For this project we were challenged with finding objects from a certain area and creating three images that are linked in some way, so this is when I undertook some research to find out what style I wanted to take inspiration from. However when I begun my research I found there were so many to choose from, but there were two different photographers that stood out and helped provide me with the creative ideas to produce my final images.
My first inspiration came from Brian Eselle who’s photography has many different styles however what really captured my attention was his shots of empty rooms.
With the photography being of the entire room, every small element whether it be a lamp or the position of the bed has a certain significance and considering the brief has stated that our found objects should be found in certain locations I found his work appropriate and helpful.
These images titled ‘Prison View’ and ‘Road to Death row’ is a perfect example of how an entire landscape in these incidences a whole room is needed in order to reach the desired impact on the audience especially for such a dark topic.
As we can see his images are very dark when it comes to tone and lighting which creates atmosphere in his work, it was at this time that i knew what I wanted to shoot my found objects in their natural enviroment and in order to have a ‘natural’ effect.
But I knew for this project I would have to focus on a smaller number of objects in my photos, which is why I feel entranced with the works of Jenny Van Sommers who focus on still life and object photography, and while i think her work is incredible , I focused on a few images to analyse and take influence from, like this first peice called ‘Big’ which shows the relation and reliance on all the objects in the picture and the recreation between them in order to have a deserved effect on the viewer.
Her pictures had a huge influence on this project for me, the style of her photographs really influenced me, since they are quite outlandish in structure, they combined opposing objects to make the final image bizarre but that is why it is so powerful to view. Her other works are just as powerful, but German Vogue shows how multiple objects can be arranged to make a secular image in a neutral background.
It was the combination of these two photographers that made my final images what they were, since Eselle focused on design of the background and being in the scene, which is why my final images are not shown in a controlled room, they are take in there natural environment. The influence of Sommers was much more focused on the foreground of the picture, the ensemble of objects together that I found complimented the surroundings to make the final images compelling.
Honestly I think that taking these objects from there original environment detracts impact from the photos, especially since our given location was industry, I wanted to capture to the mundane dirty gritty realism of industry in my pictures, and putting them up in a posh white background and showering them with studio lights would detract from the message I want to convey as a photographer.
Final Images
With this photo I wanted to show the relationship between industry and the products of the industry, the fast food waste placed on the dirty rusty industry equipment makes for a very powerful image since they both have dirt on them, showing there connection, but the bright vibrant reds are despratly trying to show a more bright view of the industry.
The sign compilation was to show the industrial grit of the surroundings and to bring realism into the collection of images, where as the group of objects on each other represent the abstract nature of the objects that can be found on the ground, where the final image is a combination of the two and has the industrial dirt combined with the industry in the form of a McDonald waste. My images are showing how industry is always dirty but it can be beautiful in the waste it creates.
This photo is a collection of objects found near the factories, I arranged them to create a mixture of natural and manmade objects, man and nature have mixed with the development of industry, but I thought I could combined them to create this image of beauty, I call it “metal environment” because it is arranged like a collection of nature, but in reality it is about how industry can be beautiful .
References: www.jennyvansommers.com, https://500px.com/brianestelle