J Riley Stewart has been creating images and prints for almost 50 years. Stewart is mainly drawn to the luminism style of imagery, especially nature landscapes. Luminism art goes back all the way to classical photography, such as photography by Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. It can be described as ‘the elegant balance of radiant light and mysterious shadows’. It is this balance which Stewart intends to capture through his photography.
J Riley Stewart chooses to take photograph as he wants to use the media as a way to remember a moment in time, of more specifically a story which strikes him during that moment. He believes the ‘remembering’ aspect is a major part of why he is a photographer.
“Why are we on this earth if not to remember our experiences, our stories; to learn something from them, and to pass them on?” – J Riley Stewart
Before photography became his main career, Stewart was a medical researcher. This taught him to always question, explore, experiment and to resolve the world around him. He enjoys photography largely as he is able to learn new things, which is similar to his previous career. He feels that photography allows him to stop time unlike any other medias, this creates an opportunity to explore and discover what our eyes and brains want to dismiss in seconds.
J Riley Stewart uses large format film cameras, which are often seen as old fashioned. He can be described as a ‘traditional’ photographer due to this type of camera, however he finds this camera is the best way to tell the visual stories as he is seeing them. This is because these large film cameras give him the ability to create large prints which retain elegant radiance, textures, and depth that other method cant, these prints also reveal details which are often overlooked in smaller photographs.
Analysis
This photo is taken of a Baptist Church, it has been put into black and white which causes each detail to stand out. The subject matter of the image is spread out evenly due to the shadows both in the foreground as well as the higher part of the image where the church is. I find this image has an eerie look to it, this is because of the way that the photo has been shot straight onwards to the church, it also looks almost abandoned and empty in the middle of nowhere.
How will I respond?
I will take photographs of landscapes in a similar way to J Riley Stewart. However mine will be based on areas where legends and witchcraft stories as based, such as Gorey and the Dolmens.