The Hedgerow

Jessica AngusThe Hedgerow

The Hedgerow

Hedges are complex ecosystems, They are essential habitats for a wide range of flora and fauna. They form ‘wildlife corridors’ along which many species can move freely across the landscape. They provide shelter , windbreaks, cover for game and help control soil erosion.

In England, it is estimated that there is over 800,000km of hedgerow today however this number is decreasing by 18,000km per year. The remnants of ancient hedgerows can be seen today as individual trees in the landscape.

The destruction of the hedgerows is having a detrimental effect on the biodiversity of the UK: this is particularly apparent in areas with significant and extensive commercial arable crop production , such as North East Hertfordshire.

This collection of images, taken at the end of 2010, seeks to illustrate the abundance of life that exists in the winter hedgerow as well as to evoke the feeling of ‘place’ and to demonstrate the effects of hedgerow removal.

The site: an ancient hedgerow remnant outside Wallington in Hertfordshire, has only been retained as it forms part of the boundary to the parish church lands.

The final image is representative of much of the surrounding countryside. Hedgerows should be celebrated for the value they give to our wildlife as well as for the beauty they contain.

The Hedgerow

The corridor

Intent: to provide food and a safe corridor for animals to travel across the countryside.

SP: 1/20

Aperture: 5.6

ISO: 800

Lens: 77-300mm

Format: landscape

Composition: thirds

Taken in colour converted to black and white

Strength: fast film in low light gives a grainy image which makes the mist all the more atmospheric. The eye is led to the bend in the roadway .

Weakness: it is a shame that despite a long wait, no animal subject offered itself in the foreground, as the image would benefit from a foreground subject

Shelter

Intent: to provide shelter for all living organisms.

Sp:1/10

Apatuer:19

Iso:400

Lens: 28mm

Format: landscape

Composed of thirds


Strength: texture in the foreground the path way draws the view to the fog in the background creating an atmospheric image.

Weakness: the fog inhibits the sharpness of objects in the image.

Spider web

Intent: Water droplets and the spider web cling on to the stem , are delicate and fragile.

SP: 1/500

Aperture: 5.6

ISO: 400

Lens: 75-300mm

Format: landscape

Composition: thirds

Taken in colour converted to Black and white

Strength : crisp focus on the water droplets which are the feature of this photograph.

Weakness: the large droplet central in the image is not so sharp.

Bark

Intent: a unique habitat created in the damaged bark of a horse chestnut for insects.

SP: 1/125

Aperture: 8.0

ISO: 200

Lens: 28-80mm

Format: portrait

Composition: abstract


Strength: the detail of the tree’s abstracted bark is seen in a full range of tones.

Weakness: more focus could add a clearer composition.

Robin

Intent: robin seeking protection from the harsh winter.

SP: 1/180

Aperture: 9.5

ISO:800

Lens:75-300mm

Format: landscape

Composition: grid of thirds, capturing the eye as the focal point.


Strength: the character of the robin is capture in the slightly cocked head and the highlight in the eye.

Weakness: the composition could be improved if there where not a branch obstruction the subject.

Berries

Intent: Berries provide food that contain seed for the coming spring.

SP:1/125

Apatuer:8.0

ISO:400

Lens: 28-75

Format: portrait

Composition; repetition of the berries creates unity in the image


Strength : the berries cascade down the page creating the impression that it is heavily laden with fruit.

Weakness: the branch that crosses the image horizontally disrupts the rhythm of the image creating an odd composition.

Ivy

Intent: seed heads are robust structures in the hedgerow representing new life.

Sp:1/180

Aperture:9.5

Iso:400

Lens:28-75mm

Format: square

Composition: triangle


Strength: the repetition of the seed heads arranged in a triangle around the centre, each becoming more blurred because of the depth of field.

Weakness: the contras of the centre seed head is not strong enough in comparison to those in the background

Velvet Shank

Intent: mushrooms feeding of the dead wood recycling nurturance.

SP:1/19

Aperture:8.0

ISO:800

Lens:75-300mm

Format: landscape

Composition: horizontal thirds.


Strength: the textures captured, smooth and waxy textures of the ‘Velvet Shank’ mushroom is contrasted against rough texture of the bark.

Weakness: the tonal contrast.

Teasel

Intent: the skeletons of the plants seen in winter.

