Portraits - Initial Research Task

Self Portrait by Peter Ash Lee

Digital Stills, Portrait Research Task 1
Peter Ash Lee

Peter Ash Lee is the creative director and co-founder of Corduroy magazine. His portraiture work is often minimalist and unique with simple backdrops and lighting. He's most famous for his work with Vogue magazine, Angelica Huston, and Sir Ben Kingsley.

While looking through the notes from Peter Renn's lecture I was unable to find any portrait photographers that really caught my eye. I ended up talking to my friend who's studying photography in London and she suggested Ash Lee to me. I really like his clean, bright style to his photographs as it is an aesthetic im draw too.

In an interview with him I found on Expose Capture Blog he talks about how he got into photography

"I actually majored in psychology and human resources business during my undergrad in Canada. One summer I got an internship working in Seoul at Samsung in their HR department and absolutely hated it. So I quit the internship and called up a cousin who I heard was working as a still-life photographer at a studio in Korea. I followed him around all summer and at the end of it he handed me a backup Hasselblad as a gift, and I haven’t put it down since."

I really appreciate his story as it's one I can relate to as I myself kinda stumbled upon film by accident.

Photographed by Peter Ash Lee

Photographed by Peter Ash Lee

I found these images on Ash Lee's Website. I found them really striking with their use of colour and abstract fashion. The two above images are from the same photoshoot and you can tell through their composition even though they were taken in different locations. I think that it is an amazing skill to have to be able to have such unity in photoshoots when the shoots are done at different times and places. I've decided not to find out who the woman is in the photographs as I like to read them blindly and interpret the image my own way. 

Starting with the image on the left. I see the transparent trousers as a metaphor for the sexualistation of women. The pose is quite a standard pose for a general fashion shoot, especially in ones highlighting the trouser, and this further represents the message as it is a recognisable silhouette but the actual garment is quite revealing, linking to how the sexualisation of women is common practice in modern society. I love how this is almost a 'call out' image on this topic. The flowers in this image also further bring out this topic as they represent the act of deflowering, which is a symbolic exaggeration of the after effects that the media's image of women has on young girls. I think overall this is a very visually pleasing image with its vivid and clean colours, and also a very meaningful image when you look into the deeper meaning. 

The themes continue over for the second image on the right as I personally took the image to be a representation of the stress of societal pressure. It is shown through the flowing red cloth which is a visual representation of reaching the boiling point. the vivid red, not only shows a visual trend in the photoshoot, but also has connotations of danger and stress. This is reinforced by the barred fence in the background. I think this is a really great image too show this message but is really subtle about it, like it took me a while to really feel the message of this photograph, and i like that. 

Photographed by Peter Ash Lee

Photographed by Peter Ash Lee

Once again I found these Images on Ash Lee's website. Both these images are from separate shoots but I feel like they have similar connotations of vulnerability and disassociation, which is why I've paired them together. 

The left images most obvious interpretation is one of relationships and the struggles partners go through. But, I feel another viewpoint could a representation of male femininity and the societal rejection of that concept. As a gay man this is a really intriguing and thought provoking concept. The message is enforced in the image through the flower representing the femininity and then the subject dressed in more muted masculine colours, and his body language shows the he's closed off to the idea of it and is turned away, rejecting the feminine. What I really like about this picture is his facial expressions. Ash Lee has truly caught the moment perfectly as his face reads as conflicted to show how the rejection wasn't his choice and was forced upon him by others, aka society. What truly makes this message powerful is how it shows how times are changing and how femininity in men is becoming more accepted. As his confliction is not only one about how to act but also against the people who forced this image of man onto him. 

This message also leads onto the image on the right, It is a more easy to read image on this subject but, because of this it has more of a punch to it. The visual of masculine is show through the mans build, hair, and lack of makeup and the visual of feminine is shown through the skirt, and earrings. But then the vulnerability is brought through the composition and body language, similar to the last image. This is a common theme in Ash Lee's work as he likes the focus to be the subject so hes blanks background out or blurs it out. The composition has him in between the two vertical 'rule of thirds' lines and and underneath the upper horizontal line. This creates a technically pleasing image to the eye and I feel like Ash Lee chose this composition not only for that but also becuase it makes the subject look quite small in the photograph which links to the vulnerable theme. I really like this image a lot for the details, for example the lighting in this image was really thought about. Because There's a distinct lack of shadow on the backdrop and I feel it's a way to show how hes blending into the background, I feel this loosely represents queer erasure. Overall I think this is such a well rounded stunning image and really captures its meaning in the portrait of this person.

