Is photography art?

I meant to post this article earlier in the month but life and Christmas overtook me...Jonathon Jones  stirred up a lot of comments on his Guardian article 'The $6.5m canyon: it's the most expensive photograph ever' on 10 December 2014 at http://ow.ly/GynXi  .. I also picked up on some debate re his view of photography on the OCA student website on 11 December...

What kick-started the furore was the news that Peter Lik, a landscape photographer, had sold the above image ( Phantom ) for £4.1m, setting a new world record for the most expensive photograph of all time. In Jones' view this image is  ' derivative, sentimental in its studied romantiscism, and consequently in very poor taste. It looks like a posh poster you might find framed in a pretentious hotel room'. 

Personally, 'Phantom' does nothing to stir my emotions ( a strong criterion when I visit exhibitions or look at works of art) but using it as Jones does as a' classic' example of why photography is not art does irritate and annoy me. To my mind it is more a 'classic' example of more money than taste. I very much welcomed Sean O'Hagan's firm rebuttal of Jones' claim also in the Guardian http://goo.gl/dhmeJF 

I agree with him when he says that photography is 'about a way of seeing, not technology'...And I like the fact that by way of illustrating his rebuttal, he includes Jane Bown's magnificent portrait of Samuel Beckett...if that amazing image is not art than 
what is..

Samuel Beckett . Photograph : Jane Bown

Exercise: Varying the pose

Back from holiday and in search of a model, friend Chris popped in from Liverpool...persuaded or  whatever, she agreed to help out with this exercise on varying pose and stance.
Limited by time, I decide to use our conservatory and build a backdrop beforehand to avoid the many visual distractions. Apart from a minor hiccup - I mis-remembered how tall Chris was (!), the backdrop worked reasonably well..

I came up with a number of different positions sitting ( with and without chair) , standing (with and without chair and with brush ) and lying down on the floor which we tried out against the backdrop. 

I think these poses worked best, allowing Chris to relax into the pose without feeling too self conscious and resulting in an attractive image.

P 727: F5.6 @1/30  22mm ISO 200

 

P721: F4 @ 1/30  22mm  ISO 200

 Think P727 and 721 work the best ...though I like P724 below as well since it captures Chris' sense of fun ...


 

P724: F4 @ 1/10  26mm  ISO 100

 

P723: F5.6  @ 1/25 18mm ISO 100

These last two below are less successful - with hindsight P726 seems very contrived  and Chris looks less than comfortable in P722...
 

P726 :F5.6 @ 1/30  22mm  ISO 200

 

P722: F4 @ 1/25  22mm ISO 200

Thought this exercise an interesting one, not least in that it is not easy to move from a pose in your mind to reality via a 'model' ...very difficult to sometimes get over quite how you want someone to sit, stand etc.

Mapplethorpe - ideas for Assignment One

I know that it is a while away yet but I'm starting to think how I might approach my first assignment. This is all about creating between five and eight different portraits differing in type and style and each from a separate photographic session. Since the subject has to be the same person for all the images, I shall need to think carefully who that lucky person will be..

Came across this interesting take on photographing the human physique while reading 'Face The new photographic portrait' by William A. Ewing with Natalie Herschdorfer...(p225)

Robert Mapplethorpe  1980   Alisdair Butler

I really like this image - simple and complex at the same time - the sculptural aspect beautifully brought out by the lighting. I would love to know how Mapplethorpe how 'took' the image and the processes he used to achieve this amazing result. 

Wonder whether there might be some mileage in exploring a 'sculptural' approach ? Not sure exactly what I mean here ...more thinking around this to be done....

That said, black and white photography, let alone portraiture, is a real challenge for me and an area where I definitely need to improve my skills - at the moment very little of what I produce really seems to work...so need to crack on here, reading and experimenting ..

Exercise An active portrait

How about geocaching?

I like geocaching as it combines walking with the challenge of finding a hidden 'geocache' using GPS. I'm not alone either as geocaching has become a worldwide activity - often described as outdoor treasure hunting for the digital generation.Typical 'geocaches' are small waterproof containers containing a logbook for geocachers to record the date they found the cache and sign with their established code name. Then the cache has to be replaced exactly where found. Some boxes contain items for trading, usually small toys or trinkets of little value. 

