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Overall Unit
As the unit begun, some of the students were not really prepared for what to expect. Most lectures were theoretically based, as critical thinking requires reliable reasonings when conducting arguments.
A brief introduction to what is critical thinking is basically collecting proof for arguments, while also being able to recognise sources, if reliable or not, and having reasons behind each point until getting to ones final conclusion.
Other points covered along the unit were the intensions and purposes one has for his arguments, some of which may include to justify, meaning helping listeners to understand better, to explain,when one explains his or her perspective, and finally to persuade, this is when proving your point and trying to change someone else's opinion and allowing the listener to decide.
In addition to the above, students were also taught how to clearly deliver their message. There are three types of languages, semiotics, the meaning of words, physical production, the pronunciation, and finally the structure combination, the spelling and grammar. Moreover, it is highly important to think what are the arguments you want to deliver as words can result into lexical or syntactic ambiguity. Lexical ambiguity is when a word has more then one meaning, while syntactic ambiguity is when an argument of words in a sentence have more then one meaning and will result into a misunderstanding.
Finally, as the above theories were taught, all students had to apply their learnings into a forty-five minute debate according to their choice. Meanwhile, the preparations for the debate, including any references or research, had to be posted on an online blog, this served as practice for better academic writing, and as an organised platform for one to have his arguments visually seen and corrected by the tutor.
Overall, one must say that this unit served as a preparation for the final year dissertation, in addition to being more aware from where to gather information, and finally inserting research found, into proper academic write ups.
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Schon's theory
Donald Alan Schon was trained as a philosopher yet was particularly interested in the reflective system (Mark K. Smith, 2005). Such theory is divided into two categories, being the reflection-in-action and the reflection-on-action.
The Reflection-in-action is basically when a researcher immediately reflects on a current event in order to improve and adjust a situation. This is commonly found if an individual has experienced a similar position in the past. Moreover, reflection in action is the event itself and thinking about the experience, while, deciding how to immediately act accordingly. (Gaynor. A, 2013)
Alternatively, reflection-on-action, is when a researcher reflects on previous events in order to improve ones practice in similar situations. In simpler terms, reflection on action happens after the event, which may be considered as more effective as one will reflect on his actions and the events while also thinking about how he could have behaved better in addition to gain more knowledge which may also lead to having different perspectives. (Gaynor. A, 2013)
In conclusion, Schon’s theory is a useful practice for researchers to analyse their own behaviour and reflect on actions done.
References
Mark K. Smith (2005) Learning, Reflection and Change. [ONLINE] Available at: http://dsmgt310.faculty.ku.edu/AdditionalMaterial/Donald%20Schon%20-%20learning,%20reflection%20and%20change.htm. (Accessed 29 May 2017).
Gaynor. A (2013) Schön’s (1983) Reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action [Online Article] At: https://hhs.hud.ac.uk/lqsu/Sessionsforall/supp/Schön%20reflection-in%20and%20-on%20action.pdf (Accessed 29 May 2017)
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Identity Representation in Photography
As from the earliest photographic works, images were used to portray people. The first ever portraits were taken of wealthy people, as they were the only ones who could afford it, while other uses of portraits were for prisoners, and for business cards. All of which meant taking images to identify - wealthy, criminals, and business.
Later, as Photography developed, different perspectives were generated, and photographers started documenting people on the street as a way to identify events or communities, such practitioners include Dorothea Lange, Don McCullin, James Nachtwey, Philip Jones Griffiths, along others. Many of which, photographed people to show war events, poverty, and post war effects. Identities depicted in such visuals, represented the chaos and disasters during that particular time the image was shot.
Moreover, generations passed and photographers were moving on to other documentation genres including communities. Photographers like Diane Arbus, Catherine Opie, Zanele Muholi and more, photographed LGBT people in order to rise awareness about stereotyped and discriminated individuals. While on the other hand, photographers like Cindy Sherman and Jo Spence, captured self portraits in order to visualise their voice - Cindy Sherman photographed herself in order to create more awareness with regards to feminism, while Jo Spence photographed herself while being a victim of breast cancer.
All of which are examples of how photography can be used as a tool to represent or identify individuals in their own natural self.
