Keld Helmer-Petersen is one of the most influential Danish photographers in the 20th Century. He was an international pioneer in colour photography and was a central figure in not only Danish but also European modernist photography. His career spanned 70 years and he had strong interest in modern architecture, industrial areas and structures. He was very prolific and continuously experimented and challenged the many possibilities of the photographic image.
From 1950 to 1951, Helmer-Petersen studied at the Institute of Design art school in Chicago. The stay there had a major impact on the development of his development as an artist. Helmer-Petersen’s stay at the legendary Institute of Design came about because of his first photobook ‘122 Colour Photographs’ published in 1948. It gained international attention and was recognised as one of the pioneering examples of art photography in colour. The featured photographs explored colour as shapes and surfaces in an original way, and it is what Helmer-Petersen is best known for today.
His efforts have put a mark on photography as an artistic expression. With his keen eye for things that are generally overlooked, Keld Helmer-Petersen opened a door to the hidden beauty of a world, we thought we knew so well.
After his time at the Institute of Design, teaching art was of great importance to Helmer-Petersen and in 1964 he was appointed the first lecturer of photography at the Academy of Architecture in Copenhagen. Until retiring in 1990, he had influenced many architectural students’ perception of architecture and photography.
From the start, architecture played a significant role in Helmer-Petersen’s work, and throughout his longstanding career he was able to combine his personal interest with his work as a professional photographer. In 1956 Helmer-Petersen established himself as a professional architecture photographer with his own studio in Copenhagen. For many years he worked with some of the most renowned Danish modern architects and designers, such as Jørn Utzon, Kay Kørbing, Poul Kjærholm, Finn Juhl, Mogens Koch and Nanna Ditzel. He did works for ferries and schools in the 1950s and 1960s and his last commission was a series of works in 2008 called ‘Structures’ which can be seen at the Copenhagen Airport train station.
My Editing in the style of Keld Helmer-Petersen
For my editing in the style of Keld Helmer Petersen, I used my industrial images taken at La Collette. I used my black and white images. I then opened them in photoshop, then used the threshold tool, and moved the intensity up/down to achieve my desired results. I then used the invert tool on some of my images to create a clearer look. These experiments worked better with clear and sharp lines, and bold bits of symettry and machinery. This is why I think my images of the machines and structures at La Collette worked best.