So casting around for an interesting activity, though at the risk of coming over as somewhat of a 'geek', I thought our next local geocaching outing might provide an opportunity to capture an active portrait. And P720 is the result ....

P720: f2.8 @ 1/320  40mm  ISO 100

.

Exercise Thinking about location...

My starting point here was to find six very different but effective locations suitable for a whole body or torso portrait starting at Gunwharf Quay in Portsmouth. Then it was a question of considering which one might work the best ...

 

P713: f3.5 @ 1/1250  18mm  ISO 100

P714: f7.1 @ 1/640   70mm ISO 800

This shot of the Butter Cross in Chichester was taken some time ago but I wanted to revisit it thinking it might well serve as a good location if a challenging one due to  being a popular spot for meeting people,taking the weight of your feet or as an artistic venue for local artists.

P715: f5.6 @ 1/400  31mm  ISO 100

Thought this railway bridge had some possibilities for both whole body or torso but decided positioning my portrait subject would need very careful thought to make the patterned texture of the  bridge work for rather than against the subject.

P716: f5.6 @ 1/60  43mm  ISO 100

P717: f5.6  @ 1/100   22mm  ISO100 

Originally thought at the time of taking this image of a playground slide that it might offer some interesting angles / stance for the subject but back home, it struck me that the very bright colours might distract the eye unless the portrait is a close up. Does offer the possibility of a 'frame' for the subject though.

Then walking back home I spotted the opening of an alley to the back of a disused cinema and it just felt right for this portrait..why? P718 presents an interesting but less complicated backdrop which might give a slightly 'edgy' feel perhaps...

P718: F4 @ 1/80  22mm  ISO 100 WB Shade

  

P719: f5.6 @ 1/25  26mm ISO 100

Not surprisingly I took many images from different angles- whole body and torso.I eventually opted for this shot as I like the close up directness set off by the backdrop...

John Lyndon etc..

Can't look at any magazine now without looking closely at pictures of people. Really liked this portrait of John Lyndon by Robert Wilson which appeared in the Times Magazine on 25 October 2014. It illustrated ' John Lyndon at 58',an article by Deborah Ross triggered by the publication of Lyndon's autobiography, 'Anger is an Energy: My Life  Uncensored' published this year by Simon and Schuster.

It reminded me a little of Jane Bown's famous black and white image of Seamus Heaney emerging from a dark passage way...I guess it's something do with the direct pose and beautifully captured 'lived in ' face..

Exercise: Portrait - scale and setting

A pragmatic choice for this first exercise all about composition and the weight of attention to place on the face of your subject.

I opted for an outside setting i.e. our garden. Two reasons - firstly I wanted to try out a new 'pancake' lens so reckoned that I'd be taking quite a few images- this plus the limited time available as far as my 'model' was concerned suggested a setting close by was the most practical option. A walk round had already suggested a few settings within the garden bearing in mind I wanted to complete four scales of portrait in one session i.e. 

• Face, cropped in close
• Head and shoulders
• Torso, taking into account arms and hands
• Full figure

P708 : f6.3 @ 1/50  128mm  ISO 100 AWB

                                                        

P709 : f 5.6 @ 1/60  87mm  ISO AWB

Decided to shoot P709 slightly offsetting the face and shoulders though I'm not sure this position works as well as the two below.
 

P710 : f4 @ 1/80 31mm  ISO 100

 

P111: f4 @ 1/50 26 mm ISO 100

Looking at the first two images, it seems to me that though the eyes are very dark, they draw you in, possibly because the look is very direct i.e.  the subject is looking straight at you. In P710, we stand further back and the eyes still look out in the previous direct way but are less the main draw as there is less detail to see and they seem more balanced by the smile. The pose is becoming more dominant and in itself suggesting a little more about how the subject is feeling. 
In the last image, the full figure,the pose is far more dominant and in this particular image the background intrudes. Though the direct look of the eyes challenge you to look at the figure, the background threatens to pull your look away. Wonder how this would look if the background were more plain or blurred?

Collaboration : Photoworks

Great to get my issue of Photoworks this month.