SP:1/500

Apatuer:6.7

ISO:800

Lens: 75-300mm

Format: portrait

Composition: centred image


Strength: a whole range of tones is captured giving good detail of the teasel head, against a simple background.

Weakness: more shadows and less highlighted tones could add drama to the image.

Modern Farming Methods

Intent: to show what has come of our ancient hedgerows patchy trees left across the field providing little biodiversity or shelter form the elements.

SP:1/45

Apatuer:8

ISO:400

Lens: 28mm

Format: landscape

Composition: thirds


Strength: The large foreground in this picture creates a sense of depth, the texture of the ploughed field contrast with that of the sky, I feel that this image successfully demonstrates the effect of removing ancient hedgerows

Weakness: experimenting with a wide angle lens could add context to this image.

InfluencesKarl BlossfeldtHas influenced me to photograph abstracted structures of plants.

The Salsify Canopy By Ana Retamero – this photograph has inspired my love of macro work .

Scientific illustrations- John James Audubon- These paintings show ever feature of the birds in detail and have inspired me to one day have created my own photography catalogue of the

natural world.

David Attenboroughhas been one of the biggest influences on my life. The “life” series first opened my eye to the possibilities of becoming a natural history photographer in the “making of” features at the ends of episodes. The time-lapse sequences of corals spawning and the wood through the seasons have had a huge impact on my photography.

Starling Wave By Danny Green-The long exposure used to capturer the moving display of a flock of starlings the natural phenomenon.Has caused me to experiment with photographic techniques.

Lost land of the volcano influenced my decision to apply for this course with the aspiration to one day be a part of an expedition.

Example Of An A Level Essay How do photographers express transience

through their work?

The theme of transience can be expressed through various techniques in photography; the manipulation of light through long and short exposures , the use of mirrors and prisms to bend light; light itself is transient, a constantly changing factor in photography. Transience can also be demonstrated through the intended interruption of the image, what is the photographer intending to tell the audience? A picture can cause you to think about the transience of the subject. Film can be distorted in the darkroom by exposing two negatives or using a technique of photogram, bending the light/paper. Alternatively there are tools and techniques on Photoshop that can be used to convey transience. The photographers I have chosen to study in this project are Duane Michal's, Andre Kertez, Edward Steichen and Andy Goldsworthy. Duane Michals uses juxtaposed subjects and storyboard images to convey his ideas, André Kertez uses distortion techniques to add a new dimensions to what otherwise would be average photographs and Edward Steichen uses pattern and repetition to depict transience.

Duane Michals was born in 1932 in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. His interest in art began at the age of 14, when he began taking Saturday afternoon watercolour classes. He was strongly influenced by Surrealist artists like Magritte, de Chirico and Balthus, especially in his later work. During 1958, on a visit to Russia he experienced photography for the first time; he used a camera that he had borrowed to take portraits of various people he met on his travels. It was these photographs that were in his first public exhibition. He experimented with mixed media in his photography; he would sometimes write and paint on his photographs. He also used double exposures to explore the themes of death, spirituality and ghosts, and he created storyboard collections of images.

I feel Duane Michals has expressed transience in his work by creating multiple-image sequences of photographs to express themes of life and fantasy, for example in this image. He has used a double exposure, either in the camera or darkroom, to create ghost/spirit figures. The photograph shows a man lying on a bed in a white room with a large window. Above the body there is a transparent projection of the man sitting up. This demonstrates Michals’ view that this physical life is only a temporary state until you pass on to the next stage in life. This image shows a young boy silhouetted against a bedroom window watching an elderly man asleep. The intimate setting may suggest that the elderly man is the grandfather of the of child or alternatively, that it is Duane Michals himself mourning over the death of his father; the child is symbolic of how the sorrow he feels is a childlike pain.

As the story develops you see the elderly man awaken and sit up with fairy wings on his back. The child moves closer, the man stands by the window, raises his hand, as if to say good bye and turns to jump out the window, and the child goes to the window to see where the old man has gone. This photograph demonstrates various meanings, firstly that life is only temporary and it is showing the old man passing on. Alternatively it is showing that the mind is only temporary; there is something quite unhinged and flippant about this image, and it could be preventative of a mental illness. If it is about death, the brightness and high contrast of this image, the characters and the fairy wings add an optimistic and playful take.

Education

The Hedgerow