My Chosen Photographers
-Dorothea Lange
I am writing this report to review my chosen photographers, Dorothea Lange, Annie Leibovitz and Henri Cartier-Bresson. I will be discussing what what equipment they used and some of the different photographs they have taken and how they were taken.
Dorothea Lange
Dorothea Lange was a documentary photographer, best known for her depression era work, born on 26th May 1895 in New Jersey, USA. Lange studied photography at Columbia University in New York City. In 1918 she decided to travel around the world. She earned her money by selling her photographs. She settled in San Francisco and got a job in a photography studio. During the Great Depression, Lange began to photograph unemployed men on the streets of San Francisco. Lange’s first exhibition was held in 1934 and her reputation as a skilled documentary photographer was established.
For photos such as 'The Migrant Mother', Lange used a Graflex Super D camera.
ggThis photo of a woman and her two children is called 'Migrant Mother'. It was taken in 1936 in Nipomo, California. Lange used the rule of thirds to compose this image. She centralized the mother to draw the audiences attention to her and make her stand out. During this time period was the Great Depression in America. This image portrays the struggles and stresses in that time for all people but specifically mothers. I chose this image not only because it is Langes most famous image but also because it shows the womans emotion regarding the difficult times that she is living in.
Another one of Dorothea Langes photos is called Dyanna lying on her back in the grass. The image was composed using rule of thirds. having the girl to the right draws attention the her and makes her stand out while also showing the background of the grass. the image being in black and white takes away the need for the audience to focus on colour and therefore ensures all off the attention is on the subject. This fits her styles of not only documentary but also portrait photography. I chose this image because I like how the light casts shadows of the grass on the girls face.
The last photo of Dorothea Langes that I have chosen is titled 'Woman from Berryessa Valley'. The image uses the composition technique of shallow depth of field. This is shown through the blur in the background and the focus in the foreground. This draws attention to the woman as she is the main focus of the image. By having the woman as the main subject of the photo it conforms to Langes typical portraiture take on documentary photography. I chose this image because it shows how even during the difficult times of the great depression, people still tried to be welcoming and kind towards others.
Summary:
These three images taken by Dorothea Lange all show the different struggles, emotion and reactions that different people had to the great depression through her use of portraiture and documentary styles. the use of black and white rather than colour creates a stronger focus on the subjects while also mirroring how these people must be feeling.
Annie Leibovitz
Annie Leibovitz was born Anna-Lou Leibovitz in Waterbury Connecticut on October 2nd 1949. She is best known for her iconic portraits of a great variety of celebrities. Leibovitz's father had a military career and her mother was a dancer. The family was living in the Philippines in 1967 when Leibovitz enrolled in the San Fransisco Art Institute. She originally wanted to become a painter but after she took a night class in photography her interests shifted. In 1970, while she was still a student, she was given her first commercial assignment for Rolling Stone Magazine. the assignment was to photograph John Lennon. Three years later, she became the chief photographer of the publication at age 23.
Annie Leibovitz currently uses Canon DSLRs including the Canon EOS 5D Mark III and IV and Hasselblad digital cameras, but her favorite analog camera during the '80s and '90s was the Mamiya RZ67.
This photo taken in 2013 depicts Leonardo DiCaprio hugging a swan. This picture is composed using the rule of thirds. The subject is off centre but due to Leibovitz's use of a shallow depth of field, the subject still manages to be the focus of the image and stand out from the blurred background. I chose this image because I like how the use of black and white gives the image a more dramatic effect. This made it appeal tome since it looks very eye-catching and the pose is quite striking. The combination of DiCaprio and the swan creates a memorable image due to its bizarre nature.
This photo is the poster for the musical Les Miserables. This image complies with the golden ratio and therefore rule of thirds as the girl is off centre to the right. The left of the frame is the girls hair which gives the effect of it being blown in the wind. The story of the musical is about poverty and struggle. This is mirrored by the dirt on the girl's face. I chose this image because I was drawn to her eyes. They are very bright and contrast the darkness in the rest of the photograph. The girl's expression is that of pain and suffering but her eyes are bright and almost hopeful. This image is almost haunting to look at but at the same time so beautiful.
This photo taken in 2007 is of Scarlett Johansson as Cinderella. It complies with the golden ratio and therefore is composed using the rule of thirds and the subject is to the right of the centre. this allows us to have the castle background whilst still allowing Scarlett to be the main focus of the audience. I chose this image because I like the post production editing to make it more authentic to the story of Cinderella, specifically attention paid to the addition of the small detail of the glass slipper left on the steps just like in the story and how there is a spotlight on it to slightly bring it to the viewers attention without taking away from Johansson. I also love how the dress flows on the staircase rather than it being gathered around her feet since this shows motion in the image.
Summary:
These three photographs take by Annie Leibovitz are vastly different while simultaneously being very similar. This is shown through her use of black and white and colour. Also the editing and the poses add to the overall images while ,with the exception of the Scarlett Johansson photo, not changing the image too drastically as to where it is outrageously noticeable.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
In 1932, after spending a year in the Ivory Coast, he discovered the Lecia which quickly became his camera of choice.
This photo of a small boy walking and carrying two bottles of wine is called 'Rue Mouffetard' named after the place that it was taken on location that being on the street Rue Mouffetard in Paris, France. the photo was taken in 1954. The photo uses shallow depth of field to highlight and draw attention to the subject of the photo which in this case is the boy. I chose this photo because I like how Bresson used the rule of thirds to compose his image and centralize the subject. the angle of the shot shows the boy from Bressons perspective and allows him to accurately portray the young boys size in comparison to his.
This photo, titled 'Seville' is of children playing by a destroyed wall. The photo was taken in 1933. It was shot on location in Seville Spain. He composed this photo through his use of framing to highlight the subjects of the image. This photo has a deep depth of field which we can tell since all of the children are in focus. The frame in this image is a broken wall. I chose this picture because I find it really interesting. I like how it depicts how the children continue to live their lives despite the destruction that surrounds them.
This photo of a woman with dogs is called Bettina Graziani which I assume is named after the woman and was taken in 1951. This photo is composed through the use of the rule of thirds which centralizes the subject which is the woman drawing the viewers attention to her. this photo looks as though it has a shallow depth of field as the background id a little bit blurred to make her stand out more but not too blurred that you cant see the background or that it looks too unnatural. I chose this photo because the woman looks really happy and also it looks as though it has a shallow depth of field as the background is a little bit blurred to make her stand out more but not too blurred that you cant see the background or that it looks too unnatural which I really like. Also I love how the woman's dog look as though they are a bit nervous to be in the presence of the other dog and they are kind of investigating each other which contrasts the woman's excited expression.
Summary:These three images taken by Henri Cartier-Bresson are all in the documentary style and showcase day to day life for the people in the pictures. These images capture the raw emotions of the people depicted in a candid style. The black and white allows the viewer to focus their attention on the subject and not be distracted from important details by bright colours.
Conclusion:
I believe that all three of these photographers are effective in their own way since they eve have a distinctive, recognizable style. Saying that, my favourite of the 3 has to be Annie Leibovitz. her use of composition, colours and editing stand out to me and inspire me in my photography.
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