5 Photographers, One Photograph

After looking through the work of different photographers, I felt inspired.  The range of subjects varied and showed me that there are infinite possibilities.   The names of the photographers I looked at were Andreas Feininger, Eliot Porter, Georg Gerster, Adre Kertesz, and Fulvio Roiter.  Although these were the only full books I could find and not my number one choices, they were interesting and inspiring.  I would have liked to look at a fashion photographer's compilation, as I am interested in exploring shooting models and designers.  However, one of Georg Gerster's (well most of) photographs really caught my attention.  He is an areal photographer, shooting his pictures from above the earth.  This gave the world and photography a whole new perspective.  Things appear completely different from thousands of feet above the ground.  Shapes and colors emerge that one cannot see at eye level.  Sometimes I had no idea what I was actually looking at until I read the caption.  The particular photo that I looked at was an oasis in the middle of a white sand desert.  It seemed to almost make a Mickey Mouse face with the green of the oasis and the way the sand wrapped around it.  To me, this photograph was original and creative, something I had never seen before.  Another of his images featured the rooftops of Indian houses.  It was just a quilt of colors and really interesting.

A Howard Schatz Photo - Underwater Study

Complications

So, after shooting three rolls of film, I have encountered some difficulties, but also some successes.  The hardest part was the lighting.  Every time I wanted to shoot some film in my room it was cloudy and I was forced to use the lowest possible fstop and shutter speed.  This made it very difficult to play with the different combinations.  MY outside shots proved to be easier, but one cannot always be outside.  Sometimes I would forget to focus, or adjust to a new setting.  There is a lot to remember every time you go to take a picture, no more point and shoot!  The other hard part about that is the delayed satisfaction.  I cant wait to develop my film!  Hopefully I will get a few good shots from my many mistakes.  I can tell this is a huge learning process.  However, the final product is very much worth it and considerably more appreciated than traditional digital photos.

And it Begins

So far, so good.  I am finding this class to be very fulfilling thus far.  It is what I hoped it would be.  Already, ideas for my first roll of film are distracting me from my other work as they filter through my thoughts.  Here is the plan so far: For the aperture roll I will set up staged shots of personal items significant to me; testing the distance between objects and the distance between myself and the objects.  In this way I will be able to focus on the intended purpose, while at the same time, photograph objects significant to me.  For the remaining two rolls (perhaps shot next week), I will move on to more complicated shots outdoors and with motion.  I am very excited to see how they turn out and to learn how to develop film.  As I go about my days, I am always aware of great photo moments and become upset when I do not have my camera. :)

Howard Schatz

As a subscriber to American Photography, I read an article from last month's issue on photographer Howard Schatz.  His underwater work amazed me.  I did not even have the notion in my mind that it was possible to create the photos that he did.  The ones in American Photo were color photographs of dancer models with warm, yet vibrantly colored flowing clothing.  They posed underwater, or partially above.  Yesterday, while working in the dark room, I was flipping through a Black and White Magazine and noticed some similar black and white underwater pictures.  Low and behold, they were by Howard Schatz!  I would love to learn more about this technique and the unique way that water plays with light.