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Self Debate Review
On the 29th of April the class held the first session of debates, the first group were myself and Nicole Marie Park. The topic chosen was how are images effective most, being in colour or in black and white.
Criteria’s assigned were - the debate must take approximately 45minutes long meaning around 20 minutes dedicated for each candidate. Both debaters must listen to each-other in order to debate back and ask questions, and finally must have reliable sources from which they will argue back with.
The debate started and ended very maturely. Both candidates settled their introductions and gave a brief of what their arguments will be covering. While along the debate photographic examples were analysed while both gave their own personal opinions influenced from the research conducted.
Furthermore, the debate was evenly balanced and both opinions were heard, while time allowance for addition questions was also provided.
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John Berger - Ways of Seeing
The English painter, prose & fictional writer, art critic, and essayist, contributed a lot to art in general. His artistic journey began when he developed a particular interest for painting which led him to exhibit artistic pieces all over London in the 1940’s. Later he moved to become an art teacher which trained him in becoming an art critic. (The FamousPeople, 2017)
Berger is considered as one of the most influential critics, with regards to art criticism, while also argued that since the 1950’s he has effected the way of thinking for at least two generations of Artists and students (Sean O’Hagan, 2015). One of his first published works was the fictional novel ‘A painter of our time’ in 1958, which covers sensitive topics such as: exile and displacement, poverty, migrant workers, and economical lifestyles. Therefore it generated a lot of controversy. (The FamousPeople, 2017)
Alternatively, John Berger is mostly known for his Art Critic Book ‘Ways of Seeing’ published in 1972. It may be suggested that John Berger, with such publication, takes Susan Sontag’s ‘On Photography’ much deeper then simply analysing the image; Berger takes the reader into cultural influences, and also gender representation in visuals. (Josephine Livingstone, 2017).
Along this write up, Berger may have been misunderstood; the title itself refers to how society looks at others, mainly woman. Having a different ‘gaze’ according to different cultural backgrounds. "Men act – women appear” - meaning that men look at women while women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves.” It is also said that woman’s presence has less capability then man, therefore as a result, woman may be much more self conscious.
Following the capability and existence, Berger also covers a topic regarding female nudes. This theory was firstly illustrated by the story of the Garden of Eden. The author criticise how Adam and Eve gaze at each other through different perspectives, while eating the fruit, later as generations passed and the renaissance era developed, Edam and Eve are oil painted with a difference. It is said that a conscious of being nude hits Eve and embarrass her, therefore, both subjects are drawn covered with leaves. Berger digs deeper, he involves the study of Greek mythology, where Greek Gods contest against each other whoever is the prettiest, this is represented through paintings of woman looking at themselves in a mirror while being criticised for enjoying their own figure.
Combining both previous theories found in ‘Ways of Seeing’, John Berger, distinguishes the term ‘naked’ from ‘nude’. He explains that being naked means that a subjects has no costume on and being ones-self, while being nude means that a subject becomes its own costume and viewed by another. Therefore, when a visual depicts female nudity, it is done ta appeal man’s sexuality.
Ways of Seeing is based on European studies and paintings, with which, Berger concludes that the unequal relations between men and women are leading society’s gaze to individualise the painter's, owner's and viewer's and on the other hand, the object - the woman, which is treated as an abstraction.
(Roger George Clark, 2017)
The Guardian. 2017. John Berger obituary | Books | The Guardian. [ONLINE] Available at: https:// www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jan/02/john-berger-obituary. [Accessed 25 March 2017].
The Guardian. 2017. A life in quotes: John Berger | Books | The Guardian. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jan/02/a-life-in-quotes-john-berger. [Accessed 25 March 2017].
New Republic. 2017. Beyond John Berger’s Ways of Seeing | New Republic. [ONLINE] Available at: https://newrepublic.com/article/139615/beyond-john-bergers-ways-seeing. [Accessed 25 March 2017].
John Berger Biography - Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline. 2017. John Berger Biography - Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline. [ONLINE] Available at: http:// www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/john-berger-3907.php. [Accessed 25 March 2017].
The Cultural Reader: John Berger – "Ways of Seeing" – Summary and Review. 2017. The Cultural Reader: John Berger – "Ways of Seeing" – Summary and Review. [ONLINE] Available at: http:// culturalstudiesnow.blogspot.com.mt/2011/05/john-berger-ways-of-seeing-summary-and.html. [Accessed 25 March 2017].
