Albert Renger-Patzch was a German photographer and was mostly associated with the New Objectivity. By the age of twelve he had began taking photographs. In the early 1920s he worked as a press photographer for the Chicago Tribune before becoming a freelancer, where in 1925 he published a book, ‘the Choir Stalls of Cappenberg’. Renger-Patzch had his first museum exhibition in 1927. His best know book followed in 1928, ‘Die Welt ist Schon’ (The World is Beautiful). The book is a collection of one hundred of his natural forms, industrial subjects and mass-produced objects are presented with the clarity scientific illustrations.

These are some of his images:

What is a Tableaux Vivant?

A tableau vivant is a static scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or scenery, and may be theatrically lit. It combines aspects of theatre and the visual arts.

Arnold Abner Newman was an American photographer, noted for his “environmental portraits” of artists and politicians. He was also known for his carefully composed abstract still life images. Newman found his vision in the empathy he felt for artists and their work. Although he photographed many personalities (such as Pablo Picasso,  Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy), he maintained that even if the subject is not known, or is already forgotten, the photograph itself must still excite and interest the viewer. Newman is often credited with being the first photographer to use so-called environmental portraiture, in which the photographer places the subject in a carefully controlled setting to capture the essence of the individual’s life and work. Newman normally captured his subjects in their most familiar surroundings with representative visual elements showing their professions and personalities. Using a large-format camera and tripod, he worked to record every detail of a scene. Newman’s best-known images were in black and white, although he often photographed in color. His 1946 black and white portrait of Igor Stravinsky seated at a grand piano, became his signature image, even though it was rejected by Harper’s Bazaar, the magazine that gave the assignment to Newman. Among Newman’s best-known color images is an eerie portrait from 1963 that shows former Nazi industrialist and minister of armament Alfried Krupp in one of Krupp’s factories. Newman admits his personal feelings influenced his portrayal of Krupp.Newman taught photography at Cooper Union for many years. He was recovering from a stroke when he died at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, New York.

Photo Analysis:

This photograph was taken by Arnold Newman, of Alfried Krupp in 1963. This photograph is one of Newman’s well known images due to hidden message and ideas that can be taken from this environmental portrait.

John Rankin Waddell, known under his working name Rankin, is a British portrait and fashion photographer and director. He is best known as the founder of Dazed and Confused magazine. Rankin’s work appeared in magazines such as GQ, Vogue and Marie Claire. Rankin attended Thirsk School and Sixth Form College. Whilst studying he realised that his interests lay elsewhere and dropped out. Instead he started studying  photography at Barnfield College Luton and then London College of Printing. In 1992 Rankin, with the help of Jefferson Hack, started a magazine together called Dazed & Confused. In December 2000 Rankin launched his own quarterly fashion magazine, Rank. He also publishes Another Magazine, Another Man and more recently Hunger, a website and biannual fashion and lifestyle magazine. In April 2009 Rankin created Annroy, a contemporary structure designed by Trevor Horne Architects that is home to Rankin’s own photographic studio, gallery and living space, where he lives with his wife and model Tuuli Shipster. Each month Annroy holds a different exhibition, which features some of Rankin’s current work.

What Is A Zine?

A zine (pronounced zeen) is an independently or self-published booklet, often created by physically cutting and gluing text and images together onto a master flat for photocopying, but it is also common to produce the master by typing and formatting pages on a computer. The publication is usually folded and stapled.

Information from: https://blog.flipsnack.com/what-is-a-zine/

Artist Research: Sam Ivin

Whilst exploring the topic Occupation vs Liberation, I learnt new skills that I will be able to transfer to other projects in the future. I learnt how to use Lightroom for photo selection and editing. I also learnt different camera set up to capture different objects, and got a better understanding on how different lighting’s can dramatically change the way a photo looks.

1. From your Personal Investigation based on OCCUPATION vs LIBERATION write an overview of what you learned and how you intend to develop your Personal Study.
   
2. Describe which themes, approaches (LANDSCAPE, PEOPLE, OBJECTS), artists, skills and photographic processes/ techniques inspired you the most and why.
   
3. Include examples of current experiments to illustrate your thinking.
   
4. Produce a new mind-map and mood-board based around how you interpret the theme of OCCUPATION vs LIBERATION now.
   
5. Plan your first photo-shoot as a response to initial ideas. Must be published on the blog by Mon 18 Nov.

Contact Sheet:

Edit 1:

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Edit 2:

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My main aim when editing the first two edits was to make the small details in Joyce’s face and what she is wearing to be as clear as possible. To do this I started by changing the white and black in levels on photoshop to create a stronger contrast, by using the white to make the background whiter and any where the light hits her face stronger and use the black to make the darker areas even darker, so that there is more of a contrast. I then decided to increase the contrast to try make the colours a little richer in the image and to make the details in the face stand out a little bit more. I finished both edits by cropping the image in order to get rid of the extra white background and to make sure that the viewers eye is instantly focused on the subject in the image instead of being distracted by the extra white background.

Edit 3:

For the third edit I decided to experiment and made the image black and white to see what the outcome would look like. I began the edit by turning the image black and white, and then altered the black and white in levels to make the darker area in Joyce’s face a stand out more and create a contrast, and I mainly used the white to make the background lighter and to also make the areas where the light hits Joyce’s face brighter. I also used the contrast tool in photoshop to make the contrast in Joyce’s face a little stronger and to not make it too dramatic as I found that the levels tool was slightly limited to create a good contrast as it would sometimes be too dark or too light, which is why I used the contrast tool to just make the contrast as I would like it. I then finished the edit by cropping the image to get rid of the additional white background as I felt that it would distract the viewers eye from focusing on the subject if I had left it as it was.

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PICTORIALISM

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Vienna Camera Club, Photo-secession group (new york)

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REALISM / STRAIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY

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MODERNISM

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POST-MODERNISM

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Bibliography;Bright, S. and Van Erp.H.(2019),Photography Decoded. London;Octopus Publishing House

“If manipulation is the first thing someone thinks of in connection to photography, what does that say about the value of the photograph as a reflection of reality.” (Bright, S and Van Erp H.2019: page 17)

“The process of manipulation starts as soon as we frame a person, a landscape, an object or a scene with our cameras: we chose a portrait or landscape format.” (Bright, S and Van Erp H.2019: page 17)

The Shoot:

As I am focusing my project on historic sights and landscapes from WW2, I decided to visit St Ouens bay to photograph the bunkers and sea walls that were created by the German soldiers during the Occupation. I had to learn to adjust my camera to the different degrees of natural light and the white balance.

Edits: