decay
Brainstorm
mood board
idea sheets
Artist research
Mathew merrett
Mathew Merrett is a urban decay photographer for the past 1o years. His work varies from abandoned psychiatric hospitals, to abandoned mines and Chernobyl an abandoned city in the north of the Ukraine , Its abandoned because of a nuclear power plant explosion, this caused a whole city to vacate as the disaster caused radiation poisoning within 10 miles of the city . In his work he wants to bring to the attention of the public the forgotten beauty in abandoned places. As the places he looks at is not always as it seems to be. I like the way he works in black in white, as it drains any life and colour which helps display the theme of decay.
These are two of my favourite photographs by Merrett. This is because he uses the natural light, to highlight the natural decay.He has used a place that is clearly in the state of decay and his focus on the broken wood and peeling paint is something that I would like to use in my own photography. This photograph also uses the camera technique of depth of field. This makes it more dimensional as it gives the photograph another aspect. In the second has has desaturated the image, this give the photograph a sense of lifelessness that Merrett is trying to convey. He uses the abandoned piano as a centre for the piece, this gives the viewer something to focus on.
Timm suess
Timm Suess has been an avid photographer since the 1990's. Growing up in Basel Switzerland, he was surrounded by abandoned places. He became a professional photographer in 2002 and has travelled all over the world to get his style of photography. His photographs range from Chernobyl to abandoned hospitals, churches and flyovers. Most of his work revolves around the slow battle between human structures and the process of decay.
These are my favourite two photographs of Suess's photographs. In the first, Suess uses depth of field. This creates a sense of perspective and depth which gives the viewer something to focus on. Suess uses natural light, to highlight the natural decay process. The photographer has gone to a place that is clearly old, and decaying. In the second the photographer actually focuses on something or a possession. In this photograph Suess focuses on an old hospital bed, left by the many occupants and hospital staff. As well as the peeling paint and damp, the hospital bed gives viewer something to focus on that properly shows the decayed state.
photo-shoot 1 - Cromarty Firth oil rigs
The aim of this photo-shoot was to capture buildings or things that are lost in time. No longer in use, these oil rigs were once hubs of busy workmen, But have fallen into disarray. Amid a sleepy town in the middle of no where I saw these rusty, abandoned oil rigs and thought would be perfect for my theme of decay. I feel this photo-shoot worked well because the picturesque landscape completely contrasts to the oil rigs and they look out of place.
top 2
These are my favourite two photographs from his photo-shoot. This is because in the first photograph, you get a glimpse of the beautiful surrounding landscape. You also get depth due to the lines in the field of grass. I did this to ensure the viewer would get the contrast of the oil rigs to the to the hills and valley. I also feel the warm yellow colours of the field, contrast the colours of the sky and sea. In this photograph I haven't only focused on one part of the landscape and try to encapsulate the whole section of the view. In the second photograph because of the position of the oil rigs, it creates false sense of perception and a sense of depth. I feel the blue tint of the sky and the dark blue tones of the sea, I feel they complement each other well.
photoshop experimentation
photo-shoot 2
The aim of this photo-shoot was to explore other versions of decay. I went to some ruins that were previously a castle. I used the backdrop of the sky of the sky to contrast against the grey tones of stone. I feel the photo-shoot went well as I explored a range of photographic techniques and rules such as depth of field and filling the frame.
top 2
These are my two favourite photo-shoots from this photo-shoot as in the first one its clear that the that castle has decayed from its previous conditions. This photograph also contrasts to the light background. The lens was zoomed in to cut out any unnecessary information, this forces the viewer to only focus on the sky and the ruins.The second also is another favourite as some original structure of the castle is present, but some has also eroded. This photograph also contrasts against the sky. I feel this photograph suits the them of decay as it shows the castle in some sense how regal this castle once was because of the castellations.
photo-shop experimentation (in the style of merrett)
photo-shop outcomes (in the style of merrett and suess)
photoshoot 3
The aim of this photo-shoot was to capture another form of decay and the differences between them. I feel this photo-shoot went partly well as i captured in some sense the decay of an abandoned building but graves and older buildings as well. Although I didn't go inside I feel it doesn't matter too much as the outside of this house represents decay because of the vines. spider webs, and peeling paint. Although I like the idea of the decaying graves and what the people using them once used to be, I feel the graves represent this as they are old and crumbling.
Top 2
These are my two favourite photographs from this photo-shoot. This is because in the first photograph you can clearly see the place has been abandoned. From the boarded up door frame, and the dirty, off white walls it is clear to the viewer that this house has been abandoned and is starting to decay. I took the photograph from further away as I feel the viewer gets a better sense of decay I am trying to capture. In the second photograph I have used a framing the subject camera technique. This was to get the broken glass, and the grid in the photograph. The glass is dirty, this I feel shows to the viewer how long this church has been left and it shows an almost forgotten world that no one thinks to notice.
photoshop edits
Photo-shoot 4
This photo- shoot show cases a range of different abandoned and decayed houses and places. This is to show a range of the different versions of decay and the way different places erode and change over time and from what they used to be. I feel this photo-shoot went well as I didn't just focus on one area of decay. I feel I got the sense of things changing over time I was trying to convey.
top 2
These are my my two favourite photographs from my photo-shoot as I feel they directly coney the sense of decay I'm trying to convey. In the first photograph, The bricks are faded and less vibrant from what they used to be. This I feel is obvious to the viewer as although you can still see the browns and greens it isn't nearly as vibrant as it would have once looked. I have also used a rule of thirds camera technique, this makes it more pleasing to the eye. I will focus on photoshop drawing more attention to the danger warning. In the second photograph I have focused on the eroded and broken wood. Although this photograph is more busy then the first, I feel like I wouldn't use this as a final piece as I feel it's too busy and actually draws away from the message I want to convey.
photo-shop outcome
photo-shoot 5
In this photo-shoot I found an abandoned house. I found it still had belongings and furniture etc that someone had not yet taken with them. I feel like the this photoshoot displays exactly what I thought of when I first thought of decay.
Top 2
These are my two favourite photographs from this photo-shoot. In the first photo-graph I used my macro lens to get a closer look at the the peeling paint. This I feel brought out the detail well and it is obvious to the viewer that my theme is decay. Some of this photograph isn't in focus I feel this draws the attention from the unnecessary information in the image. It also brings a sense of depth in the photo as the part of the photograph feels like it is further away. In the second photograph I used a depth of field camera technique, this makes it aesthetically pleasing for the viewer. It also displays more decay and peeling paint and debris than the first photograph.
photo-shop edits
Photoshop tutorial
Finally I sharpened the image as a final touch,
this also makes the photograph more in focus. |
Final Outcome
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