Unit 12- Specialist Study & Unit 13-Extended Project in Photography FMP
- Admin
- Mar 12, 2019
- 14 min read
Bibliography:
Google Google Images http://five-oceans.co/hello-jeremy-meet-the-artist-behind-entanglement/ http://theconversation.com/the-world-of-plastics-in-numbers-100291 http://traylerandtrayler.com/plastic-pollution-guy-farrow/ https://design-milk.com/plastic-fantastic-by-tomaas/ https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/3ky4gw/harley-weir-plastic-is-not-fantastic https://www.collective-evolution.com/2018/02/06/does-every-single-piece-of-plastic-ever-produced-still-exist-today/ https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/key-facts-about-plastic-pollution/ https://www.treehugger.com/slideshows/ocean-conservation/artist-depicts-humans-entangled-plastic-ocean-waste/ Pinterest Wikipedia
Proposal
When I first got this project I sat down with a pen and paper and wrote down all of my thoughts and ideas.
The moral for this project is to raise awareness and to create change, we cannot continue to use plastic as it is destroying our beautiful environments and ruining our beautiful earth. We belong to nature, nature doesn't belong to us.
It hurts me to learn that every single piece of plastic that has ever been made still exists on this earth and every time you consume anything made of plastic you are contributing to the vast amount of plastic waste that is just piling up and destroying our glorious earth. We as consumers must change how we shop, so that companies will change the toxic plastic that they sell, which in turn will stop factories from producing harmful plastics and we can start to clean up this earth because if we don't then by 2050, which is only 31 years away, there will be more plastic in the sea than fish, which is sickening, terrifying and damn right disgusting.
.CHANGE STARTS WITH YOU.
History of plastic/key facts
Polyethylene was created in 1898 and then again in 1933 but only started to become popular in the 1960's.
About 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced since the 1950s
Eight million tonnes of plastic dumped in our oceans every year.
One million plastic water bottles bought worldwide every minute and nearly two million single use plastic bags distributed every minute.
Every minute, the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into the sea.
There are five trillion pieces of plastic in our oceans which is enough to circle the Earth over 400 times.
Drink companies alone produce over 500 billion single-use plastic bottles annually.
Starbucks produces 4 billion coffee cups each year.
How long does it take for most common items to decompose? (minimum time)
Plastic Coated Paper- 3 months
Balloons- 6 months
Milk Carton- 5 years
Plastic bag- 10-1000 years
Styrofoam- 50 years
Rubber Boot Sole- 50-80 years
Beverage Holder- 400 years
Disposable Nappy- 450 years
Plastic Bottle- 450 years
Research
Stacey Dooley's BBC Documentary "Fashion's Dirty Secret"
Jeremy Carroll- Entanglement:
Jeremy Carroll is a photographer and artist which captured these raw, disturbing and sickening images of humans entangled in waste, mainly waste found in our seas and on our beaches, these images help to bring plastic pollution to the forefront of people's minds.
Check out 6 of his many thought-provoking shots below:
These images are soul destroying, to think we have ruined this beautiful earth by being so uncaring. We must do more, we must get rid of single-use plastics, we must try our bests to stop plastic from being made. Jeremy Carroll is my biggest inspiration for this project without a doubt; his work is just so powerful and raw.
Guy Farrow- Plastic Pollution:
Guy Farrow shot these disturbing photos for the Daily Mail with the tagline "if it were you would you care more?". These images challenge the 'standard' environmental images of plastic floating in the ocean or littering the beaches. Guy hopes that by photographing his models being violated by plastic that it will help audiences better understand our wrongdoing.
See his collection of shots below:
I find these images to be very disturbing and thought provoking, Guy Darrow is definitely going to inspire this project and further inspire me to help create change in this world, we need to ban single-use plastic and broaden people's mind-sets.
Harley Weir- Plastic is not fantastic:
Harley Weir is a British photographer that started documenting the plastic waste around her in 2015 with the hashtag #plasticneverdies. Harley wanted to raise awareness, help create change and take responsibility for her own impact on Planet Earth which I think is something we all need to do, we need to take responsibility to be able to create change.
These pieces are called 'Plastic is not fantastic' which I think is really simple but very powerful and gets the message across loudly and clearly, because plastic isn't fantastic; it is extremely toxic and is damaging our wonderful earth for not only our generation but more so future generations.
