Environment Unit Experimentation

Last weekend I got up at 5.30 to go out on the forest and do some experimental photography with my Nikon FM and the Bronica SQ-B, I wanted to see the effect that I could achieve with low lighting by using the light meter to  help generate some more ideas for my environment unit.

I was really interested to try out a colour film with Iso 160 to see how the different tones came out on film; I also took out a black & white film however none of the images came out so I may have forgotten to take out the dark slide- my big weakness. After developing the negatives I scanned them into the computer so they're not brilliant quality but it is a good way to find out what they will look like printed in the dark room which I'm looking forward to doing!

I loved the colours in the sky before the sun rose so was very excited to see the result in my photographs, and I was happily surprised. The colours were so warming and I really like the way that the foliage in the foreground has become silhouetted creating an interesting glow effect and horizon line. The airplane tracks in the sky were also eye-catching for me and were perfectly positioned to bring your attention across the image into the centre; although this has sparked my idea for the environment unit. I am interested in the conflict between humans and nature, the destruction that occurs such as deforestation yet something like fuel tracks in the sky are strangely attractive despite the effects fuel consumption is having on the environment. 

Again in this photograph I was struck by the way the road cut harshly through the landscape, built for human transportation. There was a strong conflict between the flat surface of the road and tonal, texture of the surrounding grass and trees however I was a little disappointed with how the sky came out. I was hoping there would be more contrast in the colours as the sun had just risen, so I am interested to see if I can change this when developing in the dark room. 

 My final image is my favourite of the shoot I was firstly attracted to the composition as the sun was rising just peaking through the clump of trees. When I envisioned the photograph I imagined silhouetted trees with the sun creating a flare effect however when the image came out the different effects that the sun had on the lens were incredible. This was the sort of image I was hoping to capture to be able to experiment with the effects that natural lighting has when using colour film. 

While using the Bronica I also took a few photographs on my 35mm Nikon as I was only able to take 12 photographs on the medium format. The 35mm picked out the beautiful colours in the sky and gave a very different colour palette to the medium format. 

 Because I took the photographs so early in the morning there was still fog down in the valley which was really eye-catching snaking though the trees. Once the sun had risen I loved the light coming through the trees giving a soft orange tone rather than the very bright white light in my medium format images.

 The light is effected by the landscape with its peaks and valleys creating unusual shadows which is very obvious in the above image. I would be intrigued to see how this looks when developed in the dark room, whether I could draw out any tone in the sky and enhance the warm orange and purpley tones in the hills.

 While out I went up on to a friend's plot of land where they had piles of logs stored up, again reminding me of the effects we as humans have on the environment- deforestation; however knowing my friends they use wood that is chopped down to manage the local woodland allowing new growth therefore there is a positive and negative side to it. I particularly like the below images as it is very textural and there is a lot of contrast, again although it is an attractive composition there is a negative theme behind it.

Again my final image was one of my favourite photographs of the roll, I had used my grandad's old films which expired in 2002 therefore the image was effected however I think the white vignetting is eye-catching but slightly frustrating. The reflections are beautiful and the cloud how patterns almost mirror the lines on the beach.

I am really looking forward to the induction into colour developing to be able to develop a couple of my medium format images. This weekend I have gone out with the Bronica again to take some research photos for my object unit to develop my theme of consumerism; I visited a rubbish tip and look forward to developing the film on Monday.