Murry ballard is a // year old photographer living and working in Brighton.
I first saw Ballards work while it was being exhibited in the QUAD at format festival. He was exhibiting three images from 'The prospect of immortality' a project in which he documented the controversial work of cryogenics. At first I had no idea what the project was about, I deduced it was something to do with the medical profession but I had no idea what kind. It was only after further research that I found out what he was documenting. The series was started 8 years ago while Ballard was in his second year of university at Brighton university.
Even though I had no idea what the images were conveying I really enjoyed them. Each image had so much depth, they almost seemed to be three dimensional. I have seen this effect before in certain images and try to emulate it when I can but I think Ballard’s work takes it to another level. First of all I have only seen this type of effect executed effectively in night photography, where as Ballard has achieved it in day light. Maybe artificial light has helped in certain shots? But its still very impressive.Ballard’s work also incorporates the strange stillness that I aimed to achieve in the book project. Certain images almost look like still lives, as if the whole image has been meticulously laid out and set up. I think this still, clinical effect has been very intentional. I think it has been used to reflect the clinical themes surrounding cryogenics or alternatively the totally frozen, cut off, coldness of the cryogenics itself.
The images have obviously been shot with a high quality, high resolution camera and in many instances I suspect a tripod e.g. the shot in the middle of the three images from the exhibition has obviously been produced using a tripod.
I have also looked at UK renewable energy. Another project produced by Ballard in which he has documented the different types of renewable energy around the UK and the people involved with it. This project uses lots of the same techniques as the previous project, creating still life's out of a busy area, calm distant portraits and deep images. Although there a lot of similarities this is a much more public project so the images have a different feel. The images are more natural, the change of setting totally changes the atmosphhere. Where as the previous project had a rather cold, isolated, clinical feel due to the subject matter and settings this project is a lot more joyful, rough and free as the subject matter has changed from the cold, clinical cryogenics to the dusty shipping yards and the blue skys of the off shore hydro electric stations.
Overall I have taken a lot of inspiration from Murray Ballards work. I love his style especially the work produced for 'The prospect of immorality', I will be aiming to shoot in this style. Creating images with intense depth, creating still lives out of live settings and creating all round beautiful images.
Presentation
When I first saw Ballards work it was at the QUAD in Derby as part of format festival. The work was presented in clear glass frames with no boarder and I believe the images were printed on metallic paper. This combination made the work look breath taking, it enhanced the 3D effect and the fact there was no frame meant nothing drew away from the images.
I really like this simplicity of the presentation and I plan to do something similar in my own end of year show.
Gregory Crewdson
Gregory Crewdson is 57 year old an American photographer.
I had seen Gregory Crewdson's work in passing a few times in the past few years and never really taken a huge amount of attention to it but while discussing the concept of hyper reality imaging his work came up in conversation. On closer inspection I realised how interesting his work is!
I am not overly interested in his interior work, (the work that is created on a soundstage) although certain projects work better than others I am focusing on his location work for this assignment.
"Gregory Crewdson works within a photographic tradition that combines the documentary style of William Eggleston and Walker Evans with the dream-like vision of filmmakers such as Stephen Spielberg and David Lynch. Crewdson’s method is equally filmic, building elaborate sets to take pictures of extraordinary detail and narrative portent."
- Taken from Crewdsons White Cube page
Crewdson's photographs usually take place in small-town America, but are dramatic and cinematic. They often feature disturbing, surreal events. His photographs are elaborately staged and lighted using crews familiar with motion picture production and lighting large scenes using motion picture film equipment and techniques. I have looked at Crewdson's work as a whole but most specifically 'beneath the roses'. Beneath the roses was a 3 year project spanning between 2003 and 2006. The body of work was feature 4 productions each 1 lasting roughly 3 to 4 weeks with 8 to 9 images usually being produced.
While producing each image image Crewdon will use upward of 30,40,60 light sources from a small car light to 10 K lights on cranes. He will also use pyrotechnics (as you can see in the images above), snow machines and much more.
Each image is shot on a 8x10 medium format film camera as they have the capability of capturing immense detail and depth of field.
The different lighting can be seen in the 2 images below
Once Crewdson has completed a shoot he will print a collection of images all with different camera settings, lighting etc. He will then pick out his favourite elements from each different shot and then collage them together to create one prefect image. Using the sky from one shot, the ground from another, the facial expression from one etc. Until everything is exactly as he wanted it.
The images are then printed using the epson stylus pro 11880. They are printed 59inches by 90 inches to make the viewer feel as if they are part of the images, to convoy even more detail, to uncover elements that you just couldn't see in normal images or in a book. These images are predominately meant to be viewed in an exhibition where they can be seen full sized.
