Who’s the Photographer of this Image?

Who’s Your Favorite 20th Century Photographer?

Choose from the list below or name one of your own. Put your choice in the comments section.

I’ll tally up results to name the most favorite photographer of the 20th century in New Year’s Day 2010.

01 Berenice Abbott

02 Ansel Adams

03 Robert Adams western photos

04 Eugene Atget

05 Bill Brandt

06 Brassai

07 Harry Callahan

08 Henri Cartier-Bresson

09 Imogen Cunningham

10 Robert Doiseneau

11 William Eggleston

12 Walker Evans

13 Lee Friedlander

14 John Gutmann

15 Lewis Hine

16 Andre Kertesz

17 William Klein

18 Dorothea Lange

19 Clarence John Laughlin

20 Helen Levitt

21 Robert Mapplethorpe

22 Ralph Eugene Meatyard

23 Lisette Model

24 Tina Modotti

25 Arnold Newman

26 Paul Outerbridge

27 Gordon Parks

28 Irving Penn

29 Alexander Rodchenko

30 Cindy Sherman

Book about How to Emulate Famous Photographers

My new book 101 Quick and Easy Ideas Taken from the Master Photographers of the Twentieth Century (see link to the right) is off to the printer. The cover is also done.

I’m posting here. I think the publisher did a great job in designing it (the publisher is Cengage Learning).

I’ve been informed that preorders for the book are brisk. There’s nothing like hearing that type of news.

The cover picture was taken in Paris (isn’t that the place where all good shots can be had?). If you ever get to that city take your camera to the giant Farris wheel. You can get wow shot of it from far away, close up and while you’re riding it.

The nice thing about that city is you can photograph it when it’s cloudy and get gray hues that you’ve never seen before (especially at sunset).

People Reading

Andre Kertész spent the better part of his life taking photographs, many of which were of people reading. A book of photographs, On Reading, was published in 1971.

Just as Kertész’s photographs show people totally absorbed in the reading process, so, too, does the image of the reader to the left. The reader’s gaze into the book reminds viewers how engaging such a solitary activity can be. An added element to the photo—a pencil—makes one wonder why the subject is using it to read.

The surroundings—a park in Paris—have story of their own. The trash receptacle, which is a plastic bag inserted into a large metal ring came about as a result of the War on Terror. After Sept. 11, Paris eliminated traditional trashcans because if a bomb were dropped into one, you wouldn’t be able to see it. Plastic bags such as the one you see in the photo are transparent so that if anything suspicious is dropped into the bag, people will be able to see it.

Andre Kertész is one of the photographers covered in my new book 101 Quick and Easy Ideas Taken from Master Photographers of the Twentieth Century.  Check it out (or preorder it) by clicking on the link to the right. The book comes out next month.

 

Critiquing Obama Family Portrait

Cyberspace is roiling content associated with the new First Family portrait. Annie Leibovitz took the picture on September 1, and the news about it is just coming out now.

Not many people are commenting on the image because they seemed to be obsessed with the fact that Leibovitz is broke. She made some deal with a pawnbroker company and owes it millions.

But what about the picture? Has Leibovitz flunked photography 101? Probably not, but I can point out some flaws in the image that most photographers would avoid. Here’s what I found a bit off in the family portrait:

1. Michelle’s black dress. As a small image on the Internet, it looks as if it’s solid black. It also lies one-third from the right part of the frame (following the Rule of Thirds). I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the first thing I observe in an image to be black. It look’s as if her body has been cut out of the picture with scissors. Leibovitz should consider how her images will look on the Internet.

2. The framed picture behind Sasha’s head. Photography’s number one rule is to not have objects popping out of people’s heads.

3. Sasha’s hand. It looks as if it was cut and pasted and set on Obama’s shoulder.

4. The urn on top of the fireplace. Annie, you should have removed that. It’s too distracting. It takes away from the subjects in the picture.

Okay, so I’ve been ratty enough. All-in-all, I have to say I really like the picture once I look past the flaws, which to some aren’t flaws at all. Leibovitz probably set up the shot so that the picture frame behind Sasha’s head and the urn on top of the fireplace give viewers an idea of how the Green Room looks.

Enough said. What do you think?

Mapplethorpe Flower Imitation

Robert Mapplethorpe was one of the most controversial photographers of our time. I can remember back in the 1980s when he photographed AIDS patients in the last stages of the disease, covered with the ominous, raised, purple blotches of Kaposi’s Sarcoma on their skin. To my knowledge there are no images of these on the Internet.

Aside from photographing the ravages of AIDS, Mapplethorpe also photographed naked people various poses, some even performing sexual acts. There is one aspect of Mapplethorpe’s photography that is often overlooked–his photographs of flowers.

Robert Mapplethorpe was perfectionist. Everyone of his flower photos is perfect in its detail, color and composition. He often used dark-colored backgrounds, backgrounds that today are easy to make in Photoshop. The background on the flower to the left was created in Photoshop. The contrast is vivid between background and flower. You can see this technique as shot by Mapplethorpe in this flower.

Mapplethorpe is one of some thirty odd master photographers that I’m covering in my book, 101 Quick and Easy Secrets taken from Master Photographers of the Twentieth Century.

