my work out there for the world and then if it gets moved around there wont be anything to link it back to me.

So thats the issue at the moment. Im going to try and come up with a quick solution for now but when I have sorted this photoshop issue out everything should start moving a lot smoother.

Thank you for your patience!

Explanation and understanding

Right, right, right, right, right….. (spent way to long deciding how many rights to use)

I think I’m supposed to be flooding this blog with ideas and work to spark my mind and begin showing the world what kind of photographer I am. So far there has hardly been a trickle, but I have my reasons and I am going to bore you with them now.

I have been scared/lost/confused as to what goes where and when I should be throwing things down in which place for which person etc etc. So I’ve given up trying to separate everything in my head and I’m just going to start slapping things down and moving them about if necessary. I also dont really no what kind of photographer I am or want to be! So I’m going to just try as much as I can and then start dismissing the things that I find myself losing interest and motivation in.

I must also warn you that things at the moment wont be in chronological order or any real order for that matter but I’m pretty sure things will start coming together a bit later. So I’m basically going to be taking everything out of my head and throwing it on the table just to spread it out so I will be able to get a proper look at it all. So good luck reader and hopefully everything will work out.

Now are you sitting comfortably?……………Then I’ll begin.