Exhibition Visit:Futureland Now - Reflections on the post-industrial landscape, Laing Gallery, Newcastle.

This exhibition of photography by John Kippin and Chris Wainwright addresses issues in our current society through their large scale photographic landscapes which explore this post-industrial period of uncertainty and change.

In 1989 the Laing Gallery hosted Futureland. It was timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the birth of photography and employed innovative photographic methods of representation to reflect upon the landscape of social change in the North East.
Nationwide comparisons have been drawn between 1980s Britain and the current political and economic climate.  Bleak employment prospects caused by world recession have created uncertainty as governments wrestle with debt and instability.  As previously, this shift is felt in the North of England.
Futureland Now draws on the artistic tradition of the sublime, presented here as an awe-inspiring response to the current post-industrial period of social and economic uncertainty.  The exhibition includes some examples and reworkings from Futureland alongside new work made at the original locations, demonstrating the artists' individual engagement with places, histories, and contemporary circumstances.

There is much interesting work in this exhibition, some I enjoyed, some I didn't and some I couldn't understand.  I felt that in order to understand the reasoning behind some of the images there needed to be a commentary rather than just a title.  On the other hand, by not providing a commentary, perhaps the idea was that the viewer should put his or her own interpretation on the image.

The above image is one I find difficult to interpret. Entitled 'Error', it is part of a series by Chris Wainwright all longexposures of people with light sticks.  They remind me of the personnel at an airport guiding a plane onto its standing or possibly semaphore symbols.  If they are semphores, perhaps they hold a hidden message that we need to translate.

Some of the images such as this one entitled 'When the Boat Comes In' also include the printed word, in this case in Japanese, although even when in English the meaning was not obvious.  This technique of including words in an image was also esposed by Niall Benvie in the May 2012 edition of Outdoor Photography as a means of imparting a further meaning to the viewer and perhaps using the image in a social commentary context.  Althogh I cannot understand the Japanese in this image I do like the photograph.  It appears to have been taken in the 'golden hour' at the beginning or end of the day and I love both the lighting and the sky.  For me there is some tension in the image as the ship is nearly sailing 'out of the shot'.

I really liked this image by John Kippin, called Moonrise over Teeside.  There is a beautiful reflection in the water and the wet sand with the moon appearing quite high in the sky in front of us.  Interestingly the horizon cuts the image in half.  As this is an exercise in social commentary perhaps the nightime isolation places the jobseeker at a distance from the hub of industry on the horizon.  Or maybe we are meant to see a contrast of the beauty of nature with the desolation of industry.

This image is called Nostalgia For The Future and is another one that includes the written word.  It is a location that John Kippin visited in 1988 and 2012 but we are not told which year this image was taken.  Does Nostalgia for the future harke to a better or worse future?  Both the ship and the caravan are from the past, but perhaps on the caravan is nostalgic.  Are we looking to a future with more leisure or less work or no oil if this a wrecked tanker, or again more pollution.  Are we looking back at a better of worse past.  Much food for thought here and at the same time a beautifully executed image.  I wonder what the people on the beach are looking at and thinking.

I particularly enjoyed some long exposure night shots by Chris Wainwright that included star trails and light trails from shipping.  My favourite was 'Submarine Territory' taken in 1996 and was taken in a Scottish Sea Loch (Faslane?).  It has wonderful star tails and a rich blue sky.  Are we meant to mourne the passing of our shipbuilding industry and naval supremacy?

Another image I really enjoyed is 'Hidden' by John Kippin.  It features two lighning aircraft on a nearby moorland firing range.  The planes have been used as target practice.  Theere is a wonderful sky and great depth of field.  Kippin visited this location in 1988 and 2012 but there is no indication which year the image was taken.  Is it meant to focus on the futility of war or our dwindling armed forces and therefore further lack of jobs.