Glenn Losack: Photography’s New Conscience

I had the opportunity to interview Glenn Losack,  M.D.  after a Facebook friend referred him to me. One of his themes of his photographs–symmetry–caught my eye because I have a chapter in my newest book, 101 Quick and Easy Secrets to Create Winning Photographs, devoted to symmetry. He’s both a psychiatrist and a photojournalist. What a combination! His photos have appeared in National Geographic and American Photo magazines.

His story is incredible:

1. What made you think of symmetry as a theme for a photo show (his Symmetry photo show appeared at Solas Gallery in New York City. It ends June 7)?

I  discovered that “SYMMETRY”  brought forth numerous  fascinating subliminal, metaphorical, psychological and cultural  themes that weren’t evident in the original images [images before they were processed in Photoshop].   Symmetry also  enhanced the asthetic beauty of images. I found that it didn’t work for many images, but those that were “symmetrizable” successfully,  I  felt needed to be made public  to instill intellectual analysis and discourse.

2. What image editing program do you use?

PHOTOSHOP CS4  the absolute KING of all applications. It is one of the greatest inventions of the modern era.

3. How long does it take to make an image?

I can spend hours on an image. Some  I work on for days  until I am satisfied.  The average time is about a few hours. The real truth is an image is never finished. You have to though call it quits when you think you’ve gotten the point across.

4. What’s your favorite image?

(He mentions two: YOKO- PRAGUE CZECH REPUBLIC and BLIND BABY SITTER- DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, pictured above)

An impossible question to answer.  There are so many of them. My catalogue is close to 8000 images.
The two that come to mind is one that is owned by YOKO ONO ( the wife of John Lennon ) and the other made it into National Geographic.

5. What statement are you conveying in your image?

I have several goals with my photography. I am a devout advocate for the downtrodden, disenfranchised,  scapegoated, handicapped, beggars of the world, etc… ( Please go to the web site and peruse  INDIAN BEGGARS).  I have photographed in India for the last 20 years. I have photographed Leper colonies, mental hospitals, beggars of all types, self mutilating religious festivals, cremations, and many other subjects that the West have never seen or know very little about. I try to  make my work on the disenfranchised palatable for my audience so that their first reaction is not one of  shock or denial. I try to give the downtrodden honor dignity and respect.

Trained as a psychiatrist/medical doctor, I  attempt  to understand the inner world of my subjects; their personalities, their  eccentricities and many times  the  oddities of humanity fascinate me. Basically I am trying to help my audience look at what is in general difficult to look at.

Thanks for allowing me to share my thoughts, ideologies and photography with you.

Glenn’s Web site is at http://www.glennlosackmd.com.

Shocking Cognoscenti

America had created a myth for itself.

Gee, I use a big word in that title. Just in case if you don’t know what congnoscenti is, I’ll tell you. It has to do with know-it-alls. You see photographer Robert Frank shocked them with his spontaneous photographs  that he shot all across the United States.

Frank caught America’s desperation; his images cast long shadows over the American spirit. In his book The Americans, he takes on social and racial indifference–an America that just doesn’t care about equality.

Frank’s photographs are now on display (till Aug. 25 at SFMOMA). If you have even a little bit of interest in the middle of the last century don’t miss this quintessential American photo show.

Kidman Goes Weird Playing Arbus

I had a chance to see the movie “Fur” about Diane (that’s Deeann) Arbus last night. While it was a little slow, it was suductive.

For those of you who don’t know who Diane Arbus was, take a look at the “Jewish Giant at Home with His Parents in the Bronx, NY, 1970.” Arbus is the girl wonder of candid photography, as this picture shows.

Some people would say Arbus photographed freaks. That’s where the movie “Fur, An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus” comes in, which was made in 2006. The freaks come alive in the movie as much of a part of humanity as say you or I, that is when they are among their own.

Robert Downey Jr. plays a man enveloped in fur, a guy with a severe case of hypertrichosis, and Nicole Kidman plays the woman who ends up lusting after him. Both hold their own in this fantasy creation of Arbus’ life. While the movie is imaganary, you get a peek into the era in which Arbus worked as the set and costume design brought the mid-20th century to life. As for the romance, the disturbing scene where Kidman shaves Downey’s body is a bit overdone. After all is said and done, Kidman is beautiful in the movie, almost as beautiful as Downey is after his body is shaved.

Florida Photographer Dies

Photograph of one utility worker saving the life of another.

Another photographer (Helen Levitt recently died, too) has died at a ripe old age this week.

He’s Rocco Morabito, famous for his candid photograph of one utility lineman saving the life of another. He was 88.

Morabito had been a photographer for the Jacksonville Journal.  The photograph of the two linemen were taken as he was on his way back from covering a 1968 railroad strike. Morabito won a Pulitzer Prize for the photograph.

Another photograph that stands out from his 42-year career in photojournalism is a class of children and a rabbit (paws on heart) reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. That photograph was published in Life in 1958.

In World War II, Morabito served as a B-17 ball-turret gunner. Just in case if you were wondering what that is, there’s another guy with a Web page who also served in that position.