Photographer Research

1

Photographer- Michele Palazzi

Website- http://www.michelepalazziphotographer.com/

Why I chose this photograph and history

Michele Palazzi was born in Rome in 1984, and gained a three-year masters degree in photography and soon after he began as a documentary photographer. In 2009, he received the Enzo Baldoni prize on his project on the earthquake disaster. This photographer has also worked on many projects in the mean time of which included is the work of migrant workers between 2010 and 2011. This photographer is largely a documentor and uses his photos in order to tell a story, and inform people of events by taking photos in first world countries. I chose this photographer as I really like the idea behind this photographers work, as it is important to document such events therefore doing it in this way records it and also shows great skill. Palazzi began work between 2012 and 2013 on the project of Black Gold Hotel which is a long term project that is still undergo in order to show the modernisation impact in Asian developing countries.

This photo is from the Black Gold Hotel project which is based around the modernisation of Asian countries, and the economic situation they are faced with. This photo ties in with my personal project as the environment carries both positive and negatives and this photo is showing the negative environmental and damage to the economy. I find this photo very intriguing, as the content of the photo does not tell you a massive amount about the environment it was taken in, however the element of being mysterious makes it more interesting as a photo as you can see a runway or a road with smoke or a similar substance polluting the air. I think this photo has worked well as the composition means that the audiences concentration is diverted to the bottom half, and leaves a gradient sky that fades upwards as a contrast.

I think this photo shows the simplicity of a poverty-stricken country and the helplessness that they have to deal with is shown in this photo. I think that the colour scale also helps take away the liveliness of the photo and makes it look drab and lifeless. The idea that somebody also lives in a 'house' such as that also comes as a large shock, and it shows the true difficulty that residents of this country experience on a daily basis. Although the bike in the picture may come across as a luxury, I don't think that takes away from the issue that is being shown.

I think this photo works so well as it was taken in a natural setting, therefore it has not been staged. This is a slight culture shock, as this is the likely transport that somebody like this has riding on horses, whereas in a first world country you would not expect this. I also like the soft colours in this photo, as it gives the impression that it is deserted.

The contrasting ideas between modern and poverty affected countries becomes apparent in this photo. The children in this photo are dressed as modern 'superhero' characters yet are in an environment that does not suit this. I also think that the child covering up his face makes me wonder his true identity. O also like the faint camel figure in the background, as this really highlights the depth of the photo. One thing however I do not like is the girl in this photo, as I feel she detracts the attention away from the rest of the photo and the impact it has.

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How this photographer has influenced me and how I could use this in my work

I really like this photographers work on the whole, and I like the idea of documentation as a form of photography as projects such as these in different cultures can be produced at high quality and they can be captured simply rather than setting up a photo for example. Although this photographer is not directly linked to the environment, the idea of poverty affected countries and economic crisis fits into the environmental issues and struggles area inside my topic.

2

Photographer- Graham Owen

Website- http://www.grahamowengallery.com

Why I chose this photographer and history

Graham Owen has established himself as an artist as well as a natural photographer. Owen's work has been recognised, and he has gained awards in the process. The insects he photographs have featured on the main page of featured prints worldwide. He is an American- born artist who grew up and was a keen traveller which is why most of his work is featured outside because of his love for this. Owen concentrated on promoting alternative energy resources for many years, which showed how keen he was to spend his time outside and continue to improve the environment that he lived in.

Again, this is a macro lens shot taken by Owen of what appears to be a honey bee pollinating the flower. This photo must have taken skill in order to shoot, as the bee would most likely not have been there for a long period of time. I think the vibrant pink and green work well together in this photo, and the detail on the bee stands out and becomes very impressive to the eye. A relatively shallow depth of field has been used here, which works well as the focus is on the bee and the flower therefore the blurred background helps to emphasise this. One thing I don't like is the composition, as the flower nor the bee is in the middle, therefore if I was to take this photo I would crop the photo from one side.

I think that this photo would have worked better if it wasn't for the branch in the background, as this is to the side therefore slightly ruins the effect of the dragonfly in the photo. Despite this, the colours on the dragonflys body have been captured well, and every detail on its wing has been captured by the lens that this photographer has used. This appears to be an uncommon type of dragonfly, which makes you wonder whether it was taken in a different country.

This picture is an effective example of pattern within nature. This photo filling the frame works best when photographing something such as a leaf, as there would be a boring element to photographing a leaf by itself with no real detail on the actual leaf. The colours in this photo appear slightly unrealistic, however this may be due to a light source behind the leaf or it has been edited on a programme such as Photoshop.

I really do not like this photo from the photographers work. Firstly, this is because of the composition, and the fact the flowers at the bottom of the photo have been cut off therefore this ruins the picture. Also, I think the background is too washed out against the pink and these colours do not contrast with each other well. This photographer has shot a few photos looking at honey bees, however I think Owen excells in macro photography rather than photos such as these where less detail is shown.

How this photographer has influenced me and how I could use this in my work

I like a lot of this photographers work, and I feel that it has given me many ideas for my personal shoot. I think looking into insects and doing macro work with this in close up range will create effective photos for my personal topic on the environment. This photographer has also influenced me as I will now consider composition more carefully and ensure that details such as aperture and focal length play a key role before I decide to take a photo.

3

Photographer- Matt Bilson

Website- http://www.flickr.com/photos/bearseye/

Why I chose this photographer

I chose this photographer because of his abstract interpretations of nature and the environment. Although the pictures are not overly ambitious, I like the execution of the photos and the editing that is done on them. This photographer has done a few mirrored pictures which are classed as multiple imagery within his work in order to create a pattern with trees which I think has worked really well. I may try something similar to this in my own work, as I feel that you do not need a very ambitious environment as long as the colours are contrasting and show a certain season it is likely to be successful. Although I am not fond of the other side of this photographers work which is photographing buildings, a large portion of his work is relevant to my environmental topic.

 I think the black and white effect on this photo works well, as the olive tree in the photo is aging therefore by taking away the colour it gives the feeling that it is old and dying. You can also see a lot of textures within the tree trunk, which is what I think makes the photo effective as it adds it more interesting. One thing I do not like about this photo however is the background trees on the right-hand side as it detracts the attention from the tree trunk.

I like the idea of this photo, however I feel that it was not executed properly. I do not like the composition whatsoever, although it seems the photographer has done this on purpose I feel that there is a too large space at the bottom of the photo in the reflection that is relatively empty. Despite this, I like the colours in the ducks head, as I feel this goes well with the bright blue colour of the water.

I like the abstract element of this photo, it has been edited to represent a type image. I think the editing of this photo is what has made it successful, as the mirrored image is what drew me to this photo. It also appears that there is natural light source within this photo as I feel it brightens the whole image and adds a feeling of happiness and liveliness to the photo's atmosphere.

This photographer does not have a large amount of close up shots, which is why I like the idea behind this photo. I have taken a similar photo to this myself in one of my personal shoots, and I feel that this replicates this photo well as it was also a water droplet on a leaf. I like the vibrant colours in this photo, also I like how the leaf is positioned in the frame as it stretches across the width of the photo.

5. Photographer- Jim Brandenburg

Website- http://www.jimbrandenburg.com/

Why I chose this photographer

I really like this picture of these trees in France mainly because of the colours in the leaves as the yellow and green tones work well together and complement each other. I also like the light source in this photo, as I feel it gives a happy mood to the picture and 

http://www.markcarwardine.com/uploads/documents/40_most_influential.pdf