Office Fodder "R" Us

Played about in Photoshop and After Effects making my contribution to the "Dandenong Nocturnal - Car Park" project. I didn't spend any time on sound effects, as I believe there won't be any speakers at the projection venue. Here is my first attempt:-

Photogravure

Photogravure - a possible perfect meeting of digital photography and traditional intaglio printmaking. Is this the medium I have been looking for? Inspired by the prints made by Karl Blossfeldt (1865–1932), a botanist and photographer in turn-of-the-century Berlin, I have in mind a small edition of “Botanicals”.

Blossfeldt devoted his entire photographic output to plant parts: twig ends, seedpods, tendrils, leaf buds, etc. This was the beginning of macro photography - showing the world that the unfamiliar shapes from the messy vegetal world are in fact startling, elegant architectural forms.

Image © PeteM 2020

Stairs

I admire people that can draw – be it a simple expressive sketch or a complex life-like rendering. I freely admit it’s a skill I haven’t mastered.

But, I was rather encouraged reading about Henri Cartier-Bresson describing his 35mm Leica camera as his “small instant sketch pad” – brilliant, I’m with him!

When I spotted this staircase in downtown Wan Chai (HK) I was instantly drawn to its clean graphic lines. It took a bit of work in Photoshop to create the image I had in mind, but after a few different versions, here it is!

Image © PeteM 2020

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Image © PeteM2020

As I came across these trees on a bitterly cold morning in Paris, my mind instantly went back to some memorable images by celebrated French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908 -2004). Although he was an avid fan of his 35mm Leica, some of his landscape photography was done with a 4x5 large format camera – I composed and cropped my image to reflect that format.


I also took a photograph of this scene without the person in the background - it’s a different picture all together. Not at all pleasing - funny how such a small detail can make such a huge difference. (Click on the image for a larger version)

Inspired

I often find inspiration from looking through the myriad of images at Magnum Photo’s web site. My latest exploration was the B&W work of Elliot Erwitt (1928 - ), a long-standing  Magnum Photo contributor.


Erwitt is credited with having coined the phrase: “A photograph should tell a story” and his images of dogs do just that. To have a look at some of his marvellous work – click here.


B&W photography is having a revival, and I’m enjoying it.

Bird Market, Paris                Image © PeteM2020

OP-ART

Hong Kong                    Image © PeteM2020

As I took this picture, my mind went briefly back to the 60’s and the Op-Art period.  That was the time of hippies, flower power, uncomfortable furniture and soft drugs. 

Victor Vasarely is usually described as the father of the genre with the other main players being Bridget Riley, Larry Poons and Richard Anuszkiewicz.  Op-Art’s best year was 1965 which saw a definitive exhibition, ‘The Responsive Eye’, at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Initially, most of the works were in stark black and white, but as the style matured, colour became an integral part of the art form. Repetition, pattern and chromatic tension became Op-Art’s stylistic hallmark.

I was at the time quite taken by all this. Looking today on the Internet at those early works, I feel they look somehow a little sterile and dated. However, I am not going to let that spoil some wonderful memories from my misspent youth.

See, Learn, Do

Hong Kong, Image © PeteM2020

I recently saw an exhibition by German fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh. The 30 odd images were all chosen by one of his close friends and spanned a few years of Peter’s career.


The prints were large, imposing and superbly printed, but I was puzzled by the choice of images. Almost disappointed. Why were those pictures chosen?


Next to the gallery was a small theatre showing a ½ hour documentary of Peter working with the models and discussing his vision with the art directors. The film was fast paced and the dialogue was in English, French and German. Despite taxing my linguistic skills beyond their limits, it was easy to see why he has become the favourite photographer for many of the world’s top models. The film had a profound impact on my thinking.


I went back and looked at the exhibition again – and now, understanding the context, the images suddenly became alive. An “aha” moment!


Am I capable of emulating his style – probably not? Did I learn something – absolutely!

Antwerp, Image © PeteM2020