ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH
This is my introduction page to the theme of the "Environment" which is the underlying subject of this component. This page will feature three initial starter images shot by different artists, an inspirational mind map and also a snippet of my Pinterest board which I created whilst exploring this theme together with a few starter images whilst I looked around my local environment.
Pinterest Board
Above is a snapshot of my Pinterest board which is where I will be displaying all of my images collected as inspiration throughout this element to my course. This board showcases all the work which I admired and includes some of the techniques I will experiment with in my blog for component two. There were many new and exciting ideas which stood out, especially within environmental preservation and pollution. Some artists played around with painting in industrial oil, whilst others photographed people in oil as more of a campaign shoot. Again, I found that Pinterest was a great way to explore a theme as it allowed me to demonstrate a visual journey of my topic and allowed my thought process to be clearly displayed. I was able to see a clear area of interesting shots and began looking at pollution and it's effects on the environment in more detail as this stood out as a great way to experiment visually within this theme. Whilst looking into environmental issues, a recurring theme which caught my attention
When researching into my topic I discovered that there were many different routes which I could pursue, Experimenting with different types of oils drew my eye, and especially this piece. The artist (Unknown) has tried to replicate what looks to be an eye in his work, and has cleverly used the oil to create a multi-tonal piece with a lot of depth. This helps to create an interesting look to his work, and also almost fools the human brain into thinking it is something which it really isn't. What I liked most about this artist's work is that it took photography to another level, whilst still focusing on the subject of photography, this topic would allow me to experiment with both media types and colour. I tried to experiment with a similar technique in my own images, enhancing my photos of water & oil to create a new perspective.
Taking inspiration from oil slicks, I have also been looking into the subject of merging colours (in the above instance it is paint and oil). Images created in this way are always both bright and colourful but are still able to show the underlying subject of the environment through the aspect of pollution. Oil is a highly controversial and extremely well-documented form of pollution, however, it does create beautiful visual effects which I thought could be replicated within my work.
I hope to incorporate techniques like this marbling into my photographs whilst trying to demonstrate the environmental damage it can cause.In all of my work, I would like to keep the environment in the forefront of my mind, however, I am excited about being able to experiment with new techniques to achieve visual patterns and images which are bold and unusual. I began looking around me at waste objects and the objects which produce waste and evaluating their shape as well as their presence within the environment.
Another technique which I looked into was oil paintings themselves. I have seen many examples from a wide variety of artists that are environmentally based, and many show large social issues within their work. Even though this is quite a deviance from other artists/techniques I have investigated, I feel it would be beneficial to use in my work or maybe focus an artist emulation on this as I believe that great creativity could be achieved using this medium.
The artist above has used many colours similar to one another, however, the painting still has incredible depth and pronounced facial features which are easily visible. Perhaps this technique of detail, could be achieved by using objects found in the environment to replicate a painting like this, rather than using a typical paintbrush or trowel?
My Own Images
The first image above was taken during my initial exploration of oil and the effects which it had when mixed with water. With the naked eye, the colours in the oil were visible, however, through the lens, I was able to view these much closer and could see more patterns and shadows which I found really interesting.
By enhancing these colours using Photoshop and experimenting with exposure, I found I could make some really interesting effects which excited me to progress with this technique further. I thought that I could improve my work by perhaps adding a focal point to the image, such as a pipe, or natural object from the environment which could then create further contrast in my work.
Inspired by investigating shapes of objects within the environment, I took the above photograph of a pile of piping which had been discarded. This industrial waste was a good subject as it gave uniformity to my images which I enjoyed experimenting with. I liked the way the stacked pipes had rusted, giving some of my photographs additional colour and the repetitive circular forms were visually interesting. I spent time using different exposures to try and see what effects could be achieved and inspired by the colour of the rust, I added a filter which gave me the above shot. The filter simplified my photograph and allowed the shapes of the pipes to become the focal point. I like the contrasts that were achieved in this shot, however, thought that with a little more attention to my composition, I could possibly have achieved an even better final image.
Whilst looking at substances which are classed as pollutants within our environment, I discovered that many pollutants are labelled in order that they can be distinguished as either toxic or dangerous. I began investigating how these products are stored and examining the labels used as a classification technique. I found that most labels were highly coloured, very bold with simple logos demonstrating how these substances could cause harm. This environmental labelling was always placed in a prominent place and often repeated to ensure that it was visible. I began to think whether repetition could be used within my work and how I could use bold colours to enhance my images. I kept the above photograph simple, mirroring the labels use. I liked the repetition and clean lines in this image and I think overall it produced a different shot.
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