Photography Project
Title: Light at the End of the Path Size: 10cm x 15cm Medium: Digital Photography Completion: September, 2020 Exhibition Text: We only have one Earth, we should take the time out of our day to learn from it, appreciate it, and respect it, because when it's gone; it will not come back. This photo is created in order to evoke emotions of peace and a sense of calm happiness when thinking about our world. this photo is inspired Simon Baxter's picture "Park Wood Path". |
Inspiration: When I started this project I had a general Idea of the photography style I wanted to go with, it was just a matter of finding the right artist. I found this person by the name of Simon Baxter, he is a photographer from the North Yorkshire area and he focuses on very therapeutic and beautiful woodland shots. Simon’s work really makes you take a second to appreciate your surroundings and the world that we have.
He uses much darker tones, and tends to take his photos on foggy days, or days when it’s snowing, making his photos seem almost like a fantasy or a dream. The two images shown to the right are two of his works. They show the therapeuticness of the forest and the fantasy-like expression within these photos. They capture his style of peaceful trees and nature, as well as the fog, in the first image he does this with more warm tones with the oranges and reds, but in the second it’s slightly cooler tones with the greens and grays. In these photos he mainly focuses on the trees in the first one, but the rocks and moss in the second as well as the background fog rolling in. I want to try and capture all of these things or something similar to them in order to match his style as closely as possible. So as to keep up with this inspiration I wanted to use the forest as my main source of content. I wanted to include as many elements of his work as I could; but I still wanted to keep it my own work and show my own style. I wanted to try and add more warm tones to mine like in the top image rather than have it be the cooler tones, so that it still remains peaceful but has a happy feel to it. |
Simon Baxter, Creep, c. 2018
Simon Baxter, Distant Dale Fog, c. 2017
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Planning:
Simon Baxter, Park Wood Path, c. 2018
The photo above is the photo that I was attempting to imitate and take inspiration from. It uses the elements I was looking for to create what looks like a pathway to another world.
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While I was out and about taking the photos looking for the correct scene, I kept in the what I was looking for in that image. I wanted to get a photo of a world that almost seemed like it had come from a fantasy or fairytale, like it was from the world of the Hobbit. I wanted to use cooler tones, but still show the change of season. As stated in my planning sketches, the way this is done is by using forest/woodlands, water, nature, a tranquil vibe, warm lighting/ lighting that peaks through. I wanted to create an image that felt as if you were walking through a portal into another world. I did this by including those factors into my work and into each image to perfect them and get the final product that I wanted. After figuring out all of those factors and what my intent was with the image, I decided to look through my artist inspiration’s gallery and pick an image that felt like it matched the feel I wanted the best and try to mimic it with some of my flair on it. That’s when I decided on the image to the right. I feel that this image shows a sort of a pathway into another world, which is what I was looking for. After all of that was figured out I had to find the best trail and the best time to take these photos, so I set out and hiked all throughout the day as seen in sketch 2. I ended up deciding that mid-afternoon was the perfect time, and the waterfall trail offered the best scenery. So the next day I set out to get the photos I needed. This time around I focused specifically on photos of the scenes I was looking for (pathways, rocks, streams, and solem trees). My dream for the end product was a fantasy like pathway with a mix of warm and cool colors encapsulating the change of seasons.
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Process & Experimentation:
Process:
I knew that I would be camping the weekend of the 18th, so I took advantage of the fact that I’d be in the perfect area to take the photos. Since Baxter loves going out to the forest and goes on hikes to get his photos, I wanted to do the same so as to match his process as closely as possible. I started by going on multiple hikes on multiple trails and just taking pictures of anything that I felt matched my artist's style. I knew that I wanted to include the paths and trees into my work similarly to how Baxter does in some of his photos; but I also wanted to capture the beauty and tranquility of the state park in my photos, I wanted to show how much the parks offer. I also knew that I was looking for patterns, and different and unusual lighting for my photos. I wanted to get a mixture of colors as well, both warm and cool because a lot of his photos are taken throughout the seasons. With all that in mind, I set out on my first hike on the first day in order to see how the photos turned out in each lighting, I also did this to see what would be the best trail to use for the photos, and what would be the best setting for my photos to match his. I then went back out the next day at what I felt was the best time, and I went on what I felt was the best trail to most closely match Baxter’s photos. I wanted to encapsulate the peace and tranquility that is seen within his photos in mine, so that they felt almost as if they were taken in a whole different world like many of his photos.
Experimentation:
I Experimented with the use of patterns in nature, lighting, colors, angles, tools, and settings similarly to how Baxter would. I experimented with the angles and direction to get different angles of lighting and have the lighting shine through and show up in different ways similarly to how Baxter does. I also tried to show different seasons or at least the different colors of the season by taking photos of trees with changing leaves and taking photos of more green and cool colored scenes. I wanted to try and make patterns with the trees and everything very subtly so that if you looked closely at the photos you could pick up on them. I did this by also changing up my angles and where I was looking. I used different camera settings as well to make different features in my surroundings pop more or become more focused in on. I used the preset landscape setting as well as the preset macro setting to see what cool shots I could get if the settings were set to focus in closer rather than gather a larger image. I then also used the sports/action setting on my camera in order to capture moving objects such as the water shots. Another thing I tried with my camera was the lens, I used a longer E 55-210mm lens as well as a E PZ 16-50mm lens. Finally I experimented with the places I took the photos. I took photos of trees and things deep into the forest, I took photos of rocks and streams up close, as well as many photos of the path we were walking. I did this to add variety to what I was shooting. Other times I would just set out without a real specific thing to shoot and would take pictures of relatively everything I saw as well.
