Photography Within a 3D Space
The skill of framing a photograph, selecting an instant in time that speaks of an ongoing narrative is the photographer’s expertise. It lies in the tradition of storytelling, presenting to the audience things they know, so they can see the stories within. Within a `digital reality’ of collaged images I move within the virtual world and select images as I would in the `real world’: what interests me, what catches my eye, what do I want to share?
I select and frame perspectives of digital spaces which may be perceived as traditional photographic images but collide with our understanding of the physical reality of a landscape. It is challenging the concept of reality, especially with our growing access to digital realities in an environment where natural landscapes are threatened and become increasingly inaccessible.
When selecting images to share as digital prints, I return to the skills of the photographer. Framing, timing and seeking to speak of a narrative held within a moment in time.
When Digital Models Fail
The use of 360 cameras adds another layer to digital spaces. I initially sketched the hedgerows in and around Church in the Woods (St Leonards), Hollington, digitally from 360 photographs. But bio-diversity – what can be seen, what cannot be seen, what lies beneath – requires a layered digital approach to reveal the true diversity of the graveyard community. Using digital 3D spaces brings this space to life. Adding combinations of 2D images, photographic textures, and photogrammetric models provides layers to this collaged digital space.
All artistic endeavours contain the potential for failure. You follow a process that seeks to present the story while simultaneously exploring your understanding of what you seek to tell. It is a journey that requires you to take unknown paths. The technological stories must be kept to whisper, except on those occasions where they tell the story.
I photographed some digital objects within the 3D space knowing that some areas might `fail’. Failure can be something that is sought. Photogrammetric models when faced with certain kinds of objects fail. An accurate model of a tree may not be possible due to the complexity of the natural object – tree bark, and moving leaves, all took on an interesting morphology around the digitised shape of the tree trunk. I wanted the failure and sought the surreal quality of digital photogrammetric trees within these 3D digital spaces.
Models are ultimately wrong because models are always reductions of the object, they are modelling: otherwise, it is the object.
These failures and faults became a real buzz. You could understand what the camera had not `seen’ and tried to `infill’ with something else – a leaf joins with a piece of the sky becoming a plane between branches, and a shadow becomes a hole in the ground. Holding something between lines as a frame is something that all photographers play with – the computer model is trying to do the same thing, with interesting results.
The cyclical process of modelling became part of the artwork and contributed to the narrative of the graveyard: the cycles of the season, generations and life itself. But, there are so many themes contained in this work. The graveyard as a capsule of change over time, social history, community and biodiversity all raise questions about our current perception of reality. In this ever-changing world, how do we go forward? How do we earn our place in this shifting relationship?