Assignment 1: Beauty & the sublime

Brief: Produce 6-12 photographs conveying my own interpretation of beauty and/or the sublime within the context of landscape and I may choose to support, question or subvert the accepted definition of these terms. I’m not required to take the images in the same place or location but they should function as a cohesive series if possible, complementing each other.

In a previous exercise I mentioned how I found the ocean so sublime – it’s captivating and it’s ominous. I recently travelled to California to do a photography piece on the ocean. I was there from dawn until dusk in the hope that I could produce a series of varied images that demonstrate the power and the peace of the open ocean.

Black & White Wave

Multi-coloured Skies

Cliff Swirls

Sea Or Sky

Blue On Blue

Wave Barrel

Sunrise

Wave Crash

The Dawn

Twilight

Assessment criteria

Demonstration of Technical and Visual Skills:

From a technical point of view I used several long exposure shots (using a neutral density filter and necessary equipment that goes with it) to create the eery softness that is present in several of these shots.

I was also extremely patient in terms of waiting for my ‘envisioned’ image. Perhaps this was because I had no time limit, but I was able to plan my locations and my shots to the finest detail.

I also used two cameras – my Nikon D5500 for the beach based shots, and my GoPro for the shots I took while in the ocean.

In order to really emphasise the element of ‘sublime’ I wanted my shots to be void of people. I felt like adding a human element would subtract from the serenity and the sublime, and would add a layer of familiarity or relatability, whereas I wanted to focus purely on nature.

Quality of Outcome:

I’m very satisfied with the quality of outcome. These prints all come together as a set and have a common theme which pulls them together with a sense of continuity and purpose.

In terms of the individual images I’m happy that each one of my photos is a strong representation of my brief, and the images are able to stand independently, as well as part of a series.

There are several shots that perhaps stand out more, creatively speaking, than others. Specifically the inside of the wave barrel and the long exposure images. These images may be perceived as inconsistent with the collection as a whole, but I felt that removing these images from the set would result in the collection feeling too same-y.

I also wanted to add several black and white images. This was a potential risk as some may say they seem a little disjointed from the others that contain strong colours, but I think black and white can convey sublime as strongly as colour can. When we think of sublime we jump straight to gorgeous bright colours contrasting off one another, so I wanted to go against that by adding the monochrome images.

Demonstration of Creativity:

I think my creativity is evident in these images. From finding unusual locations such as the cliff top, the wave barrel and in the middle of the bushes so I can frame my shot in ‘Dawn’ I think my creativity comes across.

By including such an eclectic mix of imagery it adds variety and intrigue to the set.

Context:

I have been very limited with time for this module, as I was struggling to meet my deadline and allocate enough time towards my studies. However, I am extremely aware of the need for me to put more time towards my studies and balance my working career alongside my photography.

 

 

Exercise 1.6: The contemporary abyss

For this exercise we are required to read ‘Staring into the Contemporary Abyss’ by Simon Morley.

https://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/articles/staring-contemporary-abyss

It is to give us a good understanding/view of the sublime as a theme within visual culture. We  are then required to chose any body of work (photography, literature, cinema etc) that we feel explores the sublime.

While reading the article there was one part that specifically jumped out at me:

‘I see the sublime as coming from the natural limitations of our knowledge: when we are confronted with something that’s beyond our limits of acceptability, or that threatens to expose some repressed thing, then we have this feeling of the uncanny.’ – Mike Kelley

This really resonated with me and I found it familiar to other quotes I’d researched, in terms of trying to define and explain the meaning of the word sublime.

Liz Wells describes sublime as ‘the sublime is associated with awe, danger and pain, with places where accidents happen, where things run beyond human control, where nature is untanable’

I’ve been lucky enough to visit Yosemite on multiple occasions and this type of rugged landscape instantly popped up as a true example of a sublime landscape. However, I’m very familiar with Ansel Adams work, and having photographed Yosemite myself I wanted to find another, newer source of work.

The ocean, for me, is one of the scariest places. We know very little about it, and there are depths we’ve never reached. I have always been enticed by the ocean, and while I fear it, it also has the ability to make me feel a certain type of stillness and calm. I’ve experimented slightly with wave photography, and came across the work of Mike Lacey – an ocean/wave photographer. For me, Lacey’s work is truly sublime.

He only has a certain amount of control over his photographs such as location and timing, but the rest is in the hands of mother nature. He captures the raw vast open ocean as the waves swell, sometimes rather dramatically and sinisterly, which provokes a huge sense of fear, excitement, danger and awe. I imagine him being so small in this huge open water world, capturing each wave as they come and go, and are never to be replicated again. There is most definitely an element of risk for Lacey when photographing the waves as he does and this is evident in his work.