2. INTRODUCTION
When studying my AS course in photography last year, and reflecting on my favourite projects
throughout that process, I realised that I loved taking photos of landscapes (and fine detail within
those landscapes). The photographs I produced when focusing on those elements were the ones
that I felt were the most interesting images and the photographs that I had the most fun whilst
experimenting, editing and analysing. With those ideas and themes in mind, I started brainstorming
themes that I could relate to the type of photography I enjoyed for my Personal Investigation. Some
of the ideas I came up with included ‘Out of the Blue’ where I would focus on the blue elements of
landscapes. Another idea was ‘rural’, focusing on the rustic, traditional areas around Jersey. Finally,
after many other ideas, I came up with ‘Secret Places/Secret Spaces’. My plan throughout the
course was to develop this idea of secrecy and take photographs of hidden areas and the objects
and places no-one notices. I also wanted to highlight secret details that are obvious and mundane
to everyone, but especially the smaller details that made them mysterious; transforming the
obvious to something quite secretive. The photographers I have decided to primarily focus on for
this investigation, I believe, all contain an element of secrecy within the frames of what they’re
photographing and they portray my chosen theme effectively. The first of the photographers I’ve
researched is Walker Evans. I found Evans’ work when researching on the MoMA website where I
was drawn to many of his various collections. I focused on those that are close ups of barriers and
empty urban landscapes as I felt that barriers related to something secret and mysterious and so
did empty urban areas as they’re normally bustling with people. My second photographer is Rut
Blees Luxemberg. I chose Luxemberg for the use of her lighting, as I was inspired by the way she
photographed various areas in dark locations. Both photographers have massively inspired me for
my Personal Investigation and I feel that each photographer, in their own way, relates to my chosen
theme of ‘Secret Places/Secret Spaces’.
3. WALKER EVANS
Walker Evans, best known for his work documenting the Great Depression,
was an American photographer. “Literate, authoritative, transcendent” was
the goal for Evans’ photography and what he wanted his pictures to
represent. He took up photography during the year 1928 around the time that
he was living in New York and his most heavily influential photographers
included Eugène Atget and August Sander. His most well known work of the
Great Depression was photographed using a large format, 8x10-inch camera.
After becoming an editor for Fortune magazine in 1965 he became a
professor of photography at Yale University School of Art for graphic design.
Between the years 1973 and 1974 he did another large series of photographs
using a Polaroid SX-70 camera. As he became older and suffered poorer
health he had to stop using the more complicated equipment when
photographing. The majority of his work is exhibited permanently in The
Metropolitan Museum, New York.
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4. The first photograph I came across
when researching Walker Evans was
this photograph of the Brooklyn
Bridge. What really attracted me to
this photograph were all the
overlapping lines creating no sense
of a visible direction. There are so
many lines within this photograph,
all crossing over each other that the
photograph can take you in any
direction that you want it to. The
metal railings of the bridge create a
strong contrast to the road, making
them really stand out; the fact that
they create defined X’s within the
photograph implies this sense of
privacy and almost barricade to the
road. The metal structure in the
bottom right hand corner is a very
similar shade to the road, making
the metal railings stand out even
more. These are parts of a bridge
people rarely get to see making it
appear even more secretive.
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5. This is another photograph of Walker
Evans’ that I particularly like. It was
taken in 1928. I love the shadows within
this image; they’re very prominent
within the photograph creating a really
effective contrast with the white wall
and the negative spacing of the floor
between the shadow. This contrast is
illuminated even more through the use
of the gate and the negative space
behind the railings as well as the unlit
left side corner. The photograph
appears to follow the rule of thirds,
making the gate the main focus of the
image. What I liked most about this
photograph was the sense of privacy
created within the image; you have the
gate almost hiding something and you
want to know what this is, exaggerated
by the fact that you can’t see what is
behind it. The shadow creates another
sense of privacy as the shadow appears
almost as another gate and this
overlaps onto the main gate.
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6. Evans also took this photograph in
1928. I love how the natural light
coming from behind Evans has
created this bright light upon the gate
causing it to become the focus, not
only because of the rule of thirds but
also because it is illuminated more
than other aspects of the image.
Again we gain this sense of secrecy
within the image as the gate is the
prominent aspect of the image and it’s
stopping anyone from going in. The
negative spacing again, behind the
gate, creates this feeling of mystery. I
like how the photograph has a lot of
building structure involved within the
image making it even more obvious
that the gate is supposed to be the
main aspect; this is also made clearer
due to the fact that the majority of
the buildings are covered by a
shadow. The image of the building
appears two dimensional due to the
way the light falls on it, changing our
perception of the image as we know
that, in reality, it is three dimensional.
7. When taking photographs for this Personal Investigation I went to an urbanised area within town.
There were lots of railings, which I photographed in various ways with direct influence from Evans.
