For my year 10 final piece I chose the option 'The Natural World'. I decided to go take photographs in this section as I found out there are many interesting ways that the natural world is present. I decided to make a pinterest board and add pins which I found inspiring. Below I have selected a few photographers that really inspired me to select this choice for my final piece. I find that all of the photographers show how the world around us can be effected by human activity. The way which people modify such things as plants so carelessly, for example, throwing plastic on top of them, makes an extremely good photograph. It shows the feeling of depression the photographer sees behind the camera lens.
Anna Kulachek
Anna Kulachek is a photographer who created an album go photographs called Nature Fashion. She cuts out the dress from a printed picture, holds the paper up to a fitting view and takes a picture of that. The background has been adjusted to resemble a dress, as you can see on the right. This piece instantly inspired me once I had found it. I find that the creativity put into the idea of making the environment create a completely different scene is very nice and I would like to use that idea. Something I think slightly ruins this collection of images is that each photograph is very similar. Anna chose to use the same printed portrait picture of a woman standing, she may have done this to emphasis how the change is background changes the overall image. She has successfully done this but if I were to use this inspiring photographer to make my second final piece, I want to add variation.
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SHAMEKH BLUWI
I decided to look into artists which create similar photographs to further inspire me. Shamekh Bluwi uses the same idea as Anna Kulachek by using scenery to make a dress. I find Shamekh's work much more impressive as the printed out picture is different in each photograph and the dresses are much more complex. If I end up experimenting along this path I'd like to see if I could create such beautiful drawings.
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NIKOLAI TOLSTY
Nikolai Tolsty took over 30 unique photographs of animal silhouettes with bright or appropriate background. Not only did he take such a large amount of pictures but each one is clearly different which shows the how much effort was put into this work. What I find surprisingly impressive that that the animal in some photos match their background, such as the dolphin has a water background because it lives in a similar environment. This collection go images has inspired me greatly and has motivated me to experiment with photographs like this.
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FIRST ATTEMPT
For my first attempt at doing work similar to my researched photographers I simply tries to test if I could recreate it well enough. I took most of my inspiration from Nikolai Tolsty because I enjoyed looking at the simplicity of the cutouts used. I chose to make cutouts of plants instead of animals as it has more relevance to the natural world. I held my pieces of paper in front of a manmade scene because I think it could make the viewer think about how humans take natural resources and just turn them into things like books. I found that this small experiment has definitely made me want to develop on this idea because I think I could experiment with a number of things, which may end with an interesting final outcome if I choose to stick with this idea.
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Experimentation
Now as a proper experiment I made eight new cutouts of plants such as mushrooms or tulips and again help them in front of unnatural scenes. I found scenes light the concrete floor or computers but I think that I help the pieces of paper too close to the manmade scenery. As this set of photographs are a proper step towards my second final outcome I took the framing into mind. I cut the paper in half so that it would be the same shape as the photograph. I wanted to copy how Anna Kulachek and Nikolai Tolsty left a small space around the paper so that the audience can see the background. I very much like the idea of the background being unnatural because as a viewer I instantly could tell that the photographers intention was something to do with human activity on the natural world.
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Expeimentation no.2
For my second experiment I held the pieces of paper in front of a natural background just to see if I would prefer it. In the end, I do think that the greenery in the background makes the photographs more eye-catching. But the thought behind the images have gone as everything inside the image has to do with the natural world. I prefer photographs that can be interpreted to have a meaningful thought behind it. The lighting in these photographs are natural which I think works well as the paper has the same amount of light across it (no shadows on corners).
