Conclusion

This project has certainly been challenging and has required a large amount of problem solving throughout. This is in part due to my initial decision to use moving image for the project, something that I had no experience of using. Therefore, it was a fairly steep learning curve for me when I began the project which definitely slowed down my progress. Having said that, I still maintain that the project would work in the form of moving image.

The time came when I had to admit that there just wasn’t the time for me to successfully complete the project in its current state, making the switch to still image a necessity. I don’t regret the change as still image successfully conveys my idea, although due to the lack of movement it means that my original aim of showing the constant change of nature is no longer present in the work. The sense of scale, however, is still very much present, if not more so than in the video clips I created. This is mostly due to the portrait style that I have used with my images, something that wasn’t possible when using moving image.

Whilst I am generally happy with the way the project has gone, there are some areas that I’m not happy with. When I first started the project, I wanted to capture a wide variety of clouds and skies in my work, to show the diversity of the sky, and by extension, nature. Because of my switch to still image happening fairly late in my projects life with little time remaining, it was always going to be difficult to get the variety of skies I wanted in such a short space of time. On top of that, I was unfortunate with the weather which didn’t give me the variety I was after. 

Another area I feel that I could have improved on, was realising just how time consuming working with moving image would be. I feel that I underestimated how challenging I would find it. Had I have realised this sooner I could potentially have had better results with my still images, as I would have had longer to work on them. Whilst I am generally pleased with the images I have come up with, I am well aware that a wider variety of images from different times of the year and in different locations, would enhance the project further.

This is certainly a project that I can see developing further in the future, either by continuing with the still image approach or having another crack at presenting it in the form of moving image. Overall, I am pleased with the way the project has gone, despite the challenges it has thrown at me along the way, and I have enjoyed working on the project. 

My Final Images

I have chosen fourteen images to comprise my final images for this project. They span a variety of different locations from my various shoots, and therefore a variety of different skies are present in the images. The images can be seen below, although they are yet to be put into their final order. The order will be determined before the final prints are submitted.

Shoot 16

This was the final shoot for my project, on a day that was much cloudier than the previous days I shot on. This was ideal as I needed the cloudier weather, although unfortunately it wasn’t a particularly pleasant day to be out!

I returned to an area that I had checked out back when I was still doing moving image, deciding that it wasn’t suitable for what I was trying. Now that I’m doing moving image I decided that there were a few opportunities in the area. There weren’t as many as I had hoped, but enough for what I needed. The camera was handheld once again, and of course the portrait style has remained in place. The three images I’ve chosen from the shoot can be seen below.

   

Project Presentation

Now that I’ve finally settled on a way to show my idea visually and the project is starting to take shape, I have been giving some thought to how I see this project being presented in its completed state. Due to my work falling into the form of fine art, I consider it to be fairly versatile in the ways that it can be presented.

For the project deadline, I can see my final images being best submitted in the form of A3 prints. Likewise, at an exhibition I feel the images would work in A3, but perhaps even on a larger scale where they can have a greater impact and really show off the sense of scale I’m hoping to achieve with the images.

Another way that the project could work is in the form of a book. Having said that, I don’t feel that’s something I wish to pursue at this time. Perhaps if the project was to develop further.

Shoot 15

Like the previous shoot, I went to the beach whilst the tide was out. I chose a different area to before so as to get some different buildings in the images, and the cloudier sky provided for some more powerful images then the previous shoot.

Whilst it was certainly cloudier, I’m still hoping to get a couple of images where there is no blue sky visible at all, possibly even some darker, angrier looking clouds. This would give the series a different dynamic. A few images from the shoot can be seen below.

   

 

   

Shoot 14

This shoot took place at the beach, having realised that when the tide is out I would be able to get a good view of the buildings on the promenade from a fair distance away. It was a very warm day with clear blue skies, so not ideal for what I was after. 

As such, there is only one image from the shoot that I’m really happy with. There are a few similar ones but I’m not entirely happy with the buildings in them. The image from the shoot that I’m satisfied with can be seen below.

Shoot 13

This was the second shoot for my new approach for my final idea. Having been pleased with the way the previous shoot looked, and with positive feedback from the last critique, I decided that this approach was worth sticking with.

