Pictorialist Phototgraphy

The Construction Process

I created eight filters made of different textures and colours to use as a pallet for my photographs. The following is a description of my filters (from left to right-- starting with the top row): Filter 1 is made from a piece of a fishnet material and texture, backed by a yellow/green piece of film. Filter 2 is a blue piece of film. Filter 3 is a piece of cellophane. Filter 4 is a piece of bubble wrap. Filter 5 is a clear piece of film with lines from a green marker drawn over it. Filter 6 is a piece of the net from an onion bag, backed onto a clear piece of film that is coloured orange  Filter 7 is also a clear piece of film but with brown shading and black lines drawn on it. Filter 8 is a piece of white/semi-clear fabric backed by a light blue/clear piece of film. In addition to the filters, I used a plastic clear mason jar and placed it behind my filters to give the photographs a unique dimension and perspective. All of my photographs were taken on Princes Street in Stirling, Scotland, one of the most historic looking streets in downtown Stirling.

 

My Intention/Source of Inspiration: Frederick H. Evans

I chose to photograph this street due to the historic architecture and models of the buildings, as well as the interesting and intriguing doorways that were all different in size, shape, and colour. My intention was to capture the doorways and windows of different historic homes and office buildings on the street in order to compare the contrasting styles of architecture.

 

The Pictorialist movement was centred around the idea that photographs could be just as creative as other abstract art forms, especially paintings. This movement occurred at a similar time of Impressionism, so therefore Pictorialist photographs can often be compared to paintings from that of the Impressionism period.

 

Photograph done by Frederick H. Evans. This photograph served as inspiration for my assignment by the use of shadows and a focus on the light.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/59/84/81/598481a840475c76c6e7ce7204b2c40c.jpg

 

I selected Frederick H. Evans as my source of inspiration for this assignment. Evans was a well-known British photographer known for his photographs of landscapes and architectures, primarily archways. ("Frederick H. Evans (British, 1853-1943) (Getty Museum). I chose Evans because I am fascinated with the idea of archways, and similar likings such as doorways and windows because there is so much uncertainty that lies beyond these structures. The painting 'Windows in the West', done by artist Avril Paton and exhibited at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum shows how there are many different stories that lie beyond each window in a building. Therefore, when I was walking along Princes Street, I was reminded of both Paton's painting and Evans' photography, and chose to combine the two by photographing windows and doorways that were part of the historic 

homes on this street. My theme for this portfolio was "Look Beyond that is Seen, Every frame tells a different Story".  A doorway is just a doorway. A window is just a window. But with my photographs, I focussed on these two objects and tried to capture it at an angle that asked the question, "What is Beyond that Frame?".

Frederick H. Evans' goal in his photographs was "to utilize the play of light and shadow on static architectural structures" (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). This goal is what distinguished his work from other Pictorialist photographers. In my photographs, I played with the use of light by using two contrasting filters: Filter 1 which was yellow/green film backed by a fishnet material, and Filter 8 which was a white piece of fabric backed by a light blue piece of film. These filters also allowed for darker spaces/shadows on the final photograph, which mimicked Evans' dark areas in his photographs, but that were paired with warm colours to create more of a mysterious dark. I used the mason jar and placed it behind my filter when taking the photo in order to add shadows and a fade effect to my photographs. Evans was a good example of a Pictorialist photographer, and by looking at his photographs I was able to use his ideas when doing my own portfolio.

My portfolio drew inspiration from photographer Frederick H. Evans and from Avril Paton's painting 'Windows of the West', but then I used my own interest in doorways and windows on historic buildings to further expand my photographs. The two contrasting filters I used allowed for my photographs to be faded on the outside and a soft focus when using Filter 1, and dark light and a harder focus when using Filter 8. The mason jar provided an interesting dimension to the photograph that mimicked photographs from the Pictorialist time period.



References

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Frederick H. Evans." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 25 Oct. 2013. Web. 23 June 2017.    

                                              

"Frederick H. Evans (British, 1853 - 1943) (Getty Museum)." The J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 June 2017.                                

Photograph Collection:

 



Figure One 

This photograph was taken using filter eight and the mason jar, but the dim lighting from the cloudy sky resulted in a darker image that focused on the doorway and had dark shadows surrounding the window and side of the house. The dark shadows were drawn from Evan's photographs as a source of inspiration.



 

Figure Two
This photograph is of the same doorway from figure three, but is approached from a different, narrower angle. The narrow angles produce intriguing shadows from the trees and bushes surrounding the house, similar to Evans' work. The contrast in light from the top right hand corner of the photo to the middle of the photo where the doorway is provides a sense of mystery for the viewer of this photo.

Figure Three
This photograph was taken using filter one and the mason jar. Here, I focussed on the upper half of the doorway, the ledge above the doorway and the window, in order to be consistent with my theme "Look Beyond that is Seen. Every Frame tells a Different Story". This is a photograph of the entrance to a home on a quiet street in downtown Stirling. I appreciate the mystery of not knowing what lies beyond the doors. Is the home occupied by an elderly couple? Or rather, a single man who is a struggling author? Or a young family who just moved to Scotland? I do not know, and that is the mystery to it.

Figure Four
This photograph was taken with filter one. The fishnet is visible and although unusual, has placed a higher emphasis on the windows of this building, which was the subject of my focus for this photograph. The yellow/green piece of film is similar to that of the Pictorialist photographers, and the fishnet actually highlights the windows of this building. The left side and bottom half of this photograph has a soft focus. 

Figure Five
This photograph was also taken using filter one. I used Evans theme of playing with the light and shadows on a "static architectural structures". The door and window is highlighted in the photograph, and the tree has a soft shadow to it. The effect of this photograph is warm and inviting, due to the soft colours and the door seeming welcoming.

Figure Six
This photograph was taken using filter one and the mason jar. This photograph employs the fade and dark shadow effect that Evans used in many of his photographs. This is an image of a the building towards the end of Princes Street. This building has two round towers attached to it, and this is a photograph of the left tower. The windows on this building are different than the other ones found on this street. These are more rectangular and placed differently, which made this an interesting sight. The tree in the shadows along with the greener colour on the top of the photo added a sense of uncanny feeling to this photo.

Figure Seven
Filter one and the mason jar were used in the taking of this photo. The mason jar provided the unique and mystical depth to the doorway and right window of this house, and the soft shadow on the left. Evans' photographs that used soft and hard focuses, as well as different forms of light and shadows served as inspiration for the taking of this photo. The doorway is highlighted in this photograph, and can be viewed as either welcoming or almost eerie.

Figure Eight
This is the same image as Figure Seven, but was taken with filter eight and the mason jar. The lighting in this photograph is different than that of figure one, which results in a cooler temperature effect and a more appealing look. The doorway and left window are highlighted in this photo and the steps to this entryway are nearly invisible, as there is a hard shadow on the steps. Using filter one (in figure seven) and filter eight (in this photograph) to capture the same image provides the similar looking setting but the different filters provide a unique feel. This filter is more welcoming where as filter one used in figure seven of this same image is more eerie and mysterious.