This was one of my favourite photographs and the first
photograph of Evans’ used in this essay directly
influenced it. I love how there are many lines within
this photograph, however, differently to Evans, they’re
all going in the same direction. This doesn’t take away
from the crowdedness that I liked so much about Evans
own photograph as the lines are made up of various
elements. The original lines are the gates, these are
then reflected very vividly within the puddles and also
create the wide shadows which appear almost like sun
rays across the floor. The fact that the main subject of
this photograph is the gate creates a secret place, as it
was barricading off an area that the general public
don’t have access to and I wanted to create this sense
of ‘no entry’ illuminated more than once within my
photograph, which I feel I have done. I decided to make
the photograph monochrome like Evans as I felt that
the contrast made the different elements of the
photograph stronger and more defined. The glare from
the direct sun within the photograph really add to the
textures of the ground, which on their own have faded
lines, as well as creating stronger definition of the
shadows. I only decided to photograph the bottom of
the gate as I didn’t want the distractions of what was
behind the gate to interfere with the direction of the
lines as they spread towards you and make the
barricaded, secret effect more prominent.
8. This image of mine was taken in a
German WW2 bunker and, again,
I was heavily inspired by Walker’s
first photograph (taken in 1928)
within this essay. The source of
light is coming from behind me,
creating this line of light directing
you to the gate. I like the shadows
created from the lack of light. The
light creates another shadow of
the gate on the flooring behind
the gate itself, this emphasises
the prominence of the gate. The
rope that is also illuminated by
the light source adds more
texture to the image than the
grainy texture of the floor. I was
highly influenced by Evans’ image
of the gate as I liked the use of
shadows within his image and
wanted to replicate the same
sense of secrecy within mine.
The tunnel of light focuses your
attention on the main aspect of
the image and I did this by making
sure that the lighting was hitting
i t d i r e c t l y. I e d i t e d t h e
photograph to have a sepia tone
to make it appear more ‘vintage’
and to emphasise the effect of
the lighting.
After the island was bombed on
28th June 1940, Jersey was
occupied by the Germans. They
started to build bunkers around
the island as protection from the
Allies. These bunkers also
became part of Hitler’s ‘Atlantic
Wall’ which, was a line of defence
works that ran from Norway to
the Spanish frontier. Hitler
ordered that these bunkers were
built to be “impregnable
fortresses” and the Channel
Islands were the only part of the
British Isles to be occupied. The
bunkers are underground and the
lighting is very dim making them
even harder to photograph. These
bunkers aren’t open to the public
often and I felt that this added to
their sense of secrecy.
9. This image I took in the ancient Greek city, Ephesus, in Turkey. I was really inspired by
Evans’ third image within this essay. I especially like the deep shadow cast over the
majority of the gate, which is the opposite to Evans’ photograph. The shadow causes you
look at the gate more than the rest of the image because it contrasts so much with the
marble surrounding it. I think the little bit of light highlighting the bottom of the image
works really well in initially drawing your attention to the photograph. Similarly to Evans’
image there is the darker shadow in the left corner, in his photograph he had lighter sides
of the image. This helps to draw your attention even more to the gate as you match the
shadows together. I used a wider depth of field and the rule of thirds to make the main
focus on the gate increasingly obvious. I think this really helps to display the sense of
secret places/secret spaces, as this was a part of Ephesus that was seldom noticed;
everyone was more interested in the large structures around them than the details below
them.
10. RUT BLEES LUXEMBERG
Rut Blees Luxemberg is a female photographer who studied
photography at London College of Printing and had further formal
education at the University of Westminster. She is a German
photographer and her technique is to take photographs at night, mostly
throughout urban landscapes and this is what she’s best known for. She
uses long exposures, which create an eerie glow to her photographs as
well as to allow her to solely use the light from the streets for example,
streetlights or office buildings. She picks obscured areas of a city,
which are deliberately avoided after dark. She created a series of
photographs of the London underground in 2007 and the majority of
her photographs and prints focus around the night and darkness.
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11. These two photographs by Luxemberg are part of her London Underground series. I love the
colours within these photographs especially as the only light that is used is the ambient lighting
that is provided in those areas at night. These photographs are both similar in the use of light and
the tones that are created from this; yellow, orange and brown tones are really prominent within
this image. They both also have a sense of direction. In the first photograph you can see what
looks like footprints or some sort of marking on the steps, which leads your direction down the
steps towards this bright glow. Also, the reflections of light on the side of the wall lead our eyes
down. I like the use of wide depth of field as it causes us to focus on the larger step and the deep
glow. The colours are very similar within the other image. What I like most is the sense of
direction due to the railing; the railing guides your gaze down through the image. I also like the
colour fade from light on the left becoming darker in the bottom right. The writing on the wall is
intriguing as it stands out due to the contrast the lighting creates. The textures of the whole
image almost make it appear like a painting rather than a photograph.