Camenzuli, Z. 2017.Movements Research and Identify Photographic History, Movements and Genres.
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Susan Sontag - On Photography
An author who contributed to photography and took it to a more professional analytical level, is Susan Sontag, also known as the ‘Dark Lady’.
Her passion for writing developed when she lost her father at the age of five, had a very distant mother and her only comfort was found from books. Susan Sontag was a strong active writer and her main subjects revolved around conflict, photography, culture, media, HIV, human rights and ideology, mainly covering subjects which generated controversy.
Sontags’ first published work was a collection of her best known works into ‘Against Interpretation’ in 1966. This made her one of the first critics to write about the equality of ‘high’ and ‘low’ art. Her fame increased throughout the years as she continued writing and publishing essays such as ‘Regarding the Pain of Other’ in 2003, amongst more. However, the publication that shook photography most was ‘On Photography’ published back in 1973. This book contains a collection of interpretations, from the author herself, regarding how photography psychologically, emotionally and philosophically affects its viewers. (Susan Sontag Foundation, 2010)
This book is mostly known for its first essay, ‘In Plato’s Cave’. This chapter is an introduction to visual rhetorics; meaning what visuals capture in photography and what they mean to their viewers. Sontag also speaks about how images are all around us, yet it is up to the audience to believe it, hence the vast interpretations. (On Photography, pg. 2)
In this essay, Sontag tackled historical movements, one of which is Pictorialism. She analytically analysed photographs taken by David Octavius Hill and Julia Margret Cameron, who used their cameras to achieve painterly images in the Pictorialism Movement.
The author also argues that photography can be used as a sense of existent proof. Even if an image is cropped or selected when composed, it can still serve as a representation of reality. Illustrating such theory, Sontag takes the reader to Photography in the 1930’s back when Straight Photography was born and practiced. Examples of this era include photographic works under the FSA organisation, for instance images like the ‘Migrant Mother�� taken by Dorothea Lange in 1936, or ‘School Children’ taken by Ben Shahn in 1935. (On Photography, pg.7-6)
Susan Sontag also agrees with Diane Arbus that Photography can serve both happy and sad moments as long as it makes a photo of interest. Moreover, photography can be something considered as ‘naughty’. In fact, photographers like Diane Arbus and Michelangelo Antonioni says that this feeling is what intrigues them most. Sontag criticises the works done by Antonioni while photographing fashion and having sexual desires for one of his models Verushka. He had never touched her. However, his camera was used as a tool to get close to his model. (On Photography, pg. 13)
The author ends this chapter by quoting Mallame saying that ‘Everything in the World exists in order to end in a book. Today, everything exists to end in Photography’ (On Photography, pg.24) therefore, images needs no words to be understood.
Eric Homberger. 2004. Obituary: Susan Sontag | US news | The Guardian. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/dec/29/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries. [Accessed 26 February 2017].
Wikipedia. 2017. Susan Sontag - Wikipedia. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Susan_Sontag#Works. [Accessed 26 February 2017]
Against Interpretation and Other Essays by Susan Sontag. 2017. Against Interpretation and Other Essays by Susan Sontag. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/57629/against- interpretation-and-other-essays/. [Accessed 26 February 2017].
Cara Takakjian . 2017. Susan Sontag, On Photography. [ONLINE] Available at: http:// isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic148217.files/TakakjianSontag.htm. [Accessed 26 February 2017].
Sontag, Susan, 1973. On Photography. 1st ed. New York: Penguin Classics.
Camenzuli, Z. 2017.Movements Research and Identify Photographic History, Movements and Genres.
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Essay Write Up
After analysing how the use of black and white influenced photography, research moved from analysing the colour to analysing the image and how subjects depicted are used as a representation for subliminal messages.
Along this essay, research on critics who analysed image visual rhetorics, for instance Susan Sontag and John Berger will be covered. Both authors agree that the first tool used by photographers to attract a greater audience is ‘Visual Rhetoric’. This is a matter of convincing the audience and engaging them towards ones work.
