Critical & contextual perspectives.

                                    A review of the Jonathan Beer exhibition in the campus gallery. As part of the Photography degree industry day we were given a talk from Jonathan Beer, he also set up an exhibit in the gallery. A local photographer, Jonathan specialises in commercial photography and has keen eye for detail and sharp images which allows him to print at large sizes without a loss in quality. After talking with Jonathan I was surprised that he uses very little Photoshop and chooses to take great care in camera to ensure each element of the image is right. This shows in the exhibition he has produced. In the gallery all of the walls are painted white which helps focus the attention of the viewer to each intricate detail on display. Even the way the photos are hung (with small black clips) leave the viewer with nothing to distract from the awe ...

In this report I am going to talk about the work of contemporary photographer Alyn Wallace. I have chosen him specifically because I feel that he has taken a less conventional path to a successful and rewarding career. I personally, came on to this degree as a semi-professional freelance photographer. Because of this I have been drawn towards researching photographers that are not only cutting edge in their style of photography but also cutting edge with how they operate with the professional industry. Alyn is an award-winning Landscape and Astro photographer from South Wales. His images are not only thought provoking and inspirational but have also gained him recognition all around the world including 3 consecutive years of being shortlisted for the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the year award. From a theoretical stand point his work is focussed on the sublime, something that has been associated with landscape photography since day one of the genre. He captures awe-inspiring beaut...

Above is an example of the work of Edward Burtynsky, his work demands attention due to the sheer scale of the the scenes he photographs. As opposed to other environmental photographers such as Chris Packham, Burtynsky's image does not scream conservation in a commercial way. The image does not point blame at the viewer nor does it try to chastise us. Instead you could say it follows a formula that has been mimicked by car advertisements over the last couple of decades. In modern society, being as blatant as to say to the viewer "this is bad and it's your fault" will simply make the viewer turn away in anger so Ed Burtynsky has found a way to make things appear beautiful. Ed's images play on the beauty of the image firstly, which draw the viewer in and allow us to make judgements of our own accord. This beauty within the image draws a parallel with what is traditionally known as the sublime within the subject of landscape photography. Burtynsky's images a...