MAGAZINE NOV 2013
CON T E N T S WELCOME TO THE FIRST ISSUE OF AULOA, A PUBLICATION DEVOTED TO THE FINEST OF NATURAL PHOTOGRAPHY.
004 INTRODUCTION 006 NATURAL TEXTURES 014 THE UNSEEN 018 EACH ONE TELLS A STORY 024 THE BEACH 032 THREE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES THIRTY DIFFERENT PHOTOS 038 THE FULL TAXONOMY
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but I wanted to push myself further. I thought initially this was a fairly simple idea and I was sure that it had been done before. In this magazine I will be displaying my final taxonomy collection which will showcase photographs of natural textures taken in Spain, Greece and England during the summer of 2013.
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I will be talking about the journeys and memories that each photograph brought to my life. Although it was a small collection, it did have an impact on my life and the photographs and memories will stay with me forever. I hope that this magazine article will help me to share my experiences with the viewer.�
INTRODUCTION
“I have been interested in photography for as long as I can remember, but I am new to photography collections. As I was going to three different countries during the summer, I thought it would be a good time to start my first photography collection. I first set out with the idea to collect photographs of things found on a beach,
NATURAL TEXTURES PHOTOGRAPHY BY KARA CLIFFORD Nature is an amazing artist and the best inspiration for any creative design project. Nature is beautiful and its textures come in all colours, shapes, and sizes. From gradient fall colours, to the greens of plant life, and the browns of earth. This magazine will introduce you to my taxonomy of thirty natural texture photographs. I will not only be displaying the images, but I will also be talking about the experiences that I had whilst photographing them. I want to open your eyes as the viewer to my whole taxonomy,
memories, experiences, journeys and of course; the photographs. Natural textures are some of the most fascinating of all, allowing us to get up close and personal with the world we live in. So often, natural phenomena like the texture of sand, the ripples on water and the vessels running along a leaf ’s surface go unnoticed, which is why it’s great to take a better look at them not only in high-resolution, but also in a collection; A taxonomy. 006
This page Large leaf, Tenerife, Spain. Opposite Outdoor plant, Tenereife, Spain.
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This image Dried up reservoir, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield, England. And carved palm tree, Tenerife, Spain.
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This page Dried up reservoir, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield, England. Opposite Outdoor plant, Kos, Greece.
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This page Outside plant, Tenerife, Spain. Opposite. Palm tree leaves, Tenerife, Spain.
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This image Palm Tree, Tenerife, Spain.
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The unseen To most people, I am sure the beauty of nature means such features as the flowers of spring, autumn foliage, mountain landscapes and other similar aspects. The fact they are beautiful is indisputable; yet they are not all that is beautiful about nature, they are the peaks and summits of nature’s great displays. But underlying and supporting these brilliant displays are slow, quiet processes that pass almost unnoticed from season to season – unnoticed that is, by those who think that beauty in nature is all gaudy displays. Yet, so much is missed if we only have eyes for the bright colours, which proves to us how nature should be viewed without distinction. All nature’s processes and evolutions are beautiful or ugly to the unbiased and undiscriminating observer. Nature makes no choice – everything that happens has equal significance. Withering follows blooming, death follows growth, decay follows death and life follows decay.
Nature is responsible for all forms of weather ranging from the sun to snow. Nature has a way of affecting our moods and it can force us to change our plans. When it is sunny and bright outside, we feel cheerful inside. When it is cloudy and rainy, we often feel gloomy. When there is a beautiful and starry night, the moonlight makes us feel romantic. The beauty of nature has been extolled in the works of poets and artists. When Wordsworth describes the daffodils dancing in the breeze or when our eyes alight on a painting by William Turner, our hearts are filled with an indescribable emotion. I wanted to recreate this emotion within my own work. My own collection. The Unseen. In these photographs I have captured things that most people would ignore or not appreciate. I have used the subject of natural textures in order to achieve this. Some of the photos
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almost become unrecognisable as actual natural objects or forms and begin to be seen as patterns, shapes and colours associated with beauty or nature. The idea behind this collection was to do just that. I wanted to collect various photographs that wouldn’t be seen as the object that they actually are, but what would be seen as a photograph expressing aesthetic qualities. I wanted people to appreciate the natural textures and colours of all that is nature. “The beauty of the natural world lies in the details.” Natalie Angier
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This image The ground underneath a tree, Tenerife, Spain and A palm tree, Kos, Greece.
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Each ONE TELLS A STORY 018
Palm tree, Kos, Greece.
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hen you go on holiday, naturally you photograph various different things. You take photographs with your friends on the beach, approach strangers to take photographs in front of famous landmarks, of breathtaking views from your balcony, your name written in the sand or even of your feet in the sea. But who, on holiday, stops to take a photograph of the ground? Who ends up actually laying on the ground for a period of time trying to get that one perfect photograph of some dirt? I did. My photography collection includes thirty photographs of natural textures found in Tenerife, Kos and England. Although the collection only includes thirty final photographs, I had taken over four hundred before deciding which were going to be a part of my final collection. Every single photograph has a different story behind it. I chose the thirty that were mostly all from different days and times to promote
the photographs that had a unique story behind them. Ones that I can look back over and laugh at what I had to go through to get that photograph or images that I can look back at and remember everything from the moment I took it. Things from the sounds, the smells, where I was stood (or often where I was lay), the view I had through the camera and the feeling I had when I my photograph turned out successful.
