Environment Pastiches

Jem Southam - 'Seaford Head'                                                           My pastiche (to come)

              Brassai - 'Paris after dark'                                                              My pastiche

              

Reflections on Interim Review

Since having my work assessed in the interim review, I have come to the decision to change a few things in my work. I appreciated the feedback because it made me realise how to improve my projects.

• I am considering whether or not to reprint my Object image. I think the colours are appropriate for the issue I have explored but my initial desire was for it to look warm. I may reprint and decide which looks better; the warmer image or the colder image for the point I am trying to put across.

• I have also decided to reprint two out of the three environment photographs I displayed to make the colours perfect and evoke the right feelings in people. I want to reshoot the other photograph because it didn't fit in with the series very well and was two different from the others. I want them all to relate well to each other and really work as a series.

• The other adjustment I might make is on my pastiche. Due to low contrast in my exposure it was hard to print without either getting an image slightly flat and bright or an image too dark.

As it stands, I feel like I need to make these changes before I'll be happy to submit them again. This time when I print I will leave enough time to walk away from my images and hopefully be able to decide when I look at them the next time if any further improvements need to be made.

Multiple/series of Environment Photographs

Other than the pastiche which we are required to first complete for the Environment Project, we have also been asked as part of the course to take a set of (at least 3) photographs "based upon [my] personal conceptual approach to representing the landscape."

Since my personal approach to representing the landscape is to portray it at it's best, my idea is to display the juxtaposition between the beauty of graveyards and cemeteries and their not so beautiful connotations. I want to demonstrate the beautiful side to this sorrowful subject and in a way, make it a positive thing or at least allow people to perceive it in this way because this is what I strive for in my photography: finding beauty.


I thought to make this series personal I would visit cemeteries and burial sites where someone I know resides. This ties me emotionally to these places and therefore to this series. Perhaps for this reason I will be encouraged even more than usual to be conscientious. I have plans in the near future to visit some places where family and friends of family are buried.

We have been given a choice to use colour or black and white. In my opinion this topic best suits black and white and is usually depicted in these colours due to the theme of death tired to it. However, to get across what I want in my photograph and show the beauty in the landscapes, I will use colour.

I have never really focused on this topic of landscapes before but I do have a couple of cemeteries in my area. These are some photographs I have taken of them in the past:

Before visiting the places I intend to take my photographs I plan to revisit the cemeteries nearby and get a good feel for my subjects, but look at them in the right context. This way I will be more likely to achieve my aim because I'll be better prepared. I will also practice taking (and maybe editing) the photographs in colour which I am familiar already with.