Recently I’ve been looking at the photographs of Thomas Struth and his Paradise series. This series of photographs are actually quite inspirational as I can imagine that they were exhibited at quite a large size, but the two I want to focus on are Paradise 9 & 15.

The images in the series are all taken with the deadpan aesthetic, Struth has not tried to emphasise anything or reinterpret the scene but instead has let the landscape speak for itself. But as to what has stood out for me is that both images really show the texture of the forest, that the viewer is really placed within that environment. Seeing them reprinted in a book does not do them justice as they need a large size and space to be more effective.

It is also possible to see such immense detail within the images. This is because of being taken on large format has made them “ultra-real” with every twig, vine and stone being clearly depicted. This effect really adds to the veracity of the image and with photographs of this quality it is easy to see why large format is the preferred medium of landscape photographers.

Paradise 9, taken in Xi Shuang Banna, China, stands out for a couple of reasons. Struth has used the detail captured with the large format to emphasise the texture of the forest. By doing so there is an impression of closeness because of concentrating on the texture, there is a lack of pictorial depth which creates the impression of denseness and closeness to the forest.

Another reason why this image stands out, and why the series stands out, is because the photographs are taken with direct light instead of overcast or subdued light. This gives the impression of warmth and increases the sense of the scene being naturally idyllic and is different to the deadpan landscapes taken by Jem Southam, who uses the overcast light to produce soft and even photographs. To me, having the direct light instead of overcast works really well, it makes the images stand out more and different to what other photographers are doing. Struth is making the images distinctive in their own right and shows the beauty of the forest through texture and light on a flattened picture plane.

The next image to discuss is Paradise 15, taken in Yakushima, Japan. Here there is more of a sense of space as there is more depth than Paradise 9, but the texture of the forest has still be captured beautifully. Again, the deadpan style is used and Struth tries not to emphasise anything that is not naturally there, but there is such a range of tones that the scene still retains the impression of the idyllic. The scene itself is backlit but I think it cold be on an overcast day or the effect of the forest canopy. Either way, the light is soft and enhances the impression of idyllic.

With both of these images, neither are using a central focal point, there is no one object that holds the eye. Instead the eye is allowed to wander around the photograph and this helps to emphasise the texture and the closeness of the forest unencumbered by a central focal point. This helps the viewer to become more lost in the image and will be a useful tool to use.

Also, something else that might seem a bit random. Recently I saw a film called The Lobster, which was very weird but incredibly good and worthwhile. In this film the central protagonist ends up living in a forest with a community that are trying to avoid being captured. Of where this has relevance is that the film was shot in a deadpan style and so showed someone within the environment creating their own sense of private space. It showed how the deadpan aesthetic can work of showing someone in the environment and being at ease in that environment without it looking staged.

The last thing to mention is that I’ve started to edit the film. I’ve decided that each clip will be 15 seconds long and the total length of the film will be 5 minutes. I did consider a 10 minute film, but it felt too long and that I was over-stretching the point of finding immersion and solitude. I’ve also decided to edit the film so it shows stormy conditions at the beginning and then gently calms down to the end of the film where it is calm and settled. I thought this paralleled the effect of finding a private space can do, that it helps to calm down and be more peaceful and serene. I have also started to find sound files to dub over the clips as my microphone produces a very distracting high pitch whine that I’ve been unable to get rid of. Thankfully there is a sight called freesound that allows people to download free sound files and I’ve been able to find suitable sound files and dub them in. I have also been a bit hesitant to add the sound because it could undermine the genuineness of the film, but it has improved the results and produces a better effect.