Tierney Gearon is predominantly a fashion photographer however her book ‘The Mother Project’ is one of my favourite photographic series. The book features a series of photographs documenting her mothers battle with Alzheimer’s. The raw and even controversial images, show the relationship between herself and her un-well mother. Gearson’s mother is photographed in different environments doing odd and immature things. Her Alzheimer’s has stripped Gearon’s mother of all maturity and turned her back into behaving like a child. My favourite image in this collection is Gearon’s mother, with a mask standing in a corn field scaring her son. This image is so important, it sums up her mothers condition. She has become a stranger and even a monster in the eyes of her family, she is simply unrecognisable. The scary mask is a metaphor for what the mother has become inside and out. I want to use Gearon’s work as inspiration for my own work in this environment unit, perhaps by photographing weird objects or people in mundane environments.  

Ansel Adams artists research  

Ansel Adams is a photographer well known for his dramatic landscapes and harsh contrasts. Adams works mainly with large format cameras to create grade prints. Adams changed the outlook people had on landscape photography. He transformed sublime landscapes into objects of fear. Just by looking at Adams photographs changes the audiences point of view. The use of black and white in his images is really effective this is because, it creates a harsh contrast between the element in the image. Adams first came to fame after his photographs of the Yosemite National Parkin west America. This location was perfect for the style of photography Adams wanted to capture. The park is filled with dramatic mountain ranges, rolling hills and harsh drops ideal for the type of work Adams creates. Ansel Adams is relevant to my environment unit because, his style of working includes vase areas of environment. He brings his surrounding to life with his landscapes and is an iconic figure in the history of photography. To respond to this piece of research on Ansel Adams I am going to photograph landscapes in the style of his work. To do this I am going to go out and photograph unknown landscapes and try and create similar dramatic images in the style of the iconic Ansel Adams.

Artist Research    Sally Mann
Sally Mann is an incredibly well know photographer. Her most famous works are of her close family and friends. Mann’s work often creates controversy because of the nudity and vulnerability of her own children in her photographs. Mann believes in photographing what is close to you, she does not travel all over the world to create her images, she often goes no further than her back garden. I like this element of Mann’s work because it creates a more personal touch to her images, giving the audience an insight into Mann’s personal life and the emotion behind her images. I have chosen Sally Mann as one of my inspirations for this environment unit because, I love how she uses what’s close to her to make beautiful images. Using what’s familiar to create an environment can be beneficial when creating a picture. Mann’s photographs are taken on very old film cameras with very long exposure times, Mann will not take multiple image on her cameras, so its very important that she is completely happy with the shot before she starts taking the picture. I am going to attempt to recreate the depth and tone Sally Mann creates with her photographs. I am going to complete a test shoot close to my home and see what the results are compared with a photographic location I am unfamiliar with.

This is a quick mind map I produced including some of my initial thoughts on the project.