Matthew
Merrett is a contemporary photographer, most famously known for his urban decay
photography. He has travelled across the world photographing various forms of
urban decay.
This
photograph can be found here, and was one of these images taken from his various trips around the
world, and is a natural shot, capturing something he came across in that
particular moment in time I think the image may have been edited slightly, by
perhaps darkening the dark areas, brightening the light areas and increasing
the intensity of the colours. This has created a prominent contrast between the
separate areas within the image, and therefore makes the blue of the door the
main focus of the image. The composition of the image is extremely effective in
creating a powerful image. The lines of the wooden wall are exactly in line
with the edge of the image, creating a repetitive stripe effect across the
whole of it. The door is also placed strategically in the right hand side of
the image, so to split it in half unequally, and is sort of like my image of
the broken window on the yellow wall.
I really like this image
because of the way that the photographer has composed it, and clearly put a lot
of thought into how it should be taken in terms of composition, lighting and
colour. I feel that it shows urban decay through the graduation of moss and
mould at the bottom of the building, and that it suggests that decay is a slow
process in which time plays a big part. However, I think the image
could be improved if it had contrasted natural decay, with man-made vandalism.
For example, if this image had some graffiti incorporated in it, maybe it would
have been more powerful through the contrast of the two separate types of urban
decay. I will use this as
inspiration in my own work by creating similar images that show natural urban
decay of buildings and objects. I will do this by searching for buildings that
have got creepers growing up them, or perhaps have got dirty over time, or have
not been taken care of and so have begun to go mouldy. I will also use a
similar composition to Merrett, and will think about how to create a powerful
image in great detail before snapping the shot.