Process:
I knew that I would be camping the weekend of the 18th, so I took advantage of the fact that I’d be in the perfect area to take the photos. Since Baxter loves going out to the forest and goes on hikes to get his photos, I wanted to do the same so as to match his process as closely as possible. I started by going on multiple hikes on multiple trails and just taking pictures of anything that I felt matched my artist's style. I knew that I wanted to include the paths and trees into my work similarly to how Baxter does in some of his photos; but I also wanted to capture the beauty and tranquility of the state park in my photos, I wanted to show how much the parks offer. I also knew that I was looking for patterns, and different and unusual lighting for my photos. I wanted to get a mixture of colors as well, both warm and cool because a lot of his photos are taken throughout the seasons. With all that in mind, I set out on my first hike on the first day in order to see how the photos turned out in each lighting, I also did this to see what would be the best trail to use for the photos, and what would be the best setting for my photos to match his. I then went back out the next day at what I felt was the best time, and I went on what I felt was the best trail to most closely match Baxter’s photos. I wanted to encapsulate the peace and tranquility that is seen within his photos in mine, so that they felt almost as if they were taken in a whole different world like many of his photos.
Experimentation:
I Experimented with the use of patterns in nature, lighting, colors, angles, tools, and settings similarly to how Baxter would. I experimented with the angles and direction to get different angles of lighting and have the lighting shine through and show up in different ways similarly to how Baxter does. I also tried to show different seasons or at least the different colors of the season by taking photos of trees with changing leaves and taking photos of more green and cool colored scenes. I wanted to try and make patterns with the trees and everything very subtly so that if you looked closely at the photos you could pick up on them. I did this by also changing up my angles and where I was looking. I used different camera settings as well to make different features in my surroundings pop more or become more focused in on. I used the preset landscape setting as well as the preset macro setting to see what cool shots I could get if the settings were set to focus in closer rather than gather a larger image. I then also used the sports/action setting on my camera in order to capture moving objects such as the water shots. Another thing I tried with my camera was the lens, I used a longer E 55-210mm lens as well as a E PZ 16-50mm lens. Finally I experimented with the places I took the photos. I took photos of trees and things deep into the forest, I took photos of rocks and streams up close, as well as many photos of the path we were walking. I did this to add variety to what I was shooting. Other times I would just set out without a real specific thing to shoot and would take pictures of relatively everything I saw as well.
Reflection:
Now that the project has come to a close and I look back on everything, I am happy about how some parts turned out, but there are also things I regret and wish I could change. I am happy about how I used my inspiration as well as my own style and skill. One thing that I wish I could have done was get a few more shots at different times, and incorporate other aspects such as fog into my photos. other than that though, I love how my product turned out and think that I did a really great job.
Now that the project has come to a close and I look back on everything, I am happy about how some parts turned out, but there are also things I regret and wish I could change. I am happy about how I used my inspiration as well as my own style and skill. One thing that I wish I could have done was get a few more shots at different times, and incorporate other aspects such as fog into my photos. other than that though, I love how my product turned out and think that I did a really great job.
Critique:
Comparison:
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Contrast:
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ACT:
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
- I am able to identify the cause and effect relationship between my inspiration and my artwork through the use of light, nature and the feelings each photo is meant to generate.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
- Simon Baxter has developed a style of creating therapeutic-fantasy-like pictures that seem almost as if they have been painted, they seem like something straight out of a fairy tale. He uses woodland areas and specific lighting to create a calming feel within his pictures.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
- While doing my research I found that people will connect there own experiences to the artwork and try and show their own emotions through it using different lighting, colors, and settings.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
- The central theme around my inspirational research was the environment. I wanted to show sites from our world that people may not usually see similarly to my inspiration.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
- While reading my research I made inferences about Baxter's use of patterns and lighting. Another thing I made an inference about was how I can use different angles to closely match the patterns, colors, and lighting within his work.
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
- I am able to identify the cause and effect relationship between my inspiration and my artwork through the use of light, nature and the feelings each photo is meant to generate.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
- Simon Baxter has developed a style of creating therapeutic-fantasy-like pictures that seem almost as if they have been painted, they seem like something straight out of a fairy tale. He uses woodland areas and specific lighting to create a calming feel within his pictures.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
- While doing my research I found that people will connect there own experiences to the artwork and try and show their own emotions through it using different lighting, colors, and settings.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
- The central theme around my inspirational research was the environment. I wanted to show sites from our world that people may not usually see similarly to my inspiration.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
- While reading my research I made inferences about Baxter's use of patterns and lighting. Another thing I made an inference about was how I can use different angles to closely match the patterns, colors, and lighting within his work.
Bibliography:
“About Simon Baxter.” Simon Baxter Photography, 22 Aug. 2020, baxter.photos/about-simon-baxter/.
Baxter, Simon. “A Q&A For The RPS.” Simon Baxter Photography, 24 Apr. 2018, baxter.photos/photography-answers-for-the-rps/.
“Humans and the Environment.” The American Experience in the Classroom, americanexperience.si.edu/themes/Humans-and-the-Environment/.
“Through The Woods Gallery.” Simon Baxter Photography, baxter.photos/gallery/through-the-woods/.
“About Simon Baxter.” Simon Baxter Photography, 22 Aug. 2020, baxter.photos/about-simon-baxter/.
Baxter, Simon. “A Q&A For The RPS.” Simon Baxter Photography, 24 Apr. 2018, baxter.photos/photography-answers-for-the-rps/.
“Humans and the Environment.” The American Experience in the Classroom, americanexperience.si.edu/themes/Humans-and-the-Environment/.
“Through The Woods Gallery.” Simon Baxter Photography, baxter.photos/gallery/through-the-woods/.