Today, as a way of getting things out of my head-space, I decided to follow my initial idea and see where it led me.
Having thought of using Ilkley moor as a suitable arena for displaying 'itself' I decided to carry out a few test images, just purely to see how well/if they would, work.
Having to travel by train also meant having to travel light, so the object I used as the 'cube' was today a rectangular piece of foam board, which relied on my having to lean it against my back pack to erect it in the landscape.
A crude way of getting an image together but as this was purely for experimental purposes I wasn't bothered, and was pleased that I managed to convey the idea I had in the first place.
The video below shows the same images as can be see further down the page, but employs the 'ken burns' effect and a drifting soundtrack to show both the detail of the images and hint at the desolation of the landscape.
Ilkley Moor - Blankspace from
Brad Hodgson on
Vimeo.
I particularly liked using the Quarry as a backdrop as I found the dark sandstone home to so many unique textures and shades which, when in monochrome, contrasted highly with the placed object, and as with the 'Audioslave' image by Storm Thorgerson, gave and otherworldly impression.
'product placement' if you will, was key here to create the impact it has done, using the natural gap between the quarry stones gave me the perfect place in which to locate the object.
As apparent with the below image, I was having problems with the scale of the object, this was previously expected, and the main reason for using such a small object was for transportation reasons, although for the majority I feel it exceeded it's expectations, and although they are obviously test pieces I feel a small majority are good enough to be used in future.
Using existing features to my advantage I was able to lead the eye up to the object my making use of the pathways.
I must admit that even though these were intended to just be informal experimentations, with non of the results meant to be for serious consideration, I am very pleased with the image below, and love many elements about it - the saturation, the lightness and the contrast between the dark crevice of the rocks and the blank whiteness of the object, I may revisit this image at a later date as it creates exactly what I had in mind.
The way I worked was by scanning the environment for what I deemed to be interesting features that would, in ordinary circumstances, be overlooked. The interesting cavity in the wall above acts as a perfect example.
The propensity of the British weather meant that setting the shots up and shooting them in time became exceedingly difficult at times.
Playing around with perspective and viewpoint was also on the agenda and, due to the sheer elevation of the rocks, gave me chance to look up almost through the object. This again would have been easier and would I feel have given me both better results and the ability to shoot from more angles, if I had a tripod.
Although I had a good idea of the results I could achieve here, hence my choosing it as a shooting location, it still stunned me when I looked at the results, as though there is a few imperfections that need to be ironed out, the beauty of the landscape is perfect at reflecting the concept I am working with.
Above: Tools of the trade, my bag and board within the landscape.
It is interesting, when playing around with the size of the images, how much the impact of the void is increased by increasing it's size.
As well as centering the object I also tried being less deliberate with my placement of the placement, as shown in later images when I literally threw it, saw where it landed and shot it in that position.
The 'Cow and Calf' rocks, act as a natural 'duolith' within the environment, themselves emphasizing the surrounding landscape. I feel that this is done in a very subtle way, and what I'm trying to achieve is more about creating a higher contrast in order to almost shock the audience into noticing the environment around them.
Using black and white as the sole components to the images emphasizes the blankness of the object and this is why I deem it to be the most successful, although this is not too say I was totally unimpressed with the colour images I took.
Catching the interaction of the few people around at the time, two climbers taking advantage of the quarry as a bouldering rig.
Trying to use the Storm Thorgerson ethos and create a vast, intense landscape.
Varying the type of landscapes I interpreted, was also high on my agenda as seen in the above image where the landscape is very much plain and quite uninspiring, as opposed to the majority of the other images which often contain another element, in these images the element being the quarry or other large rock's.
I stuck to monochrome for the majority of the images as, as you can see from the below images, the black and white gave much clearer contrast and in doing so emphasized the landscape surrounding the square.
Again the placement in most images conformed to placing the object in the middle of the image, often in some cases conforming to the rule of thirds.
