Category: Essay on Photographer (Page 1 of 3)

1. I would like to talk about an American pioneering photographer named O’ Winston Link, also known by the name of Ogie Winston Link.  He was born on December 16, 1914, in Brooklyn, New York.  He was known for doing black and white photography and sound recordings for movies, some of his famous recordings were for the movies, October sky (1999), The photographer, His Wife, Her Lover (2005), and train unlimited (1997). Some of his most popular photos are the shots of steam locomotive railroad pictures and various scenes from movies.  He was introduced to photography by his father named Albert Link.  He taught him various shooting techniques that gave him the idea to become a photographer.  He went to college to get his degree in engineering from the Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn, NY in 1937. 

2. The reason why I chose Mr. Link is that I love the fact that he had a love for photography and pushed himself from a young age to his adult life to work hard to become a famous photographer. He was not just a photographer,  he also designed and made new photography equipment, like the rigging of 43 flashing bulbs, and did various shooting techniques.  He also designed a way to take pictures at night, there is one photo that he shot that I find interesting to talk about.

3. This photo shows a person holding a lamp and waving to the train as it was taking off.  What I really found interesting and striking is how this picture highlighted the white building and the smoke to make it look brighter as if the moon was shining a light directly on them.  The white in the picture looked almost like a bright neon white, which I found beautiful.  What also strikes me is how the photo captured how vibrant the silver was on the train and how massive the train appeared in size.  I credit that shot to his technique and his creation of rigging the bulbs.  Although the white stood out, the way he was able to capture the shadows and showed how the darkness was getting darker was intriguing.  I think that the depot looks like it was in a rural town and that the photographer Mr. Link wanted to show just how beautiful the small town’s depot was.  He also captured what the townspeople saw at night when the train came into the depot.  Mr. Link was able to allow his audience the idea of imagining where the train came from and where the train may be going next.  One thing is for sure when the train leaves the depot it is on its way to another adventure.  I can relate to the photo because I love to travel and explore areas that I have and have not been to before.  The compositional elements used to convey and emphasize the meaning of the photo are lighting and the use of lines to move the eye through the image. The reason why the two elements convey the photo is that it shows a bit of light in the background and they show you what’s in front of you straightforward as it is clear and vivid.

For my project I chose Mitch Epstein. He was born in 1952 in Holyoke, Massachusetts. He was one of many who first introduced fine art color photography in the 1970s. His work involved investigation of particular places and being able to express that narrative through his pictures. After he had finished school he set out on an exploration of the United States and soon after, other countries such as Tahiti, Vietnam and Trinidad and Tobago. The photos taken there were included in some of his published books such as: The City (1997), Family Business, (2003) and American Power (2009)  and a few others. I chose Mitch Epstein because I loved how his photos have their own expression to them. He pays attention to lighting as using that as a source to the many moods they display too. He’s able to capture intimate moments and also focuses on how the power of corporate and governmental powers change the landscape that we live in. His series and photos are inspiring to look at because his subjects are inclusive and relative on many levels. The medium of the photo is dye coupler print on Kodak paper. The title is: Pushkar Camel fair, Rajasthan, India. In the photo there are two men in the desert in the center. One of them is making eye contact with the camera sitting down while the man behind him is fixing his headscarf. Beside both of them are large cloths and what looks like a water jar. The man is  sitting down in front of a smoky fire pit. The smoke covers his feet and goes behind him. There is a camel to the right that is the closest to them and behind that camel there are other camels across the desert.  To the left is a large mountain with a facing shadow and hills below it. The sun setting on the horizon is aligned with the front camel. A large cloud is spread out on the skyline almost touching the surrounding area of the sun near the right. What struck me about the photo was how there is an invisible leading line that leads to the horizon and the sun. The camels in the distance make a path that leads my eye. I can relate to the man that is sitting down because this is most likely his job and doesn’t look too bothered by being out in the desert. Everyone needs a break is the commonality and what makes this unique is it’s not as common especially in the states to work at a camel fair in the desert. I think Epstein is trying to show the day to day life of these men. Their lifestyle and the contrast compared to whoever is looking at his work. It can either make you feel grateful for the job you have or open your eyes to be open to the many things you can do in this world. He definitely is exposing the unseen. The composition as a whole has a good balance of foreground and background and nothing is overpowering each other even though there are many subjects.

                Sebastião Salgado, full name Sebastião Ribeiro Salgado Júnior, was born on February 8^th, 1944, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Born into a big farming family, Salgado initially pursued a career as an economist, earning his master’s in economics from the University of São Paulo. Working for the International Coffee Organization, he often traveled to Africa on missions for the World Bank, an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries. It was on these trips that Salgado developed an interest in documentary photography, eventually quitting his career and starting anew as a photojournalist.

                I chose to do my essay on Salgado because I admired his resolve to abandon a stable career to dive into photography, a profession that he had no formal training in. His specialty black and white photography, and his mastery in capturing lights and darks to creating stunning visual contrast really made his photos stand out to me. His claim to fame photographing workers in less developed nations also appealed to me, as it brought to light the immense struggles these workers faced in their everyday lives. But what really astonished me was his gift in capturing breathtaking landscapes using only black and white photography, as unlike most landscape photographers, he did not need to rely on striking colors to convey the beauty of the natural world, something that I can always appreciate the beauty of. And to be able capture these surreal images and their beauty simply with black and white photography made me really respect him as a photographer.

                I chose the following photo because it is a perfect example of Salgado’s ability to capture stunning natural landscapes with very vibrant contrast. I also liked the juxtaposition of the hard lines of the mountain ranges with the softness of the clouds and the tender feeling the nesting albatrosses evoked, showcasing Salgado’s ability to capture the subtlest emotions even in non-human subjects. The sleeping albatross to the right really stood out to me, and it really felt like a magical moment to capture as one can see the tenderness of the moment in this mated pair of albatross. The subtle lines and white dots again really show off Salgado’s knack of capturing really stunning contrasts, especially with the beautiful backdrop of the muted clouds with the pleasant scene of birds flying in the distance.