Mentor - Richard Avedon

For this photography assignment I chose the famous artist, Richard Avedon. He was born on May 15, 1923 and died on october 1st, 2004. He was an american photographer, people said his sense of fashion and portrait photographs helped define Americas image of beauty, style and culture. 

Richard was born in New York City. After attending the university of columbia he became a photographer for the merchant marines, taking the crewman’s identification photos, which started his life as a photographer. He then began working as an advertising photographer for a department store, but then was quickly discovered by Alexey Brodovitch, the director for the fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar. His career was also promoted by Lillian Bassman at Harpers magazine. After working at a magazine, starting his career for the marine crew and working at the department store he then decided to make his own studio and began providing images for magazine, such as Vogue and Life. He was then offer the job of chief photographer at Harper’s Bazaar. He moved to different positions as he got his career started and became more well known to the public for his work. He never conformed the standard techniques most fashion photographers used of having their models stand emotionless and seemingly indifferent to the camera. Instead he made the models show emotion, smiling, laughing and used many action scenes. During his career in the 1950 he got tired of daylight photography and open air locations he then started the trend of studio lighting using strobe lights.

In 1966 he left his career at Harper’s Bazaar and moved to become a photographer with  Diana Veerland. He later proceeded to become the lead photographer at vogue and photographed the most covers from 1973. In an addition to continuing his fashion career he then began to take photographs of mental patients, civil rights movements and the Vietnam war and the Berlin wall. At the same time he also took photographs of famous artists such as the Beatles. Which then later expanded to more rock and roll artists of the time. Richard was always interested in how to capture the subjects personality and soul in his work, instead of something posed. He became widely known for his work and his change in photography and brought in many famous faces to his studio and photographed many photos. His work is very easily known as his subject looking right at the camera, posed in front and a sheer white background. Richard would evoke reactions from his subjects by putting them in awkward and uncomfortable areas and discussions. Using these methods he would produce images revealing aspects of his subjects character and personality that were usually never shown to the public. 

Richard Avedon’s started his career as a student just taking simple identification cards for the men and working in a department store to becoming a well known photographer at magazine and then working with famous artists. I chose Richard because he was different then every other photographer he took the rules of photography and bent them to suit his idea and his meanings of what should really be captured. He took a simple photo and added character and a humans true beauty and personality to it. Not many have the courage to do what they want but he did.

Breaking the Rules

 In my first photo here, it is breaking the rules because one tree is bigger then the other making the photo unbalanced. This was taken outside of my house at the school st. vincent











In my second photo, it is breaking the rules because there are two cars on one side of the driveway and none on the other. This makes it unbalanced. This was taken at my house.

Alternative Process - Gel Medium

This is a photograph of Andie Weese and Me when we were younger. We meet at pre school and have been best friends since. I chose to use this photo for my assignment because not only is it one of my favourite photos of us, but because I love that expresses how crazy and weird we both are. I also love the look of old photos. For these assignments I didn't want to use any photo, I wanted one with a memory that I always want to remember. I love her and wish to always have her around.

Alternative Process - Cyanotype

This is a photo of my Grandma, Carole Shipley, it was taken when she was in her 30s. I used this photo for this assignment because I liked the look of the old photo and how the light captured her face. My grandma loved posing for pictures, which was another reason I chose it, to show her true self and what she likes. I also wanted to use it because most people used photo just taken not long ago but for this process and the Gel medium I used photos from my past or family past to show that even old can still be just as good as new.

Renaissance

For the renaissance assignment I used Jennifer to be my model and placed her face into Raphael's portrait. Raphael was born on April 6, 1483. His full name was Raffaello Sanzio. He was born in Urbino. Raphael was said to be a handsome man, pensive and fair. He was born very talented and received training from his father, Giovanni Santi. He also learned new techniques from famous artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. He used beauty and serenity as his themes in his paintings. In 1499 he went to Perugia in Urbino and became a student and assistant of painter, Perugino. Around 1508-09 he was 25 and called to Rome by Pope Julius II to direct the decoration of the state rooms in the Vatican Palace. In 1509 he was hard at work on a suite of papal apartments. In Rome, in 1515, Raphael became the first Superintendent of Antiquities. In 1515-16 he painted ten large water color scales. He found the cultural and intellectual climate very exciting in Rome.

In 14th and 17th centuries it was the Renaissance Era, it began in italy and spread to the rest of Europe. The renaissance is best known for its artistic developments and their contributions of such polymaths as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, who inspired the term “Renaissance man”. At this time art flourished especially in Florence. During this era light, colour and space were incorporated into the artists paintings.  Renaissance art marks the transition of Europe from the medieval period to the early modern age. During the renaissance era artists got a new place in society and art began to expand and became more beautiful to society, they realized the true skill and technique and recognized that art was more then just a  “craft”. Renaissance art and Middle ages art were different in many ways, they focused there art on the beauty of the human body and religion where the Middle Ages didn’t. Christianity was a main theme during this Era. The paintings became 3D  art, using horizon lines vanishing points and introduced techniques using depth to make the paintings and artwork more life like.