New objectivity is a German style of photography that started in the 1920s to challenge and go against expressionism. New objectivity often focused on the objective world rather than the more romanised and abstract ideas of expressionism.
Albert Renger-Patzsch
Albert Renger-Patzsch (June 22, 1897 – September 27, 1966) was a German photographer associated with the New objectivity. Renger-Patzsch was born in Würzburg and began making photographs by age twelve. In the early 1920s he worked as a press photographer for the Chicago Tribune before becoming a freelancer and, in 1925, publishing a book, Das Chorgestühl von Kappenberg (The Choir Stalls of Cappenberg). He had his first museum exhibition in Luhbeck in 1927.
There are various lighting techniques in photography that can enhance or stand out from your images. These techniques can be used in a variety of other ways in addition to highlighting specific areas of your photo to give the final product more impact.
Flat Light
When you place your light source in front of your subject, you create flat light, which evenly lights your subject and eliminates any shadows. This isn’t a technique that is highly sought after because it’s crucial to show shadows in order to give your subject life, but it works well for hiding textures and other image flaws.
Broad light
With broad light, the face of your subject is at an angle with the most well-lit side of the face is closest to the camera and the shadow on the back side of the face. This type of light can make a face look fuller so it’s ideal for those with very narrow faces.
Short light
The face is at an angle and the shadow falls on the side of the face closest to the camera in short light, which is the opposite of broad light. A thinner face responds well to this kind of light.
Split light
Another type of side lighting is split lighting, which can be identified in an image by half of the subject being lit and the other half being in the shadows. You can see the shadow line running directly down the middle of a face’s forehead, nose, and chin.
Backlight
Backlight is the light coming from behind your subject. Photos taken during the golden hour, when the sun is low in the horizon and just beginning to set, frequently display this. This can be accomplished by purposefully using a background light or by utilizing natural lighting.
A photomontage is a collage constructed from photographs.
Historically, the technique has been used to make political statements and gained popularity in the early 20th century (World War 1-World War 2)
Artists such as Raoul Haussman , Hannah Hoch, John Heartfield employed cut-n-paste techniques as a form of propaganda…as did Soviet artists like Aleksander Rodchenko and El Lissitsky
Photomontage has its roots in Dadaism…which is closely related to Surrrealism
Raoul Haussman
The Art Crtic 1919-20
Hannah hoch
Cut with the Kitchen Knife through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany (Schnitt mit dem Küchenmesser durch die letzte Weimarer Bierbauchkulturepoche Deutschlands), 1919-20
John Heartfield
Benütze Foto als Waffe! (Use Photo as a Weapon!), 1929
Formalism describes the critical position that the most important aspect of a work of art is its form – the way it is made and its purely visual aspects – rather than its narrative content or its relationship to the visible world.
Formal/visual elements
Light – how the light source, which can be natural or artificial, is positioned in relation to your subject.
Line – anything that stretches between two points in your photo.
Repetition – using repeating shapes or a repetitive pattern inside the frame as part of the composition.
Shape – Shape is generally considered two-dimensional, while Form is three-dimensional.
Space – the direction the subject of the photograph is moving in, or even just looking in.
Texture – the visual depiction of variations in the color, shape, and depth of an object’s surface.
Value/ tone – the lightness or darkness of an object.
Colour – dominant colors are the warm colors, e.g. red, yellow, and orange, and cooler colors are the receding colors, e.g. blue, green and purple.
Composition – how a photographer arranges visual elements within their frame.
Analysis of an image taken by Alexander Rodchenko in 1925, ‘Fire Escape’
Aperture refers to the opening of a lens diaphragm through which light passes. Photographers can manually control the aperture by switching to ‘A’ or ‘AV’ mode and then changing the f/stops using the dial on their camera It is generally written as numbers such as 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11 and 16. The lower the f/stop, the bigger the hole, meaning it lets more light into the picture and it is a larger aperture. The higher the f-number, the smaller the hole, meaning less light is let into the photo and the aperture is lower.
Aperture also effects the Depth of Field. The wider the aperture, the less depth of field you capture, causing a blurred background as the focus point is on the subject. The smaller the aperture, the deeper the depth of field, resulting in a sharper background.