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lthough the photo above may just appear to be a photo of a palm tree, it means much more to me due to the story behind it. I see this image as a memory rather than a simplistic photo of a palm tree. It was on the last day of my holiday, when we were just about to get onto the coach taking us to the airport to return home, when I noticed a really unique palm tree outside of the hotel. I remember thinking to myself “How did I not notice this before?” Although I like to
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tell myself that it was due to how the sun was resting on it so beautifully at the early time in the morning that I had noticed it then instead of earlier during the holiday. I was full of panic as I had a hard decision to make. It was either scramble through my bag looking for my camera to get this shot and miss my flight or leave such a beautiful photo opportunity and get my flight in time. Of course I chose to get my camera and get the shot I so desperately wanted, but thankfully the coach driver waited for me so I didn’t miss my flight. When I look at this photo, this memory comes straight back to me. Just like how when you look at a photo of you and your friends, the memory comes straight back to you. Photographs are a powerful way of holding memories, even if the thing that you remember isn’t even included in the image.
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This image The sea,, Tenerife, Spain and Dried up reservoir, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield. England.
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“in every grain of sand there is the story of the earth.� - Rachel Carson
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Both pages Volcanic sand, Tenerife, Spain.
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ho does not love the Beach? It is a place of healing and joy. The salt cleanses us and the sun embraces us in its warmth. The ocean heals the heart, mind, and soul. The element I love most about the beach is the feeling of tranquility and inner peace overlooking the vast ocean. The blue sky, the sway of coconut trees and gentle blow of the sea breeze that caresses the skin making us feel free. These photos were all taken in Kos, Greece, Tenerife and Spain. Each complete with it’s own individual story behind it. The image above is a shot of a wave as it crashes against the sand. To get this shot, I was crouched down on the beach, which was so unbelievably crowded to the point where I could barely move! I was surrounded by hundreds of people staring at me and I knew they were all thinking “Why is she taking a photo of a wave?”
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This page Volcanic Sand, Tenerife, Spain. Dirt, Tenerife, Spain. Volcanic Sand, Tenerife, Spain. Palm Tree, Kos, Greece. Opposite Sea, Tenerife, Spain. Palm tree, Tenerife, Spain.
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This page Dried up reservoir, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield. England. Shell found in dried up reservoir , Slaithwaite, Hudders,field, England
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So why beach holidays are so popular? Well, one of the reasons people will tell you is that going to the beach comes as a break from reality, much like a relief from the chaotic city life where they live. Everybody likes a change of scenery every now and then and the beach is the perfect place to relax and forget reality for a while. Perhaps it’s the way the soft sand feels against your bare feet as you walk along the waves or the sound of the waves bringing a calming feeling and you can feel the stress fall away. The warmth of the sun feels good as it shines down on your shoulders and the beach offers plenty of activities for people. Or simply relaxing is what appeals to you, you can also do that at this location. But the beach is so much more than that. There is a well respected theory that the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore and the gentle rocking is often associated with spending time by the water’s edge that creates a deeper connection to us. Some postulate that the similarities between the water and the time we spend in the womb make a return to environment soothing, hence why we are drawn back to it. Because of the tremendous magical feeling of being with the ocean and listening to how the forces of nature flow, it inspires many to have family celebrations at the beach such as; birthdays, weddings and anniversaries. Water is life - the ocean is almost synonymous to the celebration of life. The beach was a large part of both of my holidays. Although I achieved photographs from the two beaches, they were both very different. The beach in Kos was pebbled, whereas the beach in Tenerife was volcanic. This made not only the photographs from each beach appear unique, but it also made the memories and experiences very different.
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This image The ground underneath a tree, Tenerife, Spain and Dried up reservoir, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield. England.
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Both images Dried up reservoir, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield, England.
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"Nature always wears the colours of the spirit" - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Three different countries thirty different photos Photography and words by Kara Clifford
We travel initially to lose ourselves and we travel next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers can show us. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. We see a photograph of a place and instantly want to visit and we take photographs of the places we do visit. Travelling is highly influenced by photography and vice versa. When film photography was at its peak, people would get their photographs developed and printed out, which
would be a way of sharing their holidays with friends and family. The photographs would be passed around, whilst the person who they belonged to would be talking about the experiences and memories of each individual photograph. Now in modern day, we use social networking sites to share photographs and share our opinions on them. There is no longer conversation about them and sharing the photos is no longer an experience within it’s self. We simply just click through the photos online and probably never really mention them again. Talking about our photographs, memories
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and experiences is something that I personally think we should do more of, which is another reason that I wanted to create this magazine article. Not only am I showcasing my photography but I am also sharing my experiences with as many people as I can. I hope to take readers on a journey gradually through the pages. Each page should have a different feel to it. The way it’s been designed and the photography that it includes should tell a story equally as the writing itself does. Three different countries. Thirty different photos.
All of the photographs that have been included in this magazine that are titled as “Dried up reservoir” were taken on the same day. I was walking my dog, Heidi, with my Mum on a day visiting home during the summer. We walked past a reservoir which is near my house which we both thought that it was odd at how it had been emptied and was now almost completely dry. We decided to walk down to take a closer look and all three of us entered the now empty reservoir. As we got closer, I realised there were some beautiful colours shimmering in the light in the middle of the reservoir. As I had my camera with me, I decided to go and investigate as my Mum and Heidi sat waiting for me further up. I wasn’t dressed for this adventure whatsoever, I had my favourite pair of shoes on and I was soon to be in mud almost up to my knees, but I was determined to reach the beautiful colours in the distance. I ran through sinking mud and as a result ruining my shoes. I had my mum (and probably my dog) laughing at me and I got absolutely filthy, but it was all worth it. The photos that I had taken (like the one below) appeared absolutely beautiful. “To the artist there is never anything ugly in nature.”- Auguste Rodin
This page Dried up reservoir, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield, England. Opposite natural wall, Tenerife, Spain.
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This page Palm tree, Tenerife, Spain and Spiderweb and moss, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield, England.
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This image, Leaf, Tenerife, Spain and grass, Kos, Greece,
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