Inspirations and research
Before I first visited the site I did some research into industrial landscape photography to see how other photographers approached it. Here are some examples of what I found:
Like the images of trees I found when researching ' wilderness' these images focus on lines, shapes, textures and patterns in this case made by the metal pipework, girders and fences etc. This is what catches my eye and is what I tried to capture in some of the images shown below.
I found the website Urban Photography Art, which I also used as inspiration for my urban photography assignment, to be helpful. Here are a few images from the site. (http://www.urban-photography-art.com/construction-photos.html):
I then arranged to visit the site and had a guided tour around the different areas so that I could decide which buildings I wanted to photograph. I also had to have a health and safety briefing to tell me where on site I was allowed to go on my own and without safety equipment.
Later in my research I came across the work of Edward Burtynsky (http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/) who photographs large scale industrial landscapes and shows them as truly alien landscapes but manages to capture a terrible beauty in their awfulness. Of his work he says:
"I search for subjects that are rich in detail and scale yet open in their meaning. Recycling yards, mine tailings, quarries and refineries are all places that are outside of our normal experience, yet we partake of their output on a daily basis. These images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear."
So my concept was born – to take photographs of the buildings and structures around the site, trying to capture in them some beauty and drama as well as exploring patterns, shapes and textures.
Outcomes
I visited the site on a number of different occasions over several months and under different weather conditions, which can be seen on the selected photographs below. Some days it was grey and overcast or rainy, I had sunshine and even snow! I mainly concentrated on photographing the environment but also took some people photographs on training day.
Here are some contact sheets:
Here are some selected images:
Industrial:
I think there is a beauty in the ugliness of these structures.
18-200mm lens 18mm f/5.6 1/25 ISO100
Post production added an aged preset.
18-200mm lens 18mm f/8.0 1/100 ISO200
Post production - used the crop angle tool to straighten the horizon, reduced the exposure and used some fill light to illuminate the main structure.
Abstract:
Taken for the unusual viewpoints
28mm lens 28mm f/1.8 1/30 ISO400
No post production editing.
28mm lens 28mm f/1.8 1/15 ISO400
No post production editing.
18-200mm lens 90mm f/5.6 1/60 ISO400
Post production increased the red hue and saturation.
28mm lens 28mm f/5.6 1/100 ISO200
Post production increased the red hue and saturation.
Big skies:
Taken on a snowy day when the cloudy skies added some real drama
18-200mm lens 24mm f/11.0 1/60 ISO100
Post production used crop angle tool to straighten the horizon (despite using a tripod I didn't get it straight!)
18-200mm lens 18mm f/6.3 1/100 ISO200
Post production used the crop angle tool to straighten the horizon, reduced the exposure and increased the blue and yellow saturation.
Black and white:
Generally my preferred style is to produce images in black and white. These are a few of the photographs that I tried converting. I like the atmosphere created.
28mm lens 28mm f/5.6 1/125 ISO200
Post production added an aged preset.
18-200mm lens 20mm f/22.0 1/4 ISO100
Post production added an aged preset.
28mm lens 28mm f/5.6 1/60 ISO200
Post production added a black & white adjustment layer in Photoshop.
People in an alien environment:
I have included some here because, although his assignment is on places, I felt that that it was valid to show people dealing with the alien environment. I like the drama in these images.
18-200mm lens 50mm f/6.3 1/30 ISO100
No post production editing.
18-200mm lens 28mm f/6.3 1/30 ISO100
No post production editing.
18-200mm lens 35mm f/6.3 1/60 ISO100
No post production editing.
By visiting under different weather conditions and using different viewpoints, I produced a selection of images which show the same location in a variety of different ways to try and capture the essence of this environment, its beauty and its drama.
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