Although the project is titles 'Beneath the Roses' each images is untitled leaving the story behind and the meaning to each image open ended.
These images aren't usually what I would go for and to be honest I am still sceptical. What I normally like about images is truth, I like to see things that have happened, that are happening, this is why I enjoy documentary/travel photography but Crewdon's work not to sound disrespectful is all lies. There isn't a little bit of truth in any of the images, they are completely composed, especially the images produced on set. Despite this I do still enjoy the work I just have to see it for what it is, its more of a film than a photograph its not showing you something that has happened its telling you something that Crewsdon has imagined. All these images represent are the snapshots inside his head.
Overall I find Crewsdon's work really interesting and I will be incorporating certain elements of his practise into my own work. I will be experimenting with the way he layers images to raise sharpness and power behind the images.
Presentation
I really like the way Crewdson has presented his image. Printed large on a high quality paper. It has given me the idea to just have one print but have it huge, just one large print, extremely detailed with a clear frame.
Irrational Exuberance (Vice cover)
Steven B. Smith is a photographer and professor at the Rhode island school of Design. His work documents the transition from Western landscape to suburbs.
I really enjoy his work and the style in which he shoots, considers and executes his images. The series's of work Smith has produced all have interesting and current narratives which engage with and question the viewer.
Desipite this I am only really interested in one of Smiths images, this image featured on the cover of 'Vice' magazines 'Welcome to the world screaming' issue. The image is of a water feature at a car park with a young man drinking from the water of the pool at the bottom of the feature. The image is a beautiful long exposure, the exposures are perfect. The sky is a vivid blue, the colours have the intense/hyper realistic air to them and the water feature has the beautiful ghostly effect that is created by running water in on a long exposure.
This is a fantastic image and is more than worthy of a cover.
Everything about this shot interesting from the rows of shiny cars which catch the light from the street lights perfectly, the water feature which runs across the image extremely well and the settings which have been used to make everything so realistic and sharp.
Saying this I do prefer the editing on the 'Vice' cover, the colour pop a lot more and the image seems to incorporate more levels. The 'Vice' cover makes the original look quite flat.
I really enjoy this image by Steve B. Smith and the other work from this collection. His catalogue of work as I have already said is extremely considered and intersting.
I will be taking this shot into consideration while shooting and addapting his skill set into my own work, this will hopefully help he produce a more considered body of work.
Newton Abbot cooling tower
I came across this image while searching for locations to shoot at the start of this assignment. My first thought when I came across this image was where is this, I must photograph it but to my dismay it was decommissioned and demolished in 1975. Gutted! (image to the left).
Despite not being able to photograph the cooling tower my self I am really glad I found this image. The composition in phomoninal, the whole shot just seems to fit into place perfectly with each component either completing or juxtaposing each other in such harmony. The loansom football pitch in the foreground with the small cluster of trees adding interest to the right hand side, the coal shot on the right leading the eye either up or down the shot depending on which side you start, the oddly slender cooling tower with the interesting hole patter running around the neck and the long building running along the whole image separating the two very different textures. I could literally talk for hours about how much I like this shot but in conclusion I really like the image not only for it beautiful composition and positioning or its classic film flatness (that sounds like a bad thing and in many scenarios it would be but there is something so true and classic about this shot) I like this shot as it the first image I've found that truly captures the style I want to shoot in. I have looked at many artist for this assignment and many of them have been brilliant and have given me lots of ideas but this shot is almost exactly what I want.
I will be considering this shot while shooting for this assignment.
Richard Moose'The enclave'
Infrared photography
The enclave is one of my all time favourite (well, so far) collections of images.
The enclave is a culmination of images taken in 2012 & 2013 in the Congo by artist Richard Moose.
The collection was shot on 16mm infrared colour film. The film was created in the 40’s in conjunction with the US military as an aid in detecting the enemy while camouflaged. The film works by using special technology to visualise infrared light which is invisible to the naked eye, it works by reflecting of the chlorophyll in health green plants. The film was sadly discontinued by Kodak in 2006. (The film can still be bough but at a price!)
The project features both film and photograph as a visual representation of the subject matter. The exhibition was a mixture of beautiful large prints and many screens playing different clips from the time spent in the Congo (an extremely provocative way of representing different events).
Moore discovered the film and its beautiful aesthetic before deciding on the location of the project. He took a while to decide on the location and then as he had never been to the Congo thought that it was somewhere that needed documenting. Since 1998 there has been 5.4 million deaths due to the on going conflicts. Despite this there has been very little converge, so Moore thought that he should bring this humanitarian disaster to the people.
