Nadav Lander - Chernobyl, Half Life
Nadav Kander is a Israeli London based photographer, artist and director. His landscape photographs have gained him notoriety among his peers with his shots often being examples of photographs with significant historical context and being part of his own style of landscape photographs. Nadav Kander's Half life is a project on capturing the derelict state of Chernobyl years after it had been evacuated and left after a powerful nuclear explosion which forced many people to flee their homes and leave their entire lives behind as the intense radioactivity made it extremely dangerous for anyone to stay there. The project shows the old elements of a thriving community while contrasting it to the city's overriding desolate condition.
I feel this is one of the most aesthetically pleasing shots in Kander's project. The shot's foreground and background both show different sides to the condition of Chernobyl. The foreground presents a overrun rooftop cafe, with unmoved chairs and discoloured walls peeling away over time. The foreground also shows how nature has continued to grow even in the most high up and toxic areas. The tree in the middle of the room emphasises the emptiness of the city as a whole. The background of the picture shows a few of the many empty skeletons of apartment blocks. The background relates to the foreground in a way that the foreground also shares the run down state with the apartments whilst also adding to the idea that the entire city is surrounded by similarly empty parts of a once bustling city. The shot is well taken in the way that its pale and bleached out tone removes any blatant colour or life from the picture, with the only sign of life being a few singular trees in a derelict room. The framing and perspective of the shot also leads the viewer to look at the background of the shot, with a window being placed in the middle of the shot to expose the apartment blocks while keeping the main focus of the shot in plain sight.
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I like this photograph from the project thanks to the context behind the shot and its actual content. The shot shows an old presumably geography classroom, with a globe and the numerous chairs rusting and peeling away. This shot again shows just how ordinary and routine Chernobyl was, and how a man made disaster can completely remove any human influence on the city's unchanged appearance. The subject of the photograph also shows the impact on the youth of the city, with not only their place for learning and an education being deserted, but also the city where they'd grow up amongst each other. This adds to the powerful effect the picture has on the viewer, as it makes them imagine the confusion and chaotic nature of what the city and its people had to experience. The linear and well organised appearance of the picture and its objects can contrast to the broken and inanimate state of the room. It can also mirror the communist ruling of Ukraine at the time, where everything was very equal and militarised, this is seen in the still aligned desks in 3 columns, with a fraction of space between them. With the light coming through the windows it relates to the idea of prosperity, which is immediately shut down due to the similarly lifeless situation of the city outside of the classroom.
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This shot from the project is one of my favourites. I like this photograph because of the historical context is contains as well as the images colour. The photograph shows a field with abandoned Soviet military helicopters surrounding each other. I feel that the subject of the picture shows the viewer context behind the huge impact the 1986 Chernobyl disaster had on notably the city of Chernobyl but also the entire country and the Soviet republic that had to deal with the massive costs of the disaster. As well as this the picture gives the viewer a visual interpretation of what life was like in Ukraine at the time under Soviet ruling. In my opinion the colour balance of the photograph also adds to the desired intention of presenting a derelict and contaminated city. The shot features hazy yellow and green tones, which i feel interlink with the connotations of things going a yellow-ish when dry or parched, with the mild green tones adding to the implication of green often being seen when something is overgrown and not cared for. Overall these two elements, one of which being the actual subject, combined with its featured colour range both give the image an overall aesthetic of being derelict and hazardous, which matches the words many would use to describe the city of Chernobyl today.
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Swimming Pool/School - Formal Elements
When taking pictures focusing on the formal elements of photography the class was told to walk around the school site as well as the abandoned swimming pool that is also on school grounds. The formal elements are: Colour, Perspective, Texture, Line, Contrast, Tone, Shape and Form.
I felt that the school site was most complimentary for only a few of the elements, while the swimming pool suited other elements far better also. With the school grounds i felt that it captured the element of colour most effectively, and i think that is due to the overgrown swimming pool gradually gaining a consistently similar colour range due to the items and surfaces being overgrown with dirt and grime, taking the vibrance away from any bright colours. I also felt that perspective better suited the school grounds, which i think is thanks to the swimming pool area of the school having a rather linear design with lots of empty space, slightly reducing my chance of capturing formations in alternate angles. Whereas the regular school grounds have good formations for photographing perspective, for example lampposts and fence supports.