Maria Teicher-
Maria Teicher is a fine artist focused on detailed portraiture. Maria created a plastic veiled portrait series, which is utterly breath-taking and powerful. I would love to do a similar idea for some of my shots inspired by Maria, her work is just exquisite.
Maria's work is fascinating and is definitely empowering me to just absolutely smash this project and put everything into it.
Tomaas- Plastic Fantastic:
Tomaas is a New York based fashion and art photographer, in his 'Plastic Fantastic' series he created theatrical like shots of models staged with plastic items such as bottles, straws, tubing etc which makes these shots and his work really powerful and almost dream-like whilst using the toxic material, plastic.
Tomaas's work is magnificently striking and en-capturing, he is definitely one of the biggest inspirations to me not only in this project but also in my future career path as a fashion photographer. He is just exquisite.
Mood Board
Below is a screenshot of my plastic in fashion moodboard, to see more click this link:
Practical Skills
Communication - I will be able to further develop my communication skills to direct my models whilst ensuring their understanding of what is required and the vision I have.
I also will have to communicate with staff in local charity shops as well as staff from college to be able to purchase/borrow/make props, clothes, plastic items and things for my set.
Camera- F-stops, shutter speeds, ISO, meter reading, spot metering etc - utilising materials, techniques and processes accurately drawing from my skills building throughout the years to help me photograph my models beautifully with a vision.
Lightroom/Photoshop editing - I will edit my raw images in photoshop by using the spot tool which helps to get rid of any blemishes my models may have. I will then transfer my PS edited photos into Lightroom to make minor adjustments such as clarity and/or filters, I am going to use Lightroom instead of Photoshop for adjusting clarity and/or filters for workflow as LR is a lot quicker and simpler to use than PS but both are absolutely incredible in their own way.
Equipment
Digital SLR camera
Lenses
Light trigger
Light meter
Speed lite/s
Tripod
Softboxes
Backdrop (in studio only)
Lighting reflectors
I am planning on using a mixture of both high and low key lighting as well as Rembrandt lighting and natural lighting as I think each lighting scenario will give my shots different atmospheres as well as giving my shots a more dynamic range.
High Key Lighting:
Low Key Lighting:
Rembrandt Lighting:
a letter to the earth:
i am sorry for hurting you,
i am sorry for destroying your beautiful habitats,
i am sorry for once being so uncaring of your vast beauty
and taking it for granted.
i want to say thank you,
thank you for being there for the human race even though we continue to put you down, even though we often forget how important your existence is
and how it allows every human, animal and insect to exist.
i promise to help you,
i promise to do better,
i promise to be better,
i won't ever take you for granted again,
you are beautiful. you are exquisite.
i love you, we love you, even if sometimes we don't show it.
we belong to you, you don't belong to us.
- written by william byrne
UNIT 13
Planning & Production
Using my research and ideas, I intend to work both in the studio and on location, my models will have plastic props on/around them and I want to use a variety of lighting from speedlites, studio lights and even natural lighting to get the best outcome possible for this project. I want to use a vast array of models because inclusivity is so very important and it will also explain to people that plastic pollution effects everybody and we must come together and protest a change in plastic production and consumption.
Guy Farrow really made me think about lighting and how truly important it is, just by changing the lights, backdrops and camera settings it can create a totally different look, feel and mood. He takes thought-provoking shots which really set the mood on plastic pollution, so I decided to create a moody studio shoot inspired by Guy, which will hopefully give the viewer a deeper connection to my shots and want them to create change.
Tomaas mainly made me think about prop design and clothing, his photos are very powerful, the way the models are lit and dressed make me want to do something along the same lines. He has thoroughly inspired this project for me and inspired me to do better and be better, both in my personal life and in my work.
After looking at Jeremy Carroll, I got thinking of how I am going to pose my models and how different poses/postures gives off different vibes and moods, I also looked at different gestures and got to know what gestures fit the best into my thought provoking photographs which will hopefully give my audience a real attachment to each image. Jeremy also inspired me to take close up shots with props, instead of just photographing a whole person or just somebody’s face. His images are very powerful and he is a big inspiration of mine for this project.
Maria Teicher is a lot different to my other research artists, as she is a fine artist who is focused on detailed portraiture. Her shots are just utterly breathtaking and powerful, I would love to recreate similar images but obviously on camera instead of paintings. Her work is definitely guiding be throughout this final major project on plastic pollution.
