Preparation for shoot
Me and my partner tried to find locations in Medway that were quite traditional landscapes. I thought that the white cliffs with the church and trees would make a nice traditional photograph however could not get to a suitable position to get a decent image. When taken from a distance more could be seen however the foreground was then filled with the pubs and boats below. The ideal way to take the image would be to make myself level with the cliffs however that was clearly not possible so i discarded the idea.
There was also a nice view of the town and bridge in the distance with the water as the main feature however This was no where near as traditional as i was looking for and was too inhabited and industrialized.
I decided to take the shoot at a location on top of the cliffs. there is an area that forms almost a large pit in the ground that is full of trees and bushes. I had visited this place before and found it very beautiful which also inspired my project because when i was there i realized how rarely i go out of my way to visit places simply because they are beautiful.
The pit like area was also surrounded by fields which I felt were perfect to shoot. Unfortunately I just missed the sun as that would have been useful when trying to really show the landscape at its best. I did vary my images but took all of my photos from this cliff edge. It allowed me to capture the white in the cliffs either from and angle where i could include the fields behind or face on.
We took out a medium format mamiya camera but struggled with it quite a lot. The camera was quite temperamental and the only way I managed to get it work occasionally was to make the image portrait. Having the images portrait was not a huge issue for me but if i had the choice i would have made the images landscape. By having them landscape they would have been more traditional because obviously photographs of landscapes are mostly show in landscape.
Scans
I decided to test various ways to damage my negatives at home. I did this directly onto negative film that was left over.
I started by trying wax crayon and black marker. They both came out well however i think that i will use the wax instead of the black marker as it is more textured.
I then tested burning which i found the most exiting. bubbles are created on the negative and the colour changes quite dramatically. The only problem with this technique is the the negative also crumples so it way not be possible to use. I shall try it on one of my negative and hopefully it shall work when it comes to printing.
These are my final negatives after i have altered them. This was a nerve racking process because if it is done wrong then there is n second chance and i shall simply have to choose another one of my images. Above is one of my landscapes that i have covered with wax crayon. I chose to scribble across the large section of the image that was a collection of trees and hedges. The image is still clearly visible but it is clear that a section of the landscape is being covered which was my intention.
I chose to burn this negative. In this scan the image is no longer clearly visible so i am unsure if this shall work when printing. If it does not work then i shall have to result to using a different image and altering it in a less destructive way. I am excited to see how this will turn out though.
This is my contact sheet from my environment shoot. I feel that the images have come out well and look like quite typical landscapes which was my intention. I have chosen the bottom left image, the bottom image in the middle row and the image above that for my final images.
I have scratched the image in the bottom left hand corner as i felt that that was the technique that suited this image the most. I cross hatch scratched over the white of the cliff. I chose that area because it seemed to me that it was the main feature of the image and therefore was the part that should be blocked out.
I decided to burn the bottom image in the middle. I thought that this would look best if i burnt the trees and hedges that frame the cliff edge. I am not sure if this technique has worked as of yet because I have not printed it. This may not be possible to use so may have to select another image and alter it differently.
The centre image in the middle row is the one that i chose to scribble over in wax crayon. I was draw to this image because it a large section of greenery that would be fitting to block out. I used red crayon as it was bold and contrasts with the deep greens that are in the photograph.
Final Prints:
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
