The Genius of Photography part.5

1. Who said: "the camera gave me the license to strip away what you want people to know about you, to reveal what you can't help people knowing about you"?

- Diane Arvis

2. Do you think that photographers tend to pray on vulnerable people?

- Yes

3. What is Larry Clark's Tulsa project about?

- it was about his own life, he photographed his friends drinking and taking drugs

4. What is the title of Nan Goldin's most renowned work?

- The Ballad of Sexual Dependency

5. What does Araki photograph now? what is his philosophy?

- He takes pictures of everything around him, he photograph's what he wants to remember

6. What was Richard Billingham's work about?

- Living with his Alcoholic father and his mother

Gallery of Photography

Vilnius- Photographs of old town 

Kęstutis Stoškus

 



Rasu Cemetary II, 1995

 



Kęstutis Stoškus is a Lithuanian architectural photographer and curator. his photographs were all in black and white which help to highlight his historical style. he keeps focus on the architectural side keeping distractions like people and cars to a minimum. he captures the "old town" beautifully, often using a religious element, heavily featuring crosses, churches and cemetery's.

 

I preferred Kęstutis Stoškus work to Ieva Baltaduonyte's because i found his photos more visually appealing and interesting. the black and white images helped create a beautiful almost haunting tone, as well as his use of light and shade in the photos. The photos of the cemetery's in particular were regal and had a very cinematic look to them. i found Stoškus photographs to be overall clearer and the concept was easier to understand.­

Fixing the Shadows

Sarah Bernhardt by Nadar

The camera Obscura is a device that projects images of its surroundings, It was first mentioned in 470 BCE to 390 BCE by Chinese philosopher Mo-Ti. The camera Obscura allowed images to be accurately traced and led to the invention of photography. The image is projected upside-down, but colour and perspective remains the same.

The Brownie Camera was created by Kodak as a simple and inexpensive camera, costing only $1, it meant photography became more accessible to everyone. Their slogan was "You push the button, We do the rest" which highlighted the simplicity of the camera; once you had taken the photos you sent your camera to Kodak, where they would then print the photos and put new film in the camera. this new amaturistic era in photography led to smiling becoming more frequent, as photos became less formal and less serious.

The genius of Photography: Snap Judgements

1. How many photo photographs are taken in a year?
-380,000,000,000 were taken last year

2. How does Gregory Crewdson work?
- he works with a large production team from the film industry, he uses cinematic lighting, he has a director of photography and has someone to take the picture for him as he doesn't like touching the camera.

3. Which prints command the highest price and what are they called?
-Ones done by the photographer, which are printed close to the date they were taken i.e originals

4. How does Ben Lewis see Jeff Walls photography?
-He took his work back to a time of paintings when lighting and characters were all constructed, he also took gender and race into consideration

5. How many photographs Andreas Gursky produces and what scale?
- His photographs are a large scale and he produced 2

Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Yann Arthus-Bertrand is a French photographer born in 1946 in Paris. His interest in nature and wildlife has always influenced his work. He began work in the movie industry in 1963  working as a directors assistant, this led to a career in acting. In 1967 he left the movie industry in 1967 to run 'Château de Saint Augustin wildlife park'. Crucially to his photography career, in 1976 he and his wife Anne moved to Kenya, where he lived with a Maasai tribe for 3 years to study lions, during this time he took numerous photographs to accompany their notes and observations. Yann and his wife Anne returned to France in 1981, he then published the photographs taken in Kenya and entitled it 'Lions' in 1983. In the years following Yann did many journalistic jobs in France including various work on sports, wildlife and aerial photography for magazines such as 'Paris Match', 'Life', 'Figaro' and 'GEO', he photographed the French tennis open every year and also did work with ecologist Dian Fossey taking pictures of Gorillas in Rwanda.

In 1991 he founded the Altitude Agency, which was the first agency to specialises in aerial photography, something he had loved for many years. His love for aerial photography was sparked whilst living in Kenya, where he made his living as a hot air balloon pilot. One of Yann's most well known books is probably 'Earth from above', which he did in partnership with UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) the aim of the work done was to study the earth from above. 'Earth from Above" sold well over 3 million copies and was translated into over 24 languages, it has since been revised several times in several different editions. In 2008 'Earth from Above' was released on DVD, making it one of his most well known pieces of work.