What have I learned from this exhibition.
Although making a social commentary with my images is not currently at the top of my list of priorities I have come to realise that landscape photography can be a vehicle for this.  And not only that but these two photographers have produced some beautiful images but with a message.  In my experience photographs that attempt to convey a social comment often protray the ugly and do not appeal to me.  I have also had the opportunity to reflect on the article written by Niall Benvie about using the written word in conjunction with photographs to convey a message.  All food for thought.

Assignment 3: First Thoughts

After much cogitation I have arrived at two possible themes for Assignment 3.  One of these is the suggested one of water, but I have also been investigating Churches in the Landscape as a theme.  I include below some of the images that I am considering submitting for each theme.

Churches in the Landscape

 I took this shot whilst sitting in a hide photographing waders at Gibratar Point Nature Reserve near Skegness.  Looking across the fields in the distance I could see the church in the nearby village of Burgh-le-Marsh.  When I looked at it through the 500 lens with 1.4 converter attached I thought it made a pleasing image.  I framed the shot so that the church was on the intersection of thirds.

I decided that if I was photographing churches in the landscape it was important to include our diocesan cathedral at Lincoln.  I had had in mind for some time to photograph it from South Common so took the opportunity this July.  Here I have kept the cathedral small in the frame.

In this shot I have zoomed in somewhat to make the cathedral more dominant in the picture.  I think that this would be a could position to take a photograph of the church at twilight when it is floodlit but still with some light in the sky.

 Although I love this shot I think it may verge on an architectural shot rather than a landscape one.  It is taken from the castle walls and I have waited months for thm to opened to public once again after renovation work.  Now it seems I have to return when the scaffolding has completely gone from the west front.  For months it has been in the process of being cleaned.  The right hand corner is the last section to be completed.

This the village church of Nettleton which is in the Lincolshire Wolds on the min rad to Lincoln.  I took the shot from the hill behind the village and have managed to include the distant tower of Caistor church.

 The next two images are of the church of Thorseway, a hamlet nesytled in a fold of the Lincolnshire Wolds.  This first one is taken earlier in the summer.  The barley is ripening but not yet harvested.

 This second shot of Thorseway was taken immediately after combining with the golden straw still in the field.  It was taken in the fading light of the evening.

 Two images of Louth church.  I had to wait a long time for the road through the town to be free of traffic.

The church of Bag Enderby in the Lincolnshire Wolds.  Alfred Lord Tennyson spent his boyhood in this area when his father was the vicar of the nearby church of Somersby.  The whole family used to walk down the lane for services here.

 Two images of the now disused church on the hillside above the Wolds village of Walesby. It sits on the Viking Way long distance footpath and is dedicated to walkers and cuclists being affectionately known as 'The Rambers' Church'.



 

The parish church of Whitby in North Yorkshire taken earlier this spring from over the harbour.

 

 

I had long been wanting a floodlit image of Whitby church.  Immediately after taking the above image we enjoyed fish and chips at the nearby Magpie Cafe.  We finished our meal just as the moon was rising and I was able to capture this image.

The parish church of Binbrook in the Lincolnshire Wolds.

Water

On the theme of water I decided on some aspects of water, moods and emotions that I wished to convey in my images.  These included stillness, calm, peacefulness, motion,power, mystery and ornamental.  I also wanted to employ the techniques of short and long exposure times.  As well as this I have been researching, in particular Ansel Adams and Galen Rowell.  Although not working in black and white here I wanted to investigate Adams technique of having everything sharp and in focus through using small apertures to achieve great depth of field.  I like the way that Galen Rowell used to slightly underrate his transparency film stock to achieve rich colours.  I am very taken by this in his work and so have tried to make sure that my images are rich and well saturated whilst still ensuring a natural looking result.

This image is of Ladybower Reservoir taken from Bamford Edge in Derbyshire. I wanted to show water being used as a community resource as it is here. When the reservoirs were constructed in the 1930s the villages of Ashopton and Derwent were flooded and the reservoirs were used for training by the Lancasters of 617 Squadron prior to the famous dams raids. I like this shot as the pool of water in the rocks of the edge mirror the water of the reservoir and form part of a sinuous curve with the reservoir, which leads the eye into the picture and provides perspective.

