I aim to explore the concept of the decisive moment in water and underwater surf/ocean photography; drawing inspiration from the works of Hiroshi Sugimoto, Woody Gooch, and Henry Cartier-Bresson. I want to delve into capturing those fleeting moments of beauty and emotion beneath the waves, seeking to convey the essence of the ocean’s power and tranquillity. This project matters to me as I have always been fascinated by the interplay of light, movement, and nature in aquatic environments. I see this as an opportunity to push the boundaries of traditional surf photography and create evocative images that resonate with viewers on a deeper level. I plan to develop my project by experimenting with different techniques and equipment to master the art of capturing the decisive moment underwater. I aim to explore unique angles, lighting effects, and compositions to create visually striking and emotionally resonant images that tell a story of the ocean’s ever-changing beauty. I intend to begin my study by immersing myself in the world of underwater photography, starting with research on the works of these influential photographers and practicing basic techniques in water photography. I plan to initiate my project at a local beach with strong waves, where I can start honing my skills and developing my unique style in capturing the decisive moments beneath the surface.

Initially drawn into the world of abandoned photography, Matt became hooked on the fascinating back stories behind the locations he visited. Capturing and bringing these stories into peoples homes via his social channels has evolved into a seven year long project called ‘Forgotten Heritage’. Since he began he has photographed many diverse locations like abandoned farmsteads in the arctic circle, vast industrial remnants in northern Europe to crumbling villas and hospitals in Italy. The project has won several international photography awards to date and has been widely published.

Here is a mood board of Matt Emmett’s work. During his 3 year project he found himself trudging through debris, wading in water, spelunking in man-made caverns—all for the sake of creating images that celebrate the unique appeal of abandoned architecture.

The genre of Emmett’s work falls under documentary. He spent 3 years travelling around different countries recording the decaying, abandoned buildings as they have been left. His images inform people about the hidden corners of contemporary life that viewers weren’t aware of and haven’t come across.

This leads to why I chose to study Matt Emmett in relation to my project. Considering the themes ‘Observe, seek and challenge’ I think Emmett’s work comes underneath the theme of ‘Seek’ as he’s attempting to find these places to take photos of them and show to the world.

-For Emmett, traversing dangerous terrain is more than a matter of seeking thrills.

“These places that were once alive with sound and movement are now silent and still, but they are no less mesmerizing,” he says. “Immense and powerful beauty resides in forgotten places.”

Image analysis

I chose this image to analyse because I think it portrays the theme of ‘seek’ in many ways. The perspective in which the photo has been taken from implies Emmet is exploring the unknown, he is about to walk down the long tunnel path ahead seeking what is down there. This image is taken in natural lighting, the brightness of the image is coming from, what I’m guessing is, the sunlight seeping through the cracks of the broken ceiling. The image is saturated, yet decaying at the same time; green moss and plant life is growing over the rubble showing how nature is now taking over the area. This also proves this location has been abandoned as natural life is starting to grow and take over. This image is aesthetically pleasing to viewers, there is a dark vignette around the edges and the centre of the image (towards the end of the path) is very bright and amplified. Emmett has taken this photo carefully and has set up the composition of the image very precisely, edited or not, the midground of this image is also the brightest part of the image and this automatically creates a focal point in the image that’s going to catch a viewers eye. Raising questions such as, where is this? How did it end up like that? why has it been abandoned? Matt Emmett’s work has a mysterious feel to it as he seeks unknown locations . I am heavily inspired by Matt Emmett’s work, considering my chosen theme of the exam project, and I intend to create images of my own based around his work.

Born in the USA Michigan 1953 Casebere was a regular student at Minneapolis University studying arts and design, and graduated in 1976. This lead Casebere to building miniature sculptures in the form of odd structures and hallway types, which he would eventually start to photography in ways which looked almost imaginary and as if it was created by AI. He uses simple materials which you could find at home, and use them to create complex models.