A Greek Philosopher, Aristotle, divided the term visual rhetoric into three sections being - Pathos - Giving the image an emotional appeal, and making the viewer feel bad, guilty or even ashamed, Logos - Providing logistics and reasoning to persuade your audience, and finally, Ethos - This is when companies provide the credible appeal and saying to their audience ‘Trust Us’.
The above mentioned elements are mostly used in advertising, marketing campaigns, politics and also in religious publications.
Another element which Susan Sontag introduced in her ‘On Photography’ publication is Semiotics. Semiotics are an investigation of how meaning is created and communicated through signs and symbols.
Ferdinand De Saussure, a Swiss linguist who generated ideas on structure and language. These ideas were published through lectures; his theory says that all signs captured in visuals are all referring to something which may be differently interpreted through different cultural backgrounds. Therefore, before publishing an image, one must study the target audience he aims for.
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Richard Avedon
In contrast to Sally Mann and Dorothea Lange, the American Richard Avedon was a commercial photographer. Avedon, practiced and mastered in fashion and portraiture, while being one of the photographers who worked in both colour and black and white, especially in his fashion images.
Below, one may find a couple of his coloured fashion photography
Correct, both images are very effective while having a sense of dominance in the subjects expression and pose, however, audience seem to still be mostly intrigued by the black and white images seen below.
In spite of the images lacking colour, the texture and tonality of clothing is still recognisable. One can still relate to the fashion in vogue during the era these images were taken, while also appreciating the aesthetic of the image.
Alternatively, as previously mentioned, Richard Avedon was also passionate about portraiture. He worked with famous people including Madonna, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Twiggy and more, however, a very famous body of work is the series ‘The American West’ which was a documentation of the low class found in America
Richard Avedon, with the series ‘American West’ managed to collaborate portraiture, and documentary together while using a pinhole camera and shooting in black and white film. Similar to previous image analysis, the black and white is delivering a good sense of texture, emotion, and tonality, while being effective and straight to the point.
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Sally Mann
A very well known Contemporary photographer is Sally Mann. She is best known for her large Black and White photographs of her family.
Her works had received numerous amount of awards, including NEA ( Nigerian Entertainment Awards), NEH ( National Endowment for the Humanities) and also the Guggenheim Foundation Grants. In addition to this, Sally Mann has her own publications such as ‘Proud Flesh’ in 2009 amongst many more.
Apart from all the awards and publications, the American photographer is able to incorporate art into her photographs, while being in black and white will only enhance this combination.
One must also keep in mind that all the above images are taken with a pinhole camera, therefore, one is not allowed to see what the image is looking like in a view finder. Sally Mann, in her family series, captures the perfect combination of light and shadow which reveals details and textures, furthermore, with the correct direction of light the photographer is creating the main focus without having colour to disturb the viewers eyes.
In addition to the pinhole photographs, Sally Mann exhibits her black and white photographs by using the creative photographic process, wet plate collodion. Larry Mann, Sally Mann’s husband,at the age of thirty was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, which progressively weakens and waste muscles.
Sally Mann wanted to photograph her husband in order to show courage and bravery, and so she captured parts of his body and transferred them onto wet glass plated images.
Sally Mann, as may already noted from the images above, is one of those photographers who leaves marks done by the photographic process itself on the images, which she believes makes it more realistic. While once more the series is delivered in black and white, making it appear more dramatic and intense.
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Dorothea Lange
An American historical photographer, who is mostly known for documenting the Great Depression Era.
Lange’s photography showed the displacement of farmenrs during the 1930′s which later was also a great influence on documentry photography. With such documentation, Lange showed unemployed workers wondering around the streets with nothing to do except for worrying about how are they going to pay for food, shelter while providing shelter for their families.
An example of her work are the below images:
One may consider as the great depression series as being very personal to Dorothea Lange, the American photographer as ageing to her teen years, her parents got divorced and the only way she could express her feelings was through art and literature. Photographic America in the 1930′s might have been a way to express the loneliness and chaos she experienced through out her parents divorce.
Keeping the subject theme in mind, Dorothea Lange photographs the great depression using black and white. The argument to this might be that at that time of photographic era, colour was still not as used, however, the lack of colour in such images is creating a more moody delivery.
