AWayOfLife: February 2012

Tuesday, 28 February 2012

Kim Weston.

Kim has been a fine art nude photographer for over 30 years. He is a third-generation member of one of the most important and creative families in photography.

Education

He learned his craft assisting his father Cole in the darkroom making gallery prints from his grandfather Edward’s original negatives. Kim also worked for many years as an assistant to his uncle Brett, whose bold, abstract photographs rank as some of the finest example.

I love how he portrays the female form.

Taken from: http://www.kimweston.com/

Robert Mapplethorpe.

His vast, provocative, and powerful body of work has established him as one of the most important artists of the twentieth century. Today Mapplethorpe is represented by galleries in North and South America and Europe and his work can be found in the collections of major museums around the world. Beyond the art historical and social significance of his work, his legacy lives on through the work of the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. He established the Foundation in 1988 to promote photography, support museums that exhibit photographic art, and to fund medical research in the fight against AIDS and HIV-related infection.

Mapplethorpe met Lisa Lyon, the first World Women's Bodybuilding Champion, in 1980. Over the next several years they collaborated on a series of portraits and figure studies, a film, and the book, Lady, Lisa Lyon. Throughout the 80s, Mapplethorpe produced a bevy of images that simultaneously challenge and adhere to classical aesthetic standards: stylized compositions of male and female nudes, delicate flower still lifes, and studio portraits of artists and celebrities, to name a few of his preferred genres.

I love this photo. I like the texture that has occured when the mud/water has dried on the skin.

I like how different shapes can be found and lit up with the right lighting.

Taken from: http://www.mapplethorpe.org/portfolios/

Edward Weston.

Taken from: http://www.edward-weston.com/

Edward Weston uses solarization in some of his photos. This means he exposed them in a dark room twice to build up layers. I think it makes the photos look like they are drawn. Man Ray used this effect on some of his work.

I really like this style of photography, finding art in nude poses and using different lighting to highlight texture and body tones.

"I am stimulated to work with nude bodies, because of the infinite combinations of lines which are present with every move." - Edward Weston

Monday, 27 February 2012

Karen McBride

Karen is an experienced photographer; on her travels through life she realised she had a talent for spotting the unusual and that the unusual had a talent for spotting her.

Sports day at junior school was an exciting one because all the girls fancied the sports teacher… I was asked to take the pictures for the school, not because I was a good photographer because I’d never used a camera before, but I was good at art so they must have assumed I was good at photography too. Drawing got me out of trouble with the school bullies… I lost my self in my own world and really enjoyed being there.

I left school with no qualifications and ended up on one of these young peoples training schemes, I was naturally drawn to the arty side of life and so trained as a lithographic printer. I got turned down for Art College because my portfolio wasn’t big enough, it didn’t worry me though, I got a job as an office clerk at a printers. I moved around learning new skills, a trade and I loved it.

Photography found me again when I borrowed a friend’s camera. I broke it by accident and pretended I knew how to fix. He said ‘if you can fix it you can have it’. I ended up buying a camera and enrolled on a photography course.

Taken from her website: http://karenmcbride.com/

I quite like her photography, it is very different and I think she has a very keen eye for finding the unusual in everyday scenes. These are a few of my favourite photographs of hers.

Cindy Sherman

"Cindy Sherman (born January 19, 1954) is an American photographer and film director, best known for her conceptual portraits. In 1995, she was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. Through a number of different series of works, Sherman has sought to raise challenging and important questions about the role and representation of women in society, the media and the nature of the creation of art. Her photographs include some of the most expensive photographs ever sold. Sherman lives and works in New York.

Sherman works in series, typically photographing herself in a range of costumes. To create her photographs, Sherman shoots alone in her studio, assuming multiple roles as author, director, make-up artist, hairstylist, wardrobe mistress—and, of course, model."

Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Sherman

I have to say this is not one of my favourite photographers. I mean her work is very creative and she puts a lot of effort into what she does but I just don't like the style that much.

Tuesday, 7 February 2012

Tim Flach Research

This is Tim Flach's website. When you open it the first thing you see is a dog walking across the screen. taken from: http://www.timflach.com/

A bit out Tim Flach

He is an animal photographer that mixes animals with philosophy to make the viewer think carefully about what they are seeing.

"Photography can have different meanings to different people, and as one layer is revealed another can be found. Sometimes you can create other meanings by leaving detail out.

It's so important to observe and in a sense let go of things, if what you thought was going to happen, didn't and if something reveals it's self, to see it." -Tim Flach

Tim's photography is famous for his well thought out shots.

His main advise for people wanting to photograph animals are:

Know the/your animal

Look at the quirks and characteristics of that animal, that are unique to that animal and try to convey them in the shot.

Like he has done here in this shot of a peacock. He has seen that its feathers are the unique trademark from that animal and photographed it in such a way that it looks magical.

Develop and plan your ideas

By all means plan out and develop your favourite ideas that you think will make for an excellent shot, BUT be prepaired to adapt your ideas because you never know what an animal might do, although there are often other opportunities that present themselves. You just has to know where and how to look for them. You must also be sensitive to the animals needs.

Textures and details

Try to use details and textures. Explore your animal, look for unique places and patterns. You never know what you might find.

Just like in these shots of pigs. When you first look at the picture on the right you may think it is the face of an elephant with its eyes closed but it is actually the top of a pigs head and the bits that look like closed eyes are the creases of the back of the pigs ears.

Tim's photography is famous for his well thought out shot. Like this one, he took it from in between the owners legs to get a real feeling of the dog coming toward you.

This photograph is pure genius, having a very lightweight dog stood on a weighing machine.

I love these photos because there is just so much thought gone into them, the way the dogs are positioned and the way the fur is shaved and dyed. This is why Tim Flach is one of my favourite photographers because he just puts so much planning and work into his shots and they are always so stunning and full of so many conflicting meanings.

Re-Creating A Man Ray Photograph

I have looked at quite a few photographs and have decided to Re-Create this photo:

I will be doing it in the studio at college with a few friends to help me out.

One of my friends has kindly volunteered to model for me.

I have thought about how I would include the music symbols to my picture and have come up with two solutions: I will take two photographs, one will be in black and white and the other will be in colour. I will then edit them both and see which I like best.

The resources I will need will be:

-The Studio

-Lighting

-A Model

-Camera

-Tripod

-A Table (For the model to sit on)

-A Blanket, Towel (To rap around her)

-Black Background

Set-up in the studio

I used the beauty dish.

And this really bright little light.

This was how the room was set up for the shoot. The table in the middle with a light each side. For the first few shots I only used the beauty dish and then used them both.

The shots

These are just with the beauty dish.