This Portrait by the famous and acclaimed Arnold Newman is of composer Igor Stravinsky. The Brilliance of Arnold Newman was his sense of incorporation, attention and his uncanny compositions. This pictures stunning composition is unbelievable. This has always been one of my favourite photographs. Newman was one of the only environmental Portrait photographs to beautifully incorporate the subjects profession as part of the portrait. Here the piano dominates Stravinsky, and thus it becomes very clear when seeing this for the first time what the man's occupation must be. If you were to ask Stravinsky who he was he would probably answer "music." Newman began by studying drawing and painting, and became deeply influenced by modernism. You can see very clearly in this image the skill of modernist design. The attention to line and high contrast as well as geometric shapes within the frame. Newman's skill brought him to a level few photographers can reach, and his prolific career  makes him just as relevant today (if not more so) then when he began. A true genius.

Nadar

This photograph is from the famous Nadar. His pictures from the 1800s of famous artists and musicians came before the “superstar,” and before the “celebrity.” His pictures perfectly captured the times. The new medium of the photograph became a tool used by artists and documentarians, Gaspard-Félix Tournachon could be considered both.  This self-portrait is especially interesting because it expresses his first love of ballooning. The photo also has a caricature element coming from his days as a cartoonist. Both whimsical and revealing. 

Facebook photo match

 

These two pictures are of Reilly Blakely (Scrape Jackson) and me. We are in the photography studio at NBCCD and we are trying on prop wigs for a laugh. We completed the day with laughter. It had been a long and strenuous day at school and everybody was totally exhausted, so we decided along with a few others to put on a wig and be silly for a few moments. It can’t all be just seriousness all the time, laughter helps fuel/propel creativity. Reilly is very fond as am I of off colour humor so when we looked at the photos together we cracked up. Good day.