In the same Exposure Capture Blog Interview Ash Lee talked about his influence:

"There are so many photographers I admire for various reasons, but I guess the ones that have directly influenced my work include Hellen Van Meene, Richard Avedon, Hiroh Kikai, and Alec Soth. I think their works have definitely shaped the way I look at subjects and also what I’m attracted to." 

I decided to look into Hellen Van Meene, Hiroh Kikai, and Alec Soth as on first glance their work captured my attention more. Their works experimented with a variety of lighting, compositions and colours, all of which interested me greatly. First I wanted to look into the artist; Hellen Van Meene. 

Photographed by Hellen Van Meene

Quoted from her website:

"Artist Hellen van Meene (Alkmaar, Netherlands, 1972) is known for her (mostly) square photographic portraits of teenage girls. Her work was first exhibited in 1996 and has been shown around the world since then. Her photos are in the collection of many museums, incl. Guggenheim NYC & MoMA. She lives and works in Heiloo and her subjects now include still lifes, dogs and other animals."

This picture shows us a surreal setting, a child in a timeless style gown stands center in the daylight. 

I love cold blue tones that dominate this picture, it accentuates her in center frame.  The innocent and typically warm baby pink is harshly contrasted by the blue wallpaper, swamping it in light shadows.

The little girl in this image has her face covered by her hair, this can be interpreted as her feeling inadequate as the daylight hits her. The pressure of the modern world on young women can be seen to be prevalent as she covers her face with her hair. I find the colour in this image incredibly striking and it is what captured my attention in the first place. 

Photographed by Hiroh Kikai

When first looking at Kikai's work i wasn't that draw too it as black and white imagery just doesn't really hook me. but after looking through his images for a long time I found this one and realised that this particular image it's more about the character of the image and the woman's personality. Her confident personality and strong stance really shines through and contrasts the dark background. I also really enjoy the traditional style clothing as it adds more to the story, maybe she's going to a wedding? or just out to lunch, either way I really like how he is capable to capturing a person.

Overall I think his work is dull at first but when looking at the characters more in depth they become more interesting photographs. I'd like to study his work further for myself so I can't practice and learn how to capture someone's personality in a photograph.

Photographed by Alec Soth

Finally I look at Alec Soth, I found his photography style to be quite raw in imagery. It's very much in the moment with no fancy studio sets and it's simply a pure moment, and I think that's so interesting. I think the story behind this image says alot, and in a way it links to the thoughts about masculine and feminine that Ash Lee explored earlier. As the boys are dressed masculine sports wear and yet there is a homosexual feel about the situation they're in. I think another interesting part of this image is that the background is very 2D but the foreground is very 3D which is an interesting technique and I'd like to play about with a DSLR to try and recreate this. Overall I really like Soth's Candid style and I'd like to explore it more as its not really a style of photography I've looked into much. 

Throughout this research I've found a really great photographer and influence in Peter Ash Lee and I will continue to look into and follow his work. His influences were less inspiring to me but I have managed to see how they have influenced his work through subject matter. I feel like with the candid style that i discovered through this research is something id like to explore more thematically but not really visually as I still prefer Ash Lee's clean style.

Sources

.Peter Ash Lee (no date) Avalible at:
http://peterashlee.com/editorial-1/

Accessed: 3/10/16

.Interview with a Photographer, Peter Ash Lee (2011) Avaliable at:

https://exposurecapture.wordpress.com/2011/02/09/interview-with-photographer-peter-ash-lee/
Accessed: 3/10/16

.Eloquence (no date) Avaliable at:

http://www.eloquence.co.kr/index.php/peter-ash-lee/#.V_a_XJMrLSY

Accessed: 5/10/16

.Hellen Van Meene (no date) Avaliable at:

http://hellenvanmeene.com/biography

Accessed 5/10/16