COVERT AND OBSCURE
Brain Storm
Artist Analyses
Anthony Hernandez
Anthony Hernandez took a series of photographs in the 1980s depiciting life on Rodeo drive an infomus beverly hills shopping highway, intrested in photographing the social landscape of los angles hernadez captured shoppers unaware recording the big hair and sinced waists of the 80s not only does he capture the urban experience but also the tension
implying economic disparity and racial divide. The best photographs are the ones in which the subject is totally unaware and Hernadez has mannaged to capture the complexities of urban living which can be seen in all their shameful glory. |
Karla Read
Born and raised in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic Karla read began taking pictures after she left high school and was inspired by one of her friends photography blogs. she has since gone on to become a highly saught after photographer working freelance for companys and working on her own personal projects. Her photography carries a sense of nostalgia, and tells stories about a woman's longing to be different, young and free, it also gives us an insight into a closed world with the use of hotel rooms and intimate spoaces used the viewer has no idea where the photograph was tekn and this gives it a type of mystery and intimacy that not only shows the hidden side of the subject but also exposes us to their vunrability.
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This photograph is a black and white full body shot and depicts a woman leaning against a wall, pulling at her leotard, she is not facing the camera which makes her a whole lot more intriguing, and she is not intrested in the photographer it makes us want to know more about this woman.
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Bruce Davidson
Bruce Davidson is an American photographer who at a young age began taking photographs of the world around him, his interest in the bourougs of new york and what was hideen in them became a focal point for davidsons work and he was soon a member of magnum which was co- founded by one of his idols Henri Cartier- bresson. Notably one of his most intresting projects and the first in-depth photographic records of rebellious postwar youth culture was when he sought out and began to follow one of new yorks gangs 'the jokers' Davidson won their trust and they allowed him to photograph them not only as their tough reblious ways but after a while he also experinced their fear, depression and anger in staying close to them he soon uncovered his own feeling of fustration, rage and faliure. in photographing thi gang he had uncovered the real truth behind the fustarted youth of america.
This photo is one taken during the time Davidson spent with the brooklyn gang, it shows a young woman 'Cathey's reflection in a cigerette machine as she fixes her hair. i think this photo depicts how image conscious these people were but also gives a rare insight into their venerability as they are clearly beginning to let their guard down and this is becoming evident in this photograph.
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Surveillance
Walk Around Paris
The streets have a strict sense of time of day and night, The cafe that opens for early morning commuters, who stand, bleary eyed, drinking thier hot exprtessos in small cups on zinc computers, thinking of the day ahead, or reminating on the night before. what regrets do they have? The cafe regulars- the overweight man in shabby clothes, who stands remonstrating with the bored looking waiters, going out every 10 minuites or so into the cold air to smoke yet another cigertette. Early morning segues into another time, that of the leisurely breakfast taker- the student, retired accountant or eager tourist keen to catch the 'real paris' late morning arrives and the tabels are set for lunch, the specials written on the board, a sense of purpse in the footseps of the waiters. On it goes until night takes over, and the street takes on a diffrent hue, the seats outside filled with th eyoung and trendy ready for their night out. This scene is repeated in every establishment on this parisan street a fleeting glimpse into people's lives. I enjoyed taking these set of pictures as the freedom to capture anything I wanted meant I felt creative and was able to capture people in their natural day to day activity's I think this is also very evident in the photographs.
Obscured portraits
Strand one :
Body Dysmorphia
For my first Idea I wanted to look at the idea of the human body and manipulating it with the use of lighting and a long exposure, I liked the idea of making my photographs dream like with bright colours and I want to capture the movement of the subject.
Kalliope Amorphous
Kalliope Amorphous is A self taught visual artist who has created many portfolios which have eary and dream like themes.In the photos on the right he has used stroboscopic techniques to create these sequentially captured shots. Kalliope stated that in order to create a more subtle rendering of these sequential actions a longer exposure was necessary, something I want to experiment with in my strand.
