An Investigation on A Reflection of Nature.
Introduction
For my independent investigation, I am going to be focusing on nature, such as flowers and landscapes, but to narrow my work even further and make it more detailed I have decided to focus on reflection. I’m more interested in nature instead of other topics because in my opinion, nature is slowly being destroyed by man-made objects, such as buildings and businesses, and I wanted to show reflection in nature to help people reflect and realise what we have been doing to nature and if we carry on at the pace that we are, there will be limited left. I have decided to both manipulate and find natural reflections to help my photos seem more interesting. To do this, I have come up with multiple ideas, I will be using Photoshop, mirrors and glass balls and extra equipment to manipulate and create reflection, but I will also be using water, such as a stream or lake, to have real life reflection in my photos. I have taken many inspirations from different photographers and use some techniques from each of them to create my own work with my slight own twist/ style.
History
Reflection in nature photography is a more abstract idea which is harder to figure out its history. However, I found a photo done by Edward Steichen called Moonrise in 1904. The moonrise photo by Edward Stiechen (seen below) looks very grainy and out of focus due to the lack of technology in 1904. Stiechen would use a Kodak 50-expousre box camera to take his pictures which would have film inside, when digital cameras today use electronic equipment. However, you can see that he has taken a photo using reflection of the pond creating an interesting mirrored affect, therefore, linking back to my personal investigation of reflection in nature. Also, by looking and analysing Moonrise, it has allowed me to realise how technology has developed and we are able to have more pixels in a picture to make them clearer and I could capture a luring picture like Stiechen did but with more detail in. The photo is very dark and eerie creating a sense of foreboding and the photo looks as if it could have been taken out of a scene in a horror movie. Also, during this time, there was a photography movement called Pictorialism (1885-1915). The Pictorialist movement was there to help inspire and show other photographers how photography can take more of an artistic and expressive route, this allowed the photographer to find their own style and think slightly outside of the box, therefore, emphasising the beauty instead of documenting
reality. This movement has led to more of a diversity of photography going from realism to abstract and allowing photographers to experiment more. Also, an artist I am researching for my investigation, Imogen Cunningham, was a part of the Pictoralist movement by taking images of people and flowers in a sexual way to represent “sensual and energetic pulse that runs through all of life”. Cunningham helped produce a new style of photography by taking pictures in a completely different style then done before by almost shocking them by the type of photos she would take. I found this interesting when I discovered this because when I first started to look at her photos, I like how they were taken in a different way compared to other photographers who take pictured of flowers, and I wanted to do something similar in my photography so my photos can stand out further. However, when the 1920s came, Modernism was used and replaced Pictorialism. Modernism introduced to look more at line, form and colour in photography and stepping away to what has already been done before.
This is Moonrise photo by Edward Steichen in 1904. The photo looks very grainy and slightly out of focus due to lack of technology in cameras to take clear pictures. However, you can see that he has taken a photo using natural reflection from the pond creating a mirrored effect. Also, the photo is very dark and eerie creating a sense of foreboding as if it could be a scene from a horror movie. I like this photo because it helps give me ideas on how I could portray reflection. The mirrored affect makes me think of looking through a different perspective or a different angle. I like how the photo shows a clear understanding of how the frame should be set out to have the best affect. I find this photo interesting because this style of photography was not common during this time period and it almost like a stamp of a new era. For me, the moon stands out the most because the tone is a lot lighter and brighter compared to the rest of the dark and eerie surroundings.
Photographer Research
For my investigation I have taken influence from Imogen Cunningham, Eliot Porter and Christoffer Relander.
Imogen Cunningham is an American photographer who took pictures of people and flowers. I have been influenced by her work because she makes the flowers seem very delicate and fragile. When I take photos, I hope to achieve something similar and then edit them to be later copied and placed on top of each other when I am creating my final images.
I like this photo because there is a clear demonstration of tone in the petals which I would like to achieve in my own photos. By doing this I will be able to push my photography further by applying more of my formal elements in the photos. Additionally, it would make my photos seem more interesting by more detail within the photo. Also, I like how she has framed the flower in the photo by having it very close up, therefore, there are no distractions from the background and all focus is on the flower itself. In my opinion, the this that draws me in the most is the centre of the flower because of its texture and pattern. The petals are smooth and plain when the centre of the flower has a lot of texture from the nectar and makes it stand out the most.
I like this photo because of the way of Imogen Cunningham has made the flower look fragile and delicate. I like this appearance because the petals almost seem like tissue paper and could easily rip apart but some of the petals looking slightly see through. Also, the centre of the flower looks like it’s in the shape of a heart, which could suggest how people may have a lot of layers, but they can still be fragile and easily be hurt. I like how the background is the complete opposite to the flower to help emphasis its features and stand out more. The texture and the different shades of tone on the petals makes the flower seem more interesting because it adds extra depth, and they stand out even further because of the plain black background.
