Illustrated Proposal:
DECAY:
decay
dɪˈkeɪ/
verb
1.
(of organic matter) rot or decompose through the action of bacteria and fungi.
noun
1.
the state or process of rotting or decomposition.
Ideas:
- To produce a series of images that show the process of time changing and the decaying of organic matter, such as leaves, acorns and different seasonal fruits.
- To demonstrate and explain that rust is a slower version of combustion and explain the chemical reactions involved.
- To document the decay of different materials, such as plastic carrier bags, paper, fabric, tin cans.
- To take photographs of old and decaying buidings, and consequently capture a freeze frame of their decay.
Aim:
I aim to investigate, observe and document how time decays and changes different objects and places. For example, I want to see how time erodes different materials. To do this I would places a square of tinfoil, a square of plastic and a square of fabric in my garden and document the changes between them over a period. Similarly, I could demonstrate how fire decays different materials such as fabric and different paper types (photographic, normal, newspaper, cardboard etc).
I chose Decay as my subject as it is an inevitable process that we see on a daily process, both within ourselves and the world around us and yet we still pay no attention to it. I wanted to start document decay as we normally ignore any signs of time passing as we’re too often caught up in the moment. An example would be food waste, which we tie into little bags and then they’re collected and taken away, so we don’t have to watch them decompose. I want to investigate time and how it is relative to us as humans and how it affects the world around us.
I am most interested in Macro photography because of its immense depth and detail but also Landscape photography as you can truly submerge yourself into a location with the perfect camera angle or correct lighting etc.
My main aim for decay is to investigate how different objects and places either yield to time and break down or adapt to the change. Specifically, I’m most interested in decaying buildings and decomposing food as these two things happen over very different time frames. Banana’s could go brown and begin decaying within a week and a building could show no signs of decay for fifty years. I hope to document how much time can change the world we live in.
Martino Zegwaard:
Martino Zegaard is an Urbex photographer, this means he takes photographs in abandoned and decaying buildings. Urbex photography is rarely legal and Zegwaard has gone to extremes in order not to get caught. For instance, he once locked himself in a Power Plant in Scotland for 18 hours as there was 24-hour security and he had to wait until night time before he could leave again. He grew up in the Netherlands and first began exploring forbidden construction sites in his hometown, Almere. He has been fascinated with photography and has had a camera from a young age.
His inspiration for taking these images is that he’s able to capture a moment in a building’s life, a building that may not be there for very much longer. He loves finding places unexpectedly as they’re the most interesting because he must find a way in while avoiding security, while still respecting that the structure could be compromised.
I hope to embrace his sense of adventure and his approach to creating a time capsule of the buildings he visits. Due to the building’s rapid decay, he could be the last person to see or document a little aspect of the building he’s in. I also like his use of light in his photographs and wish to use that in my future work.
Billy Kidd:
Billy Kidd is a New York-based professional photographer who usually takes portrait photos but was inspired by a wilting flower. He has an extraordinary sense of lighting and framing which give his portrait photographs character. He had applied his style and lighting to the flowers allowing their natural colors shine through the decay that they have become.
I hope to steal his lighting technique that allows the observer to see every wrinkle and crack that the flower has just to show you that it is still beautiful in its decay.
Joe Buglewicz:
He is a freelance photographer/ photojournalist based in Las Vegas, Nevada who specializes in portraits, travel, and food. He is often hired by restaurants to take photographs of cuisines and spent a year photographing anything that turned bad in his fridge. He hoped that this project would highlight his mistakes and consequently stop him from wasting food in the future.
I would like to use his audacity in taking thoughtful and meticulous photographs of moldy foods but document its journey along the way as it turns bad.
Hekki Leis:
Hekki Leis is mainly known for his hyper-realistic drawings of Estonians. Based in Tartu, he graduated Art College as a sculptor in 1991 and has been a freelance artist since then.
Inspired by a pot of potatoes he once left out for too long, Leis was enthralled by the different colors and textures that had grown in his kitchen. He was so enthralled he started experimenting with different fruits and vegetables, even leaving them out for two months and so his "Afterlife" series began.
Analysis:
Martino Zegwaard
This image is of a large abandoned building. It has reached a point in its decay that it is hard to tell what it's original purpose was. I think it was either a theatre or a church. Could it be that the patrons of the theatre grew tired of the theatrics or did the churchgoers lose their faith? Whatever the reason was for the building being condemned it shall end in rubble.
Billy Kidd:
This is a dead leaf that has curled in on itself like a spider bringing its limbs under itself as it dies. This withered leaf still holds some of its former glory in terms of a rich purple that is ingrained into its fibers. He has provided it with a sense of life, even in death.
Joe Buglewicz:
This is half of an uneaten sandwich that was once probably delicious but was left at the back of a fridge and forgotten about. Then about a month later the "I'm not touching that" game began, where everyone that comes into contact with the sandwich looks at it and thinks "not touching that". This probably went on until one day when someone opened the fridge the sandwich waved back and so had to finally be disposed of before it asked for the WIFI password.
Hekki Leis:
I think the image on the left is of an orange and the one on the right is a mushroom. However, if you take a step back and stop trying to analyze the image to find out what fruit or veg it is, it suddenly becomes more interesting. I think the one on the left looks like a large boulder in the rainforest, the mold is moss and the fibrous matter around the edge looks like tree roots. The one on the right looks like the top of a mountain that has risen above the clouds and so the only thing highlighted in the landscape is the snow-covered peak.
Techniques:
For this project, I will be using Macro photography. To take successful macro shots you need: a tripod, macro lens, good lighting and a remote release (optional, but I have shaky hands).
To set your photograph up you need to set the camera to the correct height and angle on the tripod so that it frames your subject matter how you would like it. Once you have done this you can change the lighting to how you would like it and finally set up the remote release. To do this look through the menu in the camera and find remote release if it is wireless if not just plug it into the side of the camera.
You will want the camera settings to be a low ISO, long shutter speed, and low light. This will allow the camera to pick up the fine details in mold and other bacteria. If you have one use a light meter to make sure you have the optimum camera settings.
FOr landscape photography you will need a tripod and a camera. It is impractical to use a light meter when taking landscape shots as you are rarely in one place for long and so you have to be able to change your camera settings quickly. For instance, if I had my camera on ISO 100, shutter speed 1/125 and f/8 and then a cloud covered the sun I would either have to raise the ISO or the shutter speed. If the camera is on a tripod I would raise the shutter speed because it is unlikely that you'll blur the image, you'd have to do this to maintain the correct exposure for the image. Alternatively, if I didn't have a tripod and the sun went behind the clouds I could raise the ISO. This isn't reccomended if you can help it because the higher the ISO the grainer the images will be.
