Masters+Photo_Marz

1. The artists that have inspired me are Lewis Hine, Austin Mann, and Michael Kenna.

Lewis Hine was a photographer who documented Child Labor in the early 1900's. His work captured black-and-white images of young children, many of whom are younger than 8 years old, who have been forced into the dangerous working conditions of sweatshops and factories. I chose to examine Hine because I am familiar with his work. In APUSH, we looked through some of his photos in our studies of the early 20th century when examining American life in the cities at this time. Hine conveys the emotional toll taken on these children by both filling the frame with their faces, or showing them at a distance surrounded by machinery. I want to be able to convey this realism in my own works.

Austin Mann is a modern traveling photographer, journeying all across the globe to capture a wide range of landscapes. There is an emphasis on natural landscapes, like cliffs, water, and forestry, which ultimately works to display the world we live in in a unique way, particularly through level horizons. I want to be able to apply this level horizon composition to depict the earth as I see it.

Michael Kenna is a photographer who also emphasizes landscaping, but through a black and white lens. He has travelled to places like France to capture it in its grandeur, and his black and white filter allows for all of the different values in color to be seen. This tactic is something I want to keep in mind when editing my photos.

2.

Hine, Mann, and Kenna

Image 1: http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/hine-full.htm

Image 2: http://austinmann.com/projects/archives-3

lmage 3: http://www.michaelkenna.net/gallery.php?id=31

3. To create a complex composition, I would like to combine various techniques like level horizon, framing, and filling the frame. Ideally, I would like to shoot photos in nature, perhaps on paths in the prairie, using Hine's tactic of linear perspective shown above, and using trees to frame either the path, or to frame a person on the path. In photoshop, I would like to play around with the contrast of the images in an attempt to emphasize my subject(s) or the greenery within nature. I may also play around with different filters to add a sense of texture to the photograph.

4. The primary principle of design I want to focus in on is emphasis of my subject(s). In this piece, I want to be able to clearly display my subject and my concept. To do this, I would like to manipulate the contrast and brightness of the objects to draw the viewer's attention into a specific area of the photo.

5. To create a complex concept, I would like to create a series of natural photographs in combination with people in nature. In this series, I would like to tell a story of sorts, of how humans and nature live together on this earth. To do this, I would like to find a willing subject and set up a shoot in a wooded area of some kind. This, in combination with my compositional techniques, would work to create a unique set of photographs that look at both humanity and nature from a variety of interesting perspectives.