I love this project on so many different levels and every time I do a little bit more research I find something else that makes me love it even more. One the surface it is a beautiful, bizarre, masterfully shot, produced, well thought out photographic project with eye catching/abstract/vibrant visuals. But if you scratch the surface and delve deeper into it you realise its so so much more (not this takes away from the beautiful aesthetic). It is a statement; the project has been constructed to make you think and forces the viewer to review what they have seen. The whole project has been constructed to make the viewer think.
“The best way to make someone feel something is by showing them something beautiful” – Richard Moore
By creating these beautiful images Moore makes the viewer feel something but then he also shows images/clips of devastation, sadness, morally wrong scenarios, human suffering which is also emotive etc. This then forces the viewer to make difficult ethical decisions as they are seeing something terrible look so beautiful. Brilliant really, such a simple way of getting people to interact with a problem (just make the problem pretty) You can easily look away from a brutal war photograph but if that awful image is made to look beautiful then it opens up a whole new ball park of ideas and opinions.
I will be taking ‘The Enclave’ into account while shooting this project. I have already created similar images by accident so I will be furthering my work and incorporating Moore's ideas into the work.
Presentation
Moore has used more than one medium to present his images. He has used a series of large screens to show the video aspect, these screens are set up in various ways some showing different clips and others all showing the same shot simultaneously. This is an extremely provocative and powerful way of showing the clips. I may consider using this technique in the future.
He has used a different technique to present the images. He has gone for quite a simple but effective approach with the images. Some of the rpint shave been printed huge and otheres are smaller in a cluster on the wall. He has used frames with small boarders as not to draw away from the work. I really like how he has presented the images, they look bold and sharp and the thin boarders nicely box in the shots without taking from them.
Albert Watson
Albert Watson is a 71 year old Scotish
photographer forally residing in the US.
He has shot many of the worlds famous faces
including Steve Jobs among others. His first celebrity portrait was Chef Alfred
Hitchcock, the shoot was for Harpers Bazar in 1973, only three years after
leaving Scotland for America.
The shoot was for Hitchcocks Christmas
Goose, Harpers Bazar wanted have Hitchcock holding a full cooked Goose. Watson
decided to change this by having him holding a plucked and prepped Goose as if
Hitchcock was strangling it. The shoot went so well that this sky rocketed
Watson career and gained him constant famous clients.
Throughout his career Watson has never
settled down to a certain genre, he has had great success with portrait
photography (being one of the worlds most sought after arts) but he has also
had much experience within landscape photography.
Although three has been so many different
layers to Albert’s career I am looking at his foirst fine art/landscape
photography work that was done on the Isle of sky. This project incorporates
the unusual landscape of the Scottish island and its wild unpredictable weather
and adds extra wonder/mystery/intrigue to create a collection of almost fantasy
image.
Watson chose the location of the project
due to the melon colly relation ship he has with the island as he visited it
frequently as a child on camping holiday. Speaking fondly of it:
“Spending so
much time somewhere, it never really leaves you”
- Albert Watson
The project was started with certain
characteristics and phrases in mind such as Mystery, lord of the rings, different
surreal landscapes, romanticism, Victorian romanticism etc.
Weather was a huge component in this
project, this is why Watson decide to shoot in October as Autumn is when the
weather is the most wild and unpredictable up in sky. The weather was so necessary
as the landscapes are devoid of human life so it needs nature to set the mood,
he has used the weather to convey emotion/ mood.
The focus of the project was to create a
series that convey mystery etc.
“I didn’t want
picture postcards”
-
Albert Watson
The unusual landscapes are also an
important element in this assignment, they are as if not more important that
the weather and lighting. The landscape at the end of the day is what your
looking at and if it dosent look right/ react correctly the shot will be wrong
whicis why you cant:
“Get sucked into
the landscape and let it dominate you. You should dominate the landscape”
Albert Watson
Basically make the landscape work for you
not you for it.
Albert has also never been afraid to use
manipulation and electronic practices to enhance his images. Stitching his
images together to make them sharper and stronger. He will also use image trickery and machinery
to enhance an image e.g. using smoke machines to add mystery and magic to an
image.
Watson has no quarms about image
manipulation, when asked abou this he said:
“When Monay was painting his Lilly pond
guess what! Those weren’t the actual colour”
Basically saying sometimes the truth isn’t
actually as nice as what is in your mind.
He has most defiantly created a collection
of breathtaking/mysterious/ striking images, which I will be considering while
shooting. I will be thinking about his opinions on landscape and how the should
be dominated and forced to do what the photographer wants. Watson’s
work/practices will help my photographic process.
No comments:
Post a Comment