Casebere subjects that he designs are a lot of modernised houses which float on water, but are subject to a dark or naturalist background which to him is a way of representing the worlds environment which to him is a problem at the moment because of humans. So his work like Thomas Demand represents an essence of political and problematic meaning which relates to a lot of people. His inspiration had started from the eastern Mediterranean in Spain with their architecture becoming an interesting starting point for him, with some of their simplified but complex structures standing out, his models grew into extremely familiar dream like subjects. But in an interview with uzomah ugwu and Casebere, he described in his early life the drive or expression to build theses sculptures through his view on the suburban architecture and his father. where he said, “It started with my personal experience of space in the suburbs and the anxiety, and fear, inside my home”, talking about how his father was an introverted man who was unpredictable when he was angry. And Casebere’s way of expressing himself he implies was through creating sculptures, but also the fear of his father/parents being very lenient on him practicing architecture.

I personally like his work because of how he lays out his sculptures and how he photographs them, its as if they work in unison together to create an aesthetic image with some type of familiarity to it. Specifically the consistent use of water in his images and how his lighting reflects against the water, and just creates a sense of confusion and mystery to his images. But also when he photographs the inside of his sculptures he uses a lot of patterns and shapes which with his lighting makes it look nostalgic in a way. His work links a lot to Liminal space because of how some of his sculptures include the inside of “areas” which would include a familiarity to how it looks but also how some of the environment of his work is something you might have seen before. His consistent use in water contextually does link the the environment but without this context creates this docile sensation, as if the subject is out at sea without anything or anyone else, or it presents the feeling of abandonment and destruction because of unknown reasons. I will respond to his work with attempting to create my own type of sculpture which will convey the same feelings as Casebere’s work does. My idea for this will involve a type of “birthday party” type environment which will look empty and messy, and I’ll use different lighting to experiment how the image will look, and attempt to include artificial water or even try physical water to make a more realistic effect.

Who Is Dziga Vertov:

Dziga Vertov, aka Denis Kaufman, was a Russian documentary film and newsreel director. He is best known for his movie, “Man with a Movie Camera”. Which to this day is still referred to as “the eighth-greatest film ever made”. The movie, published in 1929, was directed by Vertov and filmed by his brother, Mikhail Kaufman and also edited by Vertov’s wife, Yelizaveta Svilova. When it was published it was actually heavily criticised as it was deemed to have “form over content” along with other things such as it being too fast-cutting and self-reflexive.

The movie is best known for it’s range of cinematic techniques used, most for the first time ever in cinematic history. These were things like: multiple exposure, fast motion, slow motion, freeze frames, match cuts, jump cuts, split screens, Dutch angles, extreme close-ups, tracking shots, reversed footage, stop motion animations and self-reflexive visuals.

The movie itself, like Koyaanisqatsi, has no commentary. It is also in black and white and, while it shows lots of people, features only one actual character, the man with the movie camera. The meaning of the movie was to create an absolute and universal cinematographic language completely free of theatrical or literary language. The movie shows shots of places in a city, the buildings and the people, also similar to Koyaanisqatsi, while also cutting back to the audience in the theatre watching from time to time.

Personal Response:

I like the selection of effects the movie has, I can try and replicate them in my own. The things I’d like to try are the giant man, seen above, Dutch angles, unstable exposure, reverse shots, even maybe change the aspect ratio, match cuts and jump cuts. The question however is what movie to use these cinematic techniques in. The choice is still between Storm Ciaran Aftermath and Life in St. Helier. Either however could easily have these edits be applied to.

mood board:

mind map:

about him:

William Eggleston was born in 1939 in Memphis Tennessee where he still lives to this day. He is very well know for his decision to begin using colour film in his photography as opposed to black and white which was what most other photographers at the time did. He photographed regular, everyday scenes and focused on the depth of colour in his images. He began thinking how he could use shadow and light whilst using colour kodak chrome. Eggleston was most most famously known for using a dye transfer. He used colour transparency film from 1965 and then colour negatives from 1967 and finally in 1973 he began to use dye transfer. He used it to achieve bright, vivid colour filled images which caught much of the publics eye.

image zoom-in:

In my eyes, observation photography is a way of showing off what we find visually appealing. When you observe something, you aren’t just looking at it, you’re admiring it, critiquing it, decoding it, judging it, understanding it, all unconsciously. I like the idea of exploring a range of places, things, and people that we observe each day but take for granted, the small fine details most don’t notice with interesting shapes, colours and textures. Taking in the sounds, sights, and smells, hoping to translate them all into the photo is what makes it differ from an average photo.