Emotions are by far better captured and exhibited, while the thorn and dirty textured clothing are having a better impact on their viewer. In such cases, a photographer must be very decisive for when to shoot as one must wait for the right direction of light, the right pose, and last but not least setting the camera to capture the best possible composition.
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When to use Black and White and Not Colour
Does color have a large impact on the image?Living in a diverse world like nowadays, one will easily find a mix of both colour and black and white images. Luckily enough, there are photographers which swings along and are able to distinguish which suits best.
Taking nature as an example, one would immediately think that nature is best shot in colour as seen in the image below -
However, seeing works done by the historical photographer, Ansel Adams, may have a twist of perspective. (Image below)
The Black and White scheme is having a more artistic feel to the image, while the qualities of the landscape are still clearly captured. One can still see the perspective created by the lake, the different textures of grass, water, ice, and clouds, while appreciate the sense of serenity by the landscape itself.
Moreover, photographing nowadays with modern cameras, will allow you to decide wether to use colour or not during the post process, unlike, the era Ansel Adams lived in, he would have to decide how to shoot from before the production.
Tip No.1 - Does color have a large impact on the image?
One may consider this as an easy question, however, analysing images with such question in mind may be slightly tricky. Before deciding, the photographer must decide what is the main attraction in the image, and wether the main focus is identified by colour. If not, it is possible that colour is only there to distract the viewer in less important features.
Tip No.2 - Are there interesting light or contrasts?
When removing colour, one is only left with light, shade and their contrast. This is further more enhanced if experimented with different light angles. An instance is the Green Pepper Image taken by Edward Westin.
As noted, the lighting setup is creating a very interesting aesthetic to the subject photographed, while the removal of colour is simply generating a moody appear to it. The image as a whole, is allowing the viewer to appreciate the smoothness of the subject, while thanks to the lighting setup, a realistic 3D dimension is captured allowing the viewer to almost hold the pepper. The adding of colour, might have lost the impact this image had on its viewers, while also providing a less interesting aesthetic.
Digital Photography School. 2017. 4 Tips to Help you Decide Between Black and White or Color for your Image. [ONLINE] Available at: https://digital-photography-school.com/4-tips-to-help-you-decide-between-black-and-white-or-color-for-your-image/. [Accessed 14 April 2017].
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Elements of Black and White Photography
Photography in general requires a set of technical elements in order to achieve a good quality picture. Some of which include, setting the camera with the right amount of aperture, shutter speed and ISO levels, however, this is not enough. A good photographer will deeply analyse the subject about to be captured, its surroundings and the environment placed in.
Further more, when shooting for black and white photography, one must muster elements mentioned above. For instance, lighting problems will not be evident as much in coloured photographer, however, will be a complete eyesore if in Black and White as it is more revealable.
Moreover, textures, tones and emotions, are by far more effective if seen with the correct levels of black and white, for instance the images below.
As seen in the above three examples, the black and white images are far more intriguing then the coloured ones. Taking the first image for example, seeing it with colour will distract the viewer from what the photographers is actually trying to show, being the different textures captured in the image. On the contrary, converting the image to black and white, will allow the viewer to only focus on the different materials while almost being able to feel the textures.
The second example is the macro shot of the mature lady. Similar to the first image, the colours are distracting the viewer, while the use of black and white is only focusing on the lady’s look. The black and white use is also enhancing the light and shade, creating a very aesthetically pleasing texture from her wrinkles and eye highlight. The image is more emotional, and by simply analysing the black and white image, without knowing where and when was the image taken, one can immediately relate to the subject and note that she has gone through experiences.
In the third and final example, a landscape of a church is captured. The coloured image may be giving an uneven importance to the sky and fluffy clouds, whereas the black and white image is giving importance to the whole image. One may note that seeing the church in black and white may result in a more powerful approach. The architecture and its values are better captured and the contrast between the light and shade are giving importance to the buildings detail.
In conclusion, as seen in the above three different examples, black and white does not limit photographers in experimenting different genres of photography. If used properly black and white has the ability to serve as a very professional appear for a very wide range of photographic genres.
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Origins of Black and White Photography
Before 1936, Photographers had no choice but to shoot black and white photography, it was the only available medium, therefore, if there was no black and white photography already being practised, coloured photography would have never been tested and later on practiced.
