Daily Archives: September 7, 2019

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Ernest Baudoux

September 7, 2019 Jazmin G Leave a comment

Portrait photographer from Societe Jersiaise Photo-Archive

Ernest Baudoux, born in France in 1828, worked in Jersey from 1869. There are 1385 photographs by Baudoux online from the Société’s archive. Most of the images are portraits, which was the photographer’s speciality. Baudoux’s was without a doubt the most prolific Jersey studio. He mainly had clients from the Jersey born and French speaking population.

The portraits Ernest Baudoux captured are great examples of the Victorian art of photographic portraiture. They show the fashion of the time in terms of clothing and hairstyles. The subjects would usually wear their best clothes for the portrait photoshoot. For women in the 1870s and 80s this meant that they would wear long black dresses. It was also common for children and occasionaly adults to be photographed wearing fancy costumes. Wearing a sailor’s outfit was popular for boys at the time. The subjects in the images always appear stern for a reason. They had to hold their pose for a long amount of time, which is why they often had their arms folded and were supported on the back of a chair. Holding a smile was impossible.

Most of Baudoux’s studio portraits were produced with a sliding plate mechanism designed to give two exposures on one glass negative. After he chose the best image he eliminated the rejected image by marking it with a cross. With the preferred image, Baudoux retouched the negative to enhance the complexion of the subject and hide facial blemishes. This shows that the practice of photographic manipulated originated before the digital age.

https://www.theislandwiki.org/index.php/Ernest_Baudoux

Image Analysis

This portrait depicts a full body shot of a young woman. She appears to be sitting down on a stool with her arms slightly crossed. Most Victorian portraits have their subjects sitting down on a chair because they had to hold their pose for a long time in order for the picture to be captured. Holding a smile was impossible for a portrait picture in those days, which explains why she has a blank stare and stern appearance. The woman appears to be affluent which is showcased by her fashionable Victorian clothing and hairstyle. The aspect that most captures the viewer’s attention is her long black dress which was popular for women in the 1870’s and 80’s. This dress would probably be her best iteam of clothing since subjects would usually wear their best clothes if they were going to have a portrait taken.

I want to incorporate Ernest Baudoux portrait photography style by capturing photos of the subject in a formal posture. Taking a direct picture of my subject will make him/her look like an important, powerful figure. This formal style will be interesting to capture when the people who experienced the German Occupation in Jersey come over to join our photography class for a studio photoshoot. I will capture upper body and full body shots with the subject sitting on a chair to reflect the Victorian portraiture style.

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Contempory Artist Reference- Michelle Sank

September 7, 2019 Jasmine L Leave a comment

The South African born photographer Michelle Sank specialises in portraiture and her work looks into “the preoccupation of the human condition”, meaning that her work includes exploring and developing the main aspects of life, such as birth, growth (emotionally and physically) and conflict. All making up the basics of human existence and are things which every living person will experience throughout our lifetime. Sank documents social and cultural diversity and allows for comparison on the different ways each individual lives their lives with everyone having a different cultural background, ethnic groups and experiences.

Michelle Sank’s Different Project Mood Boards

Teenagers Belfast Photoshoot

“These portraits were taken of teenagers in Belfast in a series commissioned by Belfast Exposed Gallery. The remit was to empower these teenagers with a sense of individuality and to locate them within environments which bear no reference to the political struggles or past emblems of this.”

‘In My Skin’ Photoshoot

“These images are from a project called In My Skin about young people under the ages of 25 in the UK who are challenging their body image. I am looking at those who have had or are considering having plastic surgery in order to become more acceptable to themselves and achieve their ideal of being beautiful. “

‘Young Careers’ Photoshoot

“These images are from a project about Young Carers, children under the age of 18 who are often the main carer for a sick parent or sibling. In addition to performing daily household tasks like washing, bathing, cooking and shopping, they also have to deal with the additional pressures of school. Because they are different, they often are exposed to bullying from Schoolmates and lack a sense of identity as an individual in their own right.”

Her style

Uses natural lighting
Subjects focused in the middle of the image
Background and subject match
Posed photography (she tells them how to pose)
Contrast in some images
Uses a high shutter speed for fully focused images
Takes images of people

Analysation image

This image was taken from Michelle’s project “In My Skin”. This image is representing the individualism which can be found in different communities.

Technical analysis- The noticeable techniques used to take this image would of included a relatively high exposure as there is little shadowing, shading or overall extreme contrast which is helping to add a freshness to the image, adding a contrast in her dark tattoos and the background image, as well as helping to open up the picture. There also seems to be a good amount of natural light in the picture which is suggesting that very little editing was used, adding a rawness to the image as it isn’t overly edited and helps to again show a difference between her fake tattooed skin and her raw unedited overall picture.

Visual analysis- The subject of ‘In My Skin’ is represented through physical appearance. The most eye-catching part on her appearance is her tattoos in comparison to the simplicity of the background image which is showing that her tattoos don’t define the rest of her appearance which could be seen as ’emo’ but her simple bed room stops people from being able to make assumptions.

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Photo archive – Ernest Baudoux – Moodboard and reference

September 7, 2019 Krystian S Leave a comment

Ernest Baudoux was Born in France (1828-1897) and worked in Jersey from 1869. In 1885 he was joined in business by his son, but two years later they sold out to John Stroud.
There are 1385 photographs by Baudoux available online from the Jersaise Societe archive, they are mainly portraits, which were his speciality. Baudoux also undertook photographic commissions of clients’ houses and, working with his sons, he photographed views of the island.

This is my favourite of his photos. This is due to the relaxed nature of the person being photographed, which creates a feeling of ease when looking at it. Along with the lighting focusing heavily on him aswell. For example, the edges around the left side of the photo are pitch-black, and the rest of the background is composed of dark shades, whereas the foreground is very bright and well-lit. The photo also includes a lot of strong shapes, such as the strong lines of the sofa the person is lying on, which match up with the shape of the person themselves lying down, as well as the table and the wall behind him.

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Francis Foot – Traditional PORTRAITS

September 7, 2019 Eleanor G Leave a comment

Francis Foot was born in 1885, his father was a china and Glass dealer in Dumaresq Street, at a time when the area was one of the more wealthy in St Helier. Francis started his working life as a gas fitter. However, he soon became fascinated by photography, the early phonographs and gramophone records and realised that he could earn a living from them.So the family took on a second shop in Pitt Street, where Francis worked as a photographer, while his father and mother sold gramophones, records in Dumaresq Street. After his father’s death, Francis concentrated the business in Pitt Street. Francis’ grandson John gave the collection of the glass plates and other photographic material, which had been gathering dust since his grandfather’s death, to La Société Jersiaise. in 1996. Its online photographic archive contains 322 images of subjects as diverse as Battles of Flowers, St Helier Harbour, shipwrecks, fetes and coastal and country views. Francis Foot also took 16mm black and white cine films, some of which, from the 1930s, are now held by the Jersey Archive. These show such events as aircraft landing on the beach at West Park, a visit by HMS Sheffield, cattle shows, Battle of Flowers at Springfield and the Liberation and visit soon after of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.