Artist: Art Wolfe

Art Wolfe is an incredible landscape photographer who excels, much like Ansel Adams did, in taking advantage of the variability of the outdoors to get some of the best location shots possible. In this video I found on his blog of a recent talk he did, he discusses how he utilizes natural light. By planning but also reacting quickly to take advantage of situations as they arise, he turns the outdoor world into a studio, producing amazing photos.

For instance if the lighting is frontal, coming from directly behind the photographer, he prefers a high perspective such as an aerial once if possible, in order to reveal the shadows extending behind the subjects. Soft, front lighting is also the safest bet when shooting animals, as it takes out the variable of dark shadows that could obstruct details of an otherwise good shot. It simplifies the shot in a way, presenting the subject unobtrusively and allowing you to really connect with it. If possible he will then try to move around to get the same subject with back lighting, skipping side-lighting altogether. He prefers cloudy days because great lighting is off and on but possible through out the entire course of the day, while on clear days you can only get good lighting in the mornings and late afternoons.

It's a long lecture and I'm only about a third of the way through it so far (22:34 to be exact, so I can come back and finish it later) but hearing him talk about these locations really reinforces my desire to travel and see as much of this as I can while it's still around. And I say 'while it's still around' because in discovering mountaintop removal I've really lost confidence in the fact that these places will be preserved in any way.

I also know from his galleries that Wolfe excels in low-light and night photography as well, so hopefully the video will get to that too.




http://www.artwolfe.com/

Visiting Artist: Brian Ulrich

Brian Ulrich had a very focused and linear process and direction to his work and was very fun to listen to. I enjoyed seeing the progression from department store shopping sprees to thrift store sifting to dark, abandoned storefronts. For his shopping photos he captured some great moments and was able to do so in a very clean, professional way that didn't seem snapshotty at all. I was most intrigued by his 'dead mall' images however, which demonstrated a very good use of long night exposures. The photos portrayed nice exaggerated color and lighting, characteristics of good available light night photography. Also, in large part because of his use of large format film, he was able to maintain a very high image quality despite the long exposures. As with all his photos, they were very well composed and made good use of interesting visual elements here and there. My favorite was the series from the most overgrown mall, which really demonstrated how over many years time slowly 'reclaimes' locations that initially sprung up in mere days. The decision to shoot them at night really aided in the feeling of desolation while amping up the eerie existence present in all abandoned buildings.

Topic: Kingston Fossil Plant Spill

Around 1 a.m. on December 22, 2008 a dike ruptured at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Fossil Plant in Roane County, TN, just across the river from the city of Kingston. The dike was part of a solid waste impoundment holding coal fly ash slurry, the leftover ash from coal that cannot be burned at power plants. This ash used to be released into the atmosphere, but for environmental concerns it is now collected and held in large quantities, a better but still dangerous alternative.

When this impoundment breached, 1.1 billion gallons of the waste poured out, covering around 300 acres of surrounding land and poisoning the Emory River, killing most aquatic life. The mudflow covered 12 homes, destroying one, rendering 3 uninhabitable, and damaging 42 total residential properties. Furthermore, a major gas line was ruptured, a rail line was covered, trees were knocked down, power lines were destroyed, and a water main was broken. Luckily no one was injured, but the cleanup process could take close to $1 billion to complete, and by last summer only 3% of the spill had be cleaned. Many say that this accident should have been prevented, as leaks had been reported nearly every year leading up to the incident, and as close as 2 months prior to it. Despite these warnings significant action to prevent such a spill was not taken, and the result was the worst of its kind in the US by far, and as some call it, the worst man-made environmental disaster since Chernobyl.

I plan on visiting this location to see if any visible contamination remains to be photographed.


< This photograph was taken one mile from the where the spill started.











Information and imagery: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_Fossil_Plant_coal_fly_ash_slurry_spill

Artist: Nils-Udo

"Even if I work parallel to nature and only intervene with the greatest possible care, a basic internal contradiction remains. It is a contradiction that underlies all of my work, which itself can't escape the inherent fatality of our existence. It harms what it touches : the virginity of nature... To realize what is possible and latent in Nature, to literally realize what has never existed, utopia becomes reality. A second life suffices. The event has taken place. I have only animated it and made it visible."

Nils-Udo is a Bavarian artist who originally painted natural subjects but turned to sculpting with nature in 1972. His work is really captivating and is often accompanied by thought-provoking poet-like quotes. It is similar to that of Andy Goldsworthy, but I think in some cases it surpasses the more popular nature sculptures. "The Nest," made in 1978 out of earth, stones, birch, and grass is my favorite piece, with the quote:

"I smelled the earth, the stones, the freshly struck wood.
I built the nest walls high and twisted the soil of the nest.
From the height of the edge of the nest I looked down on the forest soil,
up into the branch work of the trees and into the sky.

