Photographers I admire
There are many photographers who inspire me and who's work I admire for many reasons. For the purpose of this course, I shall feature some of those people here and try to explain why I value their work so much. Although many of them are expert in different areas; portraiture, landscape, street, surreal, journalism etc., etc., I will attempt to categorise them into areas in which I feel they excel.
Jan Saudek b.1935 Czeck
This photographer was the grandfather of the staged photograph, having originally studied industrial photography. Saudek ventured into his own style of art using a basic Kodak Brownie (which, he is quoted as saying, he would still use today if he could get the film!). His work is surreal, erotic, vulgar in some people's eyes, but very personal and reflect on human relationships, from birth to adulthood.
A master of juxtaposition, Saudek didn't opt for conventional models, instead choosing plumper, sometimes older models which may not correspond to many people's ideas of beauty. He tended to be faithful to his models and used them throughout their life, from youth to old age, telling their usually fictitious lives through pictures. He is perhaps best known for his provocative staged photographs against a crumbling plaster wall which he created and modified for much of his work in the 70's and 80's. These series of photographs are my particular favourite. I adore how he used props and costumes which are prominent in most of his photographs and the way he hand tinted them in pastel shades, reminiscent of early colour photography, gives a truly amazing feel to them. His incredible ability to pose, prop, light and generally stage his scenes so naturally amazes me. The drab crumbling plaster wall, rich in contrast was often offset with splashes of vibrant colour in the costumes and props he used, bringing the picture to life, like a scene from a play.
Saudek's work is unique. I have never seen anything quite like it. For me, he remains one of the most revered photographers of his generation and is regarded as one of Czechoslovakia's most important artists. Below are some sample images from his remarkable portfolio.
A master of juxtaposition, Saudek didn't opt for conventional models, instead choosing plumper, sometimes older models which may not correspond to many people's ideas of beauty. He tended to be faithful to his models and used them throughout their life, from youth to old age, telling their usually fictitious lives through pictures. He is perhaps best known for his provocative staged photographs against a crumbling plaster wall which he created and modified for much of his work in the 70's and 80's. These series of photographs are my particular favourite. I adore how he used props and costumes which are prominent in most of his photographs and the way he hand tinted them in pastel shades, reminiscent of early colour photography, gives a truly amazing feel to them. His incredible ability to pose, prop, light and generally stage his scenes so naturally amazes me. The drab crumbling plaster wall, rich in contrast was often offset with splashes of vibrant colour in the costumes and props he used, bringing the picture to life, like a scene from a play.
Saudek's work is unique. I have never seen anything quite like it. For me, he remains one of the most revered photographers of his generation and is regarded as one of Czechoslovakia's most important artists. Below are some sample images from his remarkable portfolio.
Man Ray b.1890 - 1976 US
An avant-garde photographer who regarded himself as primarily a painter in the surreal and modernist movements. Although he worked in many mediums, it was his photography that paid the bills and for which he was recognised as being truly exceptional. Much of his life was spent in Paris where he socialised with his fellow artists and peers and whom he often photographed.
He used several tecnhiques in his work, including 'solarisation (where parts of a negative are reversed in tone so that dark becomes light and vise-versa), and his camera-less technique, where he would place objects of varying opacity onto light-sensitive photographic paper thus creating a 'photogram (which he referred to as a 'Rayogram and 'pure Dadaism!).
Ray was inspired by his obsession with women and his photographs reflected his surreal views of the female form. I love the way his portraits accentuate the beautiful curves of the body giving an almost unbroken flow to the photographs. His portraits are stunning in their honesty and I feel he had a real talent for lighting and posture.
Thw first two pictures below are two of my favourite 'Rayograms'. Look at how the black contrasts so vividly with the stark white complimented by the soft grey tones. I particularly like the effect Ray managed to achieve in picture six - the wonderful textured female torso. I am sure Man Ray has inspired many modern day photographers. He certainly has me and I feel his work would not be out of place in the 21st century.
He used several tecnhiques in his work, including 'solarisation (where parts of a negative are reversed in tone so that dark becomes light and vise-versa), and his camera-less technique, where he would place objects of varying opacity onto light-sensitive photographic paper thus creating a 'photogram (which he referred to as a 'Rayogram and 'pure Dadaism!).
