Don McCullin

Don McCullin grew up on a London council estate and at age five, was evacuated to Somerset. Seperated from his sister, who was placed with a much wealthier family, McCullin developed issues about class and poverty; his affinity to persecuted peoples developed later through being beaten at a later placement. McCullin left Art College to support his family aged fourteen, following the death of his father. Severely dyslexic and having not done well in school, McCullin was a self confessed tear-away until a gang acquaintance was involved in the murder of a police man. McCullin, having photographs of the gang was immediately in demand with the press; this was the beginning of a lifelong career in photography.

McCullin’s photography is described as exceptionally powerful and technically sound. He uses relatively simple equipment, never a flash and rarely has a need for cropping or manipulation; he is instinctively a great photographer. He always does his own printing and mainly in black and white with heightened contrast to enhance impact, to make those images really stay with the viewer as they do with him. 

McCullin worked intensively as a war photographer, to the detriment of his first marriage until the early eighties when issues over opposing ethos lead to his dismissal.

Turning to work such as advertising to pay for travel, McCullin explored parts of India and Africa, writing books such as ‘Don McCullin in Africa’. Whilst in England, McCullin spent time photographing homeless people for a story about derelicts, those pushed aside by society. Cold and with a sense of discomfort, McCullin describes the excitement of potentially encountering an amazing scene; as with his war photography, he was looking for the truth and often found it in the gaze of his subject looking directly at him. He once said that as he worked he ‘looked into people's eyes and they would look back and there would be something like a meeting of guilt’. It is this that gives depth and compassion to his images. 

McCullin believes that seeing, really seeing has nothing to do with photography; photography is just about showing the truth of that. The most important thing in his eyes is your emotional approach and the emotional commitment to where you are and what you are doing; to him, the technical side is secondary.

Often asked, ‘Do you hide behind the camera?’ McCullin considers this a ridiculous question; hiding behind the camera would be tantamount to hiding your own emotions. McCullin’s ethos is to be there, feel it, live it, look at what’s in front of you; I am inspired by McCullin’s work but I what truly inspires me is the ethos of committing emotionally  to a situation, in a bid to capture so much more than visual impact.

Irving Penn

Penn was first known as a fashion photographer and worked in this field for several years with Vogue magazine. Penn constructed bizarrely angled backdrops to create an austere, enclosed space; the sense of physical confinement bringing out interesting reactions in his subjects. Penn recalled in his 1991 book "Passage"; ‘This confinement, surprisingly, seemed to comfort people, soothing them. The walls were a surface to lean on or push against.’ The set up did bring a sense of drama to the portraits, driving the viewer's focus onto the person and their expression; in many photos, the subjects appeared wedged into the corner. 

Penn was a master of studio lighting; however often opted for natural light. For working on location, Penn created a portable studio with a skylight, set to face north with impressive results. 

As well as people, Penn also photographed still life, using the same composed style with carefully considered arrangements.

Yousuf Karsh

Yousuf Karsh, who shot to fame following his portrait of Winston Churchill; The Roaring Lion, has in his portfolio, images of many great heroes. Karsh’s images show great variety in posture and lighting while capturing brilliantly the individual character of the subject; as stated in the L.A. Times, ‘Each picture captures not only an image but a personality’. The body language, direction of gaze  and hand gestures work together with lighting and effects to hint at the type of person being portrayed.

His portrait below of Albert Einstein is lit from slightly behind so that the light skims across his face, highlighting the deep wrinkles which show great wisdom and character; true to type, Karsh has captured the pensive look on the academic’s face. French author, François Mauriac’s silhouette is given an aristocratic feel using edge lighting to highlight only the edges of his noble features. Karsh’s portrait of playwright, Bernard Shaw is lit from a high angle creating strong highlights and shadows in his face and clothing; Karsh has perfectly captured Shaw’s quizzical demeanour.

Karsh’s became well known for his hero worshiping ethos and as a result, his subjects knew that going in front of his lens would bring them iconic status. He was trusted by all to bring out the best in his clients, boosting their public persona:
"There is a brief moment," he believed, "when all there is in a man's mind and soul and spirit may be reflected through his eyes, his hands, his attitude. This is the moment to record. This is the elusive 'moment of truth.”
It has been written that Karsh’s motivation stemmed from a belief in the dignity, goodness and genius of human beings.
Karsh’s work has been in a variety of mass media, including postage stamps and currency and is recognised in both European and North American culture.  

Jay Maisel

One of my favourite photographers for his use of colour is Jay Maisel; Although Maisel has photographed many celebrities, I am more drawn to his distinct use of colour and light. Maisel works with very simple but definite blocks of colour and light. His work almost looks as if it has jumped out of a rule book on use of colour as it is so simple in appearance, as are the titles to go with them. Although many of Maisel’s prints are true to his block work style, he has several images which work more with the qualities of light than with bold, bright colours. When looking at images such as ‘Restaurant Roof’, I felt like I was viewing the work of a different photographer as this particular image has an almost ‘Van Gogh’ like quality to it. On closer inspection however, I noticed that although Maisel was in this case working with light rather than colour, he had still captured the subject in definite blocks of the varying forms of light.