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For my first strand I wanted to experiment with using a strobe light and a long shutter speed, with the model moving around to create the effect of multiple body parts. I liked the multiple body positions and facial expressions you could capture in one shot, and asked the model to move around as freely as possible, i think yiou can see this in the outcome, I wanted to further this idea .
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Strand two:
Hotel rooms and unknown places
For my second strand I wanted to look at unknown spaces and the idea of mystery through the use of hotel rooms. I think hotel rooms are very interesting as they give away nothing about where are person is, they are so in personal they become mysterious. In this set of photos I want to capture a secret within the model and create an atmosphere of unknown. I wanted the scene to be bare and everything to be simple as if it could be anywhere in the world,
Strand Three:
Mirrors and reflections
I want to explore the idea of revealing a persons true emotions through their refection in a mirror using photoshop and placing mirrors round a subject and photographing from different angles their different reflections.
Body dysmorphia- continued
To continue my first strand of body dysmorphia I wanted to use colourful clothes and more expression on the faces o f my models to capture an emotion from the pictures.
In this photo I like the contrast in facial expressions; whereas one on the subjects faces is intense and there is a lot of tension present below we see a completely different side to the model as her face is much more soft and vulnerable expression I think this gives the photo more depth and the range of expressions are very captivating.
Hotel rooms + unknown places continued
Photograph 3
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I wanted to develop this strand focusing on capturing expressions on the models face and using this and the way in which the photo is taken to create and tell a story. using photoshop I also wanted to create a more timeless feel to the photographs. My intentions for this set of photographs was to show the subject in a vulnerable state in which the viewer feels that they know this person.
Photograph 1- In this photo I caught the subject off guard and resulted in a natural emotion which reads in the picture, the contrast between her hair and eyebrows and her skin and shirt give lots of different shades which is something I also enhanced on Photoshop.
Photograph 2- I like the full body shotas we have clear view of the subjects surroundings without giving anything away in terms of where she is. The expression on the subjects face is of deep thought and sorrow, she is mysterious and as an audience we wonder what she is thinking, this is the type of story I wanted to tell with this set of photographs. The lighting in the room was not very good and as a result their is not an even exposure.
Photograph 3- This photo shows a more carefree side to the character I am creating. here she is fun but yet we still cannot tell what she is thinking. she is caught in mid movement which is one of the reasons i like this picture.
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Photograph 1
Photograph 2
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WEEGEE
BRASSAI
diane arbus
BRASSAI
diane arbus
WeeGee
WeeGee was a photographer and photojournalist in the 19030s who was known for his black and white stark photographs in which he developed his signature style by following the new york emergency services and documenting their activity. He was notorious for arriving at the scene of a crime minutes after the police and his images capture urban culture ,death and injury. WeeGee used basic photographic equipment and had a make shift darkroom in the rear of his car, which gave his photographs the 'hot off the press' feeling.
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Diane Arbus
Dianne Arbus was a photographer who began her career as a successful advertising and fashion photographer although she soon branched out and began taking pictures of people on the streets of new york, she visited seedy hotels and parks and captured pictures of people whom society at the time deemed as 'freaks' these tended to be people with physical defects and she had a strong fascination with the circus. " an unflinching yet often strangely lyrical vision of the oddity of normality"
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final Exam piece
For my final piece I wanted to develop my strogest idea of hotel rooms and unknown spaces and with the influence of photpographers such as Diane Arbus and film noir create a final product with a narrative. in this set of images i wanted to create a specific atmosphere that the viewer would immediately feel when looking at these photographs, This would be one of feeling carefree and exited. I wanted to use black and white as I wanted the locations and period to be unknown in order to keep the mystery. All the suvject sin the photgraphs are peorple that i know and i didnt want to portay them as model or manquines but real human beings trying to enjoy themself or even just get through the day. I wanted to try to develop a reportage style without being pretenious by