Landscape
Ansel Adams
Ansel Adams is an American photographer who was the most important landscape photographer of the 20th century. He is also perhaps the most widely known and beloved photographer in the history of the United States; the popularity of his work has only increased since his death. Adams’s most important work was devoted to what was or appeared to be the country’s remaining fragments of untouched wilderness, especially in national parks and other protected areas of the American West. He was also a vigorous and outspoken leader of the conservation movement.After he received his first camera in 1916, Adams also proved to be a talented photographer. Throughout the 1920s, when he worked as the custodian of the Sierra Club’s lodge in Yosemite National Park, he created impressive landscape photographs. By 1935 Adams was famous in the photographic community, largely on the strength of a series of articles written for the popular photography press, especially Camera Craft. These articles were primarily technical in nature, and they brought a new clarity and rigour to the practical problems of photography. It was probably these articles that encouraged Studio Publications (London) to commission Adams to create Making a Photograph (1935), a guide to photographic technique illustrated primarily with his own photographs. This book was a remarkable success, partly because of the astonishing quality of its letterpress reproductions, which were printed separately from the text and tipped into the book page. These reproductions were so good that they were often mistaken for original (chemical) prints.
The story behind Ansel Adams’ "Cathedral peak and lake" brings us back to the long friendship formed between Ansel and renowned artist Georgia O'Keefe Perhaps no two artists have had a greater impact on the cultural imagination of America’s wilderness. Though Ansel’s medium was photography while O’Keeffe’s was painting, both, in their own way, captured the style, emotion, and drama of exploring the landscapes of America. It’s no surprise that they were not only great admirers of each other’s artistic works, but close friends and frequent companions.The image of “Cathedral peak and lake" taken during the journey, perhaps best encapsulates the irony of the expedition. It’s a striking depiction of the danger and grandeur of the High Sierra, capturing the resolute Cathedral Peak standing proudly before a dark swell of gathering clouds. The dark shadows that fall across the top of the peak, barren of even the scrubby pines that dot the lower reaches of the mountain, convey the ruggedness of climbing it, apparent even from across the icy lake. Satisfied with the photograph, Ansel meticulously noted the exposure, equipment, and other details of its creation, save one crucial detail: the date! As a result, when this image was selected to appear in Ansel’s Portfolio IV, “What Majestic Word,” a collection of what he considered his strongest work, it was printed alongside the highly erroneous date of 1960. As Ansel noted in Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs, “Because of my unfortunate disregard for the date of my negatives, I have caused considerable dismay among photographic historians, students, and museums—to say nothing of the trouble it has caused me.” The photographs that Adams takes are mostly edited into a black and white filter.
By the time Making a Photograph was published, Adams had already established the subject matter—the natural environment of his beloved West Coast—and the pristine, technically perfect style that characterize his consistent oeuvre. His work is distinguished from that of his great 19th-century predecessors who photographed the American ephemeral. One might say that Watkins photographed the geology of the place, while Adams photographed the weather. This acute attention to the specifics of the physical world was also the root of his intense appreciation of the landscape in microcosm, in which a detail of the forest floor could be as moving as a grand vista. His work on this single extended motif expresses a remarkable variety of response, ranging from childish wonder, to languorous pleasure, to the biblical excitement of nature in storm, to the recognition of a stern and austere natural world, in which human priorities are not necessarily served. One might view this range in mood in Adams’s work to reflect the contrast between the benevolent generosity of the valley, with its cool, clear water and lush vegetation, and the desiccated, inhospitable stringency of the eastern slope of the Sierra.
Ansel Adams' realistic approach to photography relied on tight focus, high contrast, and superb exposure; even his early work showed careful composition and understanding of tonal balance.
He had the skill of an artist in that he could envisage the intended result before taking the photograph. Adams excelled at these landscape photography techniques, and his mastery of filters and wide-angle lens selection quickly earned him a reputation for his razor-sharp 'near-far' photos.
He was able to manipulate the depth of field and the size and relationships of things in the foreground to those in the background of the frame by tilting the camera and adjusting the view plane using a 4 x 5 format. He was able to change the viewpoint of the photograph using this technique. We can now do the same thing with our DLSR cameras by employing a tilt-shift lens (altering the angle of view in such a way with a standard lens results in converging verticals).
The detail caught in the foreground of the
shot below, as well as the geographical detail of the mountains in the distance, is incredible.
When speaking of Ansel Adams’ photography, the most famous is Monolith, the Face of Half Dome. This was Adams’ first photograph that gathered the attention of the public and the art world. Using his Korona camera, Adams captured his iconic photo of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park after a difficult hike. Initially using a yellow filter, he then swapped it for a red filter to darken the sky, brightened the snow, and brought forth all the monumental detail and enormity of Half Dome, making it glow under the black sky.
