Sam Taylor Wood

Cry Man Portraits not only shows men at a vunerable state but celebrity men. Sam Taylor Wood has shone light on a dark area. It is asummed that many men would not like to be seen this way. Maybe this is true but the fact that these men are crying in these photos makes me wonder if maybe they would actually like to cry now and again. On the other hand they are actors so they could be acting very well.

Here are some links to articles and photographs from the series.

http://www.thevillager.com/villager_75/celebsasasiffrom.html

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/sam-taylor-wood-crying-men



Self Portraits Suspended:

Taylor wood has taken a series of self portairst of her suspend in air balaning in a chair or hanging by balloons. Originally she is help up by suspension leads and then later these are removed from the photo. What is interesting is that she does this in a vest top and shorts so the shape of the body is seen clearly and the shadown is crisp and exentuated. This is a vey differwent stle of self portairts.



A good place to read about her and her works is at the white cube galleries website.

Cyanotypes

This is a process in which you get a cyan-blue print. The chemicals used are Ammonium Iron (III) Citrate and Potassium Ferricyanide. The procedure was discovered by Sir John Herschel it was brought to photography by his friends daughter Anna Atkins. The process was used to document the scientific specimen of algae and published in a book.

The process itself, once the right quantities of chemical is made up into the solution needed. It is brushed on to a strong surface that can absorb iron solution like water colour paper and kept in a dark place to dry.

To make an exposure you need to expose it to UV light such as the ones from the sun. These days UV lights can be bought which is a good idea in countries where there is less sunshine. On a nice bright sunny day 10/20 minute exposure is good enough. The UV light reduces the iron in the area that is exposed turning the paper into a grey-ish blue colour. You can use everyday objects to make monograms or you can use large format negatives or lithography film. After the exposure is made the paper is washed in water and the soluble chemical washes away and the insoulble stays leaving the cyan colour. The process was in high use for engerneering prints due to its low cost and fast reproduction. These are what is known as blue prints.


My Cyanotype work:

For my series here I actually made digital black and white negatives of my colour negatives. It is printed on inkjet compatible acetate. I enjoy this process a lot as it is very experimental and I'd love to do more work like this.

You can buy a cyanotype kit from silverprint in waterloo but I habe not tried that yet. It does't come with a light source so you would have to rely on the lovly sun to come out.

These images are complely out of focus shots of westminister skyline and two of them are also zoomed into during exposure.

Preserving these images is tricky as if exposed to UV light for long they fade. Although strangly if you put them back in the dark they get darker again with time. Its a good idea to not keep it in direct sunlight.

"Cheka Kidogo" - Rankin

“Cheka Kidogo” means “smile a little” in Swahili.

This series of photographs by Rankin in association with Oxfam was photographed in the, Democratic Republic of Congo’s Mugunga refugee camp. There are around 17,000 refugees there. Although it is to document the victims of Congo the photographs have been taken in a unique way.

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam_in_action/where_we_work/drc/rankin_gallery.html

We are used to seeing “traditional” photos of conflict, crisis and its victims. Photographs like these only highlight the issue of war and struggle but do not show the people as real people.

Rankin however has photographed the victims at the refugee camp in a different light.

In this series there are 36 photographs and each portrait has a story. Rankin took time to ask them their names and about themselves and their struggles. Each photograph is titled with their name. Knowing their names was the first step in helping us understand them and look at them as real people.



Although these are portraits of the victims smiling you can still see the hardship they are going through clearly on their faces and in their eyes and because of the personal effect of the photos the viewer feels a connection to the photograph through humanity. The photographs are not just documenting current affairs but going deeper and touching peoples hearts to make a change.

Andrew Zuckerman

Andrew Zuckerman, an awardwinning director and photographer born in Washington DC in 1977. I came across an article in BBC's Wildlife magazine. The article was about his book titled "Creatures". The book contains a series of portarits of animals. the animals are photographed individually against a white background.

I also found another article similar to the one in the magazine online at the daily telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/5023210/Creature-by-Andrew-Zuckerman.html

Here Zuckerman quotes "When a subject is stripped from its context, its behaviour, rather than its purpose, is all that remains"

You look at the animals diferently and the images are able to really show their charecters and you can connect with them.

This series really interest me for the mere fact that the photogrpaher was able to get these animals in to the studio and get such stunning shots. that do not look like the animals are scarred or nervous. Photographing animals requires patience and time and still it is very difficult. Yet Zuckermans photos are perfect and beautiful.

His recent work is titled "Wisdom" a series of portraits and a 60 min film. Based on the idea that the greatest gift that man can pass down to the next generation is wisdom they have gained through experience. The series includes those people who have left their mark on the world.

http://www.wisdombook.org/ there are some very interesting flims on this website about how they made the series aswel.

Paul Graham | Television Portraits

This by far has to be my favorite Paul Graham series. something so plain and ordinary became something interesting, funny and quirky.

The TV portraits are intimate documentary photos. The series came about by Paul taking a spontaneous photo of his flat mate. Now the series features many people watching TV around the world.

The photograph is taken while the individual is fixed on watching the TV and in a way becomes unaware of the photographer.

I found a link to an interesting description of Paul's earlier work and in contrast his new work.

http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=20981&searchid=13097

Philip Lorca diCorcia

American photographer Phillip Lorca diCorcia born 1951. His photographs are either snapshots or on the other hand elaboratly staged. He came about in the 70's just as conceptual photography was finiding its footing.

"Hustlers" is a series of photographs where diCorica has asked random people to pose for a photograph. They were paid the amount they asked for. When exhibited, under each photograph was the amount they were paid for their time and the location. This giving the implication that they were like "prostitutes".

"Eddie Anderson, 21 years old; Houston, Texas; $20"
https://ilkirstiewilkinson.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/philip-1.jpg?w=1086

In the article above it does mention that the boys look more like home sick college boys than prostitutes but the captioning of the photo would easily help to direct your mind.

Here is an interesting article on Lorca diCorcia's work relating to modernism and post modernism:

http://artscenecal.com/ArticlesFile/Archive/Articles1997/Articles1097/PdiCorciaA.html

Modernism & Post Modernism

Modern thoughts. Throught history the culture of the western society has been changing. the term modernerism is often used for this. The term refers to those who left the traditional forms of art behind. proceeding with experimentation with form and the uses of material. Moving away from pretty paintings and romanticiezed art.

Photographers in the Modernist movement would include Edward Weston, Paul Strand, Imogen Cunningham to name a few.


Edward Weston


Imogen Cunningham

Post Modernism of also known as Pomo is the "after modernism movement" although modernism is to do with the goings on of the present day. its to do with in realation to the past. Pomo includes the social and cultural issues of today aswell and in a way reacts to the old ideas of moernism.

Pomo came about as a movement against the lack of blandness and hostility in modernism itself. The belief that modernism should be about politics society and culture. Some think it takes away the art from them work.

I found and interest discussion on the internet about the ideas held by Pomo's:

http://photo.net/large-format-photography-forum/0038Ff

i perticulary like this part

" --things the post-modernists know nothing about; they would prefer to frame a piece of feces and call it a "photograph" and discuss all the theoretical issues it raises. Then, print your photos with technical competence and virtuosity and write a short essay to the effect that the meaning in these photos is not contained in any accompanying words and theories, but rather it's right there in the photos, available to anyone willing to show up and sit through them. "

Intersting point they make.