I heard the singing of the birds and felt the breath of the wind.
In the dawn I began to freeze. The nest was not finished yet.
I thought, high above on the edge of the nest squatting:
I build myself a house, it sinks silently past the tops of the trees on the forest soil,
openly to the cold night sky and nevertheless warmly and softly,
deeply into the dark earth dug."

Like Goldsworthy, it's very finely crafted with nice elements of form and pattern. The amazing feel that Nils-Udo achievs in this photograph though is something I haven't seen in a Goldsworthy piece. The setting and lighting have this soft quality to them that is reminiscent of the sculpture itself, as well as of a traditional European forest. Somehow he achieves this perfect densely forested setting without it looking over done and 'set up.' The imperfections such as the overhanging branches are just enough to keep it genuine without interfering with the work. Finally, the words that he includes really top it all off, fleshing out the setting and cozy feel of the whole piece.

Here are some other works of his:





"Untitled-21" Lime tree, bird berries and lime tree sheets, Aachen, Germany, 1999
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"Hommage à Gustav Mahler", Mound of earth, poplar plantings, grass plantings, ash poles, hazel sticks, traveler's joy, Chiemgau, Upper Bavaria, Germany, 1973

"Planting has been at the center of my work since 1972. I first began with the farmers of my region, in the Chiemgau Alps of Upper Bavaria. Collaborating with these farmers in the early 70's I created works with earth modellings and partially expanded them by planting.

My work in the Chiemgau Alps consisted of planting trees, bushes, lawns and flowers. By integrating them into more complex installations, the work is literally implanted into nature. As a part of nature, the work lives and passes away in the rhythm of the seasons. Nature became my art area..."


"Waterhouse", Spruce trunks, birch branches, willow switches and lawn plantings, Wattenmeer, Cuxhaven, Germany, 1982
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"To design with flowers.
To paint with the clouds.
To write with water.
To record the wind of may or
the path of a falling leaf.
To work on a storm. To anticipate a glacier.
To arrange water and light....
To take in a forest or a prairie....

To open up the living,
three dimensional spaces of Nature.
With the slightest possible intervention, to electrify and transform the spaces of Nature
into the spaces of Art..."

"Untitled", Brookbed, Bindweed Blossoms, Ile de la Réunion, Indian Ocean, 1990

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< "Root Sculpture", 1995 Parque Chapultepec, Mexico City, Mexico

"It was toward the end of a dry period. For months there had been very little rain. The earth was hard like concrete. We proceeded very carefully so we would not hurt the tender roots We drained, scratched, scraped and dug for one week. After the photographs the pit was naturally again filled up."

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"The Frog", Child, raft made of spruce trunks, old leaves, duckweed and fern leaves, Forêt de Marchiennes, France, 1994


http://greenmuseum.org/artist_index.php?artist_id=36

Topic: New Direction

So my plan as of this point in the semester was to photograph artificial light and city light pollution as a sort of symbolism of the disruption of the balance of nature that has kept this planet thriving for millions of years. I thought this idea would translate into photography well, especially into my photographic method. It was also a way to narrow down the huge concept of wildlife conservation. While I'm interested in the visual possibilities offered by that direction, I knew in the back of my mind that the conceptual focus wasn't as strong as it could be. Symbolism won't really change anything, so I've decided to push the concept much further and find real cases in which our human needs have pushed us too far.

I've known for awhile that our country depends far too much on coal energy, and that the area we live in was a hotspot for the mining, distribution, and burning of it. At first I dismissed that conceptual approach thinking it too expansive and too difficult to pursue. From past experience I knew that photographing coal facilities the way I wanted would be difficult. I'm ashamed to say however, that I wasn't fully aware of the extent of this problem until now. While many of these things are kept surprisingly quiet, a bit more research would have led me to some tragic situations that I wouldn't be able to turn away from. Strip mining, specifically mountaintop removal, and coal sludge impoundments are two of the most environmentally destructive things I've ever seen. Combined with the already severe emissions problem, the dangers of coal power are something that I simply can't ignore.

Mountaintop removal is a destructive form of coal strip mining that is taking place in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Using 300 million pounds of explosives per day, forested mountaintops are blasted off in order to get to the coal faster and with less labor than with a traditional mine. The trees, vegetation, topsoil, and any other waste, rather than being used, is often dumped into valleys, burying the streams that provide drinking water. The coal is extracted by huge cranes called draglines, costing up to $100 million and displacing the need for hundreds of employed workers. Before transportation, the coal is washed and treated, creating excess sludge or slurry. A mix of water, coal ash, clay, and toxic chemicals such as arsenic, mercury, lead, copper, and chromium, this coal sludge is placed in open impoundments. These 'sludge lakes' are supported by other leftover debris from the operation and are often very unstable. Yet another similar type of waste is created during the actual burning of coal in power plants, consisting of what cannot be combusted. To prevent this toxic ash from entering the atmosphere, it is now collected and held. These waste impoundments have breached in the past, including a horrible instance late last year in Kingston, TN, which has been described as the worst man-made environmental disaster since Chernobyl. I'll go into that in my next topic post. The companies move on after the coal has been exhausted from a mountain, leaving a moonscape in their wake. While reclamation efforts are made, they are often small and no matter what is done the mountains and streams will never recover to their former state.

