Guidelines for completing written analysis of photographers’ work focusing on: * Straightforward Landscapes * Experimental / Surreal Landscapes * Architecture
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This document includes: * Important Information that you must read (page 3) * An index of the different category questions & definitions (page 4 ) * Different lists of questions for different genres of photographs along with examples of photographs for the different categories (as a guideline) (pages 5 – 10) * Quotes by different photographers (pages 11 - 13)
Definitions: Commercial photograph – photographs taken for business, for sales, for money. Commercial photography is often associated with advertisements, sales pitches, brochures, product placements as well as merchandising Editorial photograph – a photograph that appears in a magazine, but is not advertising or selling something (sometimes they are there to accompany a written article) Fine Art photograph – a photograph that hangs in a gallery or is sold directly to a buyer in a gallery or over the internet etc.
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YOU MUST READ THIS PAGE BEFORE YOU START RESEARCHING YOUR ARTIST How to start your initial research If you can’t find out enough information and find enough quotes, then don’t write about that photograph, find another photograph instead. 1. Find a photograph that links to your work in some way and find the name of the photographer 2. Research the photographer to see whether s/he is a professional or an amateur photographer and whether s/he is a fine art or a commercial photographer 3. See if you can find this photograph on his or her website (or anyone else’s website). Is there anything written about this photograph or the series of photographs that features this particular image? 4. Type in ‘Interview with ,,,,,,, (the name of the artist)’ into Google. If there is one, you can use the information to find your quotes When you include a quote in your analysis, place the quote in “quotation marks”, then explain what the quote actually means in your own words, then respond to the quote (write about your own opinion about what has been said in the actual quote)
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Page Index for different sets of questions: • Straightforward Landscape Page 5 & 6 • Experimental or Surreal landscape Page 7 & 8 • Straightforward Architecture Page 9 & 10
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Questions for a straightforward landscape photograph Write out the actual questions (but only the sections in bold black), however, do not write out questions 1 and 7 at all, just write the answers READ THE INFORMATION ON PAGE 3 BEFORE YOU START ANSWERING THESE QUESTIONS 1) What is the name of the photographer? (Date and country of birth if you can find it) Is this photographer a professional photographer? If so, what companies has he or she worked for, what famous magazines have their photographs featured in or what galleries has he or she exhibited their work in? (You will need to use initial research to answer this question). Only write a couple of sentences for this – tha t’s it! do not add loads of unrequired background information on the artist, we will only ask you to remove it. 2) What is the photographer’s motivation for being a photographer? What is the photographer’s motivation for taking / creating these types of images? (Only write basic information – no life stories – couple of sentences at the most. Only write this if you have read it – don’t make it up!) Add quotes in here if you can 3) What is the location in the photograph: Urban (town or city), Rural (village or county side) or Coastal (by the sea)? If it is not really obvious, then please explain what it is in this photograph that makes you think this. 4) Discuss (if you think / know) whether this photograph been taken for a commercial purpose or for an editorial purpose or for a fine art purpose. See the bottom of Page 2 for the definitions of commercial, editorial and fine art. If you know this because you have read it, then back it up with a quote. 5) Discuss the content of this photograph? What is the photographer / artist trying to communicate to the viewer about this particular landscape? Consider whether any of the following are strong elements within the photograph: peace & tranquility beauty emptiness perfection desolation or neglect ugliness, everyday life Try to find out whether the photographer (or anyone else) has said anything at all about this image and add quotes in here if you can. 6) Discuss the main technical or formal elements featured in this photograph? Look at the photograph and see whether you can identify any of the following things as being particularly important: unusual composition strong angles shallow or deep depth of field, blurry movement negative space ND Filters strong colours or monochrome tones & shades Research to see whether the artist (or anyone else) has discussed this and add quotes in here to back up what you are saying.
