Charlotte Edwards

The Nature Within The Commission: Component One

Environments
The critical consideration of environments represents an important aspect in Contemporary practice Sites of dispute Boundaries Romanticised Ideals Social Control Economic Exploitation Conservation History Memory Archeology National and Cultural Meaning Leisure and Social Activity Understand the relationship between Concept, Space, Form, Nature and the man made

What my Project Fits Into Boundaries Economy Nature

Ideas
Used beauty/ Used Elegance Unused beauty/ Unused Elegance Abandoned Beauty/ Abandoned Elegance Wonderland Concept abandoned buildings with elegant architecture that will hopefully raise awareness of beautiful building and ask questions like why is it abandoned and why are we not using these buildings with such beauty. Why I Chose this idea : I have always been inspired and captivated by this certain type of architecture, it has a elegance and feel and when its sad when mistreated

Updated Idea And Names

I plan to shoot and document how even though a building is not being used it can be home to wildlife. This was inspired by my contextual research article, it stood out to me and was a original and different take on photographing a abandoned building. I also plan to document how plants can still grow within this type of environment and adapt. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article2407836/Remarkable-pictures-abandoned-housewoods-adopted-wild-animals-own.html

 Unexpected Environments Reclaiming Wildlife The Nature Within

I like the theme of The Nature Within For the title of my project.

 How I plan to shoot. It will be hard to shoot actual animals within this environment especially with analogue so i plan on using fake animals or props to suggest there is wildlife within the building I also want to document the environment around the pub how it can become overgrown and then become a home to nature. Techniques I plan to use Shooting low like a animal An animals viewpoint Shoot environments with evidence of animals.

Red foxes thrive particularly well in urban environments. Throughout the twentieth century, they established themselves in many Australian, European, Japanese, and North American cities. The species first colonised British cities during the 1930s, entering Bristol and London during the 1940s, and later established themselves in Cambridge. Urban red foxes are most common in residential suburbs consisting of privately owned, low-density housing, but are rare in areas where industry, commerce or councilrented houses predominate (be the strongest or main element; be greater in number or amount.)

Other Contextual Influences

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article2316987/Photographer-Niki-Feijens-eerie-imagesabandoned-farm-houses.html The idea of things being left behind but still remaining the same over a long period of time http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article2408624/Baltimores-houses-standing-The-beautifulrow-houses-sprawling-tenements.html Abandoned Houses in Baltimore I like how this article is more directed towards urban decay

Ghostly Painted Figures in an Abandoned Building in Leipzig

Stood out to me as a way of using abandoned buildings which fit my project of buildings being used once they have been abandoned.

Danish Artist Daan Botlek Leipzig, Germany. The paintings were part of the exhibition If paradise is half as nice part 2

Abandoned Buildings Series Ongoing studio work: Paintings of buildings in the UK and USA inspired by my old travel photographs of desolate desert landscapes and interesting building facades. Celebrating the death of many once loved high street shops. http://jenny-leonard.com/myartwork/abandoned-buildings-series/

Edward Weston

Cypress Point Lobos, 1940 Influential to my project. I wanted to also look at the environment around the building like overgrown gardens etc and this most inspired me.

Overgrown, Chaotic, Abandoned, Alone themes.

William Henry Jackson

Williams Pictures showed adventure and exploration. This linked in with my theme of exploring somewhere id never been. Images look sublime but also have a theme of abandonments to them for example no man made objects everything has been left untouched by humans.

JOEL STERNFELD, McLean Virginia, December 4, 1978

Joel Sternfeld Walking The Highline

good argument for preserving this iron-girder structure http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/28/arts/art-in-review-joel-sternfeld-walking-the-highline.html Mr. Sternfeld's big, eerie photographs capture much of the High Line's stark formal power, as well as the Surrealist frisson between wildness of its plant life and the surrounding buildings.

David Plowden

David Plowden was the most influential Photographer to me through out this project his images of disappearing America really appealed to me and I instantly connected with his reason behind the images and I feel this has influenced my contextual influences for example the economy.

Economy Contextual References

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/news/article -2238338/Business-growth-set-remainsluggish-years.html The UK is facing another two years of sluggish growth in business investment, sapping strength from the wider economy

I decided that within my project I wanted to shoot abandoned / shut down pubs this was inspired by a personal interest and also due to personal family experience with running a pub.

I knew how hard it was for a pub to make business and how easy it was for pubs to go out of business due to high bills and the economy. All this inspired me along with the right location which I later found and I could also gain access inside too.