A quick google map search of the region reveals these sites as huge scars littered across the Appalachian Mountain Range. I circled most of the sites and hotspots where they are clearly visible, even in a map of this scale encasing about 16,000 square miles of Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Some of the individual sites can be as large as 3 to 5 square miles themselves. I was astonished at the sheer number and size of the sites. Every little blemish or dead, dry looking area in the mountains turned out to be one. Some major cities are also marked, as well as Summersville because it seems to be the closest area to Richmond that is affected. I'm going to try to make it out that way to shoot this week during the break. Here are some closeups of some of the mountaintop removal sites and fly ash sludge impoundments:









































Over fall break I'd like to carve a route that takes me down to Kingston, TN to see the spill location and then back up through KY and WV through the majority of the mountaintop removal sites. With some planning I think I can make it that far and come out with quite a bit of material.

http://ilovemountains.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_mining
http://www.ohvec.org/galleries/mountaintop_removal/007/

Artist: Stephen Wiltshire

Stephen Wiltshire is an amazing artist from London who draws accurately detailed buildings and cityscapes all from memory. Diagnosed as autistic at age 3, he has a rare condition called savant syndrome, in which individuals with various developmental disorders, such as autism, posses incredible abilities or talents. Often called the "Human Camera," he can commit entire cityscapes to memory after just a short helicopter ride, reproducing them later on paper as huge panoramas. He can complete these enormous drawings in just over 20 hours of work.

People diagnosed with autism have trouble relating to others socially and tend to be very routine oriented, resisting change and reproducing material rather than producing it creatively. Stephen has overcome both these symptoms in large part, able to hold regular conversation and adding his own style to his drawings. I've attempted similarly detailed drawings of Richmond before, but I had to draw it in person or use photographs. I can also attest that it takes a huge amount of time and patience. The linework that Wiltshire uses is the rough, hard-edged style that is artistic and hasty up close, but dissolves into perfect representation and perspective from a distance. I've always enjoyed this type of work that embodies the best of both worlds, detailed and accurate but retaining the imperfections that make art unique. He has been featured in a number of documentaries since his childhood, including one very recently, so I'm surprised that I just now found out about his amazing work and story.

London panorama


detail of London panorama



Enormous Tokyo panorama






http://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk
images are from the website

Visiting Artist: Penelope Umbrico

I enjoyed seeing how Umbrico explored snapshots found on the Internet for clues about the personal lives of the people that uploaded them. In this new era of facebook and myspace, it's interesting that more might be said about a person in the picture they took of their television or armoire for crag's list. The TVs were especially interesting, as it never occurred to me that it's near impossible to take a photograph of a TV screen without capturing yourself and your surroundings as well. I was also very intrigued by the variety of colors and lines that were portrayed by broken LCD screens, as well as the look and feel of the 'sun' installation. Umbrico has a very refreshing approach to art, in taking the practicality and accessibility of available or recycled art, but applying it to our modern day Internet culture.

Topic: Digital Manipulation

I've looked more into digital painting and manipulations, and it seems like painting digitally is something that would me much harder to blend with photography than I originally thought. One of the biggest setbacks is that I think I would need an expensive touchpad in order to get good results. I'm just not sure I have enough of a feel for computer mouse movements to get detailed linework. What I would like to do though is do more photoshop manipulation in my images. I want to get a clean finished quality along the lines of Simmons, and I think I can do that with the right photoshop and in-camera adjustments.

Another thing I'd like to do is implement elements from multiple photographs into the finished piece. I'm not talking about elements that were shot at an entirely different time or location, but things from the same shoot that are just found in different pictures. Since I shoot a lot of photos from one location, I often get elements that come out much better in one photo but not the other, such as the sky or a passing car for example. I'll want to combine the best of them into one piece for greater effect. I've done some of this in the past, but I want to get cleaner with it as well as be more aware of the fact that I can do this as I'm shooting, giving me more options when compiling.

These are some examples of photoshop edits that I've done in this way.


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In this case, as you can see in the detail, I combined various pictures of different deer together to make it appear more like the actual herd. I was laying down in the field and different deer would approach closer one by one (since I was next to the entrance to that clearing). Because of this, I got fairly close-up images of many individual deer, but not the whole herd, so I combined them. Most of the closest ones are actually the same deer, since she was the most daring of them all.







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This is another case in which I got a separate shot of a deer earlier in the evening and compiled it in with the other photos.









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My newest piece is probably the best example of where I want to take this editing. Here I used differently exposed pictures to bring out detail in the dark, forested foreground, while retaining contrast in the sky and city lights.