Samantha Smith- style paragraphs

Book #1- Thomas Struth, Walking

Thomas Struth is a german photographer, born in 1954, who currently resides in germany. He is well known for his photography of architecture, particularly in Düsseldorf. In terms of the equipment he uses, I would assume it is quite a minimal set up based off of his photographs. He may use a tripod to stabilize his photos and align them, but other than that I would assume he just uses his camera with little to no photoshop. This is evident in the quality of his photos. They are very matter-of-fact. Nothing extravagant or glamorized. His work is about the world, and more specifically the architecture, around him. He captures the urban world as it is, photographing street corners, walls, doors, benches, bridges, streets, allys, etc. He focuses on very specific elements of the architecture such as windows, doors, pillars, and corners, rather than entire landscapes. His images are nevertheless very interesting to look at, because he carefully chooses spaces that are visually interesting (based off of their structure, texture, or a unique/unexpected element-such as graffitti), and photographs them in such a way that creates nice lines and angles that are visually interesting to look at.  His style could be replicated by photographing any architecture in an urban setting with a narrow angle, and a subject of visual interest.

Book #2- Denis Darzacq, La Chute

Denis Darzacq is a french photographer (born in 1961), who lives and works in Paris. Based off of his photos, I would assume Darzacq may use a tripod, but I know that he does not use photoshop (based off of his book). His photos are well designed and executed. He photographs dancers and various athletes performing different leaps and jumps in urban settings. He explains that he wants to capture a moment that appears extra-ordinary in an ordinary setting. His images are full color, wide, and natural-lit. He uses a quick shutter speed to freeze the athletes, or person, so it appears that they are suspended in the air, which gives his images a feeling of something supernatural or incredible. I think his style can be replicated by taking photos in urban settings that are not super busy, with a wide angle, and natural light. You would also need to find people who are willing to jump into the air and can physically do so, many times. You may need a tripod to stabilize the camera, but it could actually be more useful to be able to move with the person as they perform these tasks. It is also very important that photoshop is only used to adjust things like lighting or color. The images need to stand on their own, as the “suspended” quality should be the most prominant quality.

Book #3- Toufic Beyhum, Emotions in Motion

Toufic Beyhum is a photographer who was born in the 70s in Beirut, but grew up in London. Beyhum does not seem to use any equipment besides the camera. This is apparent in his photographs which often have poor lighting, and may be blurry, or grainy. But this is most likely due to the fact that these photos are taken either on the subway or in the subway station.  Beyhum’s work is about the emotion and the situations he stumbles upon on the U-Bahn (or subway) in Berlin. His photographs vary from photos of people, animals, signs, body parts, etc. But each photo has some sort of message it is trying to convey. Whether it is an ironic situation, a well placed sign, or even an expression on someone’s face. Although taking photos of people on the subway may seem boring, these photos are quite interesting to look at, and sometimes it takes a moment to figure out why. Many are pretty funny, and others thought-provoking. If I were to replicate these photos, I would need to spend a lot of time in the subway, looking for chance opportunities, or just taking photos of lots of people. The only equipment necessary would be a camera.