Alfonso Almendros

http://www.alfonsoalmendros.com/

http://www.gupmagazine.com/articles/family-reflections-an-interview-with-alfonso-almendros

http://www.catalysti.fi/artists/alfonso-almendros

As well as comparing the photographers Anna Gaskell and Hannah Starkey,  I was interest in researching and analyzing the photographer  Alfonso Almendros. What intrigued me to his work the most was the unusual and mysterious images that he captures. I noticed that in his images he doesn’t usually include the face of the subject in the frame. He either crops out the head, or uses the lighting in a certain way so that the features are obscured. I really like the sinister feel that Almendros creates in his images, and I wanted to try and include this somehow in my tableaux shoot.

Almendros is a photographer from Spain who lives in Helsinski. The most recent series that Almendros has completed is called Family Reflections.  In this series his aim is to capture the differences between ‘now and then’. Each image within the series focuses on a particular concept, for example, the roots, obsession with death, glorification of maternity, or the sacred character of some objects. Almendros defines the series as ‘A series about family, struggle and intimacy that creates a parallel reality’. He explains how the idea of the series Family Reflections came at time when his life was full of indecision. After a period of living abroad, and being separated from his family, he felt a parallel between his mum, siblings and himself. He used this to provoke, and provide influence to the series. Here are some of the images from the series.

I really like the mysterious, sinister atmosphere Alfonso manages to create. Similarly to  Anna Gaskell, he has this hint of a fairy tale, story like theme that he provokes. Alfonso and Anna are the two main tableaux photographers that I want to use as inspiration for my childhood memory shoot. I aim to create this sinister, mysterious atmosphere within my images.