Technical and Visual
I am happy with the technical accuracy of my images in terms of capture parameters such as exposure and the like. I have chosen to stick with a 5:4 format which I find achieves a nice balance between a width to show the scene I want to show but with a stronger focus on the subject itself by eliminating objects right at the edge of the scene that sometimes are hard to eliminate with a 3:2 format.
This is my first assignment in this course that I have submitted in black and white and I am happy with the conversion process. I discuss the choice of black and white below in the creativity section below.
In this assignment, I put a lot of effort into thinking about the set at the same time as capturing individual scenes. I wanted to make sure that I was capturing a good variety of shots whilst at the same time developing a consistency between the images.
I revisited a number of scenes on multiple days because I was not happy with the framing first time around. At a number of scenes on the first attempt, I found that my interest was captured by the juxtaposition between a turbine and something about the place itself, Fig.8 is an example where I liked the old farm barn and the turbine being seen together as I felt it showed a link between two facets of the place. On my first capture (see LPE A3-123 in the contact sheets) I framed too closely on the barn itself, because I had already seen turbines all day. But when reviewing in the evening, I realised that I was too closely framed on the barn and so had to return the next day. The practice of capture, review, recapture is something that I need to keep doing.
Because I was recapturing on different days, I found that there were challenges with weather variation between the days. The images in my final edit were all taken on sunny, but slightly overcast, days which led to a nice soft light. On my second day of capture the sunlight was very direct which created a totally different light. This meant that I also needed to revisit some scenes in order to capture the scene in consistent lighting conditions. Fig. 7 is an example of this, my selected image was the second capture as the first, LPE-A3 188 on the contact sheet, was captured on a sunny day and was simply not consistent with the other images. Again, important to remember the conditions and plan accordingly, on this occasion it meant I spent a whole day capturing images that I could not then use, although it did allow me to scout for new scenes so was not totally wasted.
Quality of Outcome
I am happy with the outcome in general as I feel that the set does show what I wanted to show, the Cornish landscape with the turbines shown as part of that landscape. I think that revisiting scenes to adjust framing, and to capture scenes with matching lighting conditions across the set has created a strong edit.
Comparing my images to Burtynsky (Burtynsky et al., 2003), I can identify two areas that I would like to improve. Firstly, some of his images are very tightly cropped, creating an abstract feel. Secondly, the range of images that he has created is far wider than mine and this creates an added degree of interest compared to my set which, although they have variation are more similar to each other. Whilst I am happy with my set, I think I would like to push my shot selection further to achieve these effects.
Demonstration of Creativity
I found the biggest challenge in capturing these images was to create a range sufficiently different from each other to create an interesting set of images. Using my selected images as an example, it would have been relatively straightforward to create a set of images that were all relatively similar to Fig. 1. The countryside is littered with scenes such as this. Had I done so, I don’t think I would have achieved my intent to show the turbines as an aspect of Cornish life and so I took alternative images of the same turbines with different views, Fig. 4 being the same turbines with a very different view. Fig. 9 is an example that is scenic such as Fig. 1 but framed very differently at the same time.
Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 are very different, these are framed much more closely to other aspects of the landscape. I did have to experiment with this. As already mentioned, from the contact sheets, image LPE A3-123 shows one of my initial attempts but when I reviewed those images back at base, I felt that it was too close up, the image did not show enough of the landscape or place and so I went back to the scene to take a wider shot.
I’m pleased with the ultimate collection and I’m especially pleased with the way in which my practice worked; capturing images, reviewing back at base, then going to out the next day to recapture. This does show the need to make an allowance for this process, a project is always likely to require this approach and so it is important to consider how to make the time or arrangements to achieve this if not capturing images in the local area.
With regards to the choice of black and white. I had envisaged black and white before commencing the project. I wanted to capture the images in such a way so that they could be compared to other historical images. Those other images are likely to be in black and white and so my presentation choice helps with that comparison.
Throughout the capture, I wrestled with the choice of whether or not to include people. Given that my intent was to capture the impact of the turbines on the Cornish population, there could be an argument for doing so, and I did include a cow in Fig. 7 for example. Ultimately I decided not to, I looked at Burtynsky’s images (ibid.) and saw that his series, very much aimed at capturing the landscape and the impact of industry, does not contain people in most of the images and I felt that this intensified the focus on the landscape itself. I should also say that his images managed to isolate scenes that emphasised the sublime nature of each of the scenes in a way that I have not achieved, I think this shows I need to use further on scene isolation to inject some dynamism into my images.
Context
There were two main influences to this assignment.
Burtynsky – I have already discussed above how his images from his book Manufactured Landscapes (Ibid.) inspired me to reflect on the relationship between the land and industry, and how it impacts those who live in that land. This is exactly what I wanted to explore in this assignment and I have already written about how I would like to develop my photography further based on reviewing his images.
Reas – his series Flogging a Dead Horse (Reas, 1993) takes a satirical look at how historical industrial scenes have now become tourist attractions. A similar effect is seen in Cornwall which once was a thriving area for tin mines but which are now mainly derelict, with a few operating as attractions. My series is not satirical, and it is looking at an industry that is both current and seen as the energy of the future. However, it was reviewing Reas that led me to consider the possibility that today’s industries are tomorrow’s tourist attractions and in turn made me wonder if images I capture now could be used in the future to look back at how the turbines once looked.
Bibliography
Burtynsky, E., Baker, K., Haworth-Booth, M., Pauli, L. and Torosian, M., 2003. Manufactured landscapes. [Ottawa]: National Gallery of Canada in association with Yale University Press.
Reas, P., 1993. Flogging a Dead Horse — Paul Reas Photographer. [online] Paul Reas Photographer. Available at: <https://www.paulreas.com/portfolio-1/project-two-pa8ag> [Accessed 21 March 2021].