Edward Burtynsky - Manufactured Landscapes (book/web)

The Canadian photographer, Edward Burtynsky asks global questions about industrial costs on the natural world and how we are changing our planet. Working closely with several large companies, his images provoke feelings of wonder tinged with a sadness embedded deep within the destruction and ever-present changes taking place within the photographs.

A large section of his book is shot in China where the scale of the images intensifies. Burtynsky uses very small apertures (f45/f64) on a large format 4x5 camera for amazing detail and depth of field to capture everything in the field of view, for example warehouses half a kilometre in length. In both contextual and compositional terms, as here i think the two are divided, i believe his work sits somewhere between Peter Bialobrzeski's and Andreas Gursky's as the idea of transformation is present plus they also have tonal and vantage point similarities.

The image above is taken at the Three Gorges Dam on the in China. The largest h.e.p dam in the world will be the main source of power for the Shanghai District yet a total of 2 million homes including 3 entire cities have had to be "moved" for both it and the reservoir it creates. By moved, the Chinese government mean paying the locals to demolish their own homes and relocate locals to specially built cities tens of miles away. Personally, i think this is a great oxymoron to photograph, the push for clean power and sustainability is undermined by the human costs of moving.

The book - Manufactured Landscapes describes the series well. It is a very honest book without the slightest feeling of pretentiousness often found when ideas of globalisation and exploitation of natural materials arises. He's documents what he see's and this style reminds me of Winogrands images, showing the world for what it is with a vision for what it may become.

Click here for video talk on TED.com about Manufactured Landscapes.

Click here for website and to view his other books such as Oil

Copies, Codes and Patterns; Living in the Binary World (Web)

Joan Fontcuberta
Archive Noise (Googlegrams)

After viewing some of Joan's Googlegrams in the session I immediately wanted to learn more about them. I came across her artists statement for the project, which seems to contain most of the information on how the project was constructed and I found to be an excellent starting point:

Artist's Statement

Joan's statement explains the entire process in depth making it reasonably easy to understand. For the googlegrams, she used a photo mosaic freeware program, in which a large final image is produced from a collective of available photos in the directory, using the smaller images as if they were coloured cells and placing them in chromatic and density values. The software is used by many graphic designers, with their own directory of images available. However for the googlegrams, Joan has used Google for her directory of images:


"For the Googlegrams, however, the programme was connected to the Internet and used the search engine Google to locate thousands of images on the basis of search criteria determined by the user, normally images associated with one or several words. In the Abu Ghraib photograph, for example, the search engine was given the names of top officials, civilian contractors and enlisted soldiers cited in the ‘Final Report of the Independent Panel to Review DoD Detention Operations’ (August 2004) of the Schlesinger Panel, set up by the United States Congress to investigate the alleged abuses."

I suppose it doesn't really surprise me how easy it is to gain so much from the internet using simple searches because that's what it has become; a shared pool of information which no longer has much meaning of ownership. The information is no longer physical, and to some extent a vast quantity is false information. The internet has made it possible to share everything, and in some cases even the most private information and images are displayed for the internet community to view.

As immense as the internet's pool of information is, there is always the introduction of 'noise'. When using google to search, it is inevitable that the criteria will bring up certain connections which are not intended. Hence the project name 'Archive Noise'.

I find it fascinating how detailed the large images actually are, even though when you look close up there aren't really any defined lines. Even with the political connections and context, I think the images are beautiful. I find the process very interesting and just shows how vast and readily available the pool of information on the internet is to the public.

