A Changing Landscape Sam Buchanan MA SustainablePhotographyPHO730Strategies
A Changing Landscape
“Ifwehaveabused[thelandscape],brokenitshealthanderecteduponitmemorialsofourignorance,itisstillourplaceandbeforewecanproceedwemustlearntoloveit.”JohnSzarkowskiForewordto‘TheNewWest:LandscapesalongtheColoradoFrontRange’byRobertAdams(JohnSzarkowski,citedinGreenough2021:40)
see“[W]ehavetoseethefactswithoutblinking...wealsoneedtothewholegeography,naturalandman-made,toexperienceapeace…”RobertAdams1974(YaleUniversityArtGalleryundated)
For over a century, the small village of Barrington in South Cambridgeshire has had its landscape and fortunes shaped by a chalk quarry. Rescuing its residents from poverty through employment in the early 1900’s, it is now the site of a large and controversial residential development. Recording these topographical changes and its impact on the community was the catalyst for this work.
The small black and white images contrast with the scale of the quarry. Taken with a Holga lens, these images show movement and transient details.
This specific body of work employs digital photography exclu sively, with three distinct series: 1. The large black and white images of the quarry form the structure of this project, mirroring its role in the landscape.2.
This work explores the impact of change on our relationship with the landscape and each other.
Within that ever-changing landscape, I also found something unexpected. Solace. Coinciding with a period of significant personal change, this feeling of serenity began to inform my photography. And so two narratives have blurred: simulta neously portraying the transformation of a landscape and a community, and of me.
3. The largest series of images, capturing the changing landscape, are inspired by the deadpan approach of the New Topographics practitioners. With much local history intertwined with the quarry, colour places these firmly in the present, whilst the subtle tones, favoured by the likes of Richard Misrach, also capture my sense of tranquility and Eachfreedom.series can stand alone, but inter-woven they provide a more complete portrayal of the evolving landscape of Barring ton and our relationship with it.
Statement of Intent
Figures Fig.1 BUCHANAN, Sam. July 2022. Quarry 1 Fig.2 BUCHANAN, Sam. June 2022. Quarry Train Fig.3 BUCHANAN, Sam. June 2022. Daisies Fig.4 BUCHANAN, Sam. July 2022. Construction Fig.5 BUCHANAN, Sam. July 2022. Build Fig.6 BUCHANAN, Sam. June 2022. Farm Yard Fig.7 BUCHANAN, Sam. July 2022. Badger Fig.8 BUCHANAN, Sam. July 2022. Quarry 2 Fig.9 BUCHANAN, Sam. July 2022. Wheat Fig.10 BUCHANAN, Sam. July 2022. Harvest Fig.11 BUCHANAN, Sam. July 2022. Garage Fig.12 BUCHANAN, Sam. July 2022. Too Big Fig.13 BUCHANAN, Sam. June 2022. Lightning Fig.14 BUCHANAN, Sam. July 2022. Danger Fig.15 BUCHANAN, Sam. July 2022. Gallery Fig.16 BUCHANAN, Sam. July 2022. Quarry 3
References ALEXANDER, J.A.P.. 2020. PerspectivesonPlace:TheoryandPracticeinLandscapePhotography.2nd edition. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. ART 21. 2020. RichardMisrachin“Borderlands”-ExtendedSegment. Art 21 [YouTube content generated by Art 21]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYjCGYw3HXU [accessed 27 July 2022]. GREEN, Tamsin. Undated. Tamsin Green [online]. Available at: https://www.tammidori.com/bornofthepurestpar ents [accessed 30 June 2022]. GREENOUGH, Sarah. 2021. AmericanSilence:ThePhotographsofRobertAdams. New York, New York: Aperture. MISRACH, Richard. 2021. RichardMisrachonLandscapeandMeaning:ThePhotographyWorkshopSeries. New York, USA: Aperture. SONTAG, Susan. 2008. OnPhotography.4th edition. London: Penguin. SOTH, Alec. Undated. Alec Soth [online]. Available at: https://alecsoth.com/photography/ [accessed 25 July YALE2022]UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY. Undated. Robert Adams: The Place We Live. YaleUniversityArtGallery[on line]. Available at: http://media.artgallery.yale.edu/adams/intro.php?id=9047 [accessed 25 July 2022]
2022 Sam FalmouthBuchananUniversity