I felt that the school site was most complimentary for only a few of the elements, while the swimming pool suited other elements far better also. With the school grounds i felt that it captured the element of colour most effectively, and i think that is due to the overgrown swimming pool gradually gaining a consistently similar colour range due to the items and surfaces being overgrown with dirt and grime, taking the vibrance away from any bright colours. I also felt that perspective better suited the school grounds, which i think is thanks to the swimming pool area of the school having a rather linear design with lots of empty space, slightly reducing my chance of capturing formations in alternate angles. Whereas the regular school grounds have good formations for photographing perspective, for example lampposts and fence supports.
Alexandra Palace Abandoned Theatre Visit
For the school trip, the two photography classes visited the abandoned theatre in Alexandra Palace. The desolate theatre was enjoyable to shoot as not many have the access to do so, as well as its featuring lots of old cracking paint and walls as , and age-battered decors and designs around the space. The theatre was also enjoyable to shoot when comparing it to the very clear and well lit grounds of the rest of the palace.
Eugene Richards - The Blue Room
Eugene Richards is an American documentary photographer and filmmaker. One of his more recent projects in The Blue Room. The book focuses on documenting the abandoned houses of rural America, and how the minimal signs of life on show in the homes become derelict as well as presenting how being empty for so long has allowed time and nature to endorse scars and damage on the house.
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This shot is good in my opinion as it features a double exposed image, with the two images being very different in the sense that they have both harsh bright lighting and minimal dark lighting. I feel the contrast is even more complimenting as it shows the minimal light coming into the room, and what the environment around the house/room would look like.
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I like this image because of its context. The abandoned and derelict appearance of the walls and staircases contrast to the bed, which despite its appearance still represents the idea of people once living there. I feel that the theme of 'what was once' in this picture is effective as it makes the reader think about the rooms past, while they're looking at its final state, which i feel would bring upon a reaction that Eugene intended to bring out of the viewers.
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This shot is appealing to me as i felt that this shot too perfectly fulfils Eugene initial intentions upon starting the shoot. The photograph has a harsh contrast between the homely and warm connections of a bed to the punishing conditions of the snow seen outside. The shot also correlates with the them of nature taking over, with the small portion of snow from the outside creeping inside and falling onto the bed in the direction that the wind travelled in.
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Trip To Local Allotments
On the photography students second outing, we visited the local allotments on creighton avenue. The classes shots were to be focused on landscapes around the plots as well as taking close ups of small details of the allotment and the owners plots. I enjoyed shooting at this location as i myself grew up while frequently visiting this allotment, with my Dad having a plot of his own at the allotment. The allotment is a good place to shoot because of of each plot being unique with their objects and appearance, as well as the colourful landscapes and plants being fun to photograph, assisted by the complimentary wind that was happening that day.
Darkroom Experiments
With our in school artist Sayako Sugawara we did some more dark room experiments. She showed us various techniques that would distort our images of Alexandra Palace in abstract and dynamic ways. Two of my favourite techniques that she showed us involved bleaching an image as well as placing iron filings on the shots, both of which changing the original photograph by changing its exposure and its texture. With the bleach, we brushed it along our pictures, in areas of the image that would look interesting with different ranges of exposures. With the iron filings i placed them on areas of my photos that i thought were too plain and therefore looking good with a colour boost and a added to dynamic appearance.
After my altered images were finished developing and drying, i then focused on the editing. I changed the hue's and saturation of my bleached image, and inverted it to contrast more to the emerging colours, i did this as i felt it would make the bleached parts of the image have more colour a boosted visual appearance. With my iron filing image i decided to increase the contrast between the black and white, so i could change the colour of my iron filings into purple, as i felt that it contrasts nicely with both black and white, and gives it a nicer and more clean looking colour scheme.
After my altered images were finished developing and drying, i then focused on the editing. I changed the hue's and saturation of my bleached image, and inverted it to contrast more to the emerging colours, i did this as i felt it would make the bleached parts of the image have more colour a boosted visual appearance. With my iron filing image i decided to increase the contrast between the black and white, so i could change the colour of my iron filings into purple, as i felt that it contrasts nicely with both black and white, and gives it a nicer and more clean looking colour scheme.