"In Conversation" - JH Engstrom at the National Media Museum

In Conversation - A meeting with JH Engstrom
National Media Museum, Bradford 22-03-11

http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/Events/FromBackHome.aspx

Upon hearing that both JH Engstrom and Anders Peterson, photographers that had collaborated on a project entitled, "From back home" were going to be talking about their exhibition in Bradford I was incredibly excited. When I first viewed the exhibition last year it had a profound effect on me - the work of Peterson in particular was very interesting. I found the exhibition truly inspiring and their lack of following photographic technical conventions (such as mixing black and white images with colour in the same collection) was refreshing to see. The chance to meet two such prolific and renowned artists was very exciting and I was interested to discover what they would discuss.

http://www.brosteanu.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/anders_petersen_jh_engstrom.jpg

Prior to entering the talk, we were informed that Peterson would not be available to talk due to illness. This was somewhat disappointing as I had felt more of a connection to his work, however I was aware that he had mentored Engstrom, therefore he would be capable of informing us of some of Petersons methods and approaches. The theatre in which the talk was held was fairly small and intimate and there were only a few members of the public present so the whole talk was quite relaxed and informal.

http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/nmem/exhibitions/frombackhome/images/frombackhome.jpg

Engstrom began by talking about his photographic career, his influences behind "from back home" and some personal issues that inform his approaches to photography. He then showed a series of images from a not-yet published book "Wells" centered around the birth of his twins. It was interesting to see a preview of some new work, as it was quite different to his previous projects. It seemed a lot more personal and ethereal, almost organic. Engstrom then showed the video piece he made about Petersons work and life and most importantly, their relationship as both master and protegee and also as friends.

Image from new series, "Wells"
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2671/3715611071_c8752564f8.jpg

Engstrom spoke about Peterson in a clearly incredibly sincere way. The two photographers are very close and most of the talk was centered around their relationship and the personal struggles with their work and approach. Engstrom was suprisingly open and honest about his own feeling towards his work - the doubt he feels and his desire to be recognised. It was inspirational to hear a photographer talk about himself in a sincere way, almost as if he was sharing his burdens and secrets. Although Peterson wasn't present, Engstrom was able to provide lots of information about him and his career. Although the talk was both refreshing and inspiring, Engstrom talked a lot about his personal life and his and Petersons emotional connections to thier images and it would have been nice to hear him talk about the production of the work and their different photographic approaches.

Below is an interesting article in which JH Engstrom discusses his new book, "Wells"

http://www.viceland.com/blogs/en/2010/08/13/a-chat-with-jh-engstrom/

Salford Keys Review

Imperial War Museum North

Cecil Beaton - Tyneside Shipyards - Outside exhibitions

This work by the famous, late Cecil Beaton documents the dying ship building industry in one of Britain’s most important pre-war ports. The work also shows the positive effects the war had on this industry. The need for battleships meaning that the workforce almost doubled in only a few years. I think this is an interesting/positive take on a subject often conveyed so negatively through images such as McCullin’s and earlier Capa’s. I am by no means saying that The Second World War was a good event but i like to think there are opportunities in bad situations.

In terms of the exhibits themselves, I went expecting a usual gallery style showing but was surprised to find the 6 large scale prints outside the building and as I walk around them now the shadows and sunshine become part of the photographs, it is nice to be able to be amongst the images, pick how you want them to be viewed and see how the environment changes them. However, this might not be as enjoyable in the rain.

Gerry Judah - The Crusader 2010 - 3D Instillation

Although not a photograph, this 3D piece really caught my attention in the main exhibition space. From some angles it looked like a cross. Contrasting the holy symbol with an object of discord and the destruction that war brings. Personally, i believe that the vast majority of wars and conflicts have something to do with religion and differences in belief - I think this shown well in this composition. It’s form is quite sharp and broken which relates to the impacts of war yet it is the purest of toneless white which not only make it bold but bring in the idea of god and the greater being.

The Lowry

Harry Hammond - Halfway to Paradise - Iconic singer and band photography

Sometimes said to be the “founding father of music photography” Harry Hammond shows his work with bold, black and white portraits often with multiple catchlights and top-lit images. However, are these images really about music? Or are they more about the personalities, characters and our own understanding of the 1960’s celebrities in the images? The photography from around this time was starting to portray the ideas of the celebrity and what they were like ‘off the stage’ - could this of paved the way for the reality television and celebrity obsessed culture of today? V&A website