Regardless, the availability of Kodachrome in 1936, one of the first ever successful colour material for both photography and cinematography (Wikipedia, 2017), black and white photography had been considered as the purest form of photography ever since.
It is argued that a memorable image requires a set of elements to be as aesthetically pleasing; texture, tonal contrast, shape, form and lighting are all kept in mind and considered when shooting in black and white, where as coloured images may distract the viewer in focusing in less important aspects, normally being warm tones and shades.
According to Susan Sontag, in her publication, ‘On Photography’, Images can serve as a sense of memorabilia and proof of existence. Having said that, having a black and white photograph will enhance the the element of memorabilia - this is illustrated in old family photos. Viewing a 50 year old black and white image of Grandparents for instance the image below, will have an impact on its viewers, one will immediately relate to the image as being old due to the lack of colour.
One may consider the above image as not a full representation of reality due to its lack of colour, however, if one adds colour to the above image an immediate effect will apply. The significance of being an old memory, of how photography was shot back then, will be lost.
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Introduction to Black and White Photography
Photography in general has its own voice, however, people can argue that interpretations can vary according to vast photographic elements. Photographers, are allowed to depict and portray subjects in many ways, tools to do so include: composition, lighting, and finally colour or the lack of it.
The main area of study will involve research on the lack of colour in photography, and exploring the messages being portrayed with such media. During this research, topics of how black and white is used to create more emotions and nostalgia will be covered, while also evaluating how lack in colour will achieve more focus on the subject itself rather then being distracted by the confusion of colour.
This research will be dedicated to how the use or the lack of colour effects photography interpretations. Many debates have been conducted in order to settle this argument, however, it has always resulted in being a matter of opinion.
Furthermore, the question here is ‘How can Black’n’White Photography capture better interpretations then Coloured Photography?’ therefore, the study will analyse the ideal use for black and white photography, while also covering how and where historical photographers had used black and white. In addition to this, analyses of whether this genre is still actively used, or has it been isolated due to the constant use of colour, will also be held.
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Black and White Photography
How does Black and White Photography capture better interpretations then Coloured Photography?
By : Zayden Camenzuli Tutor : Ms. Angela Cassar Level : 6
Main Area of Study.
Photography in general has its own voice, however, people can argue that interpretations can vary according to vast photographic elements. Photographers, are allowed to depict and portray subjects in many ways, tools to do so include: composition, lighting, and finally colour.
The main area of study will involve research on the use of colour or the lack of colour in photography, and exploring the messages being portrayed with such media. During this research, topics of how black and white is used to create more emotions and nostalgia will be covered, while also evaluating how lack in colour will achieve more focus on the subject itself rather then being distracted by the confusion of colour.
Personal Motivation for the Choice of Research Theme.
Being so used to always seeing in colour, one may lack the appreciation towards the use of black and white. That is why, I will base this research on just Black and White Photography, and analysing how it is as powerful as colour if not even more.
Outline of Key Literature and Theoretical Framework or Propositions.
Research will cover, the origins of black and white photography taken by film cameras to contemporary uses using digital SLR’s. This study will analyse when is black and white mostly used and the versatility it contains suiting mostly all genres of photography.
Another topic covered will be about monochrome variety, photographers using black and white are allowed to experiment with tones even if having a mono palette. These colour scheme has the potential to be strong, high in contrast and powerful, while also being able to be soft, gentle and subtle.
Photographers like Dorothea Lange, Ansel Adams, Richard Avedon and Sally Man, will be discussed while also illustrating the argument with their black and white works.
Significance of the Study.
The study of Black and White photography, and the strong ability to capture emotion, will be able to serve as an awareness to those lacking knowledge regarding such matter. This study will also provide statistics of how would people react to black and white photography when compared to coloured images.
Referencing
Darren Rowse. 2007. Why Black and White Photography?. [ONLINE] Available at: https://digital-photography-school.com/why-black-and-white-photography/. [Accessed 17 February 2017].
Stephanie Kay-Kok. 2016. 60 Inspiring Examples of Black and White Photography. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.thephotoargus.com/60-inspiring-examples-of-black-and-white-photography/. [Accessed 17 February 2017].