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7) Read the quotes by different famous photographers on page 11 & 12. Choose only 1 of these quotes, then: Research the photographer to see whether she or he is a contemporary or historic photographer Include the full quote out your analysis Explain what has been said in the quote in your own words Respond to this quote (perhaps discuss whether you agree or disagree with what has been said by the photographer in this quote etc.) See whether you can relate this quote in any way to the photograph / photographer you are analysing. 8) Do you think that the photographer has manipulated this photograph using digital editing (such as Photoshop)? If you think that s/he has, then what impact do you think that this could have had on the way that viewers react and respond to the photograph? (Research to see whether the photographer is known for using digital editing). If he or she has written about this, then please add quotes to back up wha t you are saying 9) What is your personal response to this photograph and how does this photograph inspire or relate to your own work? Explain your response in some depth
Examples of Straightforward landscape photographs
Andrew Nadolski
Polly Alexandre
Peter Eastway
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Questions for an experimental or Surreal landscape photograph Write out the actual questions (but only the sections in bold black), however, do not write out question 1 at all, just write the answer READ THE INFORMATION ON PAGE 3 BEFORE YOU START ANSWERING THESE QUESTIONS 1) What is the name of the photographer? (Date and country of birth if you can find it) Is this photographer a professional photographer? If so, what companies has he or she worked for, what famous magazines have their photographs featured in or what galleries has he or she exhibited their work in? (You will need to use initial research to answer this question). Only write a couple of sentences for this – tha t’s it! do not add loads of unrequired background information on the artist, we will only ask you to remove it. 2) What is the photographer’s motivation for being a photographer? What is the photographer’s motivation for taking / creating landscape images? (Only write basic information – no life stories – couple of sentences at the most. Only write this if you have read it – don’t make it up!) Add quotes in here if you can 3). What is the location in the photograph: Urban (town or city), Rural (village or county side) or Coastal (by the sea)? If it is not really obvious, then please explain what it is in this photograph that makes you think this. 4) Describe and explain the techniques that the artists has used to distort the original landscape photograph. Consider whether the photographs has been: it has been taken with a close up lens (or severely cropped) it has been: partially destroyed (ripping, burning, scratching etc.) it has been combined with other photographs it has been combined with objects or text it has been divided into different sections it has been collaged on top of it has been placed in or behind liquid / inside ice it has been heavily edited using Photoshop etc. If not, then explain the technique that the artist / photographer has used Research to see whether the artist (or anyone else) has discussed this and add quotes in here to back up what you are saying. 5) If you consider that this is a ‘Surreal’ photograph as opposed to an experimental photograph, then, answer the following questions: What do you understand ‘Surreal’ to mean in art & photography (basically explain what Surrealism means in your own words) What are the visual elements in this portrait that make it Surreal? Describ e and explain thes e visual elements. Consider whether any of the following elements are relevant (if not then identify your own visual element): the expected layout of a landscape (i.e. the sky at the top and the land at the bottom has been altered) there are elements within the landscape that have ‘dream-like’ qualities it is an ‘impossible’ landscape’ Try to find out whether the photographer (or anyone else) has said anything at all about this image and add quotes in here if you can.
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6) Discuss the main technical or formal elements featured in this photograph? Look at the photograph and see whether you can identify any of the following things as being particularly important: unusual composition strong angles shallow or deep depth of field, blurry movement negative space strong colours or monochrome tones & shades Research to see whether the artist (or anyone else) has discussed this and add quotes in here to back up what you are saying. 7) Do you consider this image to be a photograph or more of a piece of Fine Art? Explain your reasons for thinking this 8) What is your personal response to this photograph and how does this photograph inspire or relate to your own work? Explain your response in some depth
Examples of Experimental / Surreal Landscape photographs
Matthew Brandt
Nick Heiwa
Reynald Drouhin
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Questions for an architecture photograph Write out the actual questions (but only the sections in bold black), however, do not write out question 1 & 8 at all, just write the answers READ THE INFORMATION ON PAGE 3 BEFORE YOU START ANSWERING THESE QUESTIONS 1) What is the name of the photographer? (Date and country of birth if you can find it) Is this photographer a professional photographer? If so, what companies has he or she worked for, what famous magazines have their photographs featured in or what galleries has he or she exhibited their work in? (You will need to use initial research to answer this question). Only write a couple of sentences for this – tha t’s it! do not add loads of unrequired background information on the artist, we will only ask you to remove it. 2) What is the photographer’s motivation for being a photographer? What is the photographer’s motivation for taking architecture based photographs? (Only write basic information – no life stories – couple of sentences at the most. Only write this if you have read it – don’t make it up!) Add quotes in here if you can 3) Discuss (if you think / know) whether this photograph been taken for a commercial purpose or for an editorial purpose or for a fine art purpose. See the bottom of Page 2 for the definitions of commercial, editorial and fine art. If you know this because you have read it, then back it up with a quote. 4) What is the name of this building and which country is it in? What is / was this building used for (office, museum, hotel etc? Was this building designed by a well-known architect? 5) Is this building controversial in any way? Discuss Is this architect known for designing controversial buildings? Discuss (only answer these ques tions if there is anything controversial, otherwis e leave the question out! If there is anything controversial, then please add quotes in here if you can. 6) Discuss the content of this photograph? What is the photographer / artist trying to communicate to the viewer about this particular building? Consider whether any of the following are strong elements within the photograph: the overall shape of the building interesting sections of the buildings patterned elements within the building the height of the building unexpected or very unusual aspects of the building elements of nature (such as curves) within the building environmental considerations such as recycled materials Try to find out whether the photographer (or anyone else) has said anything at all about this image and add quotes in here if you can. .
