Environment: Deconstructing Photographers.

We were set a task to select one contemporary environmental photography and closely analyse and compare 3 of thier images. When researching each photographer given, I came to the final decision of looking at Elina Brotherus to do my research on, simply because I personally found her images the most interesting and were drawn to them, therefore eager to do further research into her concepts.



Model Study 9, 2004

To start with, I looked at a self-portrait Elina did of herself. It appears she is sitting on wooden decking looking over a lake as the sun is setting. Theres something about the bright white sky reflecting off the lake which makes this photograph very pure, which I believe is how she's trying to represent herself. Elina is naked in the photograph, again creating a naturalistic pure portrayal of herself as the detail in her spine and her posture creates a sense of fragility. The trees in the background are out of focus, putting even more attention on Elina herself in the centre of the image.



Green Lake, 2007

Its the colours in this image that strike me at first in comparison to the first image. The green in the photo creates a completely different tone to the bright white in the first one. It seems the boy in the foreground of the image is much younger than the man in the background, showing that Elina here had focussed on a visual hierarchy as the young boy looks larger than the older man. The reflections in the water create a sort of 'dream-like' setting, making the environment un-clear at first glance.



Der Wanderer III, 2004

Last but not least, I researched another self-portrait by Elina. Similar to the first image, she has put herself in the centre, putting all the viewers attention on her figure straight away. However, I believe Elina has tryed to portray herself in a different way here, here the visual hierarchy is evident and her strong figure and dark clothing makes her look more of a strong woman rather than pure and fragile. The coat in contrast to the white back ground adds even more attention to her figure, and the height of where she is standing gives her a heroic sense.