About Alec Soth
Alec Soth is an American photographer, based in Minneapolis. Soth makes “large-scale American projects” featuring the midwestern United States. He was born in 1969 ( currently aged 54 years), in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States.
Alec Soth’s practice was influenced by the American documentary photography tradition of Walker Evans, Robert Frank and Joel Sternfeld. He chose the open road for his projects, often with a list of the shots he wants attached to his steering wheel. New York Times art critic Hilarie M. Sheets wrote that he has made a “photographic career out of finding chemistry with strangers” and photographs “loners and dreamers”.
From 2012–2014, Soth embarked on a series of state-by-state road trips to make a portrait of present-day America.
“I’ve never been comfortable photographing people I know, myself included. I guess I prefer the mystery of strangers”
– Alec Soth
His Work
Here are some examples of his photographs and they were all taken in different countries around the world. The photos consist of different angles and close up, half body and full body shots, showing how he experiments with his work.
Image Analysis
This is one of Soth’s most famous photographs ‘Charles‘ which he made during his road trip along the Mississippi river. His series ‘Sleeping by the Mississippi’ consists of many different people he found interesting, this man Charles being one of them. Soth was initially drawn to the mans house, which consisted of a glass roof. After meeting his wife, Soth wanted to meet the interesting man he later described as a ‘dreamer’ and after finding out about the man’s life and how he called the top room his ‘cockpit’, Soth decided to photograph him on top of one of his roofs, having him hold a pair model planes in hand he built with his daughter.
The photo was taken face on, capturing a full body shot of the man. He appears to be wearing an outfit he is comfortable in, possibly being something to do with his interests. The composition of the photo places Charles in the centre, his strong, stable stance presenting him as a confident individual who takes pride in his work (the two model airplanes in his hands). Behind him, we can notice the empty, bleak landscape which appears to be surrounding his home. The photo was composed so that a slither of the wall of his home was seen, the bright blue colour contrasting with the dull colouring around. This could portray how Soth saw Charles compared with other people- a dreamer that stood out to him in a crowd. The left side of him is slightly more illuminated by the cool natural light due to the slight shadow the roof casts onto him, causing there to be a wider range of tones in the picture. The different materials scattered around him indicate he uses them to upgrade his home, once again showing us how he is in his favourite place that he loves working on. This photo is staged, since the man is engaging with the camera and his body facing towards it, suggesting that Soth talked to the man before, deciding on the pose, props and landscape behind him to create this powerful environmental photograph.