anthony 8X10 studio camera with a Voigtlander #6 Series II Portrait Euryscop 13.5" f4
Combine a shy and retiring middle age guy with low self esteem and a passion for antique portrait lenses and techniques and you come up with a need to photograph the very thing you're most terrified of. Other poeple.
Some of the same things that caused me to stop being shy long enough to find a bride 37 years ago have kicked in again for this project. I just want it to happen and sort of force the issues.
The big surprise is that no one that I photograph is surprised. Once I've overcome my own barriers, the rest falls into place quite easily. People seem to be more than gracious and willing to meet you beyond half way. I guess what I'm saying is 'if I can do it, anyone can' although the techies here might decide I really didn't. One of the barriers I had to get beyond, especially with the antique equipment, is perfectionism.
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He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep..to gain that which he cannot lose. Jim Elliot, 1949
art is the revelation of the specificity of things
obviously "portrait" -- even "successful portrait" -- can be extrememely formal and the process quite dead. A driver's license snap is consensual, in focus, properly framed. It is a success as defined by its purpose.
Photography's relationship to time is so important to portraits. Today's portrait is not tomorrow's. I think humans like to look at portraits because it lets them feel close to someone who is not there. That includes portraits like, say, your daughter when she was four, though you still see her every day (at age six). It can include people who you have never otherwise "met." Depending on the viewer, the associations can dwarf the tiny image (Barthes has obviously written a lot about that one, "Camera Lucida" is all associations without even showing us the pic!).
Viewed in this way, the driver's license becomes not so much a picture of person "X," but in some ways it is a portrait of the State Authority -- the value of the "Resemblance" is not so great. You could carry any picture of yourself. What the police want to see is THEIR portrait.
I'd even go so far as to say: Portraiture is almost always about ownership.
And framing some of the "how's" of the conversations to the "why's" of the conversation can serve to foster a creative and inspiring atmosphere. .... This strikes me as the perfect place for both questions.
Yes, I agree. & it's great to have room for both (which you can't always separate anyway!).
Combine a shy and retiring middle age guy with low self esteem and a passion for antique portrait lenses and techniques and you come up with a need to photograph the very thing you're most terrified of. Other people.
Same here. Except I'm a shy woman in her 30s with low self esteem and a Nikkormat FTn. One of the things I admire so much about Diane Arbus is that she was so afraid of people that she forced herself to go out and photograph them. I've never been able to summon up the courage. I think that's why I love photography so much; I can hide behind the camera and see people without being seen. However, if you're taking someone's portrait, they're looking right at you, and that freaks me out. (Got a bit of the old social anxiety.)
A couple of months ago, I forced myself to meet some internet friends at a park in Portland for an end-of-summer picnic. I brought my Nikkormat (and my puppy) with me, and after about two hours I finally took my camera out and started taking pictures. I only had the courage to photograph two people directly; the rest were taken when folks weren't paying attention. I was so nervous, my hands were shaking. I figured they would come out crappy, but when I got my film back, I was really surprised at how well they turned out.
My mom goes to lunch at the local senior center every week. For my next attempt at people photography, I would like to tag along and take some pictures of her and her friends. I tried this once before with my Holga, but none of them turned out. I would also like to bring my camera to work and photograph my co-workers, but I work in a (veterinary) lab and I'm not sure if that'd be a HIPAA violation. I should probably ask.
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Portraiture attempts to capture the essence of a being, perhaps human, perhaps animal.
Many photographs of people are excellent in technicals and convey what the person wants; i. e., the executive wants to project power, etc.
Occasionally, the photographer actually seems to have captured a soul and not just some stray light on the silver. We've all seen those photographs. Even the best professional has trouble catching the soul as it's rather slippery - more so than a greased pig. The techs sometimes aren't even that great; nonetheless, there's the essence of the person laid bare in front of you and you wonder how you did it.
That's a real portrait.
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a billion here and a billion there and pretty soon, you're talking about real money!
Everett Dirkson
A couple of months ago, I forced myself to meet some internet friends at a park in Portland for an end-of-summer picnic. I brought my Nikkormat (and my puppy) with me, and after about two hours I finally took my camera out and started taking pictures. I only had the courage to photograph two people directly; the rest were taken when folks weren't paying attention. I was so nervous, my hands were shaking. I figured they would come out crappy, but when I got my film back, I was really surprised at how well they turned out.
The first portrait is great, well done. The second one looks like Atillita the Hunette coming at you! I hope she was just kidding around!
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If I had been present at the creation, I would have given some useful hints for the better arrangement of the Universe.
Alfonso the Wise, 1221-1284
Limiting the definition of a portrait to something animate or living is overly restrictive. A portrait can be of a place, a thing, as well as of people or animals. That said, the common thing connecting portraits is that they depict a characteristic of the subject that may not be immediately obvious to the casual observer.
A portrait has nothing to do with the subject, and everything to do with, or the likeness of the artist (or photographer). I think it was JL Seiff that said that- I think.
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