 

Earth from Above

 In 2005 he set up the environmental organisation 'GoodPlanet' which helps people and companies reduce their carbon offset and also funds renewable energies, energy efficiency and reforestation. Yann recently Directed and produced a very successful and acclaimed documentary called Plant Ocean in 2012, The photography in the film is stunningly beautiful, and this coupled with the message of conservation and respect for the oceans and the planet are some of the reasons it was such a successful documentary.
As a Dog-Lover I really loved Yanns book 'Dogs' because it was a book dedicated to celebrating mans best friend. Capturing the playfulness, innocence and un-conditional affection they show, the book includes over 220 pedigree breeds and the accompanying text offers insights into each breeds history and personality traits. The book includes some touching shots of the dogs themselves and with their owners which was an aspect I really appreciated and enjoyed because you could see the pure adoration between the dogs and their owners. Two of Yann's other book very similar  to 'Dogs' would be 'Horses' and 'Cats' which is a celebration of the beauty and majesty of Horses and The playfulness and mystique of Cats, both books show the animals loving relationships with their human counterparts as well as individual shots, similarly to 'Dogs'. Again another book of Yann's with a similar format is 'Good Breeding' which has some lovely almost whimsical photographs of livestock such as cattle, horses, sheep, goats and pigs along with the charming farmers who raise them, its one of the first books of its kind to celebrate livestock and their farmers, and the 240 photographs in the book were taken at several agricultural fairs in France, England and Argentina.

Dogs

Some of Yann's many other works  I enjoyed were; 'Man and Sea: Planet Ocean' which  spans from the Arctic to the tropics offering a thorough look at all the worlds oceans, with striking images from both above and bellow the surface; combining Yann's magnificent aerial shots with Brian Skerry's beautiful underwater shots. 'Earth from Above' is Yann's most infamous book, and like all of his other books, the images in 'Earth from Above' are paired with  in-dept and interesting accompanying text in relation to conservation and experts opinions on issues involving our planet. 'Home' is a book which he release d in conjunction with his documentary film 'Home', it is a really beautiful visual journey exploring the planet, and includes over 50 country's, essentially it is plea to help conserve the beauty that remains as Yann himself said "it isn't the 50% of forest that has disappeared that's important, but the 50% that's left". 'Earth from Space' is a book filled with vivid colours, amazing textures and a sense of abstraction, it includes over 150 satellite photographs accompanied with text discussing deforestation, intensive farming, urban sprawl and ocean pollution and its effect on the planet and how it will affect the planets future. '6  Billion Others' is a really interesting book with photos of 500 people from around the world along with text expressing their views and responses to a questionnaire regarding many different issues such as family, money, happiness and love, Yann put the concept of the book very beautifully saying "every single person has got something interesting to say, and every single person has the right to say it".

Planet Ocean

I have loved researching Yann's work. All his work is testament to his lifelong passion and love for the natural world and the animal kingdom, something I too am very interested in.  His photography is breathtakingly beautiful, and his pictures in 'Earth from above' are truly stunning, however one of my favourite works of his is 'Lions'. I think 'Lions' was the start of his journey in photography and Yann himself described the lions as being his first photography teachers; "The lions taught me photography. They taught me patience and the sense of beauty, a beauty that penetrates you". Yann  and his wife were photographing the lions to study the complex relationships between them, their environment, their prey and each other. The book is an intimate look at these amazing animals that allows you to follow their journey. We see them hunt, defend their pride and also see the affection and care the pride show for each other. An aspect I really loved about the book was it wasn't just random pictures of lions, the lions were given names: Hook, Big Vizir, Haddock, Sapience, Aurore and Jouvence, each one had different features and  personality's which shined throughout the book.

Lions

Aqua de Vida

Aqua de Vida is a photobook containing various images of water, the aim of the book was to show some of the many attributes of water, be that; crashing waves, a peaceful cove or how animals and life interact within it.

Preview & purchase Book here.

Photobook

'She Dances on Jackson' by Vanessa Winship:

She Dances on Jackson is the result of Vanessa Winship's road trip through America, Her Photographs captures America as a whole by including photographs of scenery, landscapes and people. The Book has a feeling that she actually got out of the car and interacted with what she photographed, often road trip photo books feel as if the person didn't ever get out of the car so it is a nice counterpoint to other books of the same style. This photo book captures the atmosphere of America at the time; every picture has a story and allows us to think what happened to the American dream, the book reflects on Americas uncertainty and struggle. it is a very moving book with a simple conservative layout which really compliments the photographs and tone of the book.



'Beyond the forest' by Clare Richardson:

This is an extremely simplistic book in all aspects, it gives a real sense of quiet and serenity. the book shows a lot of countryside shots of farms and the men working the land, its a collection of simple yet beautiful images which are presented very well in the book




'The Last Days of Shishmaref' by Dana Lixenberg:

This is a Book which is about a little town in Alaska which is slowly being washed away into the sea due to global warming, it is essentially the story of the people who lives there and their lives. this is a extremely interesting book because its layout, photos are intersected with sections of green pages that include a map of Alaska and a lot of information and background on the town, which helps explain the situation and offer some insight. this use of different green pages throughout the book is interesting as it breaks up the monotony of the same pages.