Eliot Porter is an American photographer who takes many photos of nature, mostly of forests and things he finds in them. I have been influenced by him by his tree landscapes work because I could take pictures of trees and forest in similar ways and edit them into people.
I like this photo because the yellow with the white balances each other looking very pleasing. Also, the trees are all the same species making the photo look even more balanced and symmetrical. By the image looking balanced, the photo looks more pleasing to the eye. I like the photo because the colours a very neutral and crates a calming sensation. Also, I like how you almost travel through the photo towards the back and going through the forest.
I like this photo because it gives me ideas and inspiration on what I could take pictures of in the forest near me because they don’t have trees like in the photo above. Also, I like how there is a cluster of trees together because it makes me think of my composition because when I edit my photos and put the nature picture in the person, I still want to be able to see a lot of the trees/ forest.
Christoffer Relander is a photographer who combines nature and people together, who I take the most inspiration from. I have been influenced by him because he makes it seem like the models are reflecting about something and by combining the two images together, he makes it seem that they are reflecting about nature.
I like both of these photos because this is what I would like to do for my project. Also, I like how the models are looking away from the camera as if they were deep in thought. This helps me think of my composition and when I take pictures of people by giving me ideas on how they should stand. Also, I like how some of the person fades away slightly to add extra texture to the photo and making it more interesting. For me, the lightest points in both photos is the part that stands out to me the most and draws me in further. Also, the tree branches create leading lines throughout the whole photo and dragging the eye to each section.
Photographer relevance
Imogen Cunningham is relevant to my work because I can use her style of taking photos of flowers in my own work. She frames her flowers close to the lens so you can get hardly no distractions from other things in the frame. Also, many of her photos are black and white and sometimes with subtle colour which I could attempt at some point to make my photos seem more interesting. Additionally, I could experiment with using a plain background, so all of the focus is on the flower. Eliot Porter is relevant to my work because I could take photos of forest scenery to then manipulate later on. This is relevant to my work because I will be able to go to forests near where I live and take photos in a similar style and put them inside of a silhouette of a person. By taking photos of forests instead of just flowers, I will be able to experiment with different techniques to create different types of outcomes. Christoffer Relander is relevant to my work because I am doing something very similar to what he has done before. By using his style in my own work, I will be able to experiment with different techniques in photoshop to create me own affect. This will help me work seem more interesting because I will have a different layer to the photo, thus adding more depth. However, to make this style more like mine, I will edit these photos slightly differently so you are able to see more of the nature image, therefore, my final images will link more closely into my project A Reflection in Nature
Future
My project will probably develop further on the term reflection and experiment with the nature and people images. I will probably experiment further with different elements in photoshop to build my photos more and make them seem interesting. For example, in photoshop I can use different techniques to create a reflected affect. Also, I can develop my photography physically by bringing more objects to create reflection and add more depth.
By doing this project I hope in the future that society realises that at the rate we are going, we are going to damage the environment by damaging nature. Governments cut down trees to create room for industrialisation and other resources and not replanting them, this affects the whole world by the CO2 levels increasing and less oxygen being released. Due to the rise in carbon dioxide, this adds to the greenhouse gasses and contributes to global warming which will eventually lead to climate change. I decided to create my topic about ‘Reflection in Nature’ to help create awareness that we need to realise what is happening to nature (such as deforestation and desertification), therefore, we need to start to take more action if we want a sustainable future.
If I was able to continue this project further, I would travel to different countries and take pictures of different landscape showing all kinds of nature. By doing this I would be able to show the beauty of nature across the world and create a bigger impact on people on how we need to stop and reflect about nature and how we need to save it. What would have been better and really help me push my project further if I could of travelled to Australia and taken pictures of the bush fires and some of the animals to help emphasise that this will keep happening if we don’t stop and reflect on how we are affecting the environment and change our way.
Conclusion
In conclusion, after researching Reflection in Nature, I have realised where I went to take my project and develop it further. Before researching, I wanted to take photos of flowers and reflect them using either photoshop, mirrors, water or glass. However, after seeing Christoffer Relander’s work, I have realised I could take this on a deeper scale and present people reflecting their own actions in nature and how they can change their ways to help save the environment. I am still going to use the style that I originally thought of before I started my project because my image progression will portray how I have developed my way of thinking on this project and move forward to a more deep and relevant meaning. Additionally, when I originally started this project, I thought I could have only taken pictures of bright vibrant flowers during summer to display colour and make my photos seem more intriguing. However, looking at Eliot Porter’s photography, I have realised that I can take photos of forest and present the beauty and wonder in nature by the viewer not being able to see where the forests starts and finishes. Therefore, I am no longer limiting myself and demonstrating a variety of photography which is closely linked to my project. Going through my project, I have realised that I can combine my original idea of using reflected photos and edit them into people to portray how I am able to use all of my ideas and combine them together so they are all closely linked instead of looking like several small separate projects.