Sally Mann | artnet. 2017. Sally Mann | artnet. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.artnet.com/artists/sally-mann/. [Accessed 17 February 2017].
Ansel Adams Gallery. 2017. Home - Ansel Adams Gallery. [ONLINE] Available at: http://anseladams.com. [Accessed 17 February 2017].
Dorothea Lange Black and White Photography, Posters and Prints at Art.com. 2017. Dorothea Lange Black and White Photography, Posters and Prints at Art.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.art.com/gallery/id--a7227-c23951/dorothea-lange-black-and-white-photography-prints.htm. [Accessed 18 February 2017].
Photogrist Photography Magazine. 2017. Black and White Photography by Dorothea Lange. [ONLINE] Available at: https://photogrist.com/dorothea-lange/. [Accessed 18 February 2017].
Biography. 2017. Richard Avedon - Photographer - Biography.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/richard-avedon-9193034#synopsis. [Accessed 18 February 2017].
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Steven Meisel
The American Photographer, Steven Meisel, was born in 1954 and began his photographic career as an illustrator with Roy Halston Frowick, also known as Halston.
In his early days, Meisel had already developed a passion for woman and beauty, and unlike other children, he's playing time would involve drawings of woman with an inspiration from the Vogue magazine and Harper’s Bazaar.
Meisel attended to various courses in The School for Design and High school of Art and Design, however, as soon as he passed from his interview for Vogue France, Fashion had become his area of expertise.
His works are all mainly related to fashion photography, whilst being a close hearted photographer of Anna Wintour and Franca Sozzani, therefore, his most renowned works are published in the US and Italian Vogue. Having said that, the American photographer dominated the Italian Vogue editions for the past 2 decades.
Steven Meisel photograph bodies of work, some of which are also published in books such as ‘Sex’ featuring Madonna in 1992. Moreover, Meisel, had also photographed Prada campaigns since 2004, while having other fashion clients such as Versace, Valentino, Louis Vuitton, Calving Klein and many more.
Below are some examples of Steven Measles’ work
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‘Liminal’ Book Publication
Liminal, is a 157 page publication by a local photographer, Gilbert Calleja Fig 1. The term Liminal, in itself means, transition or the process of transitioning. Having said that, this book contains a great amount of photos, covering more than 20 Transgender or transvestite individuals.
The book is designed by Zvezdan Reljic and published by the EDE Books, a local publication company.
Gilbert Calleja, requested to photograph individuals in their own natural habitant, moreover, apart from photographing a series of photos at Miss MyBar Competition, and showing MTF Transgender people cat walking wearing beautifully designed clothes, he also shot the same subjects at their homes and even work places. Some of which are also photographed while interacting with their families and friends.
The layout has a particular pattern to it, each subject is introduced by a full bleed double or single spread Fig 2, and followed by another four photos with a white border. However, formats vary from square to portrait (Fig 4) and landscape (Fig 3) layout.
Each photo has a citation below, including the subjects’ name and locality (Fig 5).
Alternatively, even though the book does not contain a narrative of only one subject, photos chosen are still giving a clear introduction to the chosen subjects. Most images analysed, are candid shots while the subject is having a normal daily life, going to work, having fun with friends, being at home, or attending to fashion walks.
As may already noted, having candid documention photographs, will result into better interpretations, while being more effective on their viewers. In contrast to what Catherine Opie and Joan Lobis Brown had done with their portraits, Gilbert Calleja got closer to his subjects and documented their life, not simply being transgenders but also while living a normal life.
This work is very similar to what Anita Khemka had done when documenting the life of Laxmi. Laxmi was a photographic series based on only her, being at work, home, with the Hijra community (similar to these Maltese MTF Transgenders at the Miss MyBar cat walk) and also photographed with her family. The publication is also alike, as below each photo ,which Khemka published of Laxmi, there would be a citation stating who is the subject and whom, while also describing the action going.
In conclusion, after researching on its demand, unfortunately not much are aware of this books’ publication. It is truly a shame as these sort of images are a way to create awareness regarding the LGBT community, and finally giving a voice to those stereotyped.
Calleja.G ,Vella.M, 2013. Liminal. 1st ed. Malta: EDE Books.
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