 

The lake in the Royal Botanical Gardens, Edinburgh. Here I was trying to portray a mood of peace and calm. The picture also illustrates the ornamental use of water.



This shot of Pollenca Bay in Mallorca was taken at dawn just before the sun rose above the horizon.  The sky is suffused with orange and this is perfectly reflected in the waters of the bay.  The masts of the yachts are also reflected.  The image embodies feelings of peace and calm.  My reservations about this image are that it may be more about sunrise than water.

Here Sheffield town hall is seen through the cascading water of a fountain providing a sense of mystery.  It also portrays the ornamental use of water.



Outside the Millenium Gallery in Sheffield that are several water features in the form of large silver spheres with water flowing over them.  Here the gallery is reflected in the water providing a sense of mystery.  Again the picture illustrates the ornamental use of water.



A visit to Robin Hood's Bay provided the next two images.  Both shots instil a feeling of calm and show excellent reflections of the blue sky and cumulus clouds.

I decided on a vertical framing for this image in order to focus on the rocks and pool leading the eye towards the distant headland of Ravenscar thus providing linear perspective.



A beautiful still evening in Whitby provided these superb reflections in the harbourgiving a sensation of peace and calm.  If I decide to use this image I feel that it needs the edge of the boat on the right cropping out.

A visit to Humberston Fitties near Cleethorpes on a beautifully calm evening rewarded me with this shot of a sailing yacht illustrating the recreational use of water and also giving a sense of calm relaxation.  I made sure I captured the right moment by pressing the shutter as the yacht sailed in to an intersection of thirds.  The second yacht and the sea fort are also close to an intersection of thirds.



Another image taken at Humberston Fitties taken on the same evening is suffused with calm, peacefulness.  The yachts illustrate the recreational use of water whilst the large ship coming into the Humber illustrate its use for commercial purposes.

A lagoon on the saltmarsh at Humberston taken in the twilight after the sun has set.  I used an ND  filter to give a long exposure in order to smooth out any ripples in the water to enhance the cloud reflections.  Again this picture provides a sense of peace and calm.



I took this shot in the summer on Yellowcraig Beach on the Firth of Forth.  I wanted to provide a feeling of ethereal mystery to the scene by using a long exposure to smooth out the small waves as they lapped over the rocks  so I used an ND filter to provide a long exposure.

Another long exposure image, this time of the River Braan in Scotland taken earlier in the summer. I wanted to provide feelings of calm and relaxation by allowing the foam in the water to show as swirls as it is moved by the current.



Another photograph of the River Braan,of the falls just above the bridge.  Again I decided to use a long exposure, this time to give a sense of motion to the water whilst at the same time  providing a sense of calm.



Another river shot, here the River Ure at Aysgarth Falls. I have taken the picture against the light to make the most of the sun sparkling on the water.

The next two images are of West Burton Falls in the Yorkshire Dales.  In this shot I wanterd tp portray the awesome power of the water as it thunders over the falls.  If I decide to use this picture I think it needs cropping at little at the bottom.

Another image of West Burton falls, this time with a long exposure to give more of an impression of movement.

Another shot from the Yorkshire Dales.  A clump of fallen leaves caught on a rock in the river.  Maybe this has more to do with the leaves than with water though.

My most recent images now taken on Anglesey last week.  This and the next photo are of the lighthouse ot Penmon Point.  This shot was taken just before sunrise and has a beautiful calm feel to it.  This is enhanced bt the long exposure which has smoothed out the waves.

Another calm, relaxing picture taken the evening before the last shot.  I decided on a portrait format to enhance the rockpool leading the eye into the image to provide perspective.  I was pleased with the cloud reflections in the rock pool.

A completely different feel to this shot against the light taken of Ynys Llanddwyn with the Lleyn Peninsular in the background.  Working against the light has given a silhoutte effect and turned the sea silver.

Another against the light shot of the big surf on Llandddwyn Island.  Rather than inducing an atmosphere of calm I wanted to portray the power of the sea.