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As you get further into Scapa Flow, more of the defences of this, Britain's greatest naval base in both the First and Second World Wars, become evident.
Historically, the main British naval bases were located near the English Channel to better face England's old enemies, France, Spain, and the Netherlands. In 1904, in response to the build-up of the German High Seas Fleet, it was decided that a northern base was needed to control the northern entrance to the North Sea. Rosyth on the Forth and the Cromarty Firth were looked at, but Scapa Flow was eventually chosen and the British Grand Fleet moved here as the Great War broke out, even though it was at the time, unfortified.
Two attempts were made by German U-boats to enter the anchorage during the Great War, both of which failed. U-18 tried to enter in November 1914, but a trawler searching for submarines rammed it, causing U-18 to flee and then sink. U-116 made the second attempt in October 1918 but was detected by hydrophones before entering the anchorage and then destroyed by shore-triggered mines.
Following Germany's defeat in 1918, 74 ships of the High Seas Fleet were interned in Scapa Flow pending a decision on their future under the terms of the peace treaty of Versailles. On 21 June 1919, after nine months of waiting, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, the German officer in command at Scapa Flow, made the decision to scuttle the fleet because the negotiation period for the treaty had lapsed with no word of a settlement (he was not kept informed that there had been a last-minute extension to finalise the details). The subsequent salvage of the scuttled German warships over the decades that followed is an epic story in itself.
Between the wars, the defences at Scapa Flow fell into disrepair, with the result that shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War, the German submarine U-47 was able to enter the anchorage and sink the WWI era battleship HMS Royal Oak. This event, combined with a German air raid a few days later, resulted in a rapid improvement in the defences! The Royal Oak is classified as a war grave and remains on the bottom of Scapa Flow.
Following WW2, Scapa Flow was closed as a naval base in 1956. Its chief claim to fame these days is the oil terminal on the island of Flotta.
This Image:
Most images featuring the flow of water show water moving through a scene. I wanted to capture the world from the perspective of the water. In this photograph, the world is whizzing past the moving water, just like a landscape does as one drives down the interstate.
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Project Overview
A. Introduction
My project explores the nature of “flow”, and looks at its multiple permeations in the world, both natural and man-made. I am interested in the inherent challenge in expressing movement in a still image. Moreover, I am not interested in mere movement; my interest is in fluid movement, or flow.
In retrospect, every aspect of my life involves flow. Whether it is my kayaking career, ski racing, or my love of clean and simple design, I pursue flow. But how can one express the emotion—the feeling—of flow? As they say, a picture can be worth a thousand words.
I researched the study of fluid dynamics on the Internet to find possible subjects (science clarified ). The three examples of fluid movement that I decided to explore include:
1.Water
2.Smoke
3.Transportation (both vehicular and pedestrian)
B. Influences
My initial inspiration came from the work of Amar Ramesh. His work with smoke photography, and what he can do with his images in collage work is amazing. An interesting connection that I discovered while researching the art of flow and fluid dynamics was the artwork of Jackson Pollock (Technica). I had not thought of his painting as fluid, but it really is. While his work is not photography, it is certainly influential and noteworthy.
C. Technical Setup
Water:
I focused on river currents, both slow and fast. I used a slow shutter with some ND filters and a polarizing filter so that I could shoot during the day. I explored the expressiveness of both abstract and literal images.
Smoke:
I used an incense stick as my smoke source. I shot with no ambient light, and a very strong side light (500w Halogen), with a barn door to prevent light from leaking onto the black background. Most of my shots were in the neighborhood of 1/100 @ f4 ISO320. Ideally, I would have had enough light to shoot at f8, and ISO100 but I was unable to generate enough light. I experimented with various color balances to effect the emotions of the images. I chose to shoot at 1/100 over 1/200 to really highlight the movement of the smoke, at the expense of crispness in some instances.
