Stefanie Schneider
California Dreaming
The title of this exhibition interested me immediately, as I am taking a trip to California this summer. I thought these photographs may inspire me to take similar ones of my own. I liked the title of the exhibition, and it reminded me of my own idea for a project title 'The Study of a Lone Figure' because it was simple and to the point.
Taking the American West as her inspiration, Stefanie Schneider's alluring female characters are placed within the vast, sun-drenched landscapes of California. Often in wigs and colourful dress Schneider's female characters undermine their playful edge suggesting an unnerving or tragic quality beneath the surface of these glossy women. Collectively the works evoke love, pain, loneliness, alienation and re-discovery and can be seen to suggest a social commentary on America; pointing to the cracks beneath the surface of the glitz and glamour of Western America and the 'American Dream'.
The images were blown up to large proportions and displayed on clean, white walls. Each wall contained only one photograph and in this way it gave them immense power. The photographs have been created using expired Polaroid film which is then enlarged. This gives the images a cinematographic quality of the films of Quentin Tarantino.
Taking the American West as her inspiration, Stefanie Schneider's alluring female characters are placed within the vast, sun-drenched landscapes of California. Often in wigs and colourful dress Schneider's female characters undermine their playful edge suggesting an unnerving or tragic quality beneath the surface of these glossy women. Collectively the works evoke love, pain, loneliness, alienation and re-discovery and can be seen to suggest a social commentary on America; pointing to the cracks beneath the surface of the glitz and glamour of Western America and the 'American Dream'.
The images were blown up to large proportions and displayed on clean, white walls. Each wall contained only one photograph and in this way it gave them immense power. The photographs have been created using expired Polaroid film which is then enlarged. This gives the images a cinematographic quality of the films of Quentin Tarantino.
I liked the over-exposed quality of the images and the bright colours that they contained. I also thought that the use of Polaroid film gave an interesting effect, and gave me ideas of how I could enlarge Polaroid film in my own project, which I would like to do. The bright colours contrasted with the moving expressions on the models faces create a juxtaposition that is interesting to look upon. It has inspired me to use similar techniques regarding colour and exposure when shooting landscapes in California.
The Tate
Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus is acknowledged as one of the great figures of American photography who fixed remarkable images of contemporary life. Her sympathy for her subjects exposed the variety and complexity of the human condition.
It was very interesting to spot images that I have seen throughout my life and not known that they were Diane Arbus'. Once recognised, her style is easy to pinpoint and her pictures all draw the same emotional conclusions.
The starkness of her images has inspired me on the editing of my own images, and has given me fresh ideas regarding manual photography - a line of work that I am interested in as part of my project. I plan to take a roll of film over summer included in the project - 'The Study of a Lone Figure'.
It was very interesting to spot images that I have seen throughout my life and not known that they were Diane Arbus'. Once recognised, her style is easy to pinpoint and her pictures all draw the same emotional conclusions.
The starkness of her images has inspired me on the editing of my own images, and has given me fresh ideas regarding manual photography - a line of work that I am interested in as part of my project. I plan to take a roll of film over summer included in the project - 'The Study of a Lone Figure'.
The Tate
Photography: New Documentary Forms
This exhibition held a variety of different images from many different photographers across the world.
The first pictures that I enjoyed looking at were that of Akraam Zaatari who examins the faces and attitudes of ordinary people in Lebanon from the 1940s to the 1970s. He also takes photographs of landscape containing destructions, such as dark cloud or debris. The photographs were very moving, and there was something mysterious in the stillness of them all. The colours that Zaatari experimented with were subtle, and complemented each photograph perfectly.
Another set of images by Zaatari that interested me were nine 6 x 4 images that showed only the rectangle around the face. Zaatari took these as he was told to take ID pictures of voters who did not have ID cards. He was taken to different villages in the South and he took many portraits. It was interesting to see another type of ID photograph, one much more compelling than the standard issue. It helped me to consider another type of photograph that could be included in my project - a passport photo.
Another set of images by Zaatari that interested me were nine 6 x 4 images that showed only the rectangle around the face. Zaatari took these as he was told to take ID pictures of voters who did not have ID cards. He was taken to different villages in the South and he took many portraits. It was interesting to see another type of ID photograph, one much more compelling than the standard issue. It helped me to consider another type of photograph that could be included in my project - a passport photo.
I spotted a particular set of images (illustrated below) that I was envisaging my own project to come out similar to. The photographs were all so different - showing different figures, objects, angles and landscapes. However, there was one element consistently tying them together - the colour. I applied this same idea when considering my photographs, and although the colour in mine would be different, as would the sizing, the angles, the texture, there would still be one consistent element - in my case, the lone figure.
