Another project I was assigned in my photography was shadows. So to kick start this project I looked at different photographers that use light and dark areas in their work effectively. One photographer in particular that I was very fond of was Aaron Siskins. He had a series called Arizona. These were a group of photos of ruins and damaged surfaces. The first thing I noticed was the strong texture he had created by being up very close and personal so the viewer can see lots of detail. all these damaged rough surfaces have transformed into abstract pieces of work and their multi layered textures and tones that form shadows. What I thought worked well about Aarons work was the fact he created the shadows through the content of what he was shooting and that it was natural and not needing anything too technical and complicated. I Then achieved a great shoot using the style and technique Aaron had done. These images below are what I took of dried cracking paint on an old garage.

After this I then wanted to look at a photographer that uses synthetic light and almost creates the light and dark areas himself. I came across Minor White Wall. He was an American photographer know for his meticulous black and white prints of landscapes, architecture and men. The photo I looked at was called Frost Wave taken in 1959. it is a abstract pattern of a bit of frost. He would have used a wide depth of field standing roughly a meter away from the surface with camera flash on and a very fast shutter speed to have this all in focus. He would off taken it at night to get a better effect from the flash. This technique enabled Mr Wall to show off these patterns and textures, and use light and dark areas to make an abstract photo. When I interpreted Mr Walls work I was really pleased with my final outcomes and I was taken aback when I had them as set of them as big prints on the wall at college. This technique was really effective and key to my project by creating light and dark areas to make a ambiguous piece of abstract photography.

For my last bit of inspiration before my final piece for this project, I looked at the photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto, a Japanese photographer and architect. The photo of his I looked at was North Pacific Ocean, Ohkurosaki. It was a gelatin-silver print of a calm ocean reflecting the light and water creating textures and pattern with the shadows they make.