Air pollution is a huge problem
and not just for people living in smog-choked cities. Through such
things as global warming and damage to the ozone layer, it has the potential to
affect us all. Smog hanging over cities is of course, the most familiar
and obvious form of air pollution, however, there are different kinds of
pollution, some visible, some invisible, that contribute to global
warming.
Generally any substance that people introduce into the atmosphere that
has damaging effects on living things and the environment is considered air
pollution. Air pollution occurs when harmful substances are introduced
into Earth's atmosphere. It may cause diseases, allergies or death in humans
and also cause harm to other living organisms such as animals and food crops
damaging the natural or built environment. With this theory in mind, I began to look at all substances that leak this potential harm into the
atmosphere and pollute the air we breathe.
My own photographs
Firstly I looked at fire and smoke as form of pollutant as this is the
most common substance in my own home environment which I visibly see affecting
or altering the air. The effects of air pollution caused by fire smoke have
grown steadily, and awareness of them is now growing within environmental
circles in order for us to try and regulate the amount of domestic smoke we
allow to enter the atmosphere. The above image is taken of a log burner
which is considered to be a growing air pollution source. I enjoyed
taking photographs of the flames as each time the shutter was closed, a
completely different image was captured as the flames changed shape and size
constantly. I realised that flames produce a wide spectrum of colours and
these can be used to compose very different images. I particularly like
the above image as it had great areas of light which were highly contrasted
against the dark walls of the burner. The depth of orange and red was
pleasing and the image gave the viewer a great perception oft he heat generated
from the flames all through the camera lens. I thought that these flame
shots, lent themselves particularly well to perhaps putting a strong silhouette
shape in front of them which could perhaps enhance the photograph further.
My second image above was a
further exploration into smoke pollution. This time, I chose to bring
more of a strong environmental theme into my work by including a natural form
within my shot. I really loved this image as the moss and fungus were so
strongly coloured. The green and red provide excellent contrast and are a
vivid focal point to the photograph which is why I decided to keep them central
within my image. I loved the way that the smoke softened the photograph
and the leaves beneath the smoke were almost colourless. It was almost as
though the smoke was removing the saturation on colour within the photo and I
liked this effect. The unfurling fungus was similar in shape to the
leaves, however, the vivid red gave the image a certain n surreal element which
I really liked. I spent some time achieving this shot as I did not want the
smoke to completely obliterate my subject, however, I wanted to ensure enough
smoke was visible in order to get the correct balance within the frame.
My third and final image above
concentrated on dust as a pollutant. Inspired by a previous photograph
taken by artist Fabrice Monteiro, I decided to investigate and capture a moving
vehicle whilst it created a cloud of dust rising into the air. I spent
the day at a local motorsport event trying to get some interesting and high
impact images using dust clouds as my theme. I found that the dust was
difficult to photograph as if I stood too close to the dust, the camera
struggled to focus. In this instance I decided that using a lens with
longer zoom capabilities allowed me to stand further away from my subject and
capture the dust cloud more effectively. Similarly as with the smoke, often the
dust completely obliterated my view of any subject and I felt that without a
focal point of the moving vehicle, the shot lost its impact. I felt that the
above shot best displayed the dust cloud as a trail behind the vehicle, whilst
still keeping the 4x4 in focus. I decided to further enhance the colour
of this image to ensure that the final photograph was vibrant which I think
worked particularly well. Enhancing the saturation of the colours, I thought,
gave the desired effect which I was trying to achieve of a strong
memorable image with an environmental message.
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