I ventured to a new area in the hope that there would be plenty of opportunities, although unfortunately I found that there weren’t quite as many as I had hoped for. The weather was at least cloudier this time, which allowed for some different skies in the shots than on the previous shoot. Like the last shoot, the camera was held by hand.

Overall it was a fairly successful shoot. A few of the best images (edited in Photoshop) can be seen below.

     

Alfred Stieglitz

Alfred Stieglitz was an American photographer who is recognised as being hugely important in making photography an accepted art form during his career. Of particular interest to me is his series of work, ‘Equivalents’. It includes around 220 images, each of which features clouds in the sky. The majority of them show the sky without any horizon, although a small number do include hills and trees. The following text is taken from the Phillips Collection website:

“Stieglitz photographed clouds from 1922 into the thirties. A symbolist aesthetic underlies these images, which became increasingly abstract equivalents of his own experiences, thoughts, and emotions. The theory of equivalence had been the subject of much discussion at Gallery 291 during the teens, and it was infused by Kandinsky’s ideas, especially the belief that colors, shapes, and lines reflect the inner, often emotive “vibrations of the soul.” In his cloud photographs, which he termed Equivalents, Stieglitz emphasized pure abstraction, adhering to the modern ideas of equivalence, holding that abstract forms, lines, and colors could represent corresponding inner states, emotions and ideas.”

The variety of clouds that Stieglitz uses in his work is particularly interesting to me, and something I hope to show in my own work. Stieglitz also shows the sheer size of the clouds and portrays them in an almost menacing way. Size is another area I hope to explore in my own work. A few examples of images from his ‘Equivalents’ series can be seen below.

Lynn Silverman

Lynn Silverman is a fine art photographer who has had her work published in a number of books and as part of installations. The following is taken from her website:

“Born in 1952, Lynn Silverman received her BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and her MA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths’ College in London, England. She has participated in many solo and group exhibitions in Europe, Australia, and the United States. In addition to publishing four books, her work may be found in public collections in the Australia and Great Britain. She currently teaches at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.”

Two of her projects in particular have proved interesting and influential to me in my work on my project, these being 1:1 and Horizons. Each of these make use of the sky and clouds along with playing with a sense of scale, particularly in Horizons where she has used her feet in the shot to show off a sense of scale in relation to nature. Nature, the sky and scale are all things that I have present in my own work, particularly in relation to human presence.

A few examples of the work from these projects can be seen below, along with further information on them.

1:1

“The large laminated black and white images in 1:1 depict various cloud formations. Cloud fronts and individual clouds are isolated in an exaggerated black space. The character of the black shifts between cloud and sky, infinite space and surface. Particular attention was paid to the installation of these photographs and their relation to the floor and other architectural features. The ambiguity of the image and the disorientation experienced by the spectator raise questions about the role of artifice in our perception of nature.”

Horizons

“These photographs were made when I was living in Australia during the late 70s and early 80s. I was fascinated by the extraordinary landscape of the outback. The severity and seeming emptiness of the desert was a challenge to photograph. The topography has none of the picturesque elements that one associates with landscape imagery.

The complete set of photographs represents one journey of some four thousand miles. Rather like a surveyor, I photographed the horizon and the ground at my feet from the same vantage point, thus establishing a dialogue between the pairs of images. The photographs of the ground depict a world that is alive and varied. While the view of the horizon is indeterminate, the presence of my shoes imparts a sense of scale to the rocks, flora and fauna shown.”

Shoot 12

Following on from my previous post, this shoot was the first for my new approach and my move away from moving image. The weather wasn’t ideal but I was keen to get out and do a test shoot for the new approach to guage how it would look. The sky was largely blue, something that I want to avoid (for the most part) in my project.

I set out with my camera and photographed a few locations that seemed suitable. I decided to hold the camera rather than mount it on a tripod as it was easier to shoot portrait this way and allowed for greater flexibility. Using the sky to fill the majority of the frame, I made sure that the buildings in the shot always appeared right at the bottom. This is in keeping with the influence of Ori Gersht and his images from his ‘Rear Window’ series.

Overall I felt this shoot went well and has encouraged me that my move to still image is a good one, and certainly more manageable than moving image. I like the portrait style and believe that on a cloudier day the images will be more effective. Fortunately some cloudier days appear to be coming up!