Explorations in Time
Inspiration & Growth
2020 was a difficult year for everyone. Between quarantine, job losses and social isolation, many people suffered from anxiety and depression. Like many others, Los Angeles based artist Maggie West sought out new hobbies as an outlet to cope with the stress of an uncertain future. For some people it was baking bread; for West it was gardening.
Gardening has been known to help with mental health, giving participants a sense of peace, higher self esteem, and increased attention span. Studies show that focusing your attention on the detail oriented tasks required to garden and spending time around nature creates a sense of contentment. Additionally, the physical requirements of gardening have shown to provide similar mental health benefits of going to the gym.
Planting flowers in the spring
West at home in her garden.
Through gardening, West found the daily practice of tending to her plants inspired a new sense of optimism and helped rekindle her interest in photography. Observing the slow, steady evolution of each plant served as a reminder that change is always possible.
As her appreciation for her garden grew, West began to think about ways that she could utilize the botanical growth process in her work. One by one, the artist began bringing plants from her garden into the studio to more closely document and observe.
Pruning the rose bushes outside her house
Developing a Custom Process
While West had a vast photographic practice that included everything from commercial campaigns to museum installations, she had not yet explored the world of motion. During the pandemic, West began to start experimenting with time lapse photography and seeking out innovative techniques.
West in her Los Angeles studio
In order to impart her signature colored lighting onto this new medium, West had to create custom setups within her studio that included both studio strobes and grow lights. Both were necessary in order to capture sharp, colorful images while maintaining the health of the plants throughout filming.
Custom time lapse photography tents
No two plants and flowers are alike. Working with living organisms can be challenging, as each flower has different bloom times, light requirements, and environmental needs. To determine what works best for each individual species, West continually recorded data from each of her time lapse shoots. This information was then used to help her determine how to shoot a large variety of plants at the same time. Since 2020, West has photographed hundreds of plants and flowers growing under a spectrum of colored lights.
An example of the time lapse data West has gathered since 2020
Capturing test shots for motion sequences
Though time lapse photography is a well established medium, West’s work utilizes strobe lighting and RAW images, allowing her to create high resolution sequences with vivid coloration.
All of West’s color effects are done with lighting, not post-production
Her unique time lapse process allows her to capture the plant’s natural movement while using colored light to alter the visual properties of each plant. All color effects are done with lighting, rather than in post production.
Documentation vs Fantasy
While timelapse traditionally focuses on displaying nature in its truest form, West turns this process on its head by infusing her signature colored lighting into the footage, transforming what would otherwise be pure documentation into an exercise in imagination. The result is footage that transports the viewer into a surreal, dreamlike landscape, while simultaneously providing a closer look at the natural details and growth cycles of each plant.
The use of strobes and colored gels in time lapse photography is something that is rarely seen, and provides a fresh, unique take to this established medium.
Creating Digital Landscapes
As West explored her passion for time lapse photography, the artist became intrigued by the possibilities of combining her individual sequences into more complex landscapes. By masking out each video sequence, West could layer the time lapse footage on top of one another to create garden scenes.
West designing floral landscapes in her studio
Plants from contrasting seasons and climates coexist within the realm of these surreal compositions. West’s contradictions further push her work away from reality, and into the artist’s own fantasy vision of the world. While the plants in the work are real, the final piece is a creation entirely her own.
NEW INNOVATIONS
Ultraviolet Light
While the majority of West’s time lapse photography is created by using strobe lighting, she has recently begun experimenting with ultraviolet light and fluorescent ink as a way to highlight new colors and textures in her compositions.
West in protective gear while setting up the Ultraviolet sequences
To create her ultraviolet videos, West submerged the stems of each flower into fluorescent ink. As the ink absorbs up through the flower’s vascular system through transpirational pull, it is then absorbed into the flower’s petals and leaves.
This process is then captured by ultraviolet light photography. The resulting effect is not only beautiful, but also creatively illustrates how plants absorb water.
While West has only captured a limited number of these sequences, with additional time and resources her ultraviolet techniques could be expanded into a much larger practice. The unique movement and texture of these sequences add a rich dimension to her already colorful body of time lapse work. By using ultraviolet light to uncover another process that is invisible to the human eye, West’s videos educate viewers through surreal, dreamlike compositions.
Slow Motion Videography
While West’s time lapse work explores subjects through the acceleration of time, she will soon expand her practice to include slow motion videography. Time lapse compositions rarely integrate slow motion footage. The combination of these two techniques will allow the artist to create compositions that defy the boundaries of time and illuminate both many hidden processes in the natural world.
Slow Motion Subjects:
fish
lizards
birds
insects
smoke
fire embers
venus fly traps
For example, by capturing slow motion footage of fish swimming and combining it with her time lapse plant photography, West can create surreal scenes that seamlessly transitions the viewer from above ground to underwater. Using slow motion will allow the artist to incorporate fish, reptiles, insects and birds in a way that is not possible through time lapse.
Concept design for pond scene
Capturing Footage on Location
By shooting in the field, West can capture natural phenomena that simply can’t be replicated in a studio. From time lapses of clouds moving to the sunset changing colors, the artist can capture a vast range of natural textures that can then be utilized in her dreamlike landscapes.
Through her digital composites, West will be able to use this new video footage in innovative new ways. For example, in a moonlit garden scene, she can use footage of clouds moving over a sunset to represent the texture of the surface of the moon.
Concept design for moonlit garden
Beyond the rolling clouds and golden sunsets, the sky embodies many more magical effects after dark. Through these location shoots, West can explore the movement of stars and create long exposure footage of star trails.
The movement of the night sky has fascinated people for millennia. By incorporating these new elements into her current body of work, West will blend her signature time lapse photography with bold, new celestial patterns to create ethereal video pieces.
Concept design for night sky
The Quest for Innovation
Innovation is essential in art. West has an endless enthusiasm for creating new ways to capture natural elements. Through her experiments with composite footage and ultraviolet light, she continues to push against the boundaries of traditional time lapse photography and expand her vision to new fields.
Color and nature are a virtually endless source of inspiration. West’s passion and curiosity for new subjects leads her down many different paths that converge at the intersection of science and dreams.
West preparing flowers in her studio
Exploring Huntington Gardens in Pasadena
For inspiration, West frequently visits hiking trails and gardens around Los Angeles. By surrounding herself in nature, she finds new ideas for color combinations, video composition and installation concepts.
While out in nature, West often shoots photos of plants, insects and other natural elements. By documenting her surroundings, the artist can take these references home, analyze them and bring these inspirations into her work.
Recording plant details on location
West is constantly seeking innovation through her art. Her love of observing and cultivating nature, in tandem with her passion for photography, has led to rapid evolution in her work over the past few years. With additional time and resources, the artist can continue to grow and evolve her practice in an ever changing world.
West shopping for her garden
Thanks for reading!
Contact:
Maggie@maggiewest.co
Alan.Smith@caa.com