This famous photograph was captured a moment before the sunset. With his camera’s back to the sun, Adams captured this twilight scene of Hernandez, a small New Mexico town. An orange Wratten No. 15 G filter helped to darken the sky and emphasize the adobe buildings and fall-colored leaves. The contrast gives the gravestones of the small cemetery an eerie glow under the black sky. Thanks to his technical knowledge and quick thinking, Adams was able to capture this image before the sun disappeared.
Half Dome sits in the center of this photograph, wrapped in snow and rising above the Merced River in Yosemite National Park. The stark whiteness of the snow outlines Half Dome and the darkness of the trees and sky draw the viewer’s attention right to it. The undisturbed snow and still reflection on the water emphasize the calmness of this wilderness scene.
Michael Kenna
British photographer Michael Kenna (1953-present) is best known for his black-and-white landscape photography in which he often utilizes drawn-out exposure times, some up to 10 hours in length. Most of Michael Kenna’s photography is taken at dawn or at night, and he has commented that "you can't always see what's otherwise noticeable during the day … with long exposures you can photograph what the human eye is incapable of seeing." He cites fellow British photographer Bill Brandt as a primary influence; in fact, after Brandt died in 1983, Michael Kenna paid tribute by visiting and photographing a number of places featured in Brandt's own work. Michael Kenna has also stated that he is greatly inspired by the landscapes of Japan, and he has photographed almost the entire country-the results of which were published in a book named after the nation. In a similar vein of influence, Michael Kenna has stated that he thinks of his work as "more like haiku rather than prose."
Michael Kenna grew up with five siblings in a working-class family in Widnes, England. Despite his creative nature, his Irish-Catholic roots drew him towards the priesthood and he entered a seminary school at the age of 10. However, seven years later Michael Kenna changed the trajectory of his career and left the seminary to study painting and photography at The Banbury School of Art. After a year at Banbury, he transferred to The London College of Printing, where he majored in commercial photography, graduating in 1976. In 1977 he was drawn to the vibrant art scene in San Francisco and has lived there ever since.
Along with Japan, photographer Michael Kenna has published more than 20 books of his photography. He has also received a number of notable honors for his work, including the esteemed award of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters from the French Ministry of Culture. His monographs and books that have used his photos as illustrations include The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1985), Michael Kenna 1976-1986 (1987), Night Walk (1988), Le Desert de Retz (1990), Michael Kenna (1990), The Elkhorn Slough and Moss Landing (1991), Michael Kenna: Twenty Year Retrospective (1994), The Rouge (1995), Robert Louis Stevenson's The Silverado Squatters (1996), Le Notre's Gardens (1997) and Monique's Kindergarten (1997).
Michael Kenna’s photography has been shown in exhibitions across the globe, and is featured in permanent collections such as The Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, Prague's The Museum of Decorative Arts, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Additionally, Michael Kenna has worked with a number of established brands such as Volvo, Rolls Royce, Audi, Sprint, Dom Perignon and The Spanish Tourist Board. Jackson Fine Art showed five of his pieces in Spring 2013, including the eerie black-and-white landscape Chateau Lafite, Study 1 (Bordeaux, 2012).
In Kenna's work he typically takes photographs of trees and fields. He usually aligns his camera to ensure the trees are the main focus of the photos. As well as this he then edits them in black and white and uses mostly a higher exposure. This ensures that all of the landscape is in view for the reader to see. The lighting in his photographs are typically the same and makes the trees look like shadows in the sky.
Plan
The plan for my shoot is to go to Etching Hill rock and take pictures the landscape around Rugeley. I will go to the fields surrounding the area of this landmark and take photographs of the trails and the small details. Not only that, I will also take photographs of the larger fields and this will be inspiration from Michael Kenna's work. The photographs that I'm taking will showcase landmarks that have been around for decades and are a popular trail/place to hang out in Rugeley.
Shoot
This shoot was extremely difficult to do as it was raining heavily. The photographs came out well however. In a few of the photographs that I had taken, I used depth of field to capture the detail of the subject that I was taking a photo of. In some of the photographs I also used quite a low exposure to create the atmosphere of a dull day. However, the camera exposure had increased in some of the photographs to capture the details. It also ensures that everything in the photograph itself is visible.
Final Photographs
These are my final photographs. I edited them into black and white, taking inspiration from Ansel Adams' work. The black and white filter that I used created a harsher contrast between the highlights and the shadows. Making the images black and white creates a sharper texture to the photographs and enhances the detail in them. The lighting in these photographs creates a dark atmosphere which is similar to Adams' work. He creates a dark atmosphere in his photographs and I had taken inspiration from that. Kenna's work showcases the landscape from a wide camera angle to capture everything in his surrounding. I attempted to try this method however I think I could've got a better example of this technique. If I did it again I would use a higher exposure in the wider angled photographs as I think it showcases more the landscape rather then the detail which was the aim for the photographs.
