War Photography - Experimental Photographs

Experimental Photographs

The following photographs portray a extreme close up shot of people wearing gas masks. I have developed an interest in the theme of capturing portrait photographs of people in gas masks. I decided to re-create the historic time period of World War II where gas masks were relevant and useful due to the destruction the war had caused. Using a gas mask, it allowed me to innovate and create many new ideas which relate to the theme of war. Additionally, the purpose of these experimental photographs is to capture people with gas masks and make them look as if they have been through the war. This allowed me to capture the facial expressions from the people which helps to establish an emotional connection with the viewer. This concept is a replication of the gas mask era but in modern day society. The purpose is to explore the different ranges of how war can be expressed through iconic objects and themes. Furthermore, this theme links to Robert Capa who was a famous photographer during the WWII period. Additionally, the inspiration behind this idea came from a simple google search of ‘Gas mask photography’. The idea of using gas masks to bring out the experiences of the vile, dark period during WWII. I want to capture the development of the different time periods from Robert Capa’s black and white photographs to my advanced photographs. The idea of capturing a photograph related to the past but using advanced technology will make the whole concept more interesting as the differences will stand out. The space and environment in these photographs are set in isolated and abandoned areas where the atmosphere is dark and mysterious. A suitable location would have been in a forest where I would of been able to adapt to the combat atmosphere. Furthermore, I have also captured these photographs behind a white screen, as I have adopted Terry Richardson’s portraiture style and applied it to war photography.

These photographs have been edited on Adobe Photoshop by using the HDR Toning to either increase/decrease the exposure, gamma correction and offset. Furthermore, I have also changed developed the photograph to a grayscale effect so it brings out the ancient, historic and combat effect. Some of the photographs consists of Robert Capa’s famous photographs which have been overlapped and layered into my photographs. I tried to gain a resemblance between the photographs, as well as gaining sympathy from the viewer as there is a lot of emotion and pain in these photographs.