12. Similar in tones, Luxemberg photographed these railings. I love the effect
behind the image; it almost looks like smoke creating this eerie effect. The
definition of the railing creates nice detailing on the image making it stand out
and creating a contrast compared to the background. The shadows created by
the use of light also emphasise this sense of depth. I really feel there is a
element of secrecy portrayed in both these photographs.
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13. Again, both these images are similar in tone; they both include a more intense green
tone rather than yellows and oranges. They also involve a sense of illumination
within the image as in the first one the focus is on the light causing the rest of the
image to darken. It’s interesting how she has photographed the source of light as the
main aspect of the image instead of using it as lighting. This can be seen in the other
image as the light is used to create the shadows. I love the use of the shadows as it
reinforces this sense of security and secrecy. They create a depth of field making the
image appear more three-dimensional. The green tones make it appear more eerie
and dark as it darkens the image instead of illuminating the light tones, which is
noticeable in the other photographs. The strong lines created by the shadow create
different shapes in the image making the image more interesting.
14. All the Luxemberg-influenced images I photographed in a German bunker as the lighting conditions
were perfect for me to photograph my own interpretations of her work. They also provided this
sense of emptiness and are definitely a secret space, as they’re not usually open to the public.
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This image was taken from inside
the bunker looking out at the
entrance. I love the effect of the
natural light source creating this
intense glow at the top of the stairs.
This glow really emphasises how
dark and low down in the ground
that the bunker was. I increased the
saturation and contrast to create
yellow tones similar to that of
Luxemberg. You can see the water
glowing off the steps due to the
lighting hitting the steps from
above. This image was taken further
into the bunker.
15. !
I tried to re-create the sense of
direction similarly to Luxemberg’s
second photograph, mentioned above,
so I took the image on a lower angle so
that the pipe work was included in the
image as it focuses your direction down
the image to the back of the
photograph. I also included some of the
writing that was on the wall as I felt
that it reinforced that mysterious sense
of what it could say or what it could be.
The reflection of the lights on the damp
patches of the floor, I think, help
provided a sense of texture, as the
general composition isn’t as textured as
Luxemberg’s image. The curve of the
bend displays a depth of field as well as
the dark square shadow surrounding
the tunnel. The light at the end of the
tunnel leads you to the end making you
becoming really enticed by the image
and makes you wonder what is around
the corner creating that effect of
secrecy.
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16. !
Within both these images, I tried to create similar green tones in the photographs. I edited
them by increasing the green tones and fading the colours to make the general photograph
appear darker and more secret. What I love about the first image is the creepiness that I’ve
managed to create with the inability to identify various aspects such as what the air vent is,
and what is behind it, and what has caused the drips of red upon the walls. I think the light
creates a really omniscient effect over the event and highlights all the different textures
created from the rust. The use of lighting overemphasising the dripping effect (of what would
first be thought to be blood) creates a really eerie image. I increased the green tones to give
the whole photograph a colder feel.
17. For this image in particular I created the
main source of green light by using an
iPhone torch. I wanted to create something
similar to Luxemberg’s photograph but
instead of having shadows of lines across the
whole image I emphasised the lines on the
ceiling. I think it creates this eerie effect due
to the prominent green tones and the general
lack of lighting. The light on the ceiling is
similar to the lights in Luxemberg’s photo
and adds yellow tones creating a deeper
sense of depth within my image. The only
thing I don’t like as much is that the light on
the ceiling is reflecting the wall behind make
it illuminate more and taking away from the
dark effect that I was trying to create. Yet, I
still think it relates to my theme as you’re
unsure what is the cause of the light and why
is it so prominent within the photo.
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18. !
The last of my own photographs that
were inspired by Luxemberg is this one
of the steps. I love the effect of the
shadows on the stairs creating more
depth to the image and illuminating a
sense of direction up the stairs. I like
how the stairs lead to a gate that is
blocked off. I also really like how the
bottom of the photograph is darker
than the rest of the image making the
upper half of the image more of the
focal point. The lines on the ceiling
contrast with the direction of the steps
creating another line of direction. I
increased the saturation and the yellow
tones within this image, as well as the
contrast, to reinforce the fact that
lighting is purely provided by the
available lighting around me. However, I
also faded the colours slightly so that
the increase in saturation wasn’t too
overpowering and all the details were
still completely visible.
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19. CONCLUSION
Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed this investigation into Secret Places/
Secret Spaces. It has made me focus on large landscapes and locations and
then made me focus on the finer detail within those areas, making me more
aware of my surroundings. I think my photography has developed over this
investigation and I have discovered an element of photography I am
passionate about. I have also experimented largely with lighting and creating
abstract and more detailed, complex photographs that, last year, I felt too
nervous to explore and experiment with. Focusing so strongly on
photographers has helped me to craft my own images after being inspired by
their images and it has been really interesting trying to replicate a sense of
their photography in my own work in an original and individual way.
