Part A:
This work was done this summer as a
series of 3 pieces. It was part of a project for a Digital Imaging course and
was supposed to be inspired by time. I was interested in a more abstract
approach rather than photographing a clock at a clever angle so I played with
shutter speed and aperture. Originally I wanted to use my little sister as a
subject and dress her in nude coloring against a white background but she
refused to wear anything other than her bright pink dress. So Plan ‘B’ was the
family dog, a skittish miniature poodle that rarely holds still. My only
constants were a draped white sheet acting as a background and the lighting
from the bright afternoon sun; the rest was experimentation. I allowed Connor
(the dog) to move as he pleased while I adjusted my shutter speed and aperture
up and down until I found an effect that I really liked. It resulted in
interesting effects from the shadows of the deck railing against his side, and
the play of the light against the white sheet. Connors movement against the
white background signified my understanding of time as something separate from
any other influencing factors.
Part B :
I chose Richard Avedon’s Portraits
of Power Malcolm X because of Avedon’s talent in portraiture and his execution
of this particular one. I am really drawn to photographic portraiture and its
ability to draw out the essence of the person being photographed. Avedon’s
image of Malcolm X displays a blurry, shadowy figure and comes across very
confrontational due to the positioning of the camera. Malcolm X was very much
the confrontational leader of the Civil Rights movement and consequently was
feared and hated among many of the oppressive white powers. Avedon managed to
combine the qualities of a mug shot, surveillance video, and an icon into one
image of a man who was defined by many of the stigmas and praises that
accompany those elements. For me, this photo speaks about Malcolm X as an
ominous but strong figure. I really appreciate how the portrait ties itself
together through the approach, execution, and final image in order to mimic the
essence of its subject.
