Photographer Research
Carl warner
Carl Warner is a photographer who specializes in taking images of food in the form of an object. He uses food to make a landscape out of it and then using a back drop takes the photograph. To do this he uses super glue to stick down the food in place. Carl Warner wanted inspiration to create an original theme of photography. While he was walking around a food market he discovered portabello mushrooms which he thought look liked an alien formed tree. Using this idea, he bought them back to his studio with some other ingredients such as rice and beans to try and create a miniature scene on a table top. He called this 'foodscape'. Here is his first 'foodscape' image called 'The Mushroom Savanna' on the left.
Slinkachu
Slinkachu is a London-Based photographer who creates images of small illustrations involving miniature figurines, objects and insects. He modifies tiny human figures from model train sets to place them in real situations. He captures the figurines in situations such as sight seeing, camping, fighting and dying. His photographs are most commonly taken at close up view. He gets all of his imaginative ideas in his head and sits in coffee shops sketching them out. On the left is an example of Slinkachu's work.
Lichtfaktor
Lichtfaktor are a german group of photographers that specialize in capturing images of light. They use their imagination to take pictures of objects of light by changing the shutter speed to allow the shutter to stay open for longer, which enables them to achieve a light trail. On the left is an example of Lichtfaktor's work.
Edward Weston
Edward Weston was an American photographer in the 20th century. He took interest in taking black and white photographs of objects in an unusual perspective, making them seem what they are not.
I like how the photographer uses a black and white filter to greater a broader contrast between the tones. The image is detailed. The formal elements are texture, detail, shape and form.
I like how the photographer uses a black and white filter to greater a broader contrast between the tones. The image is detailed. The formal elements are texture, detail, shape and form.
My examples of Edward Weston's work
Shoot 1
Shoot 2
Shoot 3
Shoot 4
Final Draft/Shoot
Final Piece
I chose the following photograph as my final piece because it is the most clear and detailed. It relates the most to Edward Weston with the illusion of making the viewer wonder what they are seeing. I like how the image has a big contrast between the tones/shading. I chose the black and white filter because it also links the Weston's style.
Olivia Parker
Olivia Parker was a painter and is now a photographer. She specializes in taking images of objects in different perspectives. Parker's work is commonly black and white and shows a great contrast of light. Olivia Parker claims that she often uses old objects when creating her photographs.
Jennifer Blakeley
Jennifer Blakeley is a photographer who specializes in taking pictures of objects shaped as letters, creating an alphabet. Blakeley is an award winning entrepreneur and newborn photographer. The photographer is based in Canada.
David Hockney
David Hockney is a photographer who creates joiners. Joiners are made up of individual photographs to make one photograph. Hockney creates joiners because he wanted to tell a story in different perspectives. He wanted to capture the small details that people normally miss while viewing a photograph. He realized, while taking pictures of a living room in Los Angeles, that it created a narrative, as if the viewer was walking through the room. With this outcome, Hockney developed his idea of what he called joiners.
Ansel Adams
Ansel Adams was an American photographer born on the 20th of February 1902. He specializes in capturing images of landscapes, commonly in black and white which are often widely reproduced onto calendars, posters and books.
Michael Paul Smith
Michael Paul Smith is a photographer and expert model maker. He recreates mid-century America by making scenes, much like Carl Warner does with food. Smith uses small, detailed model cars to achieve this. He also uses miniature buildings too, which add to the scene. The photographer uses real-life landscapes as his background and blends in the model cars and sets into it. He uses a table to place the models onto. However, sometimes Smith builds model sets for the backdrop.
Michael Paul Smith recreates mid-century America of his youth because he wants people to look back on the era. 'I'm creating a mood, something familiar in the viewer's mind' he told the New York Times. The mood of his work would encourage people to smile and remember the past so therefore it is positive.
I like the photorapher's work because of how he is recreating a time in history that is partly forgotten, with the lack of photographs. I also like how simple yet effect the models are and how they look so realistic.
Michael Paul Smith recreates mid-century America of his youth because he wants people to look back on the era. 'I'm creating a mood, something familiar in the viewer's mind' he told the New York Times. The mood of his work would encourage people to smile and remember the past so therefore it is positive.
I like the photorapher's work because of how he is recreating a time in history that is partly forgotten, with the lack of photographs. I also like how simple yet effect the models are and how they look so realistic.
Bob Martin
Bob Martin is a multi-award winning sports photographer, he has traveled all around the world to different sporting events in order to capture the incredible shots above. During the 2012 London Olympics he was appointed the status Photo Chief.