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Karl Blossfeldt
Karl Blossfeldt creates sculptures out of clay, of natural things, like flowers out of clay. Blossfeldt's photographs have rustic filter which gives the images a vintage effect. This effect gives his photographs a certain aroma which shaped the way you look at the photograph. When I first looked at this set of images I noticed that the plants were made from clay because the images were taken close up. Clay is a natural resource but for flowers to be made of clay is unnatural. Meaning that these images are photographs of something unnaturally natural. This is what I love about this photographer the most. He managed to twist certain aspects in photographs that really make you question what the symbol behind these photographs are meant to be. I think it shows how the world is being affected by such things as natural pollution (e.g. carbon dioxide) which as humans we cannot quite control. This symbol is different to photographers I have researched for 'natural world' as his symbol is different. The other photographers displayed how human activity effects plants and other things around us whereas Karl Blossfeldt shows how the weld affects itself. |
Anna Atkins
Anna Atkins was an English photographer born on 16 March 1799 in Tonbridge. Her work consisted of cyanotypes of plants using an iron pigment on the paper then exposing it to the sunlight. Anna's work is inspiring to me because she captures the natural world in unique way, I have not seen other photographers do this. I currently want my final outcome to include a simple colour washed background, just like the images on the right. Atkins work include only different shades of blue which I find very eye pleasing. |
Myoung Ho Lee
Myoung Ho Lee is an artist based in Korea who created some of my favourite work. I think what he went through to capture these photographs is unbelievable. He hired large cranes to hold up a massive sheet of cloth to hide the background and make the subject stand out. These photographs are extremely eye-catching as it makes the viewer question how the artwork was created. Not only is Lee's dedication to each photograph shown, I find them each very calming and peaceful to look at. It shows how harmonious the natural really is. I've been inspired so much by Young Ho Lee's work that I plan to also use sheets of (maybe coloured) paper behind the natural object. |
Vilde Rolfsen
Vilde Rolfsen takes photographs each with a colour washed backgrounds and the main subject being a simply object. Most of the items that are used are food related, such as ice-cream, fruits, plastic cups, cutlery, etc. I find these photographs very visually pleasing as you can clearly identify the objects and the clear backdrop makes the images very eye catching. I find that Vilde's images have a purpose, more of a purpose to just look at bright pictures of fruits. I think that the deeper meaning behind her photographs has something to do with how humans destroy and damage the natural world around us everyday and that it actually looks quite horrible. I got this idea by looking at the photograph where multiple pins are stuck inside of a lemon. Rolfsen's photographs are very simple but I can clearly tell she has put a lot of thought into it. I can tell because in every one of her images there is either an extreme lack of shadows or the shadows are purposely placed is certain areas. For example, in the photograph where multiple plastic cups are places around a reddish magenta backdrop each cup has multiple shadows. This suggests that the lighting Vilde Roldswn used was not natural even tho the light its self resembles the light the sun gives off. |
Vanessa McKeown
Vanessa McKeown's images are very similar to the photographs taken by Vilde Rolfsen. They are very similar because of the background they both use, they manage to get a flat and pure coloured backdrop for each picture to make the subjects of the photographs more bold. Vanessa's choice of items is always related to food in one way or another which Vilde also does. I like mcKeown's photographs a lot as I find they have a deep meaning behind them all. The reason I love these photographs as much as I do is because McKeown manages to creatively think of many ways take pictures where man made items are weaved inside or out natural objects. This must symbolise how human activity effects the world around us to such an extent that even things such as fruits are now being damaged in the process. An example of where this can be seen in her work is the photograph where there is a tiny football forced inside of an orange. This is a theme for all of Vanessa's images. |
In this photograph taken by Vanessa McKeown I can see a feminine hand holding an ice lolly in an awkward position. The ice lolly has an extreme amount of needles stuck in it and is also melting at the same time. Having so many things happening as once usually causes the photograph to appear very busy but McKeown has managed to keep the simplicity in her photograph. That is why I love this image so much, multiple things are 'wrong' in the photograph yet together they form a sort of symbol. As soon as i set eyes on this photograph I recognised the symbolism in this picture, how society managed to damage/effect evrything around us. The pins inside the ice lolly I think represents how we do such terrible things to our natural world (plants, tree, fruits, etc.) and we know we do. But sill carry on. Having deep meanings behind images is something I really aim to have while taking my own photographs in school and outside of school.
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other inspiring photographers
Sneha Sankar (on behance) |
Sarah Illenberg |
Mat Collishaw |
practice at home
I decided to take 20 photographs inspired by the work from all the photographers above. I chose to base my photographs off of the similarly of having the natural world getting damaged by man made items that all the photographers above use. I did this in the hope of finding another way to present human activity with natural world. And I did, I spotted a lighter in my kitchen and got the idea to attempt to light the fruits on fire. I did not manage to set the banana in flames because of its moisture but for my final piece I will make sure I get hold of a dry leaf to set up in flames. I think the way that the fruits looked when they were cut up is very meaningful. For example, the image where the banana's peal has been sliced and the flame is near it you can see the horrible it looks. It looks horrible because seeing kings that were once growing having bruises as over is and getting attacked is not a pleasant sight. I did not try and make these photographs as close to how I want my final outcome to look like as I wanted to focus on different ways to damage fruits and vegetables.Which is why the angles and background for these photos are not good quality at all. They are only fruits and plants but I find photographs around this genre have such a touching thought behind it. Which is why I chose to make my final piece about it. |
Spider diagram
I created a spider diagram but instead of putting a certain amount of effort and thought into each of my ideas, I wrote down every thought that came to my mind when I read the words 'Natural World'. I found that this method for making a spider diagram is actually very useful as I managed to record each thought that comes to my head and then also record my thoughts that are inspired by the previous idea. I chose to circle the words that I would enjoy to experiment with or the words that surprised me when I wrote them down. Ideas such as 'ice' is something I really hope I am able to use in my final piece, I hope to use it by freezing parts of fruits or plants inside an ice cube which would fit very well with my theme. An idea which surprised me when i wrote it down was 'pollution'. I find it a surprising idea as it was inspired by 'aural world', but pollution is actually the opposite of natural it is man made, but it effects the world. I'd like to use this in my final piece because pollution has a large negative impact on our world today which would make the photograph very meaningful.