On reading further into Maisel’s work, I discovered that his preferred method is to forget about complicated lighting set ups and mainly shoots with one lens, looking for interesting shapes, colours and light around the city. I feel that when learning the art of photography, this is a valuable lesson to learn and a great way to exercise artistic flair.

Before discovering Maisel, I had worried that in order to develop an artistic voice I would have to quash parts of who I am in order to pursue a particular type of photography. I now understand that this does not necessarily mean a choice between vibrant or muted colours or between landscapes and close ups but it is about the individual style in which these elements are used.

Ernst Haas

Vienna born Ernst Haas wasn’t professionally trained but quickly became one of the most celebrated and influential photographers in America in the 1950s.  His first essay, "Homecoming Prisoners of War," shot in Vienna led to an invitation to join Magnum as a result of the feelings and empathy evoke by the images. Dissatisfied with monochrome, Haas moved quickly into colour photography, creating essays on New York, Paris and Venice; his New York essay got him a 24 page spread in Life magazine.

Haas was interested in the super-reality of dreams and this is clear in all three essays; many of his images look more like paintings than photographs as a result of his use of colour. Although distinctive in style, each set has an individual feel corresponding to the city it represents.

Haas uses bold, colours with strong shadows in his New York essay, many images taken at night to show the bustling nature of a city that never sleeps.

Much softer contrast and dreamy pinkish tones reflect the romantic nature of a weekend in Paris.

Similarly romantic, Haas’ Venice essay introduces the blues associated with the city’s waterways; even the image of the arches shown below has the feel and rhythm of water with its colour and repeated pattern.

Having developed a firm hold on colour, Haas turned his attention to the use of slow shutter speeds to capture movement. In his essay on bullfighting, he managed to capture the graceful element of what is otherwise a brutal sport. Haas described this as ‘the beauty of a fourth dimension, which lies much more between moments than within a moment.’

William Eggleston

‘Genius in colour’, William Eggleston has a very distinctive style combining ordinary, everyday subjects with strong colours, giving a rather surreal result. Influenced by the endless amateur snaps being developed in an industrial photo lab, Eggleston draws the viewer in with images which at first appear to be almost snapshots but something in the lines, the angles and especially the colours gives these images an edge. Whether photographing a bike or an elderly lady, Eggleston’s slightly surreal images evoke a tension akin to that of a Hammer horror film.

Eggleston first started working with colour film in 1965 after almost a decade of using monochrome. The photographer thrived at the introduction of this medium as his selective use of colours complement the awkward angles already used to create that Eggleston tension; this is an artist with a clearly defined voice. John Szarkowski, of New York’s Museum of Modern Art is quoted as saying that Eggleston had ‘learned to see in colour’.

Eggleston wasn’t always so celebrated; his exhibition, entitled 'Color Photographs' appeared at the Museum of Modern Art in 1976 and was cited as being the most hated exhibition of the year. One critic suggested that the photographs 'would be unacceptable if submitted by one of my basic photography students'. Hilton Kramer's review in The New York Times finished his critique by saying: 'The truth is, these pictures belong to the world of snapshot chic.’

Looking deeper into Eggleston’s images, it is clear that although, true to snapshot style, the main focus is in the centre; the edges of these images contain details of people and objects which give additional meaning.

William Eggleston was also criticized for using expensive dye-transfer technique for prints of such everyday objects. Eggleston uses this process as it enables him to control the colours individually, exaggerating them in order to achieve desired results.

John Davies

“I am not so much interested in entertaining an audience or providing vehicles for escape but in delivering a highly crafted detailed image conveying a sense of reality. A reality that shares a recognition of aspects of urban living. But importantly, making images of a landscape that attempts to question our acceptance and perception of the inevitable consequences of living in a post imperialist society and within a post industrial landscape".  John Davies - November 2011.

Born in County Durham, Davies’ images ooze Northern grit; self processed and mainly in black and white, they show an atmospheric study of Britain’s industrial landscape.

A lover of  images in which industry and nature come together, I am drawn to Davies’ shot, ‘Agecroft Power Station, Salford’, taken in 1983. The impact is twofold; however thoughts about the strange placement of a football pitch in the shadow of the power station are overshadowed by the startling vastness of the cooling towers.

 

 Most of Davies’ work seems to create a narrative about the transformation of British industry. The monochrome finish draws attention to the elements of design in his images; as shown below, these images are a mass of rhythm, pattern, curve and reflection, all working together to bare the realities of urban living.

 Soup Kitchen/Arms Houses

 Stockport Viaduct

Runcorn Bridges

http://www.johndavies.uk.com/abiog.htm