Olivier Richon Influence Into placement of animals

I first looked at Olivier Richon for inspiration on how I could place animals within a environment. Even though his work is mainly studio it gave me a idea on how I could incorporate wild life into a building

Karen Knor Karen Knor was a big influence into my research of placing animals within a environment

Over growth Messy Wild How this could be a mess to a person passing by but could be a home to wildlife and animals.

I also chose to look at the negative side to abandoned buildings like people not caring for that environment anymore. This then becomes a problem for the wildlife with rubbish and litter that can cause harm.

1st Test Shoot

2nd Test Shoot from point of view of a animal

3RD shoot found my location.

35mm test into the nature of the environment- close up on plants etc

4th shoot in colour same location went back on different day

5th shoot with colour working with placing fake props to suggest animals in the environment.

Why I Decided to reshoot

After finalizing my idea and theme I decided to do one last reshoot with a clear intention to get the best images I could out of the shoot.
The previous shoot I had tried to shoot without a tripod for time and it was less equipment to carry round but I found this when come to shooting a problem. So to correct this on the third shoot I took a tripod along. For the final shoot I also took out another lens that would zoom into my subjects more and also a macro lens.

For the reshoot I had a clear theme within my head that I didnt have before and this helped me when shooting the two final rolls of film.
I also decided that I wanted my final images in black and white, I decided this because I felt they suited the project better I wanted it to have a documentary photography feel and I also wanted images with a lot of contrast to suit the mood of the building. With my final prints I wanted to find away to link them together so it would be like a continuous print but with different areas of the environment that linked all together.

The Printing Process

When printing my final prints I knew I wanted prints with a lot of contrast this is why with each negative/ Print I did a standard grade 3 print and another print with added 20 seconds of grade 5 I then compared the two to decide what I wanted for my final prints.

Why I chose this image for my final prints I chose this image because I liked the composition of the image and also the texture with the image. It shows the growth of the environment around the abandoned building even though it is not in function anymore. Proof that even though building is not in use it still is being used by plants and animals. Puts my themes of overgrown, chaotic and abandoned theme across well.

Why I chose this image for my final prints I like this print because it shows and says the message I wanted to say through the image That even when a building is abandoned nature doesn't stop. I like how the nature around has taken over the pub sign completely covered. I chose to focus purposely on the wildlife to emphasize the theme of wildlife taking over.

Why I chose this image for my final prints This is my favorite print out of all my finals, I was extremely lucky that I found this on the day of my final shoot in my environment. It was real and I think it fits my theme really well. Real evidence of animals existing within this environment. I also think it demonstrates a kind of life cycle of nature.

Why I chose this image for a final prints I chose this image because I felt it gave the viewer a look into this type of abandoned building by including the door in the shot. The door has evidence of animals existing within the environment. I purposely chose to focus on the door with the evidence and let the rest of the building be out of focus to put emphasis on the door and the evidence of animal existence within this type of building.

Why I chose this image for my final print This image I chose because it puts across my theme of boundaries within a abandoned building but also showing that life still carries on even though this place is not being used Shows that plants are still growing for example I like how the plants have adapted to this environment and grown around the gates which its purpose is to keep people out of this environment.

Shots I didnt chose for final prints and why.

Images I didnt include in my final prints and why One of my ideas was to use props to make the environment look like it had been inhabited by animals. I included this image to show why I changed my idea to using evidence of animal existence instead.

I felt the image wasnt realistic and I found it hard to incorporate these style of props within the building/ environment.

Self Evaluation

When first starting this project I struggled to find a theme and idea that I could work with and I didnt really have a understanding of what we were asked to do however after my first tutorial I discussed my interests and how I could fit it within this project, I feel the tutorial was really important to my progression of the project. I would personally place my work within Boundaries, Abandoned Buildings, and Nature context. Throughout this project I have tested a wide range of visual methods for example using the camera from a animals perspective to create the feel of looking through animals eyes, I think its evident that all the visual testing I have done has shaped my final images. Within this project my most crucial research was the research into contextual information this has definitely had an effect on my work and shaped the project. The part of the project that I struggled to accomplish the most was using the light metre and getting the right reading, I had one film come out really thin, I also struggled finding wildlife within the environment I was working in and when I used props I felt they looked fake and cheesy so I then decided to then look for evidence of animals and wildlife instead. The most challenging experience of this project has been trying to find an ideal location to shoot that fit all my criteria and that I could gain access to easily. When I found the location I liked I then struggled to take images inside due to the very dark conditions I then decided to use the environment outside of the building only using details of the building like the door and garden etc. This project was a challenge for me being used to shooting portraits it certainly pushed me out of my comfort zone but after all my work and research I feel I have learnt a new technique and I am proud of the work I have produced.