Harley Weir is a British photographer who is actively taking responsibility for her own impact on planet earth, something that we all need to do in order to create change. Harley’s ‘Plastic is not fantastic’ work inspired me to think of creative names for this project, I have decided to call this project ‘there is no planet b’.
20th March - bath shoot
I am going to photograph a model in a bath with plastic products surrounding them, I want to photograph a model in a bath because I want people to realise that by 2050 we will have more plastic in the sea than fish, this is a horrifying fact if we don't change our plastic production and consumption. I am probably going to use a 50mm f/2.8 lens, which will allow me to really get a beautiful sharp and powerful image; I will also more than likely use a speedlite to create a perfect catch light and to make the models eyes pop.
25th March - 27th March (throughout the project also) - studio shoots
I am going to do back to back studio shoots which will feature my models being victimised by plastic. I am collecting single use plastic items every day to use in my shoots, the more plastic items, the better the outcome of the shots.
Easter Term (location shoots with models)
In the Easter term break I am going to different locations to do shoots with models. I am going to use a wider range of models for this project and I am trying to do my best to make this project more inclusive, because plastic pollution affects us all.
Today (01/04/19) I shot my first shoot for this project, I got my classmate Ben to model for me. I decided to use just one key light at the front to add depth and moodiness to the shots and I think it turned out really well. I brought a bag of plastic items with me and worked with my model on styling to get the best shots possible.
Here are some behind the scenes shots from this shoot:
Today (02/04/19) I shot my second shoot for this project, but this time I got a different classmate to model called Jay. Again I decided to use just one light at the front to add depth and moodiness to the shots, I also think this shoot turned out really well. I brought slightly more plastic items with me to this shoot and worked with the model on styling to achieve the best shots possible.
Here are some behind the scenes shots from this shoot:
Today (10/04/19) I shot my third shoot for this project, but this time I had my friend Livvy model for me on location instead of classmates modelling for me in the studio. I mainly used natural lighting for this shoot but occasionally I also used a speed-lite just to add a little extra light onto the models face and to also enhance the catch-light in the models eyes. I used plastic items from previous shoots and also collected a lot more plastic items and worked more on model styling this time, which allowed me to get a wide array of shots instead of just a few like the previous shoots I have done for this project.
Once I had finished this shoot I went home and selected the strongest shots from the shoot, I then edited my favourite shots on iPhotos which included removing any blemishes, adding filters, changing lighting, cropping shots and adjusting clarity, all of which makes the shots more appealing to the audience.
Here are some behind the scenes shots from this shoot and editing:
Today (18/04/19) I shot my fourth shoot for this project, again for this shoot I had a different friend model for me called Izzy and I shot this shoot on location at her farmhouse in Lathom. For this shoot I only used natural light as it was a bright sunny day, which made her bright blue eyes pop on camera. I used plastic items from the previous four shoots and worked with the model on styling/location around her farmhouse. Again once I finished this shoot I went home and started the editing process, which in this case mainly involved cropping and just slightly adjusting the clarity, which makes the shots more appealing.
Problem Solving
When I was shooting in the studio the lights occasionally didn't fire multiple times so I flipped the camera around so the trigger could see the sensor on top of the lights.
When I was photographing plastic over models faces the camera wouldn't focus on the models face, instead it focused on the plastic, so I had to override the camera and put it in manual mode to get the required shot.
Presentation
To present my work I am going to create another magazine layout, which can be featured on a table with my favourite images up on the wall in the background. I want this project to really capture people's minds and to get people to stand together and create change, we need to ban plastic, this can't go on, we can't keep on using plastic and destroying our beautiful earth.
I want to incorporate words into this project, both my own and other authors. I almost want them to be as important as the photographs. I want to have photos laid out with words, poetry and facts surrounding it, I think that will be really powerful.
Here is a poem I wrote for my magazine-
a letter to the earth:
i am sorry for hurting you,
i am sorry for destroying your beautiful habitats,
i am sorry for once being so uncaring of your vast beauty
and taking it for granted.
i want to say thank you,
thank you for being there for the human race even though we continue to put you down, even though we often forget how important your existence is
and how it allows every human, animal and insect to exist.
i promise to help you,
i promise to do better,
i promise to be better,
i won't ever take you for granted again,
you are beautiful. you are exquisite.
i love you, we love you, even if sometimes we don't show it.
we belong to you, you don't belong to us.
