ARTH1100 History of Photography

http://www.style.com/stylefile/2011/06/legendary-lensman-arthur-elgort-on-his-life-in-fashion-photography/

I decided to post this because I know we talked a little about fashion photography a while ago and after the review assignments, I went to the Harper’s Bazaar exhibit and I wanted to know some more on the subject.  I had come upon this fashion photographer, Arthur Elgort, a well known name in the fashion world, who was also featured in Teen Vogue’s December/January issue.  I found his story interesting because recently he had a stroke and wasn’t able to take photographs ever again, but he worked hard and had to start all over again physically which was a learning process, but he did it and is back to doing what he loves.  Hope you all find this interview as interesting as I did.

In my graphic principles class my professor had told me about a famous photograph taken by a south african photographer by the name of Kevin Carter of a vulture stalking its prey but its prey happened to be a little girl slowing dying from hunger a couple of feet away, 3 months after that he committed suicide he was traumatized by all of the things he had seen on his journey. He was apart of a club called the bang bang club which happens to be a movie based on the photographer in this club. The things they endure is indescribable. The courage these men had was incredibly great. They witness many killings and many deaths. I recommend this film it is truly inspiring & through out the film they show many shots that they have taken All Black & white And undoubtedly Strong. The film can be pretty graphic and may upset some viewers but it’s very effective and strikes emotion. This film can be found on netflix but it can also be found for free on the internet…illegally of course =]

here is a link to the Famous Pulitzer Prize winning photograph.

There is a big controversy whether Robert Capa’s photograph, “Falling Soldier” is true or not. The photograph, supposedly taken at the exact moment when a Spanish soldier was shot, is claimed by others to be staged. One of the reason it is believed to be staged is because in the second photography, it appears as if the ‘falling soldier’ was in the second photograph, all the way on the left side. Another reason is because Gallagher believed to have shared a room with Capa, however, Gallagher’s memory was failing him, which means it could have been any other person sharing a room with him. In dispite of this, Brotons, another soldier who fought in the Spanish Civil War, remember the death of a soldier named Feredico Garcia. This is the man believed to be in Capa’s photo. When they showed Capa’s photograph to Federico’s younger brother, he confirmed that he was the man in the photograph. This evidence confirmed that Capa’s photograph is legitimate, disregarding every doubt that other people had.

Food is a big part of every single culture. Most countries have their own unique dishes that distinguish them from others. Photographers are taking photography to another level. They’re taking pictures of dishes which look mouthwatering to promote food. However, some photographers use food as a form of art. For instance, in NPR’s “Appetizing Art of Food Photography,” it show us how food is a big part of different cultures, and also makes the food look very appetizing. In “Food for Thought” by Robert Mann, he uses not only food, but also cooking elements, seasonings, posters about food, and other different food related objects. He doesn’t try to make the food look appetizing, he tries to make the pictures look like art. Irvin Penn Food Portraits also tries to make his food photography look like art, though, he uses actual food by setting it up on a place nicely, and perhaps add some vegetables and other materials to make it look better. Although very nice looking, not as appetizing as NPR’s food photography. Nevertheless, food can be very useful as art nowadays, photographers are using dishes to either promote food, or just to make it look artsy.

I agree, You can see a lot and tell a lot from street photography.  Its something so authentic about them.  You can see how the majority of people act and like.  You can sometimes picture yourself in the photos because the people in the pictures are usually doing everyday things that you yourself has done or do.  Its realistic and I think black and white helps bring more of a reality to the photos.  And for them to be of New York shows different people, different cultures and different experiences, because so much goes on in NYC.

It’s hard to tell if the photo is staged or not because it is possible to have been staged or not.  I think any photo is capable of that argument.  If the photo is staged and it doesn’t look it means that the photographer is really good at what they do.  I think Capa’s picture is a good example of what the war was about about and what happened and showed a side of battle people hadn’t seen before and that could be why there was so much controversy around the photo.  Whatever it is staged or not he got a great photo.

When restaurants advertise the food they sell they have to make it look good so that people would buy it.  Like when you look at it you decided if you want to buy it or not and if they actually take a picture of what it really looks like, people would most likely not buy it. But then again we but it and know what it looks like but we continue to purchase their items, it sucks because if I order something it should look exactly how it does on the photo when I get it.  But in the end restaurants still win because they are still getting service and I doubt people complain to the restaurants about the differences of the actual burger and the picture.