In my project I want to explore the world around me and its beauty but in an abstract way, I will look for unusual angles and lighting which will set my images away from others. Despite this, I still want simplicity to be a big theme in my work, for this reason I will take all of my photographs in a square format to make them standardised but still unusual. I think my photos will mostly link with Rinko Kawauchi but I am going to explore other artists on top of this to try and broaden my possibilities.

Once again, I plan on making a photobook as I really enjoyed making the last one. I will also produce a few final prints which will most likely be mounted on foam board.

“I wish I could treat every day as Halloween, and get dressed
up and go out into the world as some eccentric character.”

Cindy Sherman

MOODBOARD:

Sherman’s work is relevant to the exam theme Observe, Seek, and Challenge. Sherman fit’s the theme by ‘observing‘ women’s gender stereotypes. She does this by exploring the idea of Mulvey’s theory ‘The Male Gaze’ which can be defined as ‘that states that cinema narratives and portrayals of women in cinema are constructed in an objectifying and limiting manner to satisfy the psychological desires of men, and more broadly, of patriarchal society’. She produces self portrait images that reinforce dominant ideologies of women; as submissive and the homemaker and how ultimately women are objectified and an accessory to men. Sherman’s main projects show the stereotypical views of women, how they are stereotyped to cleaning, cooking, and be submissive, however Sherman also produced a project which she ‘challenged‘ the dominant beauty standards reinforced by men and their definition in how a woman should look like ‘the perfect girl’. She presented this in a hyper-realistic form. In her project she created distorted faces, of women wearing over the top makeup, therefore challenging the beauty industry by creating these parodic images. Parody imitates the style of a particular creator with deliberate exaggerations for comedic effect. Satire uses humour to comment on the world-at-large, particularly in the context of politics. The politic that Sherman is trying to discuss in her photography is feminism, which the suffragettes fought for voting rights for woman. Sherman reinforces this feministic movement with the contrasting images in a parodic way to explore the unrealistic standards that society sets woman.

WHO IS CINDY SHERMAN?

Cindy Sherman was born in 1954 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, Cindy Sherman lives and works in New York NY. 

Sherman is an American artist whose work consists primarily of photographic self-portraits, depicting herself in many different contexts and as various imagined characters. In her early work Sherman explored the conventions and stereotypes of how women are portrayed in films and TV, usually in the view of the ‘male gaze’ as many of the films on TV made more profit by sexualising women. Sherman was always interested in experimenting with different identities. As she has explained, “I wish I could treat every day as Halloween, and get dressed up and go out into the world as some eccentric character.” This quote stated by Sherman suggests that she enjoys taking parodic images in order to try and reach the audience that views her work, perhaps she believes the only way to engage with people is through satire humour. These images rely on female characters (and caricatures) such as the jaded seductress, the unhappy housewife, the jilted lover, and the vulnerable naif. Sherman used cinematic conventions to structure these photographs: they recall the film stills used to promote movies, from which the series takes its title.

She further explores the idea of sexual desire and domination, the fashioning of self-identity as mass deception, these are among the unsettling subjects lying behind Sherman’s extensive series of self-portraiture in various guises. Sherman’s work is central in the era of intense consumerism and image proliferation at the close of the 20th century.