- written by william byrne
Magazine name ideas:
Couture- heal the earth
Couture- treasure over trash
Couture- plastic is not fantastic
Couture- out of sight, out of mind
Couture- plastic never dies
Couture- there is no planet b
I have decided that my favourite and most powerful magazine name is 'Couture- there is no planet b'. I think it sets the vibe for this project, we need to do more to stop this toxic massacre of the earth, we need to ban single use plastics, we have no planet b.
Throughout this project I have changed my magazine to fit a particular mood and vibe. My magazine changed from a bold cover featuring a male model with blue plastic surgical gloves on, a tunnocks teacake box over his face and a grey hat on with a black background which was meant to look like a toxic mask emphasising on how toxic plastic is but I decided it just wasn't working, so I changed the photo to black and white but again it still wasn't working.
I then decided to have a different photo of a female raising two plastic bottles in the shape of an 'x' in a supermarket with plastic bottles in the background, this image shows that we must stop producing and consuming plastic, but this image wasn't powerful or provocative enough for the front cover.
I then decided to use my photograph of a male model with a plastic bag over his head, showing how plastic is suffocating us all and ruining both human and animal life as well as the world in general, but the image wasn't powerful enough to be front page.
I then changed the photo, which features the same female model as one the previous images, to her behind plastic with sunglasses on and a poker face, because everyone seems so calm and collected but really we should be forcing change otherwise this world is going to be one giant bin and everything will be ruined, I decided again that this photo isn't the front cover, I need to choose a more powerful image to get the message across and set the vibe for edition 4 and for this project.
The image I decided on is of the same female model but this time she is screaming behind plastic, and it comes across as she is screaming but nobody can hear her, which is kind of what is happening, we are screaming about plastic problems but the government won't ban single use plastics or create/change laws on plastic because if they changed the laws the rich would lose out on money and at the end of the day that is all that seems to matter, money seems to be more important than our beautiful earth and all life on it. This photo is so powerful and provocative, I realised that this photo was the 'one' but my couture branding was covering the powerful parts of the image so I tweaked my magazine and I am so happy with the cover, it definitely sets the mood, vibe and tone of edition 4 and this project.
The creation of this magazine hasn't been easy, I changed my mind on everything about it every few days and kept changing it around but I am finally happy with the outcome, in fact I am over the moon. I have put my blood, sweat and tears into this magazine and I feel it just puts across how toxic plastic really is and I didn't fully understand it until I set off on this project, it changed my perspective and mind, hopefully it changes my audiences minds and makes them want to change their consumerism and mind-set but hopefully some decide to do more than that, hopefully some join me and many others on forcing change, we can do this, we can change the world.
MY MAGAZINE:
To display my work I decided that it would be a powerful idea to vinyl cut key words/quotes from my magazine and place them on the wall next to my key images from this project. To do this me and my tutor used a software programme called Cricut, I picked the font style and size and then placed the vinyl into the machine, which cut it accurately and efficiently for us. When the vinyl has been cut I used a weeding pick to remove the pieces of vinyl that I didn't require, which was a time consuming and delicate process but the end result will make my work look very arresting and powerful on the display wall.
Evaluation and Reflection
I am so pleased with the outcome of this final project and I feel it compliments how much I have grown and how my skills have developed over the course of two years.
This project has definitely been the most eye-opening one for me, I didn't realise just how truly toxic plastic is and I didn't fully understand just how much damage we have done and are continuing too do.
I am changing my consuming habits and trying to be more environmentally friendly but there is only so much I can do as a consumer without the help of those in power, they need to change their ways because it really is very hard as a consumer to buy plastic free, of course we can make small changes such as using a reusable bag or cup etc, but a lot of the time plastic items are a lot cheaper to other alternatives, which really is sad because if you aren't as privileged you are forced to buy the cheaper alternatives which have the most plastic.
I just want to thank everybody involved in this project be it physically or spiritually, I have the most incredible people surrounding me which definitely has helped this project and my previous projects, I want to thank my tutors who have supported me over the past two years and have watched and helped me bloom.
I am grateful for everyone and everything, I truly am blessed and I cannot wait for the future xx
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