Photographer Research

Edward Steichen:

Edward Jean Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter, and art gallery and museum curator.In his youth he was perhaps the most talented and inventive photographer among those working to win public acceptance of photography as a fine art. He went on to gain fame as a commercial photographer in the 1920s and ’30s, when he created stylish and convincing portraits of artists and celebrities

When researching Edward Steichien, i liked how he took some photos above clouds and presented the sky from a non everyday view. This creates a more effective look into the sky and presents a unique view. Although his photos did inspire me to look into the shape of clouds, i believed his technique and approach to the topic was a approach that could be hard due to my limit to fly above the clouds.

I like this photo as i think the view of the clouds and the vague images of the mountains below present connotations of the two separate worlds of the sky and land.

One thing i like about this photo is the reflection of the sky on the sea in the front of the image. 

This gave me the idea for my Shoot 6, where i looked at the reflection of the sky.

This photo shows connotations of a long photo with the moving clouds in the distance, as if they are moving away. One aspect i have taken from this photo, is the fact that it is in a more portrait mode then a landscape photo, which a lot of the photo i had found were not like.

Lastly, the last image by Edward Stechien inspired me by showing a technique of film and the burning/dodging 

Masahisa Fukase:

Masahisa Fukase (1934-2012)  is renowned for his obsessive and intense photography through which he articulated his passionate and occasionally violent life. Fukase was born in the town of Hokkaido, Japan, in 1934, the son of a successful local studio photographer. He graduated from Nihon University College of Art's Photography Department in 1956, and became a freelance photographer in 1968. His work has been exhibited widely at institutions such as MoMA, New York. He is best known for his 1986 book Karasu (Ravens or The Solitude of Ravens).

The reason why i picked this photographer is because he gave me a lot of inspiration of my work as i like the darkness and the the harshness of the photos. When looking into how Fukase created The Solitude of Ravensi found that technically, the photographs of ravens were very difficult to achieve, with Fukase having to focus his camera on the small, moving black subjects in almost total darkness. Setting correct exposures was equally challenging. According to Fukase's former assistant, photographer Masato Seto, printing some of the Karasu photographs required complicated burning and dodging.This told me the technique used and gave me a way to try editing. I like the look of  the ravens as the black and white effect creates negative space and an different tones. This could link to Ansel Adams zones system. One thing that i like about Fukase's work is that it presents an olden photo effect and some- like the top right- look as if they may have been taken on film.

I took inspiration from this image as I saw an effective technique of the black-out silhouette of the bird. The contrast of the tones presents a Zone system throughout, which related to Ansel Adams. 

The image above inspired me in many of my shoots, including my shoot 2 and 6. This is because the harshness of the photo presents a sense of a 'death-like' atmosphere.

The effect of silhouettes in all of these photographs have inspired me in the way I will photograph the sky with a tree line or object in view.

Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn:

"I sometimes find clouds can add some uniqueness to a night scene. I also need to make some tweaks to my deep-sky set-up when the weather gets warmer. But in the late spring and early summer, I plan to get back into hunting my favourite targets for long focal-length imaging."

I Chose Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn as her images look like they are taken overtime, showing the movement of the clouds. Her photos also show different tones as if dodging and burning has been used. This was mentioned in my mind maps page as one of my initial thoughts of the exam.

the effect of the blurred together clouds gave me inspiration for the sunset clouds , in shoot 5, as they look like I've used the blur tool on Photoshop to edit them, however I just tried to capture clouds looking like this.

the density of these clouds gave me inspiration for a lot of my shoots as it is a great look that can be achieved by burning and dodging

Shaun Rowlings:

One reason why I have chosen Rowlings for one of my researches is because he takes a more subtle approach to photos of the sky. In the photos below, it seems like he's has done little to no editing in some of the photos, this gives a more realistic and natural look. He also uses landscape settings for his photos, which I could use as an advantage for my photos.

I like this photo as its a simple shot with basic editing, it presents a simple calm aky

I like the gradient in this sunset and the reflection in the water

Stephan Shore:

Stephen Shore (born October 8, 1947) is an American photographer known for his images of banal scenes and objects in the United States, and for his pioneering use of colour in art photography. His books include Uncommon Places (1982) and American Surfaces(1999), photographs that he took on cross-country road trips in the 1970s.

One reason why i chose Stephan Shore is because i like how his angle and composition didn't just limit his photos to just the skyline, he also presented landscapes and unique places. I also like how his photos were not black and white and presented colour. I wanted to take this approach in my research as i would love to be able to capture the sunset or sunrise with different bright tones, like shown in my Component 1.