Carl Warner

http://www.carlwarner.com/

Carl Warner is a English photographer who initially started with a career in illustration in mind. Warner studied illustration at Maidstone College of Art but soon discovered that photography was a better medium suited for the kind of work he wished to produce. So after a year of foundation at the college he moved on to London College of Printing to undertake a course in photography, film and television.

After graduating Warner became an assistant for the photographer David Lowe. The a year later he set up his own studio nearby to Lowe's and began work for ad agencies, design groups and PR houses. His main set up was advertising photography, but later branched out to people and landscapes.

In the mid 90s Warner was loosing inspiration and motivation, it was around this time that he discovered his own genre of photography 'foodscapes'. Foodscapes were basically just landscapes made out of a variety of different foods, but put together so well, this became his trademark style and has been practising it ever since.

On his website it explains how he creates his 'foodscapes'. It explains that the images are shot in layers, foreground, background, sky etc, and then the images are put together in post production to create the one. This is because its very time consuming to set up the scenes and the food often wilts under the heat of the lights. Meaning if you made the complete scene to be made at once, where you started won't be looking as fresh as when you started. Making it in layers makes the large scenes doable, and gives you more time to create so you get the scene just right as well as the lighting. This would also bring cost and work force needed down as there is less to do at once, and most likely less waste as well. (C. Warner. http://www.carlwarner.com/about-carl/ [Accessed: 16/12/13])

Warner has this to say about his work;

“ Although I’m very hands on with my work, I do use model makers and food stylists to help me create the sets. I tend to start with a drawing which I sketch out in order to get the composition worked out, this acts as a blue print for the team to work to.”

“I tend to draw a very conventional landscape using classic compositional techniques as I need to fool the viewer into thinking it is a real scene at first glance, it is the realisation that the scene is in fact made of food that brings a smile that brings a smile to the viewer, and for me that’s the best part”. (C. Warner. http://www.carlwarner.com/about-carl/ [Accessed: 16/12/13]) 

Carl Warner

Carl Warner

Carl Warner

Carl Warner

Carl Warner

I find Carl Warner's work to be quite inspirational and feel it links well with my project as a whole, and directly with my studio project as its what I wanted to try for my own work. I think the colours of the food within the images really make the food stands out because of its vibrancy, my project will be shot in black and white and so will loose the effect of all the different colours in the image, making it harder for the viewer to see what the scene is made out of. Instead I will be focusing on the the shape and textures of the foods within the scene I choose to use. I will be taking the tip from Warner of sketching out my scenes before I make them, as this will make it much easier and faster if i know what I'm doing and making before I start, this is so I can purchase the correct ingredients before hand, and will be able to get straight on it so the food should remain fresh throughout the shoot. As the main aesthetic of my main project follows a minimalist fine art feel, I will be continuing this look for my studio task, I will do this by making quite a simple scene and having it on a white backdrop, the image won't be as complex as the images by Warner, instead they will be just a part of a scene.