The 08:45 Edinburgh to Glasgow
The 08:45 Edinburgh to Glasgow train takes me on a journey. The landscape passes by without a thought as I drink a latte and read a book or use the iPad. Others are sharing the journey for different reasons. The landscape usually escapes, but not this time. In this project, I show the transient and impermanent aspects of the landscape through the journey in a way like the work of Richard Long. I have noticed that landscapes take on a different quality when photographed from a fast-moving vehicle. The motion of the train tends to blend the elements of a scene in a horizontal manner, creating an almost minimalist composition. By using an experimental approach, the viewer’s perception of reality is challenged. The introduction of blur using a prolonged exposure, combined with the horizontal linear motion of the train, becomes the equivalent of the artist’s brush, with the camera sensor becoming the canvas. I tend to try and emulate the ‘painterly’ effect achieved by Gersht and to show how a journey implies a transience of the landscape. This approach allows the viewer to look further than the window, which is a barrier between the individual and the landscape beyond. Richard Long likes the notion of the visible and the invisible. Time, as a 4th dimension, reflects the scale of distance travelled. Journey time has been divided into twelve individual times on the journey, and the image closest to the actual time has been selected thus removing all subjectivity from the process. The views are taken through the same window for the journey, and it was decided early on to exclude the window frame. The aim is to have the blurred landscapes merge into one another, leaving only colour and patterns to change.