Naoya Hatakeyama
Naoya Hatakeyama was born in Iwate, Japan on the 19th of March, 1958. He studied at the University of Tsukuba, school of Art and Design and graduated in 1981. Hatakeyama works and lives in Tokyo, Japan. The photographs above were part of his 'River Series / Shadow' photo shoot from 2002. His nine-part photoshoot was taken in cement canals and Naoya Hatakeyama became famous over night because of them. With this successful outcome Naoya Hatakeyama's work was placed in the board room of the Deutsche Bank in Tokyo.
The photograph displays a reflection in the water of the buildings/structures around the canal. It contains the lights and colours of the buildings too. It is even difficult to tell what time of day it is as the sky looks as if it is blue but that could be a blue building as the rest of the picture is so dark, and resembles night time. It also shows plastic cups and bottles in the water, along with the ripples of water. The work was influenced by the photographers' interest in things that are constructive and of substance. Pieces of his other work is based around man-made structures, such as factories.
To take the photograph Naoya Hatakeyama would have used a camera with the setting on movement and perhaps the flash on because of the bright white light that reflects off the water. He would have used a fast shutter speed and probably a tripod as the photograph is level. The photographer would of either rotated the image or taken it upside down, to achieve the upside down feature. Naoya Hatakeyama is also known for taking minimum images that lure the viewer in an illusion to believe they are in the photograph.
The key formal elements used are colour, line (with the sides of the canal) and texture (of the water). The mood of the photograph is negative as it shows how scenery is ruined by litter, I know this because of the plastic cups and bottles that are in the canal. The photographer's work is said to have an 'element of the universal '- Ulf Erdmann Ziegler. I believe this quote means that he believes that Naoya Hatakeyama's work has a space theme to it, which I agree with.
I like this photo graph because of the bright colours that are featured from the lights and how unusual the image is as it is up-side-down. It is very original and seems to have a meaning behind it which is not to litter and ruin the environment. I also like how the image looks like a painting rather than a photograph. However, I dislike how the buildings being reflected are not clear and focused, I think Naoya Hatakeyama could of improved this piece of work by doing this.
The photograph displays a reflection in the water of the buildings/structures around the canal. It contains the lights and colours of the buildings too. It is even difficult to tell what time of day it is as the sky looks as if it is blue but that could be a blue building as the rest of the picture is so dark, and resembles night time. It also shows plastic cups and bottles in the water, along with the ripples of water. The work was influenced by the photographers' interest in things that are constructive and of substance. Pieces of his other work is based around man-made structures, such as factories.
To take the photograph Naoya Hatakeyama would have used a camera with the setting on movement and perhaps the flash on because of the bright white light that reflects off the water. He would have used a fast shutter speed and probably a tripod as the photograph is level. The photographer would of either rotated the image or taken it upside down, to achieve the upside down feature. Naoya Hatakeyama is also known for taking minimum images that lure the viewer in an illusion to believe they are in the photograph.
The key formal elements used are colour, line (with the sides of the canal) and texture (of the water). The mood of the photograph is negative as it shows how scenery is ruined by litter, I know this because of the plastic cups and bottles that are in the canal. The photographer's work is said to have an 'element of the universal '- Ulf Erdmann Ziegler. I believe this quote means that he believes that Naoya Hatakeyama's work has a space theme to it, which I agree with.
I like this photo graph because of the bright colours that are featured from the lights and how unusual the image is as it is up-side-down. It is very original and seems to have a meaning behind it which is not to litter and ruin the environment. I also like how the image looks like a painting rather than a photograph. However, I dislike how the buildings being reflected are not clear and focused, I think Naoya Hatakeyama could of improved this piece of work by doing this.
Richter Gerhard
Richter Gerhard is a German visual artist who was born on the 8th of February 1932. The artist produces abstract paintings using bright colours, Gerhard also takes photographs and creates glass pieces. Richter Gerhard has also experimented with paint and photographs and has produced more abstract artwork by brightly coloured oil paints and a photograph as a canvas.
The painting here is called 'Abstraktes Bild (809-1)' and was created in 1994. The art work was created by detailed under-painting followed by thick oil paints on top. Gerhard uses a squeegee and sometimes wide-headed brushed to smear the oil paint over the under-painting. By applying more oil paint along the length of the squeegee the artist then uses this to create a smooth effect over the surface.
Gerhard creates his work because of a lifelong interest in painting and is known to have gained much of his painted imagery through newspapers and family albums. The artist looked at how people captured the 'truth' in pictures. The key formal elements of the painting are colour (paint), texture and line (aspects in the painting technique).
I like the paintings because of the bright, vibrant colours that are used and how varied painting techniques are applied to create different textures. However, I think the painting could be more interesting if more materials were used.
