Essay draft
My work had a bit of a bumpy start, as I didn't fully realise what style in photography or what platform I should take my photos on, so I experimented with different styles, even moving outside of my comfort zone and attempting to use Photoshop to drastically change my images, instead of what I did the year prior where I spent most of the year in the dark room developing images constantly making changes and going through several speed bumps. Overall i decided to pursue street photography, as many of the artists i researched would portray their work in black and white
One artist I was fond of was Chris Killip, this is because his style street photography resembles a gritty and realistic style of street photography as all of his images display a atmosphere that resembles the great depression, this style gives his work a unique view. As well as this the style of all of his images is of a black and white world ad to the feeling of dread that all of his images have. Many of his popular images were takes in economically drained area of England such as Northumbria in Newcastle and North Yorkshire. The choice to have his images closer to home unlike many other photographers I have researched, who choose to go abroad to war torn countries such as South Africa or war photographers who went to Korea and Vietnam. I admire Chris Killip's use of contrast as even though many of the images are very dark they display a great amount of detail in every edge of the image and the choice of taking images of children and families adds a very realistic tone to all of his images.
Another artist I found interesting was Robert Frank, this photographer was active during 1960's New York, as his images portrayed the working class and the economically depressed area that were previously unseen, similarly to Chris Killip, Robert Frank takes images of a broken Society from an outsiders view, many of his photos express the idea of the american dream, as well as the existence of the lower class and segregation, as in many of his images it either shows an idea of the simpler times america once experienced, or the dark truth that plague american people less fortunate than others. As well as this the time period is well fitting to what Robert frank is portraying in his photos as the technology at the time restricted many photographers initial ideas, as there is no colour in any of the images, but with Robert frank, the design of black and white adds a gritty realistic tone to all of the images, as it feels like a different world led by a different generation. The technology at the time perfectly fit the theme of Robert frank, as I could use this in my own work to make my images look gritty and worn, by using handmade manipulation such as burning and staining. Or i could use techniques in the dark room such as solarisation and double exposures.
One final artist i looked at was the work of Dorothea Lange, and her portrayal of struggles with economic decline in daily life. Images taken by Dorothea Lange were heavily influenced by real life events that affected both her family and the majority of american people. This is because many of Dorothea Lange's images display her personal struggles with her young children during the great depression, which is arguably one of the hardest points in american history for both working class and the upper class as many businesses were forced to close down, meaning many jobs were lost and many everyday people were in very poor conditions. Like I previously mentioned with the work of Robert Frank the colour scheme of black and white perfectly matches the tone of the image, as this was the time of 'The Great Depression', many people lived their live with no hope of a better future. As well as this the black and white colour scheme adds to the grittiness of the atmosphere that isn't commonly seen in photography today, and overall I believe that the work of Dorothea Lange has heavily influence my style.
One artist I was fond of was Chris Killip, this is because his style street photography resembles a gritty and realistic style of street photography as all of his images display a atmosphere that resembles the great depression, this style gives his work a unique view. As well as this the style of all of his images is of a black and white world ad to the feeling of dread that all of his images have. Many of his popular images were takes in economically drained area of England such as Northumbria in Newcastle and North Yorkshire. The choice to have his images closer to home unlike many other photographers I have researched, who choose to go abroad to war torn countries such as South Africa or war photographers who went to Korea and Vietnam. I admire Chris Killip's use of contrast as even though many of the images are very dark they display a great amount of detail in every edge of the image and the choice of taking images of children and families adds a very realistic tone to all of his images.
Another artist I found interesting was Robert Frank, this photographer was active during 1960's New York, as his images portrayed the working class and the economically depressed area that were previously unseen, similarly to Chris Killip, Robert Frank takes images of a broken Society from an outsiders view, many of his photos express the idea of the american dream, as well as the existence of the lower class and segregation, as in many of his images it either shows an idea of the simpler times america once experienced, or the dark truth that plague american people less fortunate than others. As well as this the time period is well fitting to what Robert frank is portraying in his photos as the technology at the time restricted many photographers initial ideas, as there is no colour in any of the images, but with Robert frank, the design of black and white adds a gritty realistic tone to all of the images, as it feels like a different world led by a different generation. The technology at the time perfectly fit the theme of Robert frank, as I could use this in my own work to make my images look gritty and worn, by using handmade manipulation such as burning and staining. Or i could use techniques in the dark room such as solarisation and double exposures.
One final artist i looked at was the work of Dorothea Lange, and her portrayal of struggles with economic decline in daily life. Images taken by Dorothea Lange were heavily influenced by real life events that affected both her family and the majority of american people. This is because many of Dorothea Lange's images display her personal struggles with her young children during the great depression, which is arguably one of the hardest points in american history for both working class and the upper class as many businesses were forced to close down, meaning many jobs were lost and many everyday people were in very poor conditions. Like I previously mentioned with the work of Robert Frank the colour scheme of black and white perfectly matches the tone of the image, as this was the time of 'The Great Depression', many people lived their live with no hope of a better future. As well as this the black and white colour scheme adds to the grittiness of the atmosphere that isn't commonly seen in photography today, and overall I believe that the work of Dorothea Lange has heavily influence my style.
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