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ariannaphotographingthecity-blog · 7 years

Photo

Top Left: S O U T H B A N K

Top Right: S T. M A R Y L E B O N E P A R I S H C H U R C H

Middle Left: R E G E N T ‘S P A R K: B I R D L A K E

Middle Right: M A R Y L E B O N E H A L L

Bottom Left: R E G E N T ‘S P A R K: B R I D G E

Bottom Right: B L A C K F R I A R S B R I D G E

From the start, Bruce Weber was an instant inspiration to commence my photography project. I love his black and white shots involving nature and the male species. I wanted to incorporate a similar topic in my shots as well. I started to take photographs of men in different venues and I discovered the difficulty in taking pictures of men. It is far more difficult to photograph males than females. Once they see the camera lens in front of their faces, they become stiff and embarrassed. It is almost as if they can not comprehend why someone would ever want to take a photograph of them. My professor made recommendations to fill me with more inspiration; one was the book, The Descent of Man by Grayson Perry and the other one was Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition.

In The Descent of Man, Perry suggests that masculinity is categorized in negative connotations. Males need to have machismo qualities; there cannot be a fragile moment. Perry states that the barrier should be taken down. Men should start “speaking out and less manning up.” (Haig, 2016) Being vulnerable is just as masculine as being strong. I wanted to capture that vulnerability in a photograph because that quality is rarely shown.

Lastly, I looked upon the Taylor Wessing site and saw portrait pictures of different photographers. The one that caught my eye was Cristina de Middel’s series, Gentlemen’s Club. It is a series of prostitutes’ clients taken at brothels in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She paid the clients in exchange for a photograph. It was intriguing to see how men photographed when Middel was in power. (Prize, 2016) The stories each photograph has is captivating. Most subjects are not looking at the camera. It shows a different side to them, a feeling of submission. I wanted to show a similar sense to my photographs. I want to capture that feeling of surrender into showing fragility.

Once I started taking photographs, I had a hundred shots of robotic poses one right after another. The sound of the camera going off whenever I took a photo was intimidating for my subjects so, I decided to start talking to them. I wanted them to get comfortable with me. If they knew I was not a professional; just a girl trying to do her course project, they would bring down the wall between us. My best shots were the ones when they were in mid-conversation or when they were reacting to something I said. It makes these photographs have more feeling, more of a story.

In my final phase I will continue to take portrait pictures of male subjects, but this time I would like to tell a story about them, any story that they share with me while I am taking their photographs.

Works Cited

Haig, M., 2016. The Descent of Man by Grayson Perry review – a man’s man is yesterday’s hero. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/23/descent-of-man-masculinity-grayson-perry-review-a-mans-man-is-yesterdays-hero-gender-role [Accessed 03 March 2017].

Prize, T. W. P. P., 2016. Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. [Online] Available at: http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/twppp-2016/exhibition/in-focus [Accessed 03 March 2017].

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ariannaphotographingthecity-blog · 7 years

Photo

I. C O N T E M P L A T I V E

II. B R O W S

A Californian with luscious brows and a Julia Roberts smile who loves to surf and take countless pictures of her 3-year-old Norfolk Terrier, Penny. Out of everything I learned from her, I’ve come to terms with three conclusions.

1. She is uncoordinated; she tripped and fell in the pool at her cousin’s wedding. She did not know how to swim at the time, and her mother, beautifully dressed, dove in to save her. She is also the only person I know who has been kicked out of dance class as a result of her incoordination.

2. She is full of surprises; she grew up in sunnyside California but decided to study at Skidmore College, where temperatures fall below 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. She is a great storyteller. Her stories range from wild to outrageously crazy. She is not afraid to speak her mind which is why I find her to be a wonderfully unique person.

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