Eleanor Bangert A2 Photography Component 1: Timely Decay

Essay

Timely Decay

Introduction

It is important to study destruction in our modern society; the population is growing exponentially and our resources are being stretched to their limits. If we as a culture investigate the causes and the effects of natural destruction then perhaps we might be able to reduce forest and crop fires, resulting in more food but also more natural trees and habitats that are essential to our survival. We depend on many natural processes not only for growing crops but also the disposal of organic matter (food waster etc).

investigate the by products of living then we will be able to make further enquires into ways of reducing waste and consequently extending the life span or reach of the resources we do have. One of these resources, which is often taken for granted in the western world is sustenance or to put it into laymen’s terms – food and drink. Decay is a major area of this issue as it is the resulting process from our economic failures; the definition of decay is the rotting or decomposition of organic matter. One of the main connotations of decay is death and how living things come to be revolting piles of mulch.

History

There are many photographers that are obsessed with decay. One of the earliest photographers that featured death in their imagery is Irving Penn, decay and the Memento Mori – a literal translation from Latin is ‘Remember to die”, transfixed him.

Here is one of Irving Penn’s early photographs of two skulls stacked on top of one another like cans of soup on a shelf. The main connotations of skulls are death, and so two skulls would suggest two losses. However, the two skulls being stacked on top of each other also looks like an activity at a carnival, which children would have to knock down to earn either tickets or a cheap stuffed toy. Could Penn be suggesting that life is a cheap game that a child could win or is he mocking the other more serious artists such as Charles Allan Gilbert? He may be mocking their sobriety in dealing with death; it was unusual for a photographer to take such morbid imagery into their work and so it is entirely possible for Penn to be challenging his fellow artists of the time.

This image is black and white and very grainy and it is reasonable to assume that this is one of his early photographs. In 1942 he was hired by vogue and so had access to the latest artist equipment and printing laboratories. Irving Penn mainly used large format view cameras and then progressed onto 35mm cameras and telephoto lenses.

Photographers Research

An artist that is both similar in the time period and so the technical aspects to Irving Penn is Ansell Adams. Irving Penn lived from 1917 to 2009 (92) and Ansell Adams lived from 1902 – 1984 (82).

Due to the time they were both alive they were using the same equipment and were introduced to the same technological advances in photography. Ansell Adams mainly used a Deardorf 8 X 10 view camera, which is a wide view camera not dissimilar to those that Irving Penn would have used. Alongside the Deardorf camera he also used 35mm cameras, which Irving Penn experimented in.

Ansell Adams is known as one of the main innovators in landscape photography, specifically his work in Yosemite National Park, which has been used in many calendars, office décor and across the Internet. One of the innovations that he is responsible for is The Zone System for finding the optimal film exposure and development.

This image is called Autumn Moon and was taken in 1948 from Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. Adams was meticulous in recording the details and conditions he took his images in and so we know it was taken on the 15^th of September around 7PM. The moon position in the twilight sky only occurs every 19 years and so the next time it will rotate round is 2024. His use of foreground and background in this image is what causes the viewer to stop and appreciate the framing; another reason the image is so appealing is the use of negative space as the moon is isolated and lonely in the sky, which brings attention to the mountains in the background. The lateness of this image suggests that he either camped in the woods or has residence nearby, as hiking is dangerous in the day and perilous in the night because you’re navigating the landscape and the nocturnal predators. Due to it’s lateness it whispers of adventures and all things outdoors - moonlit walks and hot drinks next to a campfire.

This image relates to my project as I am trying to document time passing and one way in which I can do this is to look at the seasons changing from Summer to Autumn and eventually Winter. I will look at the small local changes of the seasons like leaves changing colour and falling as well as the harvest of fruits waning and the remnants falling to the ground and rotting. Another way in which I can document time is in the landscapes and festivities that come with each season, like the fresh fruits and produce in the summer and Halloween/ warm drinks involving spices in the autumn.

Ansell Adams is most popular due to his images of ‘Wild America’ as they capture a sense of adventure and the wonder of natural beauty. Below is another image that is relevant to autumn. The image below is called Dawn, Autumn Forest taken in the Great Smoky Mountains Park, Tennessee in 1948.

This image appears as thought it was taken from a lower standpoint as the trees are on a large slope and are all in the mid-ground. Although it is in black and white, the different shades of the leaves and the name suggest that they are turning umber and crimson.

This image suggests that this is a goal that the photographer has set themselves, that this is the direction they ark hiking in. This creates a hopeful atmosphere in the image as it is looking towards where they want to be like the place pictured is the next milestone in their journey.

Another landscape photographer that is relevant to my project is Charlie Waite. Born on the 18^th of February 1949. Waite is a more modern photographer than Penn and Adams both in his techniques and equipment. For the first few years of his professional career he worked in British Television and theatre, which lead to his passionate interest in lighting and set design, which he then extrapolates into his photography to create serene landscapes.

The image to the left was taken in Guipuzcoa, Cantabria, Spain.

The surrounding trees are either impenetrable evergreen or the seasons have withered them to a deep brown. Charlie Waite has captured a decisive moment in this image as the clouds have briefly parted to illuminate a small field punctuated by a small white barn with a terracotta roof.

This whole image screams rustic, from the weathered trees to the quaint little barn, because of this the viewer is given a small glimpse of a different, perhaps quieter, lifestyle.

The next image is of a pumpkin field in America, Vermont during autumn. This is a typical image when someone thinks of autumn with the different colours such as honey, sandstone, ginger and clay. This image is also very festive as it is a field swamped in pumpkins – a vegetable mainly associated with Halloween and autumn. Halloween is the one of the most festive times of the year aside from Christmas that both adults and children enjoy, because of this the image is universally accepted as an icon for the seasonal changes after summer.

Photography can be learnt by anyone but some have a natural aptitude and when they pick up a camera they are able to frame or compose beautiful photographs effortlessly. Another virtue of photography is that can be diverse both behind and in front of the camera.

"Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life."
- Unknown

A photographer that has followed this advice is John Berry. He is a family man from Madison County, Virginia, USA and it is clear to see that photography is his passion from his website. He is mainly a portrait photographer for senior photographs or family photographs and avoid weddings. However he also takes occasional shots during his free time that he displays on his website in an almost diary-like format. It is one of these entries that I am most interested in as he has taken some shots of small mushrooms and flowers.

The above image was shot with a Canon 85mm and f/1.8 and an extension tube. He had initially laid down to take a shot of a different mushroom and these minuscule ones caught his eye and by some miracle he didn't crush them. This image is full of contradictions. The leaf is inviting the viewer into the image and yet the only thing in focus is the mushrooms, also the mushrooms have been captured in such detail that there is a spider's web visible among them. This creates an intriguing atmosphere that draws the viewer into the image and forces them to analyse what they can see.

John Berry generally uses a low F-stop in most of his work as it creates an intense focus on the subject. This technique wouldn't work if he wasn't able to pin point the area of mid ground that would submerse the viewer in the image without focusing on the background.

This work relates to my project as he has documented mushrooms using low f-stops so that there is a type of tunnel vision created towards his subjects. This is a technique that I would like to employ in both my studio and field macro photography.