This week, I’ve decided to share some of my earlier attempts at urban landscape with the added change of these being examples shot on film rather than digitally. All four of these photos (including the featured image ab0ve) were taken for projects this past semester, with the first two being from an assignment that was generally free with the exception of the requirement that a figure be present in frame. In shooting that project, my initial intention was to attempt shooting street photography like examples that I had seen in my photo history classes. However, the product I ended up coming up with was more true to urban landscape as the figures weren’t the subject as much as the urban forms around them were.
Taking to the streets of Scranton, PA, the main intention I had had in mind was merely emphasizing the interaction of people with their immediate surroundings, attempting to use the line from man-made structures as a means to accent the figures. Although I failed to achieve my initial goal in a certain sense, I did manage to uncover a new style that I had never explored and found that it was surprisingly engaging.
In the case of the third photo, we were given the option to pursue any subject freely. These projects happened to occur successively and I saw a great opportunity to further explore my new favorite style of shooting. Once I had decided that I was focusing on urban landscape more truly, I found that my approach, and ultimately my product, had changed quite a bit. Rather than emphasizing a human presence in the environment, this time around I had focused more so on the varying contrasting textures that make up any urban environment, and the lower showcased photo (in addition to the featured image), stand as my prouder works from that series.