Environment Unit Briefing & Initial Ideas

After the environment unit briefing, I began to think of issues or topics which interested me to base my work around. My initial idea is based around the idea of conflict between nature and man-made; looking at the effects that humankind have had on the landscape. I have primarily been inspired by three photographers and am researching by firstly reading the books; 

William Eggleston ‘Ancient and Modern’,

'Southern Suite, 1981'

 'The Louisiana Project, 1980'

'The Louisiana Project, 1980'

Joel Sternfeld ‘Walking the High Line’

'A Peach Tree, October 2000'

'Grape Hyancinth, April 2000'

'Looking East on 30th Street on a morning in May, 2000' (now and then)

and Mitch Epstein ‘The City’. 

'Chevron Oil Refinery, Port Richmond, California, 2005'

'Hoover Dam Bypass Project, Nevada, 2007'

'The City'

They all focus around the effects of human life, how nature and humankind live side-by-side and lastly the way nature recaptures the landscape. 

When looking at the three images in the brief I was drawn straight away towards Robert Adams’, ‘On Signal Hill, Overlooking Long Beach, California’, 1983 as I see it as an image highlighting the confliction between nature and artificiality. 

'On Signal Hill, overlooking Long Beach, California, 1983'

The sparse tree line in the foreground consists of two spindly trees looking as if they’re so frail they’re about to be blown off the edge of the hill; and like the audience, they are on-lookers to the mass of buildings in the background representing humankind as far as the eye can see. While they represent nature are being neglected, humankind thrives. The lighting and weather conditions make it look as though it is very clear in the foreground while there is a smog-like feel enveloping the buildings below further highlighting the destructive nature of humans.

    

I want to start my unit of work by firstly looking at the two subjects as separate forms, I am taking a Bronica SQ-B with Ilford Delta 100 B&W film out at the weekend to first capture nature. I will go up on the forest early in the morning to experiment with the effects of natural lighting as well as hopefully the morning fog we have been having recently due to the warm weather. I can then relate these images back to the effects human kind have on their surroundings, as the warmer weather could be due to global warming a cause of energy used to further develop mankind’s world.

After looking at Joel Sternfeld’s images of cities being repossessed by nature I want to explore this further in my shoots on the weekend; highlighting the contrast between the sharp lines, edges and artificial colours and the rhythmic shapes and neutral colours of nature.