Each photograph in this set was seperate and singular and impressive when standing on its own. These photographs were taken by Boris Makhailov, whose large scale photographic series examing the politics of everyday life in the Ukrain during the Soviet era and its aftermath.
Since the late 1960s, Mikhailov has photographed his home city of Kharkov in the Ukrain, often through bleak and uncompromising street images that centre on the most vulnerable in society such as the old, the disabled and the homeless. However, Mikhailov's practice goes beyond conventional documentary photography, with the photographs being hand-painted or arranged into complex installations. His works are not simply a document of a time or place, but a sophisticated, subjective re-framing of the effects of social and political conditions.
Each photograph in this set was seperate and singular and impressive when standing on its own. These photographs were taken by Boris Makhailov, whose large scale photographic series examing the politics of everyday life in the Ukrain during the Soviet era and its aftermath.
Since the late 1960s, Mikhailov has photographed his home city of Kharkov in the Ukrain, often through bleak and uncompromising street images that centre on the most vulnerable in society such as the old, the disabled and the homeless. However, Mikhailov's practice goes beyond conventional documentary photography, with the photographs being hand-painted or arranged into complex installations. His works are not simply a document of a time or place, but a sophisticated, subjective re-framing of the effects of social and political conditions.
Analysis of my favourite image from the exhibition
This image immediately attracted me, as from up close, the detail in the focus of the back of the man's head is surprisingly intricate.
The image itself depicts two black men, one centred with the back of his head facing the camera, the other to the left with a turned head, wearing sunglasses, making it unapparant where his eyes are. In the background of the images, infront of the two men is a crowd of people, gathered presumably by a protest or march. There is a blank space from about halfway up of the photograph, illustrating a grey sky. The rest of the photograph follows similiar bleak colours, dark browns and navy blues, creating immediately an overcast feeling to the image.
The photographer could have used a digital or manual camera when taking this photograph, but I am presuming that it has been digitally enhanced in post-process also. The photographer will have used a wide aperture to create a shallow depth of field - and this is how the extreme focus is affecting only one area of the photograph, the midfield where the back of the head is. This focus immediately gives importance to this centred man, showing that he is of high importance in the photograph. Perhaps he is an important political figure, being protected by the man on the left, who appears alert and ready, like a loyal dog. The colour in the image seems to have not been edited much, perhaps only desaturated slightly. These dull colours evoke lack of hope in a bleak landscape. Although there are many people in the photograph, they seem slightly powerless. To eachother, and also to the man in the middle, who seems superioir to them all. This is a very depressing prospect.
The photograph reminded me of a film that I had watched the day before - 'The Last King of Scotland', about the dictator Idi Amin in Uganda in the 1970s . Because of this reference that linked to the image, this photograph meant that even more emotions were evoked, horror when remembering particular scenes of the film, and frustration at the injustness of certain situations in different countries. Countries where the government are corrupt and people are restricted unfairly in their actions. It made me put my own imagination into to the image; giving roles to both the men, and creating characters for them with certain good and bad traits. This image spelled out a story to me, and through it, the image was increasingly upsetting.
The photographer could have used a digital or manual camera when taking this photograph, but I am presuming that it has been digitally enhanced in post-process also. The photographer will have used a wide aperture to create a shallow depth of field - and this is how the extreme focus is affecting only one area of the photograph, the midfield where the back of the head is. This focus immediately gives importance to this centred man, showing that he is of high importance in the photograph. Perhaps he is an important political figure, being protected by the man on the left, who appears alert and ready, like a loyal dog. The colour in the image seems to have not been edited much, perhaps only desaturated slightly. These dull colours evoke lack of hope in a bleak landscape. Although there are many people in the photograph, they seem slightly powerless. To eachother, and also to the man in the middle, who seems superioir to them all. This is a very depressing prospect.
The photograph reminded me of a film that I had watched the day before - 'The Last King of Scotland', about the dictator Idi Amin in Uganda in the 1970s . Because of this reference that linked to the image, this photograph meant that even more emotions were evoked, horror when remembering particular scenes of the film, and frustration at the injustness of certain situations in different countries. Countries where the government are corrupt and people are restricted unfairly in their actions. It made me put my own imagination into to the image; giving roles to both the men, and creating characters for them with certain good and bad traits. This image spelled out a story to me, and through it, the image was increasingly upsetting.