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VISUaL Response
I took 14 photographs around the school where either; natural world was being contained by man made things, plants are being damaged by man made items or man made things are just placed in the middle of the natural world. An example of a photograph where the natural world is being contained by man made things is the photograph of a small plant coming out of the pavement near a fence. It shows how the plant managed to find the tinniest gap between the concrete and medianly sprouted out through it. A example of a photograph where plants are being damaged by man made items is the photograph where a bright white flower had purple ink on it. It shows that people are so easily able to have an ugly impact on the beautiful things that grow. An example of a photograph where man made things are just places in the middle of of the natural world is the photograph where a pole has been stuck between the grass on the ground. At first i walked past this pointless pole in the ground but then thought about how carelessly people are willing to kill plants for whatever the purpose is. I think these images are much better developed compared to my practice at home as it shows things I want to include in my final piece and also the angles are more like the angles I want to use for my final outcome. |
Potential resources
I decided to go out a search for flowers to use for my final piece. I need to do this because for my experimentation I found a limited amount of eye pleasing flowers. I did not only go and examine the best flowers that I could find but I took photographs every time I managed to find a good one. I did that because I think it is nice to see nature being undisturbed and I want to record the best flowers that will be available to me once I produce my final piece. I usually do not enjoy photographs like this, where the subject is close to the camera lens and the background is left as it is. Photographs like this are very boring and pointless to me as it has no deeper meaning, reasons for taking pictures like this is to show the viewer what they see, nothing more. This usually does not interest me. But strangely I find that the photographs I have taken today are not as boring as I expected myself to find them. This may be a bias opinion because they are my photographs after all but I think I managed to capture tiny details very well. The image that displays this the best is the first one, you can clearly see the inside of the flower and small creases on the petals. |
Stephen Gill
Stephen Gill is a British experimental, conceptual and documentary photographer. He created a collection of photographs called Outside In where he places things like leaves and other plants onto of photographs he has taken before, then photographed that. I chose to research and evaluate a collection of Stephen's work because it shares a similarity with what I am currently working on. It shows both the natural and the un-natural part of our world. It is shown in Gill's photographs as he has parts of plant layed out on top of pictures of shops and streets. In my work it will be shown as I will take plants, place them in an un-natural setting and damage them with man made things like a lighter. Looking at these photographs have encouraged me to continue with my idea and take pictures which present both the natural work and opposite.
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Experimentation
In these 10 images I have attempted to damage them by either setting them on fire using a clipper lighter or sticking needles supplied to me. I chose to do this because I wanted to experiment with angles and what objects to include for my final outcome. I managed to set things alight very well considering that the weather was damp but I found that sticking the needles inside the tree bark and conker was challenging because the needles would just fall out. I tried to make the background as simple as I could without using paper just like Vanessa McKeown and Vilde Rolfsen. I don't find that using a natural background worked out well enough to use it for my final piece. So I think the next time I decide to experiment I will try and receive coloured paper to place behind the main subjects. |
Further Experimentation
For this round of experimentation I made the improvement of using a coloured piece of paper to create a calm and smooth backdrop. I find that having a simplistic background stops the viewer from getting distracted and helps ten to focus on that the photographer wants them to focus on. Using plain coloured paper is a good step in the right direction towards my developed final outcome. The images themselves though I am not a fan of, the objects I managed too find have all been either just placed on the backdrop or partially cut off (so that my hand is not captured) which will need to be changed for my final outcome. I think having an object simply placed on a colour washed background adds to the (saddening) vibe I want my images to give off. I decided to not stick pins, cut or set fire to these subjects because I was curious to see if taking away the background and destruction would make the images even simpler. I think it was a nice idea but I have decided to keep the destruction in future development. |
Plan for next step
For my further experimentation I will be creating multiple scenes where there is only a clear colour washed background, an item that represents the natural work and then damaging that item. I plan to make each image have a different colour background, a different object and a different way of damaging each item. I will make the clear background using coloured paper which I would have brought to school from home, I will use both gentle/pastel coloured and bold/bright coloured paper as backgrounds. I will also bring in fruits such as a banana, an apple and a pear to for ,example, and then stick things into. Three items will not be enough so I will also look around the school ground and find other things to damage such as a flower. Damaging each item in different ways each time will be a challenging task, therefore I have gone out and buy pins, a small sharp knife and a lighter. I hope to also receive some paint to use on some fruits.
