For this project i'm interested in a variety of artists for different reasons - some for aesthetics and the tonal elements of their images, some for where they shoot their images and location work, and some for the concept behind their work or also final formatting. I intend to take inspiration from each one and combine ideas to be able to form my own unique work under my idea of childhood memories.
Elger Esser
I'm interested in the work of Elger Esser for aesthetic purposes, his work has an orange glow to it as well as a very hazy finish. These elements together create very warm and old-feeling images, creating a sense of nostalgia for places you have never been. This effect is what i want to convey in my work. He often shoots landscapes and specifically around water, this gives a balance to the image with the horizon line often cutting through the centre, this is important to take into account in my work as i will be shooting low down and it may throw the balance of the images off a little, so having leading lines and horizon lines being centred is something that i can try to help balance my own images. He also uses the rule of thirds which is a technique i plan to use, again, to add balance and structure to my images. The orange glow is something i want to try capture - whether it be during golden hour, with an orange filter, or in post processing, his images have the mood and tone that i take inspiration from.
"His photographs are images of the present day, real landscapes, yet the world shown in these pictures seems to originate in the past."
-The Eye Of Photography
"Sky and Sand delves into the poetic interplay between history, memory, and topography, inviting viewers into a meditative world that reflects Esser’s deep connection to France, a country he describes as carrying "history in its landscape like no other."
-Flowers Gallery
Todd Hido
Hido's work is one that i'm using as location inspiration. He shoots scenes of suburbia and streets and houses which also evokes a sense of nostalgia as they feel homely and inviting. Like Esser, Hido has an orange glow and a hazy element to his photos which is what i want to capture. He also has slightly unconventional compositions, often not following any particular rules which is interesting to me for this project as i will be going against the typical rules and photographing from a child's height and perspective. I also like the way Hido makes the viewer feel like these places are familiar, each image holds detail but hides any contextualisation allowing the viewer to place these houses anywhere in the world, and in a familiar place.
"Hido casts a distinctly cinematic eye across suburban housing and eerie landscapes, digging deep into his memory for inspiration."
-Aperture
His work revolves around themes of solitude, memory, and the subconscious, with a particular focus on the interplay of light and shadow. His photographs are often described as cinematic, evoking an implicit narrative that allows for the viewer’s interpretation.
-Les Filles Du Calvaire
Uta Barth
Uta Barth is a unique photographer as a lot of her images are out of focus, however, you can still make out what is in each photo which i think is an interesting approach. It directly challenges the power of memory as we can only tell what is in each image because we have seen the content before and can recognise structures and objects. For example, the left image above is a path with a tree on the left and a wall on the right, the sun is shining and it feels familiar. The image on the right is a collection of roads and buildings with traffic lights on red. I think this would be a compelling element to try in my own work as it has direct ties to memory and familiarity.
“The question for me always is how can I make you aware of your own looking, instead of losing your attention to thoughts about what it is that you are looking at."
-Uta Barth
"Barth goes beyond the act of looking by manipulating the visual cues... She draws our attention to the subjective nature of our own passage through time and space, contingent on our perception of it."
-Artillery Magazine
"Barth’s lifelong project seems to be all about the point of fixation: what we choose to focus on, what we don’t, and why."
-Art Forum
Katie Edwards
Katie Edwards is a photographer who took a series of photos from train windows and captured beautiful scenes all within a specific frame. While the images are not exactly cohesive, the framing ties them all together into an interesting series of photos from all around the world. While i plan on staying local and capturing areas i have previously visited, i think the framing in these images creates a sense of timelessness and an illusion that the viewer is getting a small glimpse of a space. In regards to my work, this kind of framing would emphasise the memory narrative that i am aiming for and create the idea that the viewer is getting a glimpse into something, maybe something that has been and gone, or something that only exists in a memory, or they are seeing exactly what my memory looks like despite what the location actually looks like today. Whether i use the exact train window frame or experiment with other ideas like old picture frames or something similar, i think this would be an interesting route to explore.
"The journey itself became a storyline that traversed different geographical and cultural landscapes,"
-Katie Edwards
Liam Frankland
I'm interested in the photographer Liam Frankland for this project as he has a body of work named 'lost and found' where he has captured objects that have been forgotten or discarded or lost on location. This directly ties to the idea of my work as he is exploring what memories locations hold through who has been there and what is left behind. The images above i chose from his work as they work closely to my idea of not just memory but childhood memory, as a child's shoe and dummy have been left either by accident or on purpose in these places. It's proof that someone has been there and most likely remembers the place. I also like the composition of Frankland's images, he experiments a lot with framing and depth of field which allows the viewer to see parts of the location while mainly focusing on the lost item. This work is also very successful at narrative telling as we can guess by each object what kind of person they belonged to which is something i want to convey in my own work.
"The composition of each photograph is one of the most important elements to this project. It is a way of presenting the object in a unique way. To find engaging and unique compositions, I will walk around the object 360 degrees. Taking photographs from all different angles to find a suitable composition."
- Liam Frankland