ARTIST RESEARCH
Considered to be one of the masters of his medium, Elliott Erwitt is an American documentary photographer known for his candid humorous black and white images. He is known for some of the most iconic photos of the 20th century. Throughout his career, he produced a variety of photobooks, mostly emphasising dogs. Erwitt was born on July 26, 1928, in France. He studied photography and filmmaking at Los Angeles Community College and the New School for Social Research and worked as a photojournalist. In 2011, Erwitt was awarded the Infinity Award for Lifetime Achievement by the International Center of Photography. For his commercial and fine art commissions, he travels a lot. Erwitt pieces are held in the Art Institute of Chicago, the Cleveland Museum of Art, including others.
This photograph shows someone's legs, a small dog and the legs of a big dog. From the background, it looks like they are in a park.
All three subjects are centred in the frame, so your eyes go immediately towards them. The juxtaposition of the background to the foreground also helps them to stand out. The different textures in the dog, legs and the ground all add interest to the image.
Erwitt liked to create exciting and comedic photographs. I think he took this picture since it was he found it interesting. I believe that it was taken in a park around 1970.
Although Erwitt's images didn't influence my photos, I liked that he looked at interesting ways to composes his images and kept that in mind while taking mine.
I liked the tone, lighting, the use of the rule of thirds and texture in the image.
I loved that Elliott Erwitt uses tone and lighting to strengthen his images. He uses multiple subjects in the area to create interest in the picture. Each photo is interesting and strong in its unique way. The way he uses the rule of thirds and his framing also impacts the way people views the images.
INTRODUCTION TO ASSIGNMENT
For this assignment, the topic was 'Lockdown'. By documenting how I fell and what my family members and I do during this period (in lockdown). There was no specific way to take the images, just that we had to capture things happening at the moment. Though it wasn't part of the assignment, I reached a photographer who specialises in taking images that made people not only laugh but take a moment to decipher the image. It was easier to take a variety of photos due to the long time and the freedom of not having requirements.
FINAL IMAGES
For my first series of images, I wanted to document what I was doing at home during the lockdown. Since I wasn't travelling far from home, each day felt repetitive. Every day I was doing the same thing, from doing college assignments to social media and then preparing food.
As a collection, I think that the images work cohesively. Each photo has just enough lighting and grate tone. My composition skills also shine, and I think I portrayed my thoughts.
I took this series of images on my car rides to and from the supermarket. These short moments were my breath of fresh air in the first week of the year. The roads were never too busy; the traffic just flowed.
Even though you can't see the sky in most of the images, I think the photos' darkness gives them an edge. It makes you look at the lights, creating leading lines and helping your eyes move across the frame. As a collection, I think they work well together. One image wasn't taken when it was dark, but when the sun was doing down. I believe this helps give the collection narrative flow.
This collection of images were taken when I decided to walk to a nearby lake since it was my first time seeing snow. Some photos were taken when it was falling, while others were taken when it settled. Even though our every day lives may be on pause, the animals' lives haven't even slowed down.
Each image captures the movement and busyness of the animals. The composition, framing and lighting all work well together, strengthen the pictures.
These images show how people slowly come outside to enjoy the snow and the beautiful scenery it creates. The first image was taken when the snow was falling while the others were after it settled. Even though it was freezing when I took these images, I can feel the warmth in them.
As a collection, these images work very well together and tells the story as well. I think I show the rule of thirds well and used the lighting and landscape to my advantage.
The final series of images show that even though life may have stopped for most, people are still working hard to help make the situation a little better. One of my family members works at a radio station, and while he only just recently got back into the studio, He works to help people enjoy the music they love.
Out of all the collections, I think that this collection is the best. It was not only hard to chose which images I wanted to include, but the tone, lighting, natural framing, texture, composition and the use of the rule of thirds are all exceptional. It is also powerful as a collection and shows exactly how much thought goes into putting together the music played.
TASK EVALUATION
I thought this type of documenting was exciting since I had full control of what I wanted to photograph. I liked using not one but five different scenarios to take my images. This really helped me visualise what I want to portray, and this worked well in my favour. Even though I didn't really gain any new skills, I showed my improvement on the ones I already have.
Even though I didn't use what I show from Elliott Erwitt's images, they did give me another perspective on how I could have taken my photos. If I had to retake any of the photos, I don't think I would change anything. They all balance out each other and could shine on their own.
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