Social Commentary - The Urban Environment
My first image is from Abbotsford, shot this past May just before my move to Ottawa. I chose this image for setting context: it is an example of the boundary between the built environment and the natural world. In this case, we see a portion of Discovery Trail, about 60km long, as a built boardwalk through the wild spaces both inside and outside the city. Here we see a Cedar tree, probably about 100 years old (they can live more than 400 years), pushed aside for the convenience of those wanting to see nature without too much difficulty.
So, what is this all about?
Social Commentary: The urban environment using angles, textures and tones
I like to work in an urban environment or at the boundaries where the natural world meets the designed world. It’s possible at this boundary to catch images that reflect the encroachment of urban development into formerly wild areas. I want to document this encroachment and the effects it has on people and places. I also like to work with contrasts: the pictures that reveal the contrasts and tensions between the world of commerce and the lived reality of most people, especially the poor and the homeless. In a city like Ottawa, there is also the contrast between the historical parts of the city that reflect an older, simpler time and the newer parts: granite, brick and stone versus chrome, steel and unfinished concrete.
In terms of compositional elements, I like to work with lines, especially diagonal lines that suggest form and texture and I like black & white a lot for the way it can reveal form and texture using contrasts and grey tones. Again, these compositional elements can be used to enhance the contrasts in the subject matter. Angular lines and forms set at unfamiliar angles can produce a jarring quality that enhance the mood of dislocation that accompany the contrast between the world of commerce and the world of the urban poor. And the proper use of textures and grey tones can be used to enhance the gritty quality of life on the street.
Ultimately my goal is to present my subjects in ways that will have viewers see them in ways they haven’t seen them before.
For my initial destination, I chose New Edinburgh because it is, in Ottawa, an example of the kind of gentrification that juxtaposes the old with the new. This is of an old single story apartment block that lies directly across the street from a modern commercial building. Not having any way to get both into the frame, I focused on the back of the building for the angular lines running every which way and the textures of the various objects in the frame, some natural, some not. I decided to shoot in black & white to enhance the lines and textures.
All images in the grid are from New Edinburgh. A cemetery gate that I chose for the textures, the physical textures of the gate itself and the tonal textures revealed especially in the concrete and the chipped paint of the wrought iron. The stone cherub is irresistible for its incongruity – "Like, wtf is that doing there?" – and again offering some nice textures and contrasting colour tones.The last image from New Edinburgh is of one the many elegant and huge brick homes that remain in New Edinburgh. I chose this angle to accentuate the lines and to place the stark leafless tree against the moody sky for a kind of “Wuthering Heights” effect.
For my next destination, I chose Elgin Street and up the canal to the Chateau Laurier.
This first image is of a decrepit alley behind an old apartment tenement on Elgin. What struck me was the poster visible at the back announcing a conference on “nature.” I deliberately framed it surrounded by the decrepitude of the alley in a way tries to have the lines meet at the poster. I chose black & white again to minimize distractions.
An elegant stone church. The textures of the vines against the stone masonry really struck and I overexposed a full stop to make the textural details evident. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this had the effect of making the sky tonally flat and completely lacking in detail to make the closely framed partial image appear even more stark.
Next: I couldn’t believe my good fortune to discover this perfect juxtaposition of new and old. I positioned myself as best as I could (without standing in Elgin Street) to put the new building looming direct centre between the spires of the older building.
Last is an art installation in bright aluminum and sharp angles with the tower looming in the background.
These images are all shot along the canal and stairway as I worked with the lighting, angles and grey tones while exploring ways of positioning the surrounding architecture into the background.
What I learned:
Composition is as much about moving your feet as it is about which lens to use. Also, it's important to conceptualize what you want to do before you head out. I found this to be the toughest part. I had an idea of what I wanted to do but it became clearer as I took pictures and actively moved around the environment. Which leads me to my last lesson for this project: get out and take pictures. For this project I was out two days in a row and really had fun - I lost track of time and found myself in the moment.