Potential final outcome
For my experimentation I followed my plan exactly. I brought in all my equipment from home, such as the needles, fruit, etc. I positioned the pieces of coloured paper between two computers and balanced the subject near the corner. I did that for each picture so that the viewer imagines the main item to be in a simple colour washed room. I think that the idea that the subject is alone creates a saddening atmosphere around the photograph. Which is one of my favourite things in photography. Having pins and cuts placed in the fruits also adds to the depressing atmosphere around the images. I put a lot of thought and time into this project which I think is shown in this outcome.
Colour Venture
For the next step closer to my final outcome I have chosen to mess around with the saturation and HEU (Highly Enriched Uranium) of parts of the photographs in photoshop. I used the Magnetic Lasso tool to outline the the objects I wanted to adjust and then went to the Image tab, clicked on Adjustments and Heu/Saturation. The colours have been changed to a completely different colour or exaggerated to the fullest. I think this is very different compared to the original photographs as the originals are much more gentle looking because these are very sharp to the eye. Exploring with the different colours and brightness of the colours have created an interesting outcome. I find these edited photographs very eye-catching due to the colours which I usually would think is successful but for the Natural World topic, calming colours would be a better choice in my eyes. I find that having such exaggerated colours takes away from the natural theme which is not the direction I would like this project to go in. |
More photoshop work
After repeating the same process over and over again in the six images above, I began to explore what the other tools in photoshop do. I discovered the Elliptical Marquee Tool, I used it to great circles and change the saturation and HEU inside the circle I created. The best example of this experimentation is the first image on the complete left. For many if the images I used the same process, create the outline of a shape and change the levels of brightness and colour on the inside. What I did to create the lines in the second image of the six on the left I used a tool called Single Row Marquee Tool. For every photo I had to create a new layer after making a slight colour change because if I didn't photoshop would end up changing the colour of my previous shape. That is what made creating horizontal lines very time consuming. I have learned a lot from experimenting these images in photoshop. The outcome from this collection of photographs are positive in my opinion. They each are very unique and not too crowded. Even though I like the images I would not want my final piece for the Natural World to include such extreme editing.
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Different Objects
I decided to take a step backwards and discard using photoshop, and instead experiment with using different objects and leave them alone. I did not stick needles or make cuts into the objects because I wondered if leaving them completely natural may make my outcome better. This is not an improvement through my eyes but this experiment has shown me that my original idea was better. I captured these images by balancing pieces of coloured paper (which I brought from home) between two computers. I also experimented with using artificial light (shown in process pictures further below) instead of natural light. I think this worked well because the colour washed background came out much clearer and brighter, making the photographs eye catching.
Different Angle
While carrying out this experiment I thought about approaching the scene I created from another angle. I decided to hold my camera much closer to the ground. I think this did not have a very large effect on the outcome but I see that your perspective on something changed the way you see it. For example, from this angle (fourth image) you can see beneath the leaves which I find looks quite interesting because it looks like you shouldn't be able to see that.
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Below I have supplied you with two photographs of this experiments setup. With difficulty I managed to balance coloured pieces of paper between two apple computers. I positioned a large studio light towards the coloured corners I made for some harsher light and collected resources to use as subjects.
Final Outcome Layout
For my final outcome for Natural World project no.1 I chose to stick with the unedited first outcome. I made this decision because sometimes less is more. I found that with the photoshop, the images looked far too busy. The outcome done with different objects such as rocks or sticks also was not good enough as a final outcome because the photographs were done under industrial lighting which I found looked unsightly. Once I made the decision to use these sets of images I had to find a way to lay them out. After looking at all nine images being next to eachother I found that actually, just four images may look much cleaner. Removing a couple photographs which had little relevance to the theme (such as the light blue photograph with the lighter, pins and knife) ends up making the mounted final outcome have a much clearer meaning to them. The meaning being about how the natural would can be affected my human activity. I chose these four images on the left because not only do the colour of their background work well together but each photograph's subject is harmed in a different way. The apple has a burnt slice in it, the poppies were left to die, the banana has cuts all over its peel and the pear has pins stuck all over it. I also chose to make all the images square to make it look even plainer to its viewers, I thought that if everything was perfect except the photographs subject that the scene inside the square will appear even more powerful and strange.
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