Documentary
Tobias Zielony's photo shows a teenager in a public place. Here they are in command and no one can teach them what to do. Here they are in their own kind. No matter where you take the picture in Wales, Marseille or Los Angeles, the subject is the same. "The places have nothing in common, but they form the background of a very similar event. But every scene has its own characteristics, and every place has its own characteristics. Tobias Zielony reveals fragments of local colors in the monotony of the setting. Images taken without a flash or tripod are inspired by the aesthetics of music videos, youth culture. The places he chose for his image are metropolis and suburban areas where teenagers invade at night: malls, parking lots, gas stations. "Young people occupy their environment, but I'm not interested in the fact that they meet in parking lots or gas stations at night, but I'm not interested in how they stand." Tobias Zielony says.
The public spaces that are the setting for Tobias Zielony’s photos have the appearance of barricaded film locations. The places where the teenagers meet become the stage for their own productions: they feign nonchalance, flaunt their dominance, or display their lack of interest. “The teenagers show off in front of the camera, but I don’t ask them to do so. Posing is part of their everyday life.” Although Tobias Zielony spends a lot of time with the subjects of his photos, he remains an observer. He keeps at a distance and yet manages to gain the teenagers’ trust. When he picks out one of the protagonists with his camera, they often lose their confidence: without the protection of the group, they come across as contemplative and fragile. “I don’t want to make social reportages,” says Tobias Zielony. His photos reveal but they don’t explain; they report, but they don’t interpret. His pictures don’t tell us anything about the teenagers or their environment. “Sometimes they’re just about nothing – and nothing is fascinating, too.
"Story, No story"
This book provides an overview of the works Zielony produced between 2000 and 2008: pictures taken in Knowle West in Bristol, of public housing in Halle-Neustadt, of the Quartiers Nord in Marseille, and in South Los Angeles. In his most recent work—photos taken in Winnipeg, Canada—Zielony portrays street and prison gangs with Native American roots, such as the Indian Posse and the Native Syndicate. The artist has also filmed an in-depth documentary about a former gang leader in Stony Mountain Penitentiary, where many prisoners were active in Native American movements.
This book provides an overview of the works Zielony produced between 2000 and 2008: pictures taken in Knowle West in Bristol, of public housing in Halle-Neustadt, of the Quartiers Nord in Marseille, and in South Los Angeles. In his most recent work—photos taken in Winnipeg, Canada—Zielony portrays street and prison gangs with Native American roots, such as the Indian Posse and the Native Syndicate. The artist has also filmed an in-depth documentary about a former gang leader in Stony Mountain Penitentiary, where many prisoners were active in Native American movements.
The images in "Story/No Story" by Tobias Zielony cover 13 projects and just as many locations, but all are bound by their focus on youth and the spaces they find to congregate. While they are shot all over the world, they are tied by the economic conditions of the locations, architecture and flora change, but the feeling of these places are very similar. The images are of kids who populate parking lots and garages, gas stations, street corners and vacant spaces, enacting tableaus on a nightly basis in dead spaces made alive by their very presence. No text explains what's going on in these images, it's clear. They are kids hanging out, as kids do everywhere in the world, meeting in the odd places that they can make their own during the hours in which they assemble, creating their own world in these anonymous spaces.
Plan
The plan for my shoots are to take photographs of two different age groups doing the same activity and documenting that in my photographs. I am planning on taking photographs of two different football games. 1 game being adult professional football and the other being my little sisters football club. The photographs will show in contrast in atmosphere and show how the children can possibly grow up to become the same as the professional football players. This will link to Zielony's work as he focused on age groups within his photographs and took photos of the activities they get up to, as well as where they all hang out.
Shoot 1:
In my first shoot, I decided to take close up photographs of professional footballers. These photographs document them throughout the game as well as the surroundings. I decided to take these pictures with a low exposure as the sun was out and I didn't want too much light entering the camera lens. The teams playing in this game was the Manchester United and Aston Villa women. The score by the end of the match was 0-0. I wanted to photograph their progression throughout the game show the atmosphere within the photographs.
Shoot 2:
In my second shoot I took photographs of my sisters football team. This contrasts my original shoot as it shows the age difference and level of maturity between the two football games. The first shoot was if professional footballers whereas my second was of a younger team that plays for fun. Again, I took this photos with a lower exposure as it was also a hot day, I didn't want too much light entering the camera lens. I wanted to document this team going from training just before the match and then actually playing the match.
Overall, my photographs link well with Tobias Zielony's work as he photographed teenagers hanging around in certain areas. He photographed them as if they were the ones in control of what they do. "Here they are in command and no one can teach them what to do." I took inspiration from Zielony's work and photographed the complete opposite. I created photographs that document adults and children being coached in what they are doing. Technically, they are in control of how the ball moves however the coaches are initially the ones who decide how they and play and where.
