Rubbish from the Level Crossing-

For this project, I was to discover objects, obtain them and then photograph them. I decided upon the theme of Rubbish from the Level Crossing after learning about similarly themed projects, such as Denis Doran’s ‘Salvaged’ and Keith Arnatt’s ‘Pictures from a Rubbish Tip’. I collected a variety of both expected and unexpected objects, arranged them to fit the frame and then lit them with a large LED.

Influences-

My influences for this work stemmed from the lecture on the topic but went further to include other sources. I was primarily influenced by found object photography which followed a set theme, that would not be obvious if not for the work’s title.

One example of this would be ‘Salvaged’ by Denis Doran, which featured unfamiliar and unconventional objects found on English beaches. What struck me about these photographs was that the context of the objects are not apparent in the images alone due to them being taken in a studio setting with a black background. Therefore the context needs to be explained by the text supporting the images, which manipulates their meaning and controls our perspective on them. I also appreciate the care taken to photograph them in such a manner, as professional lighting would not usually be used on such ‘worthless’ items.

Another work that inspired me was ‘Failed Heirlooms’ Mike Downing, as it had a similar theme to ‘Salvaged’. The context for this is explained in only two words. Heirlooms are valuable objects that are passed down to future generations and thus Failed Heirlooms are therefore objects that have not managed the criteria of an heirloom, either because they weren’t bought by a family or because they were thrown out because of lack of monetary or sentimental value. What interested me about this project was that the viewer of the image was responsible for speculating on the reason why they are a ‘Failed Heirloom’ and may even make connections between the objects in the images and heirlooms in their own families.

One more influence would be ‘Pictures from a Rubbish tip’ by Kieth Arnatt. Much like my other sources of inspiration, these photos are contextually confusing without the title of the piece. The images feature vulgar and indeterminable food items photographed on dirtied paper. What stands out to me about these images is the shock value of the content. It makes me reevaluate what I am throwing away and how disgusting the effect of unnecessary food waste is.

Evaluation-

My intention for this project was to showcase some of the litter thrown away onto the level crossing in an attempt to make people think more about the environmental impact of littering, as well as provoking thought as to how and why they got onto the rail crossing.

I began by experimenting with the arrangement and lighting of objects in the one of the photography workshops (see below). I arranged the objects and matched them with backgrounds that contrasted and complimented them. I chose a green background in an attempt to create a complimentary colour scheme with the pink objects in image 1 & 3 and chose a textured gray background to contrast the smoothness and vibrancy of the objects in image 2. I also tried using different lighting sources and strengths to create shadows. In image 1, I used 2 lights to create a sort of silhouette behind the subject as to give the subject an interaction with the background. In Image 2, I used a slow shutter speed and a single light around the subject to light it, but kept it mostly in one area to create a large shadow on the background. In Image 3, I used 2 light sources to create 2 sets of harsh shadows of both the base and the plastic men.

I used this experience of backgrounds and lighting when constructing my final image. I selected a plain, textured chair in the MHT Scriptwriting room as a background to give my final image as it would keep the attention on the objects in the image while providing a neutral but interesting background. I lit the image using a hard, high-key LED in order to create a singular, harsh shadow from every object in the photo. This adds to the effect on the viewer as it has a unsettling effect on the image, which adds to the message I wanted to convey.

Before taking my final image I experimented with various arrangements of the objects (see below). I liked the layout of the Image 1 but couldn’t keep every object in the frame and crop out the dark patch in the top left corner. I had a simmilar problem with Image 2, as I had the corners of the chair clipping the frame in both top corners. I also didn’t like how you can’t see the black plastic object and how far out the bottlecap was to the right, as it drew the eye away from the rest of the image because it contrasts most of the darker colours of the other objects. Image 3 was framed properly but I didn’t like how little of the fork you could see in the image. In it’s position in Image 3, it is not only not easily identifiable but also creates a leading line away from the image, rather than towards it.

I am extremely satisfied with my final image for this task. I feel as if I have achieved my goal of making the viewer question the objects put forward as the plastic baby legs are extremely unusual, the glove is not easily identifiable and the plastic object on the left is a mystery to me, and I found the thing. I also feel like I have made the viewer reevaluate littering as there is a lot of common litter presented, as well as promotional flyers that the majority of people throw away, either in a bin or on the street. Therefore presenting the litter in the context and style that I have draws attention to the problem and will hopefully change some people’s attitudes towards it.

Composition wise, I am also happy with my final image. I like the use of colour as the low saturation takes some of the vibrancy out of the more colourful objects, giving the image a more unsettling tone. I also like the leading lines created by objects such as the glasses, plastic fork and flyers as they draw attention to different parts of the frame and keep the viewer looking at the image. Furthermore, the line in the background gives a sense of placement to the objects, and adds to the disturbing nature of the image by being slightly canted. I was happy with the depth of field as I set a high aperture in order to keep all of the objects in focus, compensating for this by adjusting the shutter speed and adjusting the brightness of the LED. This helped me to get the image to the right focus level that I wanted, allowing me to set it to one third of the way into the objects.

Furthermore, I feel like I have linked my final image to my sources by the use of topic and composition. I managed to gain a level of interactivity similar to Mike Downing’s ‘Failed Heirlooms’ as the viewer is encouraged to think about how and why the objects ended up in the level crossing. Furthermore, I feel as if my photo has a similar level of uncomfortably to that of Keith Arnatt’s ‘Pictures from a Rubbish Tip’ as the plastic baby feet are quite disturbing and the generally dirty state of the objects is off putting. Finally, I feel as if I have achieved a similar studio quality and thought provoking context as Denis Doran’s ‘Salvaged’ as my final image makes use of light and in a way that is close to the photos in ‘Salvaged’ and the reason behind the objects being collected correlate to the reasons in ‘Salvaged’