Saut dans le vide (Leap into the void), Harry Shrunk and Janos Kender, France 23 Oct 1960
Yves Klein was born on April 28th 1928 in France. He was a member of a group of painters, but he was also one of the most well-known. He trained in judo and earned a black belt at age 25. He later taught the sport for a while and even wrote a book about it.
A small group of people worked together to create the image. While seven other people held a tarpaulin for Klein to land in, he asked photographers Harry Shunk and Jean Kender to take a series of photos documenting his jump.
What is photography?
The practice of capturing light to produce images is known as photography. Photography, which is the process of capturing an image on light-sensitive film, literally means “drawing with light.”
Photography is frequently used to document the viewpoint of the photographer, who is usually using it to share their ideas and raise awareness of particular issues. Through the images they produce, one can also express themselves.
The Press Conference (The Day Nobody Died), Broomberg and Chanarin, June 9 2008
David Campany
David Campany is a British author, artist, and photographer. He was born in London in 1967 and has won numerous writing awards in addition to his PhD. He has also penned about 20 books, one of which is titled “On Photographs” and discusses the purpose of photography as well as his own viewpoint on the subject.
He saw photographs as ways to pause time and give us the freedom to revisit those moments whenever we like. He adds that while the images themselves never change, the meaning behind them does and most likely always will. He also discusses how different viewpoints and meanings can be depicted in photographs. His well-known quote, ‘Photographs confuse as much as fascinate, conceal as much as reveal, distract as much as compel. They are unpredictable communicators.’ Since everyone interprets what they see differently and sees a different side to the image than another, I think he is trying to say that there will always be two sides to every picture.
Still life photography is a genre of photography used for the depiction of inanimate subject matter, typically a small group of objects. The English term ‘still life’ is derived from the Dutch word stilleven, in the 17th century when still-life art was at the height of European popularity.
Timeline
What is Vanitas?
A still life artwork which includes various symbolic objects designed to remind the viewer of their mortality and of the worthlessness of worldly goods and pleasures. Vanitas are closely related to memento mori still lifes.
What is Memento Mori?
Memento mori still lifes are artworks that remind the viewer of the shortness and fragility of life (memento mori is a Latin phrase meaning ‘remember you must die’) and include symbols such as skulls and extinguished candles.
What kind of metaphors and symbols are used in still life and why?
1633 – Francisco de Zurbarán (Spanish, 1598-1664)
The objects portrayed here contained significant religious meaning, the measured placement of the three motifs, for example, would have been instantly understood as an allusion to the Holy Trinity. The painting has been interpreted as an homage to the Virgin, with the oranges, their blossoms, and the cup of water symbolizing her purity, and the thorn less rose referring to her Immaculate Conception.
Common symbols in still life
Fruit
Not only does a basket of fruit offer the artist a variety of colours and textures to utilize, but it also offers a variety of religious and mythical symbols. For example, in Christianity, apples signify temptation and knowledge in reference to the Old Testament account of Eve eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.
Skulls
One of the more heavy-handed symbols that appears in vanitas still life paintings is the skull, which is a striking reminder of the certainty of death. Such a symbol is called a Memento Mori, a Latin phrase meaning “Remember that you will die.”
Candles
Candles represent the inevitability of the passing of time—the longer they burn, the smaller they get until there is nothing left. A lit candle symbolizes light, truth, and knowledge. An extinguished candle symbolizes loss and death. In Christianity, a brightly burning candle indicates faith in God or the light of Christ.
It’s the speed at which the shutter of the camera closes. A fast shutter speed creates a shorter exposure (the amount of light the camera takes in), a slow shutter speed gives the photographer a longer exposure.
A faster shutter speed allows less light to pass into the camera sensor. Inversely, a lower/slower shutter speed allows more light to pass into your camera.
Photo games
These images were produced with a slow shutter speed (1/15) creating a blurred effect.
These images were taken with a fast shutter speed (1/250) creating a sharper image.
John Baldessari
John Anthony Baldessari (June 17, 1931 – January 2, 2020) was an American conceptual artist known for his work featuring found photography and appropriated images. He lived and worked in Santa Monica and Venice, California.
Initially a painter, Baldessari began to incorporate texts and photography into his canvases in the mid-1960s. In 1970 he began working in printmaking, film, video, installation, sculpture and photography.
