Research on Photographers

Richard Walker is a local photographer who shoots landscapes and architecture. He has had work shown in the Practical Photography magazine. He has a Facebook page for his work and a Twitter account which he uses effectively to keep his audience up to date with each of his projects. I have seen his work online and his work is composed very well. He has shot the occasional wildlife shot but he doesn't go out with the intention of shooting them. He has managed to divide his time effectively between work and his photographic practice. His landscape photography shows great use of colour and usually has a line that guides the viewers eye around the image. He has been able to visit different parts of Britain including Dartmoor and the Lake District. He often goes on shoots with other photographers which has included Joe Cornish. I enjoy his landscape work immensely and some of his architectural photography is very pleasing to the eye in terms of colour and lines within its very well thought out composition.

Fig 1: Walker, R. (2019). Pulpit Rock. Photograph. Photographer's own collection.

The above image is from Richard Walker's Facebook page. It is photograph of Pulpit Rock near Dorset. The rocks lead the eye from one side of the image to the centre, where the viewer then looks at the whole image. This image has mostly muted tones, soothing and evoking a feeling of peace for the viewer. There is a warmness in the image, stemming from the sunlight in the top right corner image.

David Entrican is a photographer who spends a lot of time on Dartmoor. He has published a book called 'A Year on Dartmoor' which has a selection of his favourite images from his project. The project produced too many images so he had to reduce the number of images for his book. Dartmoor is his favourite local place to shoot but he also likes shooting in Scotland where he was raised. He uses a Fuji GX617 camera to create panoramic pictures. He likes vibrant colour and is willing to wait hours or to return time and time again to the same location to get the image that he is after.

Fig 2: Entrican, D. (2019). Bellever Tor with bright light and ponies. Photograph. Photographer's own collection.

I like this image of David's, I like the variety of the muted tones and the light is exposed just right, allowing the image to fill the frame. The composition of the image is filled with the levels of the hills in Dartmoor. The tor in the foreground leads the eye of the viewer across the image. David Entrican is a great photographer to research for my project as he shoots on Dartmoor, experimenting with light, location and time.

Reuben Brewer is a 26 year old man with autism, who is an aspiring photographer whose focus is on wildlife and landscape photography. He shoots nature photography as the multitude of subjects and the wide variety of colours and shapes catches his eye. When his interest in a subject is piqued, he wants to take as many photographs as he can. He has developed a method of working with the wildlife that he has been unable to replicate with other people. He has developed different methods for different animals depending on how they have responded to his presence. He finds nature photography easier to do considering his difficulties from his autism. He has little to no anxiety shooting nature compared to being around people. He has been developing his, trying to portray his feelings through his work. He wants to travel abroad, but at the moment due to his autism, sensory issues and OCD it isn't something that he could deal with at the moment.

Fig 3: Brewer, R. (2015). Illumiated Purple Crocus. Photograph. Photographer's own collection.

This is a great image of his, he has managed to get an interesting light angle which is lighting the petals of the crocus. This has given an interesting twist to this photograph which would have been only average without the light. Although there is a hint of the sun at the top edge of the image, the composition of the image has the flowers filling the frame with a shallow depth of field. Reuben is a great photographer for me to research as he is an autistic photographer who creates nature photography which I am interested in.

Donna J Wan is a Taiwanese born photographer currently living in the San Francisco Bay area. She has achieved a BA and a Masters from Stanford and a MFA in the San Francisco Art Institute. It is only in recent years that her interest in the natural world developed. Her photographic practice shows her ongoing search for an understanding of how perceptions and identities are shaped by the landscape. She is inspired by 19th Century landscape paintings, history and her own relationship with the landscape. Her work has been shown internationally such as the New Mexico Museum of Art and has won awards like the 2014 CDS/Honickman First Book Prize Prize Finalist. She received an artist's residency at the Center for Photography at Woodstock.

Fig 4: Wan, D. (2009). Untitled, Promised Lands. Photograph. Photographer's own collection.

This image has a horizontal line bisecting the image. The river leads the eye to the middle of the image. With the bright sky it appears that there is only two colours in the image, blue and green. Both of these colours are calming which is most likely one of the reasons I like this image. The careful consideration that this photographer uses in her work makes her a great photographer for me to look at for my Final Major Project as I want to achieve the same careful consideration in my own work.

