Artist Statement:
The idea behind my project comes from my interest in seeing what’s not there. In many cases, it is pretty simple to take photographs of the obvious views, but my goal is to bring new light to what is being “seen.” Taking the time to just walk around a landscape before taking pictures is a tactic that I want to really work on to be able to see a bigger/better picture. My overall focus will be on landscape photography, but I want to focus on the smaller elements included: fog, sunlight, reflection, and foreground features. Landscape photography includes many elements that the photographer does not have complete control over, so I am hoping to really work on my skills of editing the picture to bring attention to particular pieces in the picture that would be overlooked.
Techniques:
- control of depth of field
- contrast and color (using it to separate regions of an image)
- controlling perspective: foreground feature, deep space, window-frame, juxtaposition, and texture squash
- possibly merging and stitching (post-processing)
Photographers to Study/Emulate:
The photographers I have selected to study/emulate are: Marc Muench, Lace Andersen, and Wang Wusheng. After diving deeply in their works I really wanted to add a mixture of their work to create my own style. Wang Wusheng discovered the deeper meaning of the famous Mount Huangshan by paying close attention to the fog and leaving out the detail of the trees and the mountain alone. In addition, Marc Muench uses a merging and stitching technique to create a completely different image than the actual shots. He draws in the audience by editing pictures in a way to attract the human eye.
The equipment I will be using is a tripod, and there is possibility for a larger lens (which I have access to). Some obstacles I might encounter are: not shooting the time of day correctly (sunrise and sunset), there may be a lack of rain, and the places I want to go may be overly crowded.
My resources: “The Art of Seeing, Part 3” (https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/tips-techniques/nature-landscapes/the-art-of-seeing-part-3/); “Visual Wilderness” (https://visualwilderness.com/portfolio/lace-andersen); “Foreground Focus” (https://www.naturettl.com/weekly-photography-assignment-foreground-focus/); “Lenswork” (book)
Photo IV Gabby Warner 