Photographer Research 2: Carl Warner

About this photographer:
Like the Minimiam collaboration, Carl Warner, an English photographer from Liverpool, takes interest in photographing food, but instead he uses it as a way to expressively create stunning landscapes and settings - something he calls Foodscaping. At some point in everyone's life, they dream of a world filled with their favourite foods, at for Carl, this was great inspiration for creating stunning photography pieces. 


Why have I picked this photographer?:
I have picked Carl for one of my photographers to research because i think his work style is completely different to anything I have ever seen. and his themes are excellent inspiration for my own Fantasy work. I love the idea that everyone has that one favourite food that they wish they could eat all the time - and at one point most of these people have probably dreamt of being in a world created entirely from this food. His attention to detail and eye for perfection is exactly what I look for for inspiration for my own work, and I would definitely love to be able to create such a production like Carl has.

Evaluation:

This image was constructed entirely of red cabbage and a watermelon for the boat. The intense colour really brings the image to life, giving it an eery. dangerous twist which normal cabbage might not have shown. He perfectly captures the texture and pattern within the cabbage leaves, giving the image more depth and allowing the viewer to fully identify what the concept of the image is.

The lighting in this concept of the London skyline is really essential as it gives every 'building' that realistic glow, bringing each of the individual colours to life - making it a much more eye-cathching and visually pleasing piece. I also love that Carl has used real water to make up the Thames, adding a sense of realism and it also reflects the patterns and shapes nicely from the buildings. The contrast created from the shadows and the highlights on each building also help to bring the buildings to life - giving them character and replicating the exact patterns and lines seen on the real London skyline buildings.

This is my favourite photo of Carl's because of the intense pink tones which are reflected in every single item within the picture. The picture is really busy, but it works surprisingly well as the different shapes and textures create interesting patterns for the viewers to look at, leading up to the main feature - the house. I would definitely suggest that most people have at some point dreamt of living in a world entirely filled with their favourite sweets, and this image definitely also has a reflection of the fairytale story Hansel and Gretel. The composition is put together with perfection - he ensures that every element within the background and the foreground is visible, whilst photographing it with such precision that it looks like a real building - it looks good enough to eat straight off of the page.

The colours are also just as essential in this photograph as the warmer hued colours add to the realism and belief that this is a warm, sunny, tropical landscape. The composition and angling of this image is really nice as it gives depth and dimension to the work, making the water appear to be disappearing into the far distance; Carl definitely has a rare talent for immense attention to detail. What i love about this picture is that you can't see that it's entirely constructed of food, it looks that real. The water is actually in fact salmon, whilst the rocks are constructed of stewed beef and new potatoes.


Influence:

Carl's work is yet to directly influence me, but I would definitely like to try out this idea for one of my shoots. I like that Carl hasn't always followed existing images, a lot of what he creates comes straight from his imagination and what he would like to create, which is definitely something that has influenced me as I too can perhaps make a scene which reflects my own imagination. Attention to detail is definitely something which is important to such work, so I know that if I do do something like this, I can't be half-hearted about it and thus it might be a better idea for my exam shoot.

Summary:

Although his work is yet to directly influence my work, he has definitely inspired me - inspired me to let my imagination run wild and I know that I can practically create anything out of anything. The use of colour is vitally important in any work that I create as this helps to establish the mood and the tone of the setting, whilst also helping to add verisimilitude to my work.