Inside & Out
National TheatreWith my first set of observations my location was the southbank. I had the opportunity to explore restricted underground parts of the southbank, including its pipelines, air vents and structural supports. As well as this i had access to production areas and behind the scenes rooms for the south banks theatre productions. I then photographed the outside areas surrounding the southbank, showing two completely different sides to the culturally rich are of London. I did this to contrast between the two sides, and emphasise the amount of intriguing and aesthetically pleasing areas most cannot see.
By doing this i aimed to present the tourist view of the southbank as being far more generic and less interesting than the hidden parts of it. With the shoot i felt that the unique access i had to the southbank helped me show the rare to see parts of the building. The brutalist architecture of the site was also enjoyable to shoot. As well as this the fact that the theatre was moving all its large scale props to another location gave me an empty and more accurate shell of an often looked past side of the southbank, which is hard to see for the public. |
Lewis BaltzI feel that with this set of observations, it shows a resemblance in style with Lewis Baltz. Baltz was a Californian-born photographer famed for his leading role in the New Topographics, a movement that featured high contrast, predominately black and white prints of urban landscapes.
Lewis Baltz's pictures and my own shots are similar with the two sets of features shooting concrete structures with highly contrasted light to dark tones. |
Alexandra and Ainsworth Estate
I chose to photograph the unique aesthetic of residential estates, while also photographing its small details that only the residents themselves can recognise and locate. The first housing estate i visited was the Alexandra and Ainsworth Estate in Camden. The estate's construction took place from 1972-1978, hence why it features iconic brutalist architecture, which i myself love photographing. I felt this continued on from my photographs of the southbank, which is also a prime example of brutalist architecture. I chose photograph estates to show a resident point of view to the estates as well as a passer by point of view of the estates i photographed, and show the residents going about their daily in their housing estate.
I felt that with the houses all having the same design, it would allow me to photograph residents making their house more unique with the decorations and possessions in the front of their house, as well as using the repetitive design to photograph the estate in interesting perspectives and angles. If i was to go back and photograph the estate i would shoot it in less of a black and white way, by either photographing the estate entirely from its grounds and what it looks like from afar or comparing it to what it used to look like, as well as this i would've liked to photograph the insides of apartments to show how my interpretation of the estate is different to a residents. |
Rik MoranWhen deciding to chose this observation, i was inspired by the work of Rik Moran, a London based landscape photographer who predominantly shoots city and suburban areas.
I feel the perspectives and framing he uses for his shots compliments the design of the buildings he photographs. I aimed to emulate his style in my photographs, and interpret it in my way alongside adapting his technique to suit the architecture of the Alexandra and Ainsworth Estate. |
Barbican
For this observation i decided to visit the Barbican. I really enjoy shooting this location as i love the aesthetic of brutalist architecture. As well this, the theme of inside out which i previously enjoyed shooting fitted very well with the Barbican as i had a family friend who allowed me into the often restricted apartment blocks, therefore allowing me to shoot the insides of the Barbican which has intrigued me for a while.
I feel that by shooting the small details and understudied surroundings close to and inside the Barbican i would give a good interpretation of the Barbican that is not immediately obvious to people. I also was happy with the timing of my shoot, and i was especially pleased with the pink sky i was lucky to photograph with on the day. However, i feel as if that with this project i should've taken advantage of my access and photograph it in more diverse ways, for example using distorting lenses or photographing images that i would edit to give a completely new appearance to areas that are both commonly seen and rarely accessed. If i had the chance to photograph the area again i would do this as well as photographing the estate in different time frames or weather conditions to give an even more accurate representation of what life is like for the residents. |
Günther FörgI saw Günther Förg, a German painter and photographer as an inspiration of mine for this shoot. Förg's photography was primarily shot buildings around the world in the style of the infamous Bauhaus Movement. Bauhaus buildings regularly include flat roofs, consistently smooth façades, and lots of cubic shapes.
I think that Förg's photograph's relate to mine as the Barbican features very blocky and brutalist structures, also featuring very angled and straight exteriors and interiors, which Förg's shots also incorporate. |
London Film
For this observation i decided to try and make a short film. I felt as if the subjects and locations of my film would juxtapose to the desolate locations i shot before, which didn't show many people. I also wanted to explore a range of media and still show my ability. When making my short film i intended to show my journey to central London as well as filming some of my favourite parts of London, while trying to show the small details of the areas i visited, rather than going to generic more touristic views of central London.
