Digital Shots
I was able to capture a few more digital shots of my seascapes as I was experimenting a bit more with longer exposures which took a few attempts to work out what I wanted. I parked the van up at Slapton Sands and was woken to an amazing sunrise which set a calming tone to the beginning of the day. It also set a calm tone in the sky which is when I began to shoot some long exposures of the ocean. I wanted to capture the three tones that were in front of me, the beach, sea and sky. After this I then took a walk around the coastline and captured a few more photographs, taking in the beauty that I was blessed with on the day.
Medium Format shots
Unfortunately, my film images did not come out as I would have perhaps liked. I was guessing the exposure times as I did not have a shutter release. I also don’t think that the film picked up the texture and contrast as well as the digital images did. However, I do like the tones that it has captured in the image that does not have any beach in it.
This is one of my favourites from my journey by the sea. It shows the three elements of the beach, the pebbles, the sea and the sky. All in a line and when photographed, one on top of the other. As the image was shot straight out in the middle of the beach, I was able to make sure that non of the headlands around me fell into the composition. Therefore there are no clues about where this photograph was taken and the lack of depth of field in the image leaves a slightly surreal image of the ocean. When I edited this image I did change the tone of the sky in Photoshop. I did this to give the image three distinct textures which divide the image up to three focus points and connections with the viewer. The sea taking up the largest proportion of the frame which for me is where the silence is found.
The sea is a powerful and ever-changing element of our natural world, it is calming but can be destroying. When I think about the world and the state that it is in, I think about the things we can and cannot control. The superficial is something that we can choose to participate in, we can choose how it controls us. However, the sea is not like that. It is not controllable, you have to treat it with the utmost respect and never underestimate its power, because if you do then you will be the one losing. I think about this quite often when I am looking out to the ocean, It brings me peace knowing that there are truths and elements way stronger than mankind in the world that we live in. It is a feeling that brings me closer to the world, a moment of silence, happiness and contentment.
This image will be in my final selection. It is an introduction to my connection with the sea and the relationship it has with the natural world. I think that the calming of the neutral tones and soft textures in the water will allow the viewer to connect with the silence that I find when I am sat looking out to the vastity of the ocean.
Journey and Development of my Seascapes
First Seascapes of the project
Second shoot of Seascapes
The Beginning of Black and White Edits
Inspiration From Surgimoto
5x4 Camera Test
Shooting Medium Format film
Some Final Book Images
Throughout this project, my seascape photographs have developed in a number of ways. When I decided that I was going to shoot the project in black and white and especially after gathering inspiration from Sugimoto. My aim has been to develop my photographs to make the viewer feel like they can be in silence with the sea. Feel connected and feel as if they can be content with the natural world. A feeling that I gather every time I put the viewfinder up to my eye and release the shutter button. How I have got here is by simplifying my photographs, taking out the headlands and overcrowded sky’s and allow simple toned images to be formed. This technique that I have developed allows the viewer to focus on the power of the ocean and the ease to find silence in the seascapes that I have made.