Transportation:
I shot at night in uptown Charlotte. I found various elevated positions to incorporate the static city and the dynamic cars. I found it interesting, and challenging, to incorporate both the movement of pedestrians and automobiles in the same images. Slow shutter speeds, low ISO and small apertures helped me to get the results that I was looking for.
D. What I learned, what I would do differently, and where I would like to go next.
Regarding my goal of expressing fluidity in a static frame, I feel that I did a good job of expressing my feeling of flow. I learned that it took both abstract and literal images to demonstrate my emotions. Also, for a lot of these images I had to shoot a lot of frames to get what came out to about 30 good images. My estimate is roughly 1000 frames total. I think that this partly because of the nature of nature—it is very unpredictable.
I learned that it takes a lot of continuous light to be able to light a subject at a preferable f8 1/200 ISO100. I really enjoyed experimenting with lighting and the dramatic results that can be achieved. However, having absolute control over the light really forces you to understand what you are doing, and it can be challenging to achieve the look that you want.
If I could do this again, I would try to find a 1000W Halogen and use a reflector for the smoke photography. For my traffic photographs, I would have liked to be able to shoot from elevation in uptown. As it was, I was only able to shoot into uptown. Looking straight down on traffic would have been an interesting shot, with rich shapes and patterns.
If I were to expand this set of images, I would like to feature a group of images featuring the movement of people.
The one true failure in my project was my attempt to photograph oil in water. Finding a vessel that was absolutely clear proved nearly impossible. I also experimented with lighting the vessel from the side, the bottom and both. I was unable to get any shots that I was really excited by. I think that to make it work, I would have needed either a LOT of light, or a large enough tank that I could get some depth of field to be able to hit the focus right. As it was, the lens was too close to the bubbles to get sharp images. Additionally, the small vessel made it difficult to capture pleasing compositions.
Bibliography
science clarified . science clarified . 5 April 2012 .
Technica, ARS. Wired. 19 August 2011. 5 April 2012 .
Went on a quick trip to the Lower Huron Metro park with my friend Alfredo from work. Didn't really have anything particular in mind, so walked around to find something interesting.
Alfredo may just be starting out, but he's got an incredible eye, and at times, I envy him... sshhh... but don't tell him that..!!! Don't believe me? Check out his work and judge for yourself.
As for my post, something simple... something different.
View this on large, you may like it.. Click on the image.
Thanks and Good Night.
Color shift and enhancement in Topaz to transform lake scum into this marbelesque flow pattern.
PSE9, Topaz adjust
Porthcurno Beach, Cornwall, Sept 2010.
Sometimes the awesome feminine power of Mother Earth is right under our noses (but how often do we see it?).
Snapped on a Pentax Optio L60 compact (all I had on me at the time) and tweaked in PS.
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(c) Jussi Hellsten / Flow Festival
Flow Festival 2011 official photostream.
For Flow Festival 2011 press photos, please go to www.flowfestival.com/en/media/
Porsche 981 Boxster S
Vorsteiner Flow Forged V-FF 101
Finish: Textured Gunmetal
Size: 20x8.5J front, 20x10J rear
Tires: 245/35/20, 275/35/20 Yokohama S.Drive
Judges Choices Hoylake International 2018
Winchester National Exhibition.2018
40th Welsh International 2018
10th Finland – 1st Turku 2018 Salon
10th Finland – 2th Oulu 2018 Salon
10th Finland – 4th Hyvinkää 2018 Salon
10th Finland – 4th Kuopio 2018 Salon
Barka 2nd Oman International Circuit 2018
Doqum 2nd Oman International Circuit 2018
KCPA Ross Cup 2018 Merit Award
Yorkshire International 2018 HR Ribbon
Maitland Australia 2019
Royal Photographic Society DIGIT Print Selector Award 2019
54rd International Salon Peña Fotográfica Rosarina Argentina 2019
45th Smethwick 2019
8th MIROC Digital Circuit 2020 South Africa
Prague Photoart 2020
Southampton International 2020