Film First

Anne McDonald is an American photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. McDonald started her artistry at the age of 15 by making portraits of herself up until she was 30. With her self-portraits she would build up installations and perform privately in front of a camera. Many of her installations were made in abandoned places and personally I think this speaks to her creativity. Art can be placed anywhere and being that these places were abandoned, I believe it adds to the meaning of the works she's produced over time and shows that although these places don't fit the aesthetic of what we think art is, it adds to the meaning of what her self-portraits stand for. With images she produced over time, McDonald was able to publish a book of it in 2004. Many of her images were produced using a Diana camera. Staying within analog photography, she expanded her horizon and started experimenting with chemicals and photo paper. With the work she's made over the years, she's been a ...

 Richard Avedon is an American photographer best known for his works with Vogue, Elle, and Harper's Bazaar. His work deals with capturing movement in a still image. He takes a lot of these pictures in fashion, theater, and dance. These are places and events that requires movement. The motion of the body, the clothes, the environment is what makes these pieces what it is and Avedon being able to capture each moment in a single shot is amazing.  Avedon started his career in the 1940s as an advertising photographer. Through networking with Lillian Bassman, he was endorsed and started working at Harper's and later on became chief photographer. Avedon said "My photographs don't go below the surface. I have great faith in surfaces. A good one is full of clues." This quote alone to me encompasses the work produced by Avedon and how we also perceive these works. Photos in general are meant to capture the exact moment from when the aperture opens to when it closes. Photos ...

 Hiroshi Sugimoto is a Japanese photographer and architect , born in 1948 in Tokyo, Japan, and spends his time between New York City and Tokyo. Sugimoto started his craft in the 70s and sense made a huge name for himself within the industry and beyond.  Sugimoto describes his work as an expression of "time exposed". I think he says this because photography captures a moment in time, and once it is gone, all that remains is that image. All that we see left behind is a trace of time that we once had. To me, this is a great way to view the medium of photography. We capture the moments that we tend to forget or would like to be reminded of. We capture moments that provoked emotion and response yet induces memories of a moment that was forgotten and has now been brought into the forefront of our mind. Specifically for Sugimoto, many of his famous works has to do with exposure and having the camera sitting for a while to capture every detail within the time it is set up for. Images...

 Christian Vogt is a Swiss photographer born in 1946, who is known for his amazing prints and series. It is known that Vogt is a part of photographers who push the agenda and step out of what is considered the norm or acceptable. There is a style of photography called Sachfotographie which translates to non-subjective photography. Example of this style of photography can be still-life photography. It is this type of photography that Christian Vogt wanted to step away from and it is because of this reaction that Vogt got into the works that he did and has changed the way amateurs and professionals go about capturing the perfect shot or what the inspiration behind an image is.  Christian Vogt has made his way through editorial photography and advertisements. With experience in that, many of his work and series always has a theme behind it. One of his works that I've taken appreciation of is "Skinprints". "Skinprints" is a collection of photos with thoughts and per...

 Who is Irving Penn? A man with exemplary vision. Irving Penn is one of the most well known photographers in the history of photography. Recognized by Vogue for more than 60 years, Penn creativity and masterful thinking allowed him to hold this spot and to continue breaking ground within the world of photography. Before pursuing photography, Penn started off as a painter. He traveled around some, and at some point ended up in Mexico where he realized painting wasn't for him. From there, Penn went to New York and was able to get hired as an associate to Alexander Liberman who was the new Vogue Director. It was Liberman who saw talent in Penn's eyes and encouraged him to start taking photographs. From there on, modern photography has become what it is and it all happened because of the collaboration between Liberman and Penn. Irving Penn finds more comfort in photography when he is in a studio compared to environmental photographies. Working with Vogue, Penn was able to Travel al...