BA (Hons) Photographic Arts
Major Project 1
Research Report
This should be a summary of and a critical reflection on your research process so far. You should try to give the reader a sense of the process you have been through - your journey, your thoughts and decisions along the way and what has informed the choices you’ve made. Try to be as honest and as critically reflective as you can.
Please extend boxes as required (length 1000-2000 wds)
Name
Rose Patterson
Major Project Title
Aerial Awareness
This is a working title. I chose this as the project’s main aim is to create awareness of the impacts of our actions on our home so I have chosen to use aerial photography to capture the beauty and also the scale of the areas affected by human civilisation.
Research Methods
One of my main methods of research have been using the internet by using search engines to find photographers, find out influences of the photographers that I have found to develop my research and websites such as petapixel.com and americansuburbx.com have been useful when trying to find interesting artists. I also used the library to find both photography books and information on the environment and climate change in books, journals and articles. National Geographic magazine has been particularly useful in my research. I also used films as part of my research, some showing interviews with photographers and how they work and others specifically made to raise awareness of environmental issues.
My research began when I was searching for photographs related to travel and the environment as these are two subjects of interest to me. I came across some beautiful images by photographer Art Wolfe on his website. I was particularly interested in his images of nature showing interesting textures and patterns, from close-ups to photographs taken from a distance. I also liked how the images look abstract and it is not always clear what the subject is.
I decided to do further research into other photographers that create abstract images of nature. Using the library and internet I discovered more photographers including Ernst Haas, Daniel Sroka and Dan Baumbach. The photographs taken by Baumbach grabbed my attention as they look as if they could be landscapes taken from above but they are simply images of textures on the ground taken by Baumbach whilst walking in the countryside near his home. This lead me to think about how I could create images of surfaces in my surroundings. I live in central London so my immediate surroundings are industrial and man-made. I started searching for photographers who create abstract images of man-made objects in contrast to the images of naturally occurring subjects. I found interesting images by John Garghan and Mark Raymond Mason. Garghan photographs close-ups of the surfaces of burnt out cars. The interesting colours, textures and shapes created by the chemicals in the paint and metal of the cars make amazing abstract photography subjects. Mason also photographs close-ups of surfaces of objects, both man-made and natural, many of them decaying, which creates painting-like images.
I started to experiment with my own photography of interesting surfaces and textures. I found a surface in my building which had moon-like crater shapes on it so I tried photographing from different angles and with different lenses. I felt that most of these images looked flat and the surface wasn’t interesting enough and maybe needed more textures so I took my camera around my building and on my journey to work on the underground and took photos of surfaces that were decaying or affected by the weather which I thought worked better than my previous images but I still felt something was missing.
Whilst visiting the World Press Photo 2014 exhibition I saw the work of Kacper Kowalski which really inspired me. His aerial images of areas of Poland were not only beautiful but they also raised awareness of environmental issues. The images shown in that exhibition reveal the emissions from chemical factories, coal from power stations and by-products from mining. These effects are not so easily seen from the ground as they are from the air. After seeing these images and other work by Kowalski I started researching other aerial photographers and environmental photographers. I liked the idea of using photography to educate people and to raise awareness of important issues that are relevant today.
Bernhard Lang, Yann Arthus-Bertrand and Ed Burtynsky are some environmental photographers that greatly inspired me. They all reveal environmental issues in their photography. As well as finding information and images online and in books I searched for videos and interviews for each photographer and artist to help me learn about their methods and reasons for taking the images they do.
At this point I felt my ideas were much more focused and I was researching a subject I was passionate about. I knew I wanted to create a project based on environmental problems in the UK so I started to research what effects have already taken place due to climate change, what is predicted to happen in the future, what the main causes of climate change are and what other environmental issues occur in the UK. I watched films such as The 11th Hour, Cowspiracy, The Age of Stupid and Meat the Truth to learn more about the different ways the Earth is being destroyed by humans.
Without researching and using different methods my final ideas would not be as developed and informed as they are now. To begin with I was very uncertain about what direction my project was going but I have been able to progress and create a clear and focused project proposal.
Pilot Project
Through the development of my pilot project I have come up with a good concept that I am happy with and I have a clear plan of what I want to do for my Final Major Project. At the beginning of this project I was very uncertain of what I wanted to do so I chose some images that I liked by Art Wolfe, even though I didn’t necessarily want to photograph my own images in the same style, I didn’t really have a plan and just let my research develop and eventually I came up with my final concept.
I have learnt that by doing as much research as possible my ideas become stronger. It is also important to do research outside of photography, other art forms are good inspiration and also journals and interviews. By researching the backgrounds and inspirations of photographers and artists I found further relevant artists to research.
My main concepts that developed during my research are to educate my audience and raise awareness of environmental problems in the UK that are already affecting and that will affect people and wildlife. I will aim to show people the beauty of the planet and why it is worth saving by photographing it from above.
Audience and Context
I have considered how I would have to capture the attention of my audience in order for them to take an interest in the meaning behind it and be willing to learn about the environmental issues portrayed in my images. It seems many people either don’t care about making changes in their lives to help protect our world or they don’t have the right information available to them to inform them of how simple it can be to make a difference. To overcome these problems I want to create eye-catching images to make people stop and look, each image will have a short paragraph to accompany it explaining how the content of the image is being destroyed by the human population and also some information on how everyone can reduce their impact on the planet.
Production and Presentation
I have done a lot of research on the production of my project. I am planning on taking 4-6 aerial image of areas of the UK that are affected by climate change or other environmental issues caused ultimately by people.
Originally I looked into taking photographs using a drone and camera and take photos using a remote control but the method would end up being more expensive than flying in a helicopter or microlight aircraft and I also wouldn’t have as much control over the camera. For each image I will need to organise a flight over the area I want to shoot which can be affected by weather so I have to schedule enough time for this possibility. I also need to leave plenty of time between shooting and the hand-in date in case I don’t get the images I want, in that case I would have to schedule another flight. I also need enough time for post-production and printing. I will also collect information on each location’s environmental problems and condense it down into one paragraph for each image so the information is clear and easy for my audience to understand. I will also include information on how people can reduce their impact on the environment.
Visual References / Bibliography
Arthus-Bertrand, Y. (1999). The earth from the air. London: Thames & Hudson.
Dessler, A., & Parson, Edward. (2010). The science and politics of global climate change : A guide to the debate (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dietz, M., & Garrelts, Heiko. editor of compilation. (2014). Routledge handbook of the climate change movement (Routledge international handbooks).
Gerster, G. (1978). Flights of discovery : The earth from above. New York ; London: Paddington Press.
Harvey, L. (2000). Global warming : The hard science. Harlow: Prentice Hall.
Walker, G., & King, David. (2008). The hot topic : How to tackle global warming and still keep the lights on. London: Bloomsbury.