I wanted to make sure my clips were of areas of London that i would like to photograph too. I did this as i felt i could present the areas i visited in my own way, and show a side of central London that only Londoners would immediately recognise and relate to. However i do feel that it the shots i took i also managed to show both my surroundings and the people that were sharing them with me at the time, i also tried to push myself further and give show more of my ability, as i felt that simply having clip after clip would not show my intention of showing my ability more. I decided include moving overlays for them, for example light streaks, moving images and marks on the film. I feel i did this quite well for an early attempt. I used the effects of natural light streaks and digital looking overlays to suit the shots which showed the more man made and manufactured side of London.
With my short film, i feel as if i should've given more indications of where i was in London and the process of moving place to place, for example filming street signs instead of short clips of roads and streets that i walked along to reach my next location. I feel that this and maybe creating more aesthetically pleasing overlays for future locations other than central London could give my film and potential future attempts a better reception and show my editing skills more efficiently. I feel that i can link the medium of film with my previous shooting locations and still keep the aesthetic of the film the same as my previous photographs.
I wanted to make sure my clips were of areas of London that i would like to photograph too. I did this as i felt i could present the areas i visited in my own way, and show a side of central London that only Londoners would immediately recognise and relate to. However i do feel that it the shots i took i also managed to show both my surroundings and the people that were sharing them with me at the time, i also tried to push myself further and give show more of my ability, as i felt that simply having clip after clip would not show my intention of showing my ability more. I decided include moving overlays for them, for example light streaks, moving images and marks on the film. I feel i did this quite well for an early attempt. I used the effects of natural light streaks and digital looking overlays to suit the shots which showed the more man made and manufactured side of London.
With my short film, i feel as if i should've given more indications of where i was in London and the process of moving place to place, for example filming street signs instead of short clips of roads and streets that i walked along to reach my next location. I feel that this and maybe creating more aesthetically pleasing overlays for future locations other than central London could give my film and potential future attempts a better reception and show my editing skills more efficiently. I feel that i can link the medium of film with my previous shooting locations and still keep the aesthetic of the film the same as my previous photographs.
Short FilmsI decided to build upon my short film of London. To link it with my previous observations i decided to revisit a location that i previously photographed, the Alexandra and Ainsworth estate.
I also visited a new location, the Trellick Tower, designed by Erno Goldinger. The tower is another example of brutalist architecture in London, and was equally as enjoyable to shoot. I felt that the panning motion and colour of my short clips went well, and complimented the location itself and the way i desired to shoot it, by bringing out the aesthetic of the heavily used concrete. I changed the colour balance of my clips. I did this to compliment the stark concrete aesthetic of my locations, and relate closer to the grungy and urban feel i wanted my short films to elucidate. However i do feel that to make my films better, i'd of liked to gain access to apartments in the Trellick and the Alexandra and Ainsworth estate, to give another outlook that i explored in previous observations.
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Eric Rohmer - Les Metamorphoses du paysage (1964) One of my inspirations for my short film was a film made by director Eric Rohmer. In English, " The Industrial Age : The Changing Landscape " is a 1964 documentary on postwar planning, and the building of new buildings and geometries.
Despite him being known for scripted film productions, this short film from him has still shots of demolished and derelict structures and landscapes, as well as wide angle panning shots of skylines. I think that his style in this film suits the locations i shot in, as they both feature imposing and linear structures. |
Final Piece - Brutalism in London
Thought Process
With my final piece i decided to use photographs and short clips of previous locations to make a short film focused on Brutalist architecture in London. Along with this, i did some research on the beginnings of brutalism and the individuals and structures that inspired the movement. I explained the rise of Brutalism, and the impact its had on the city of London. To compliment my shots and research, i decided to explore the wider issues surrounding housing, that i incorporate in the film. By doing this i felt i extended the information the viewer would learn and receive, as well as making them as appreciative of existing brutalist structures as i am.
However, I do feel as if i could better my short film either by visiting more locations, or potentially personally receiving inputs from critics and influential people in the field of brutalism and architecture. Overall i am happy with the end result and I feel that the previous images and clips i shot fit in well when trying to explain the backgrounds and issues facing the locations i visited earlier in the project of Landscape.
However, I do feel as if i could better my short film either by visiting more locations, or potentially personally receiving inputs from critics and influential people in the field of brutalism and architecture. Overall i am happy with the end result and I feel that the previous images and clips i shot fit in well when trying to explain the backgrounds and issues facing the locations i visited earlier in the project of Landscape.