Toshio Shibata is a Japanese photographer who shoots landscape photographs. His photographs display the balance between nature and the effect that man made structures have on it. He uses a large format camera to create highly detailed images. He has received acclaim internationally, he has had a solo exhibit at the Centre National de la Photographie in Paris which was preceded by a commission from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. He aims to make imagery that is timeless. "I take a lot of photographs and show very few. If there is too much sense of time and place, I don't show these images... I try to eliminate the reality, time and sense of specific place." (Toshio Shibata, 2019).

Fig 5: Shibata, T. (2003). Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture. Photograph. Photographer's own collection.

This photographs composition is incredible. The image is bisected down the middle of the image with each side of the image with each side almost a perfect mirror image of the other. The level of detail shows that he has a great eye for composition. The image is in monotone which was a great choice for Toshio as it wouldn't be as good if it was in colour. Toshio is a great photographer for me to research for my Final Major Project as he makes intentional photographs and only shows the ones he feels meets his aims for his images.

Dodo Jin Ming is a Chinese photographer who shoots landscape images. Her work is of the Sublime as she photographs the power of Nature. She tends towards the stark and barren parts of nature; fields of dying flowers, the sea and sand dunes. She has shown her work in Laurence Miller Gallery and at the Attention Art Gallery in Hong Kong just to name a couple. Some of her work is in monotones which adds to the overall impact of her work. "My pictures reflect how I feel about the world around me." (Dodo Jin Ming, 2019). Some of her images could be considered eerie with the combination of subject matter and the lighting she has used.

Fig 6: Ming, D. (2000). The Sky Inside V. Photograph. Laurence Miller Gallery.

This particular image is very eerie. The lack of discernible life just makes it even eerier. Although I like the composition of the image, it does evoke uncomfortable feelings such as loneliness. The level of detail leads me to believe that she used a large format camera. She is a good photographer to research for my Final Major Project as she creates amazing landscape images that have interesting lighting.

An American photographer, Mitch Dobrowner became interested in photography when his father gave him an Argus Rangefinder when he was in his teens. He developed an interest in photography from this which led to him leaving his job to travel the American Southwest. His photographic practice is influenced by Ansel Adams and Minor White. He settled in California with his wife and children, pausing his photographic work to run a business and raise his three children. In 2005 he restarted his photography with support from friends and family. His current work is about conveying how he sees the world to the audience through his photographs. He feels that the example of dedication that the photographers of the past such as Ansel Adams show has inspired him to shoot photographs. He has won several awards such as the 2016 IPA/Lucie Awards in the Professional Fine Art, Landscape category in New York and the 2018 Sony World Photo Awards in the UK, he received second place in the Landscapes - Storm Systems category.

Fig 7: Dobrowner, M. (2010). Winter Storm, Black Hills Utah. Photograph. Photographer's own collection.

This image is one that I like, the composition is interesting as there is a contrast between the detail of the land and the smoothness of the clouds. The tonal range within the image adds to the overall effect. Dobrowner is a good photographer for my research as his work is about communicating his feelings to the viewers of the work which is what I am aiming to do with my own work.

Luca Campigotto is an Italian photographer who currently lives in both Milan and New York City. He has a Master's degree in Modern History and is specialising in the theme of travel. He uses a large format camera giving his work a high level of detail. His landscapes range from urban scenes to remote wild landscapes. His rural landscapes are shot in desolate areas but they show a level of grandeur that leave the viewer in awe. He has published his work multiple times, the most recent of which is called Gotham City. He has also shown his work internationally several places such as Somerset House in London, the Art Museum in Miami and the Festival della Fotografia in Rome.

Fig 8: Campigotto, L. (2010). Untitled, My Wild Places. Photograph. Photographer's own collection.

This image is stark almost bare and has no colour, it has a clear line bisecting the image horizontally. The composition of the image draws the viewer into looking more closely at the image. The closer you look, the more detail the viewer can pick out. Although I like the image, it doesn't evoke good feelings from me, nor any negative ones. Luca is a good photographer for me to research as he is able to make images that can evoke feelings in the viewer, this is what I am aiming to do with my own photographic practice.