Ray was inspired by his obsession with women and his photographs reflected his surreal views of the female form. I love the way his portraits accentuate the beautiful curves of the body giving an almost unbroken flow to the photographs. His portraits are stunning in their honesty and I feel he had a real talent for lighting and posture.
Thw first two pictures below are two of my favourite 'Rayograms'. Look at how the black contrasts so vividly with the stark white complimented by the soft grey tones. I particularly like the effect Ray managed to achieve in picture six - the wonderful textured female torso. I am sure Man Ray has inspired many modern day photographers. He certainly has me and I feel his work would not be out of place in the 21st century.
Teuku 'Jody' Zulkarnaen - Indonesia
At the time of writing, I have been unable to find out anything about this amazing photographer. I have, however tried to contact him and I am waiting for a response. All I know is that he uses a Nikon D70, a Canon D300 and a 70-200mm zoom lens! I will update this section if and when I hear from him. In the meantime just enjoy these stunning images. They are absolutely breathtaking and he is by far, my favourite landscape photographer. I am in awe of the way he treats his images (I suspect they are HDR) and the way he achieves such vivid colours, sharp contrasts and such beautiful lighting. I would love to feature his full portfolio here, but it's my learning blog not his! His images leave me virtually speechless! Enjoy!
Diane Arbus b. 1923 - 1971
The master (mistress?) of the honest portrait in my eyes. Her work is haunting and often surreal. Arbus liked to photograph the unusual, selecting people who were not standard model material. Circus performers, the old, nudes, transvestites, dwarfs, etc. In her time, she was regarded as the 'photographer of freaks'. She was a prolific black and white photographer and her work is still exhibited today. She committed suicide in 1971.
Looking at her work really inspires me to try and emulate the honesty that her photographs portray. I feel that the true personalities of her subjects shine through and I wonder how she managed to 'capture that moment'. In short, each of her photographs tells a story.
Looking at her work really inspires me to try and emulate the honesty that her photographs portray. I feel that the true personalities of her subjects shine through and I wonder how she managed to 'capture that moment'. In short, each of her photographs tells a story.
Robert Doisneau b. 1912 - 1994
This photographer was one of the pioneers of 'street photography'. Born in France, much of his works show life in contemporary Paris. Often ironic, his pictures were playful and humorous. He had the knack of blending into the background and firing the shutter at his subject as if he were invisible. His delightful photographs are some of my favourite in this genre. He was quite selective in his topics and would only shoot what he found pleasing, quote: "I don't photograph life as it is, but life as I would like it to be." Here is a selection of some of my favourite. I particularly like the shot of (Pablo Picasso?) with bread rolls for fingers! This is typical of the style of Doisneau. He also liked to photograph children at play (often getting into mischief).
Andreas Gursky's Rhein II
This is a great-ish photo. I recognise the horizontal composition and how precise the lines are. But I cannot understand how this photograph made £2.7m at Christies in New York this week (11th November 2011). This price sets a new world record for a photograph. What am I doing wrong?!
Simon Belham/Places/National Geographic Photo Contest
With regard to colour, here is a great picture that illustrates colour relationships. Taken by the above photographer who also captioned it thus: "An image with beautiful natural colours i was
surveying for work when i found this moment and only got the one single shot
due to the meeting with my client, the car and the climber was removed one week
after the image was taken". (Photo and caption by Simon
Belham/Places/National Geographic Photo Contest) .
Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest: 50 Finalists The Smithsonian magazine's 9th annual photo contest finalists have been chosen. The contest attracted over 14 thousand photographers from all 50 states and over 100 countries. Fifty finalists from 67,059 images were selected by Smithsonian editors. Those editors will also choose the Grand Prize Winner and the winners in each of the five categories which include The Natural World, Americana, People, Travel and Altered Images. Photos were selected based on technical quality, clarity and composition, a flair for the unexpected and the ability to capture a picture-perfect moment. (Smithsonian invites everyone to select an additional "Readers' Choice" winner by voting through March for their favorite image on line.) -- Paula Nelson (25 photos total)http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2012/03/smithsonian_magazine_photo_con.html