Critical Appraisal for Environment

LANDSCAPE: LIGHT POLLUTION

Introduction
 In the first part of my environment unit, I wanted

to highlight the problem that is Light Pollution. Some would argue for it s beauty, which I could agree with somewhat, but I have been plagued by the idea of it fogging up the sky completely. Every night you can look out and just see a misty haze of Light that covers the sky, making it difficult to seethe light coming from the stars deep in space. In this unit I looked at Ori Gersht, amongst others, for inspiration in how to display my imagery. He has done his very own work on this particular subject and I wanted to make something of my own highlighting my concern.

Ori Gersht
 This particular image

was my main inspiration, as it shows an orange-like haze overcastting the midnight sky with a subtle hint of City buildings at the bottom. This photo brilliantly captures the simple issue that is gradually becoming a problem that people overlook.

David Spero
 After I had looked at Ori

Gersht s work as a baseline inspirational reference, I went out to see upon an aesthetic that could aid my own creation. After looking at David Spero I was convinced by his work s overall Brightness and Contrast, particularly in this one. With my foundations set, my idea was ready to shoot.

 Ori Gersht was obviously the big influence within

the issue I was studying. Aiming to reflect his work whilst combining David s aesthetic was my main goal. My final images successfully translate this with that combination but also through being printed Colour to bring focus on the light pollution itself. Black & White could easily present itself as proof for this, but through much consideration (and alteration to how it was previous) colour seemed to be a better choice. Making colour prints mean I can retain a beauty while invoking a certain degree of guilt within it s context.

Critical Appraisal for Environment

CITY: ALWAYS ON

Introduction
 In the second part of my Environment unit, I was

brought to the City where I looked at how it is always on, and always going. The lifestyle of a City never ends and people are always up. That lifestyle to me is slightly saddening, as those who wish to respect the innocence of night and that people should sleep through it, do not get that opportunity. This follows on from my previous unit and adds a sense of reflection upon human presence overall. The city never dies.

Rut Blees Luxemburg

Rut Blees Luxemburg is a German photographer who's work is based around the general concept of 'City' using her own concepts to portray it in a unique way, she usually does this through taking pictures at night. Her night concepts tend to be shot in and around the urban areas. The photograph below called "Piccadilly's Peccadilloes" has a distinct reflection within the puddle. This reflection can be seen as a metaphor of herself looking at the dirty city. We only see this through the reflection and it may be portraying an idealism that is absent. This photo gave me inspiration towards observing city activity in a similar vain.

Dan Holdsworth
 Previously building on my past

project, I focus on light as a subject rather than a medium. Through the use of slow shutter speed, I find myself capturing the movement of the car headlights, showing the busy speeds of cars just trying to get from A to B within the city. This comes back to Dan Holdsworth s methods of slow capture and framing that ultimately become the aesthetic I centralise my work upon. More of his work applies similarly to mine as I attempt to present my ideas.

Conclusion
 All in all, concluding the environment units

together as two pieces of one journey is how I would preferred reading. My reflective nature only provides me with ways of seeing the world from a place of documenting, but also of judgement. My work should hopefully provide an aesthetic that draws you in, but ultimately captures a small piece of my musings of the city within the work that, ultimately, transfers what I have observed onto the viewer.

Evaluation


I would say I am well informed with the issues that are raised within my Landscape Unit, as the light pollution can be seen as ugly and an indirect result of energy waste. The unit very much fits in with many other nature activists, but is an unusual pick in itself, as many other projects would focus on something more common like the amount of landfill sites being used for rubbish dumping. I feel strongly compelled towards preserving what is beautiful already, and by that I mean the visibility of the stars in space and the empty fields present within some cities. The city unit only extends itself from the previous unit in terms of application and relevance, as the light theme carries on even within the always on focus I gave it. For environment, the light pollution and the always on city is evident and I provide that through a documenting process mixed with my references methods. I needed mostly to reflect upon my ideas at the beginning as I find myself searching for an aesthetic first before the issue which is something I had to come to terms with, so that has in fact been the most challenging part of doing these projects. Next time, I shall provide myself with a step-by-step process of creating an idea first before even thinking about how I can achieve a final presentation.