SarahMartin_Paragraphs

Henry Wessel: California and the West

      Henry Wessel was born and raised on the east coast of the United States. Originally he had set out to follow a career in psychology here at Penn State. That is when he discovered photography and changed his career path. In 1969, Wessel left for the west coast to escape the ugly winter of New York. He became truly inspired by how the light in California was so opaque and cut through the sky. Wessel took still photographs as he happened upon different subjects. There is hardly any interaction between the subject and Wessel, and the subject varies. He photographed everything from plants, buildings, people, and wide landscapes. The way the light was hitting the subject is how each photo is obviously taken by Henry Wessel. He believed in being receptive, meaning that he didn't go look for things to happen, he simply paid attention and captured what came to him. In this collection of images most of them are oriented as landscapes, but there are a handful that are oriented as portraits. Wessel limited his equipment to only a Lecia camera with a 28 millimeter lens. Each photo is in grayscale which allows the light to be more front and center rather than bright colors. This helped him create his mark of how light was translated through photography.

Michael Lange: Fluss

      Like Wessel, Michael Lange just happened upon this interesting view of the Rhine river in Europe. He became fascinated with the underbrush, trees, and bushes that lined this great body of water. His signature touch to these photos is that they were all taken at first light over a time span of three years. Each photo captures the dampness and coolness of these early mornings. Lange was also able to capture this mighty river at times when its sides appeared delicate. These images share how patience is a virtue, and by paying attention to small moments, you are bound to witness something spectacular. Lange shot in color, though the majority are very dark with little color variation. He was able to show an calm and condensed power of the Rhine river. A major point of this collection of photos was to allow openness and movement to be present rather than the opposite which is apparent in some of his previous work. To capture all of the these images, Michael Lange spect three years exploring a 40 mile stretch of the Rhine river, getting to know its every part. He would set up his camera on his boat and go to the same spot as the day before until he captured something worth while. Each image is framed horizontally with a wide angle lens. 

William Eggleston: Portraits

      William Eggleston's work is know for its particular color quality and snapshot essence. Though his use of color is iconic Eggleston also made images that were black and white. He used a variety of cameras and equipment in his work. Such as Porta Pak cameras, Minox cameras, High quality lenses, 16 millimeter lens cameras, and flashes. Eggleston experimented with them all and ended up with a unique collection of portraits. Not all of the images are traditional portraits, some are classical, some are environmental, etc. What they have in common in showing particular moments of life by using people as his subject. Some people interact with the camera and others have no idea that their photo is being taken. These show the in-between moments of life. He also had a sensitive eye to fashion and enjoyed depicting that in his images. Though each image was not captured by the same equipment, it's still clear to see Eggleston in his work. People are imperfect, which makes them a perfect subject. It wasn't about showing a clean cut portrait of someone. It's about capturing them in their moment. Whether it be them laughing, working, or just standing in an explanatory environment.