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7) Discuss the main technical or formal elements featured in this photograph? Look at the photograph and see whether you can identify any of the following things as being particularly important: unusual composition strong angles shallow or deep depth of field, negative space strong colours or monochrome tones & shades Research to see whether the artist (or anyone else) has discussed this and add quotes in here to back up what you are saying. 8) Read the quotes by different famous photographers on page 13. Chooseonly 1 of these quotes, then: Research the photographer to see whether she or he is a contemporary or historic photographer Include the full quote out your analysis Explain what has been said in the quote in your own words Respond to this quote (perhaps discuss whether you agree or disagree with what has been said by the photographer in this quote etc.) See whether you can relate this quote in any way to thephotograph / photographer you are analysing. 9) Do you think that the photographer has manipulated this photograph using digital editing (such as Photoshop)? If you think that s/he has, then what impact do you think that this could have had on the way that viewers react and respond to the photograph? (Research to see whether the photographer is known for using digital editing). If he or she has written about this, then please add quotes to back up what you are saying 10) What is your personal response to this photograph and how does this photograph inspire or relate to your own work? Explain your response in some depth
Examples of Architecture Photographs
Helene Binet
Ted Van Cleave
Mathias Heindrich
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Quotes for Landscape photographs (Quote 1)“A landscape image cuts across all political and national boundaries, it transcends the constraints of language and culture.” – Charlie Waite (Quote 2) “I think landscape photography in general is somewhat undervalued” - Galen Rowell (Quote 3) “Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer - and often the supreme disappointment” - Ansel Adams (Quote 4) “Parks and gardens are the quintessential intimate landscapes. People use them all the time, leaving their energy and memories behind. It’s what’s left behind that I like to photograph” - Michael Kenna (Quote 5) “I have the mental image of a photograph I want to take, I know the location and know how I
want it to look, so part of my next goal is to get that image, even if it means going back there many times” – Mark Broughton (Quote 6) In response to the following questions by the interviewer: Some people might think that landscape photography is boring or repetitive. What is your opinion on that?
“This might …. occur if your biggest motivation to shoot landscapes is not the love for your subject but the technical challenges associated with it, because you will master the techniques sooner or later, and you might find landscapes boring after that” – Sankar Salvady (Quote 7) “Post processing is absolutely essential in landscape photography and if you are not doing it, you are forgoing one of the most important advantages that digital offers you” – Sankar Salvady
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(Quote 8) “I think the key to making a great landscape photograph is same as making any great picture.
It’s about reinterpreting what we experience in three dimensions using different ingredients — form, tension, texture, ambiguity, intuition, and something of oneself — into a two-dimensional object. The brilliance of photography is in the making of something seemingly so simple out of complexity and chaos – Lauren Henkin
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Quotes for Architecture Photography (Quote 1) “Shadow is an amazing subject. Shadow is an absence. As an absence of energy you can
compare it to silence or maybe cold air. It tells you the most. But it’s the one also that can trick you. Because you could have a feeling that it’s something else you see” – Helene Binet (Quote 2) “I think architectural photography probably requires less technical skill in the age of digital
capture than it did when film shooting was the standard. However, great architectural photography still requires technical and aesthetic mastery of the equipment and the medium. Interpreting spaces in an artistic way while still making the photograph seem natural is a difficult task” – Alan Blakely (Quote 3) “I use HDR as a tool in nearly every job I shoot. However. I would never want the tool, HDR or
otherwise, to be the reason for a shot. I use HDR sparingly and always try to achieve a completely natural look in the image. I believe than an obviously HDR photograph is a failure” – Alan Blakely (Quote 4)”Great architecture inspires me. Lesser architecture challenges me. There is much satisfaction in
making crappy architecture look world class. If I am feeling bored or distracted it is usually because I am simply not focused on the task at hand. Every job deserves my best efforts” – Kirk Gittings
(Quote 6) “I use only a hand-held small camera, 35-millimeter digital. I don't have assistants; it's a one-
man show. That way people don't really realize you're a photographer. You just walk around and look at things. Whereas if you're there in a traditional architecture way with your big camera and assistants and tripod the best moments are gone before you can capture them” – Iwan Baan “I prepare my shots very conscientiously. Mostly I’ve already scouted the location before. Therefore, I know the best shooting place and also with what lens I want to photograph. I often wait even until the weather is right. Inclement weather is the best shooting weather to photograph dramatic images” – Wolfgang Mothes (Quote 7)
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