Cindy Sherman was on the cover of the gentlewoman magazine for the 2019 spring/summer edition. On the gentlewoman magazine digital page, their intent is to celebrate ‘modern women of style and purpose. Its fabulous biannual magazine offers a fresh and intelligent perspective on fashion that’s focused on personal style – the way women actually look, think and dress. Featuring ambitious journalism and photography of the highest quality, it showcases inspirational women through its distinctive combination of glamour, personality and warmth. These qualities are also at the heart of its website, thegentlewoman.com, a virtual place where real women, real events and real things are enjoyed.’ Sherman being found of the cover of this feminist magazine reinforces her feminist movements, and what she is trying to establish through her own photography work.

IMAGE ANALYSIS:

EMOTIONAL RESPONSE:

Looking at this image, I can identify Sherman’s intent to highlight the issues of woman stereotypes. Due to all the feminist movements and yet still technically living in a patriarchal society, Sherman trying to establish a movement through photography allows many woman to identify will her Untitled Film Stills. A dominant ideology that is still present in todays society is that woman are submissive to men, and they do all the domestic work which is was Sherman shows within this image. By standing in the kitchen in what seems like she cleaning still shows the views of woman in todays society and yet how stereotypes can still be observed and such a dominant factor.

VISUAL/TECHNICAL – The information we see:

The image is presented in black and white. Sherman created this Untitled Film Stills in black and white to try and replicate the 1950’s films and film noir, which are primarily presented in black and white. The lighting in the image seems to be coming from an artificial light, perhaps a lightbulb in the room due to the slight shadow seen on the wall in the background due to Sherman stance. Sherman is looking away from the camera, it may be due to the fact of her displaying the role of a 90’s woman that were seen as nurturing and passive therefore would not have the confidence to look directly into the camera. The camera is positioned slightly at an angle which could be to show some of Sherman’s curves as she is standing slightly to the side with her arm on her stomach, which has the connotations the idea of woman being delicate and in need of male attention. However the angle could also be a counter-type to these dominant ideologies of woman due to the angle slightly pointing upwards which establishes dominance and power, which is a contrast to the dominant stereotypes around woman.

CONCEPTUAL/CONTEXTUAL – The reasoning behind the image/Surrounding circumstance/information and knowledge

Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills is a suite of seventy black-and-white photographs in which the artist posed in the guises of various generic female film characters, among them, ingénue, working girl, vamp, and lonely housewife. Sherman staged these woman to resemble scenes from 1950s and ’60s Hollywood, film noir, B movies, and European art-house films. By photographing herself she inserts herself into challenging the stereotypical views of woman. However, in her Untitled Film Series these photographs are not classified as self-portraits, as Sherman explained to the New York Times she often didn’t’t see herself in these picture, rather she thought she disappeared while creating the character. Sherman found her signature approach to photographic self-portraiture while still a student, observing, “I don’t know if it was therapeutic, out of boredom, or my own fascination with thinking about make-up in the mid-seventies… I had this desire to transform myself”.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

https://www.moma.org/artists/5392#:~:text=Cynthia%20Morris%20Sherman%20(born%201954,and%20as%20various%20imagined%20characters.

https://www.theartstory.org/artist/sherman-cindy/#:~:text=Sexual%20desire%20and%20domination%2C%20the,close%20of%20the%2020th%20century.