This year - issue 21 showcases work produced for the Brighton Photo Biennial which is going to make up a little for not being able to get over to Brighton for the study visit or under my own steam so far. OK not as good as being there but it is going to be an interesting read. 

In the words of editors Ben Burbridge and Celia Davies: ' The theme of the Biennial responds to the prominence of collaborative modes of production, dissemination and reception encountered across areas of photography in recent years... the expansion of social media has spawned a dizzying array of participatory photographic practices, presenting opportunities and challenges to established systems of production and display'. Will be interesting to see if I come across anything that will resonate with what I shall be doing on this course...

Reading

Angier,Roswell. (2007) Train Your Gaze: A Practical and Theoretical Introduction to Portrait Photography, AVA Publishing SA 

Badger,G (2007) The Genius of Photography. London: Quadrille Publishing

Baker,Simon and Mavlian, Shoair (eds ) (2014) Conflict-Time-Photography London: Tate Publishing

Bown,Jane (2007) Unknown Bown 1947-1967. London: Observer Books

Burbridge,Ben and Davies,Celia (eds.) (2014) Photoworks annual Brighton: Photoworks

Cotton,Charlotte. (2009)The Photograph as Contemporary Art. 2nd edition. London:Thames & Hudson 

Dexter,Emma and Weski,Thomas (eds.) (200) Cruel and Tender : The real in the twentieth-century photograph.London : Tate Publishing

Dijkstra,Rineke. (2004) Portraits  Amsterdam: Schirmer/Mosel Production 

Eicker,Eva. (2015) Deutsche Borse 2015 Photography Prize.London : The Photographers Gallery

Ewing,William A. and Herschdorfer,Natalie (2006) Face The new photographic portrait. London: Thames  & Hudson 

Gibson,David.(2014) The Street Photographer's Manual. London: Thames & Hudson 

Henry,M. (2015 ) Short stories.Berlin: Kehrer Verlag Heidelberg

Hlynsky,David. (2015) Window- shopping through the Iron Curtain. London: Thames & Hudson

Leibovitz, Annie (2011 ) At work.  2nd ed. London : Jonathan Cape

Londei,J (2007 ) Shutting up shop. Stockport : Dewi Lewis Publishing

Photoworks (2015 ) Photoworks Annual 22 Holland: Photoworks

Prakel,David (2012) Composition 2nd ed. London: Thames & Hudson

Renaldi, Richard (2014) Touching Strangers. New York: Aperture

Shore,S. (2007 ) The Nature of Photographs: a Primer. 2nd ed.London: Phaidon Press

Short, Martha.(2011) Basics Creative Photography 02: Context and Narrative. AVA Publishing

Strauss,David Levi. (2005) Between the Eyes: Essays on Photography and Politics.New York:Aperture

At the beginning.. People and Place

Getting to grips now with the sense of excitement and positive anticipation that the start of  a new course always presents... 

Why this course? 

For me the real draw of People and Place is the opportunity of exploring places and people, space , buildings and activity from  a photographer's perspective. While I enjoy trying to capture people in the moment  at events and in activity, portraiture is definitely not a strength so I am hoping for some real progress here. 

Really looking forward to this course having spent this summer reading  Annie Leibovitz 'At Work' ,a brilliant and very readable insight into how she has worked over a long career.  Seeing her amazing black and white  and colour images in this book whets the appetite for more. 

Many of my favourite portrait images are black and white such as those of Chris Killip below or Jane Bown, whose work was highlighted in Luke Dodd and Michael Whyte's beautiful film  'Looking for Light: Jane Bown. 

Chris Killip : Youth on wall, Jarrow,Tyneside,UK 1976

Interesting to compare the working methods of Leibovitz and Bown .....chalk and cheese comes to mind ...I'll come back to this  when I get cracking on Part One. In the meantime... a reminder of a another summer book ..

And an interesting  exhibition that I came across accidently in Salisbury Museum in September- 'Cecil Beaton at Home - Ashcombe and Reddish', a biographical view of Cecil Beaton, self taught photographer, artist and set and costume designer. A fascinating mix of original photographs, artworks and possessions capturing the spirit of country house parties and costume balls and his life with a creative group of friends including Siegfried Sassoon, Stephen Tennant.

Cecil Beaton: Georgia Sitwell - Renishaw