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Case study: Edward Weston and Ansel Adams

Edward Weston

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Edward Weston was an American photographer born in March 24, 1886 – January 1, 1958.  He photographed a variety of subjects of subjects, including landscapes, still lifes, nudes, portraits, genre scenes and even whimsical parodies.  In the 1920’s he began photography, in 1923 he opened a photographic study in Mexico.  With his influences from Mexico, Weston returned to the US further  creating nudes, close-ups, natural forms and particularly landscapes. From 1927-1935, on his travels from Glendale to Carmel, Weston began focusing on his landscape work focusing on the stark rocks, the big empty spaces and building upon the negative values in the photograph.  His exposure settings covered, a low ISO rating necessitating very long exposures when using his view camera, with the exposure time from 1 to 3 seconds for outdoor landscape exposures to  4½ hours for still lifes such as peppers or shells. When using the Graflex cameras the exposure times were usually less than ¼ second.  Examples of Weston’s work:

Image result for edward weston landscape

Image result for edward weston landscape

Image result for edward weston landscape

Ansel Adams

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Ansel Adams, another American photographer born in February 20 1902 – April 22 1984.  In the 1920’s Adams started developing his early shoots around the Sierra mountains recording his shoot: “Parmenian Prints of the High Sierras”.  He particularly focused on how an object felt for him and therefore how it should be presented.  Within the 1930’s, Adams work matured and grew in personality.  He expanded his work on on detailed close ups and also large forms too with influences such as John Marin and Paul Strand whose influence helped establish  Adams style for later life.  In 1932 with Imogen Cunningham and Edward Western, a group was formed named group f/64.  This focused upon small apertures with high depths of field – useful for landscape photography.  With the start of the 1940’s Adams started to teach photography but with the tide of war turning: Adams was part of a group known as the National Aviation Photographic Unit.  With this experience,  Weston started forming magazines such as “Aperture” in later years and focusing on teaching too.  Adams landscape work with landscape photography is distinct in the sense it portrays high levels of contrast.  Examples of Adams work:

Image result for ansel adams

Image result for ansel adams

Image result for ansel adams

Best photos-analysis

 

Here I have the same photo that has been edited differently. The photo on the left I have dramatically edited where as the photo on the right I have subtly edited it. I did this to see just two of the routes I could have taken. For the photo on the left I turned the original picture black and white and increased the contrast. I then used the burn tool to show more of the subjects face through the fabric. I went around the face using the burn tool where there would be the most shadows. I did this so it would look more like his face was forcing his head through the fabric, like he was trying to escape. For the right photo I only cropped the photo to make the subjects face more centered then turned it black and white and increased the contrast. I did this as I wanted to see if I had over edited on the previous photo. I also wanted it to look more calmer and sharper. close-up-side-shot Here I took the picture at a side angle. The light is coming from above the subject but is still facing the front of the subject. When editing I lightly used the burn tool to make some of the the lines on the face more visible.

close-up-fixed

This is a close up version of other pictures that have been taken.

less-edited

Here I have done the same sort of picture but further away and lower lighting, I did this to show a clear resemblance to the original photo by Andreas Poupoutsis. When taking the photo I dimmed the lighting and had someone hold the sheet stretched over the subjects head. Just like the original I wanted to still be able to make out some of the subjects facial features. When editing I made it black and white and increased the contrast so you could only see the head. When looking at this photo I really do think the distance helps as it gives this sense on isolation and darkness. That fact that anything could be hiding in the darkness and you wouldn’t know. I also like the way that the head is practically at the center of the photo. The creases on the sheet look like they are consuming his identity trying to make him into just another blank face.

softer-light

In this photo the sheet has been lifted and is being pulled upwards instead of downwards like previous photos. When taking the photo I didn’t change the direction of the lighting much from the previous photos however this time it was a lot dimmer which caused me to have to increase the exposure when editing. When taking this photo I wanted it to look like the subject was trying to pull against the sheet and escape. This came across well in the photo as it looked suffocating, almost as if he was being hung or strangled. This again is showing how identity can be taking away from you with force. In the west side of the world this is often seen as an emotional or financial form rather than physical. With these photos I wanted to show this emotional battle in physical form.

soft-angle

In these next photos I have changed the fabric to a more elasticated material. I did this to get a more smooth feel, a less sharp and harsh feel. This material showed more of the face/identity. This shows how the more you be yourself the calmer you are as you aren’t pretending to be someone you’re not. I also like this photo as it looks like a thin mist over the subjects face.

mask-stretch

Here I have taken a close up photo of the previous photo. I have also placed the light underneath the subject to show more of the sheet being stretched.

under-light-stretch

This photo is a lot more dramatic to the previous two and is following the example of the previous set of photos. This photo is more violent than the other two as it looks like the subject is suffocating. It almost looks ghostly. However, there is a shadow made by his nose that ruins the photo. When editing the photo I made it black and white and increased the contrast as well as using the burn tool to add more shadows around the subjects mouth. I think it is a shame because this would be a great photo if it wasn’t for the shadow.