Richter Gerhard's painting technique reminds me of Naoya Hatakeyama's smudging effect that is created by water and light. The two photographers or artists both have similarities in their work as they both take photographs and both use the same effect/style as each other in their work but in their own unique way.
The painting here is called 'Abstraktes Bild (809-1)' and was created in 1994. The art work was created by detailed under-painting followed by thick oil paints on top. Gerhard uses a squeegee and sometimes wide-headed brushed to smear the oil paint over the under-painting. By applying more oil paint along the length of the squeegee the artist then uses this to create a smooth effect over the surface.
Gerhard creates his work because of a lifelong interest in painting and is known to have gained much of his painted imagery through newspapers and family albums. The artist looked at how people captured the 'truth' in pictures. The key formal elements of the painting are colour (paint), texture and line (aspects in the painting technique).
I like the paintings because of the bright, vibrant colours that are used and how varied painting techniques are applied to create different textures. However, I think the painting could be more interesting if more materials were used.
Richter Gerhard's painting technique reminds me of Naoya Hatakeyama's smudging effect that is created by water and light. The two photographers or artists both have similarities in their work as they both take photographs and both use the same effect/style as each other in their work but in their own unique way.
Saul Leiter
Saul Leiter was an American painter and photographer. Leiter was born on the 3rd of December 1923 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. He died on the 26th of November 2013 in New York City, New York, United States. The artist's early work of the 1940s and 50s made a crucial contribution to what was seen as the New York school of photography.
Leiter first went to the Big Apple to launch his career, he then met his mentor Richard Pousette-Dart, who was the founder of the New York School of painting and an Abstract Expressionist. Leiter became inspired by the bizzare and dramatic work of his tutor which propelled him further into the theme. His work is based on reflections in windows, people and buildings. However, fame for Saul Leiter did not come until the late 1990s, but thanks to Howard Greenberg, a gallery owner, he was discovered.
The photograph above is called 'Walk with Soames' and was taken in 1958. The image is abstract and includes features such as traffic lights, people, rain, buildings and window reflections. The colours include are orange, yellow, red, white, grey and black, (the silhouettes of the people). The name of the photograph does explain the image as the photograph looks as though it was taken on a pavement which Leiter was walking on hence the verb 'walk'.
Leiter probably did not use a tripod for the photograph. I can tell this as the traffic light is not straight and looks as if it is leaning. The photograph makes it look as though the world is tilting. I believe Leiter did this to add to the abstract feel of the image. The formal elements used would be colour, line, texture and shape. Adjectives to describe these elements would be colourful, smooth and circular/curved.
I chose this artist because I started to experiment with layering images on Photoshop, which reminded me of his work as it is similar. The photograph above contains all of the aspects I am looking at for the moment such as lights, water, reflections and buildings. The image also resembles the painting style of Richter Gerhard as the colours look smudged. Leiter's work links all of the artists I have looked at and includes elements from the artists in the photograph above.
I like the photograph because it is abstract and different/unusual. I also like how Saul Leiter has included a range of colours. To improve the photograph Leiter could have featured more of the buildings in the background or more of the scenery in general to make the image more interesting.
Leiter first went to the Big Apple to launch his career, he then met his mentor Richard Pousette-Dart, who was the founder of the New York School of painting and an Abstract Expressionist. Leiter became inspired by the bizzare and dramatic work of his tutor which propelled him further into the theme. His work is based on reflections in windows, people and buildings. However, fame for Saul Leiter did not come until the late 1990s, but thanks to Howard Greenberg, a gallery owner, he was discovered.
The photograph above is called 'Walk with Soames' and was taken in 1958. The image is abstract and includes features such as traffic lights, people, rain, buildings and window reflections. The colours include are orange, yellow, red, white, grey and black, (the silhouettes of the people). The name of the photograph does explain the image as the photograph looks as though it was taken on a pavement which Leiter was walking on hence the verb 'walk'.
Leiter probably did not use a tripod for the photograph. I can tell this as the traffic light is not straight and looks as if it is leaning. The photograph makes it look as though the world is tilting. I believe Leiter did this to add to the abstract feel of the image. The formal elements used would be colour, line, texture and shape. Adjectives to describe these elements would be colourful, smooth and circular/curved.
I chose this artist because I started to experiment with layering images on Photoshop, which reminded me of his work as it is similar. The photograph above contains all of the aspects I am looking at for the moment such as lights, water, reflections and buildings. The image also resembles the painting style of Richter Gerhard as the colours look smudged. Leiter's work links all of the artists I have looked at and includes elements from the artists in the photograph above.
I like the photograph because it is abstract and different/unusual. I also like how Saul Leiter has included a range of colours. To improve the photograph Leiter could have featured more of the buildings in the background or more of the scenery in general to make the image more interesting.