Emphasising the Power within Power Stations

Inspired by the fascinating works of art Rodchenko had captured, I wanted to recreate a composition of similar elements. When photographing this structure I was thinking about the impact it has on modern life, as communication would not be able to take place without it. I feel danger and power due to its mass complexity and can now understand why Rodchenko captured such an intricate structure. The time of day that the power station was captured has an impact on the visual result, the sky complements the structure. Furthermore, the natural light is going and so therefore we are dependent on the structure giving us our light.

Choosing a power station with numerous lines and shapes made it easy from a visual point of view. The structure looks webbed like and the multiple lines create a trapped feeling for the viewer. During the editing process I enhanced the contrast dramatically to create pure black lines. This also made the title of the image, the powerfulness of the image represents the focus; the power station. Adding a vignette also helped to frame the composition, subtly darkening the edges. Even though Rodchenko chose a more interesting perspective than I did, I chose this for a reason. I intended to make my composition more simplistic although I did think about the framing of the image when capturing the structure.

Power Plants - Inspired by Michael Kenna

After having discovered these fascinating power plants on a visit to Nottingham, determined to capture these fascinating plants, I re-visited them with my camera in order to create some aesthetically pleasing compositions. I was amazed at how these man made structures were still about after 30 years. From all I had learnt from Michael Kenna, I wanted to have my own take on these structures, so I chose to focus on the individual plant, looking close up, rather than capture them as a group. I used a 60mm lens and an aperture of F9 to isolate the foreground from the background, making the foreground sharper. Choosing to focus on the front facing power plant, I chose a frame so that the background structures would provide a repetition pattern. The plants in the background get smaller until infinity.

Choosing to burn in the top of the power plant provides a contrast of tones, the harshness of the smoke also does this but furthermore, it highlights the damage these plants are doing to the environment. This would something I aimed to show. Curves are an immediate element that stands out within this composition. 

To provide an obvious contrast, I chose to invert the same image. Immediately there are obvious differences between the two photographs, the dark areas suddenly become light and the image can be seen through a completely different light.