https://www.thecollector.com/cindy-sherman-self-portraits/

For my final exam study I want to explore the history of colour photography and how it has evolved over the years to become what it is now. One of my main inspirations is Pamela Roberts’ book ‘the genius of colour photography’ and with in it William Eggleston and Saul Leiter. Both of these photographers used different processes to achieve their colour images as it never used to be as easy as it is now. I am going to focus on William Eggleston as my main artist as I think his images all have something unique about them. As Eggleston was an American photographer my images won’t be exactly like his, I am going to take advantage of this and take images of Jersey in the style that he did of America but also in a more modern way. Many of the processes that they used back then aren’t used anymore as technology have evolved in many ways. Within my images I am going to focus on objects such as buildings ad cars and that’s what Eggleston focused on mainly. Saying this, I am also going to photograph things like nature and boats as Jersey has many. Within colour, I think that many people take it for granted now and don’t take in its true beauty. Back when Eggleston took image that I am inspired by it was seen as a great deal to be taking images in colour whereas now everyone and anyone can do it whether its on a phone or a camera etc. Over Jersey there are many things I can photograph which I think that you just have to look for, colour to us in images it just something you see everyday but back them it was seen as much more which I think people take for granted now. I hope to use my project as a way of admiring colour photography and making it something more special as it once was. The majority of my images will be taken in landscape in order to include all of the object but certain images may have to be portrait. Once I have taken my images I am going to edit them slightly on Lightroom Classic, to just make sure that they are clear, straight and focused, I am also going to experiment with a few of them. After that I am going to present them in three ways. Firstly I am going to produce a photobook with my images, secondly I am going to make some final prints where I will mount my images in different ways, some on their own and some in a collection to shoe the contrast that I find over the Island. Finally, I am going to produce a virtual gallery to show viewers what some of my images would look like in a gallery and how I would set them out in a way to show the story behind my study. My overall aim it to get viewers to appreciate colour photography once again like it used to be back when it was first introduce, and become more than people just taking images for the sake of it.

Thomas Demand

Thomas Demand is a German Photographer, who is known for his cardboard and paper models of docile areas, which include things like empty office buildings which have printers and computers like a regular office building, and other strange environments including unique settings. He was born in 1964 Germany and Throughout his education became interested in the practice of sculpture, where he found inspirational images through photographers like Hilla Becher, who’s work involved portraits of specific structures, and even sculptures like Richard Tuttle. As Demand developed his sculptures he consistently started using just paper, and found an interesting concept of environments which are common to what we use as people in society, like the inside of office buildings, and photographing them in a way which present an emptiness of people but a recognition of the environment. The meaning behind his sculptures are mostly political, and show an environment of political and historical instances. What’s interesting about his practice is that after he’s completed a sculpture and photographed it, but then destroying it, showing a disconnection between holding onto things, and represents value in its own way, but also creates a more valued image after he has photographed the environment.

In an interview with Will Wiles, the interviewer describes Demands work as, “his banal and ordinary environments often have sinister connections and meanings”, implying the mystery behind just the visual aspects of his work and how contextually it creates an off putting sensation, as if there is something slightly wrong or familiar but you don’t know exactly what. Demand goes on to say, “It triggers your picture library to spill something out,” which means that his work without knowing the context or meaning is supposed to present almost a sense of nostalgia/familiarity which creates a similar memory or thought to present itself.

What I personally like about Demands work is the concepts behind his work, and how he does sculpture environments just for fun, but rather with a meaning behind it (mostly political and emotional). For example this image above is called the “Corridor (1996)”, and is a representation of Jeffery Dahmer’s apartments. What’s specifically interesting about his design of his sculptures is that whilst it looks like a simple design it crates a sense of fear and eeriness, and is photographed at an angle which conveys the emotion that Demand wants to express in his sculptures and photographs. Furthermore, I like how Demand creates these sculptures just to photograph, and not for it to be a long living sculpture as he destroys it, which I personally think makes the image more distorted and uncanny. His use of depth, lines, and lighting all works together to create the representation of his images meaning.

Thomas Demands work can be related to the concept of “liminal space” because of the sculptures being visually transitional, as if you are the POV of the image walking through a hallway. But also how his work conveys the same sensations as Liminal space photography, which is through disconnection, and disorientation from first sight. I will respond to his work with attempting to create my own type of images that present this aesthetic of messy and empty areas which feel eerie, I will captures environments like docile office buildings and empty hotel hall ways which use the consistency of repetition in shapes and depth, as if it never ends, or there is an entrance to the unknown at the end of the hallway.

Mood board and Mind Map

The Theme Observe, seek, challenge

Observe

An observation is an action or processes of noticing details of something or someone in order to gain information. To be observant is to notice significant details.

Seek

Attempt to find something, the desire to obtain or achieve (something).

Challenge

A call to prove or justify something, to dispute the truth or validity of