Breaking the Rules of Photography 101

The first example on how to break the rules is by merging objects of the same colour into the photo.  This causes a distraction which could be on purpose, or simply a huge accident.  Nonetheless, doing it so wrong could never look SO good!

 

 

 

 

Ottawa, ON- breaking the rules by merging lines

 The next example of breaking the rules is to have the most important aspect of the photo to be on the opposite side.  So instead of having the subject in the bottom right corner, have it on the upper-left hand corner.  This offsets the photo to give it a new perspective I find!

This photo's most important aspect is the buildings and pedestrians to the upper left of what would appear to be "the most important aspect".  By realizing this, people now focus to what's really behind the scenes. Ottawa, ON

Lastly, imbalance.  In art, your teachers always tell you to have an even balance for your work-just like math, the left side should equal the right side of the equation.  To really throw everyone off, imbalance the photo.  I believe you take in different objects differently this way!

Not only is this photo imbalanced by proportion (giant buildings off-centering the smaller trees), but also an imbalance to society.  This is an example of how the industrial revolution and society have overcome our own natural environment.

Alternative Processes

Solarization by exposing the photo to white light during developing for 1 second.

Acryllic Gel Medium as my art sketch book cover

Double Exposure by taking 2 photos and 2 different enlargers to develop both photos onto the same paper using dodging and burning techniques to the developing process.

Walker Evans- 20th Century Inspiration

"Park Hall Larcom Dimple", 1937

"New Orleans Street Corner", 1936

"Mainstreet Entrance to College", 1940

Walker Evans

            Biography.com states, “Walker Evans’ influence on photography during the second half of the 20th century was perhaps greater than that of any other figure.”[1] Walker moved a lot during his childhood, jumping from school to school in Massachusetts. After leaving college after one year, he lived in NYC for 3 years until his father offered to fund his college education in Paris.  He spent a year there and even attempted writing.  People believe that even with his limited amount of photos taken in Paris, this is where his photography career blossomed.  In 1928, his photographs depicted abstract pieces through skyscrapers and machine-aged industries.  It wasn’t until 1929 when Bernice Abbott, a supporter of French photographer “Eugene Atget”, that Evans became so interested in photographing.  She brought some of Atget’s work to New York as a collection display and Walker fell in love with his artistic effects and simple, economic photos taken in the late 20^th century in Paris, France.  During the beginning of the 1930’s, Evan’s applied lessons from Eugene, to his own work offered by the United States-lacking romantic glint, shadows, and vantage points.  During the mid 30’s, Evan’s was asked to photograph the rural, southern states of America by the Farm Security Association.  This gave Walker the ability to travel independently and find subjects for his photos.  He worked with the FSA from mid 1935-1937.  This year and a half was considered some of his greatest work during the great depression.  He was more concentrated on the culture of the Americans and the products they made, compared to the people themselves.  More than two thirds of his work was created during his 18months with the FSA.  In addition, Lincoln Kirstein as a retrospect of American life put 87 of Walker Evan’s photos into the book “American Photographs” from the late 20’s to the mid 30’s.  

"Victoria Tower Bell" by Maddie Bohnsack

            This photo was taken in Ottawa, Canada-our nation’s capital.  I chose to use this photo because it had similar styles that Evan’s would have captured during the Great Depression, however, I took this photo in modern times.  Walker Evans used very simple architecture to capture photos and displayed a deeper meaning within the subject, he believes in capturing the culture, compared to the actual town’s people.  This photo of the Victoria Tower Bell captures Canadian culture from the 1900’s.  The history of the bell depicts of the time the parliament building was set fire and destroyed.  One small symbol such as a bell can hold so much history-it’s incredible.  I photographed this photo using a Nikon Coolpix L110 to capture the essence of this bell.  These styles are closely depicted by high contrast of highlights and shadows on the subject, which give the photo more of an aging look.  In addition, the type of subject is alike.  This is shown by introducing a simple object such as a bell, into something much more important, like a historical artifact in Canadian history.  Lastly, I believe Walker Evans was an inspirational photographer for: Americans, children, other photographers, and historians from the Great Depression, to many decades afterwards.  In conclusion, Evans had the largest influence on the late 20^th century and will be remembered for his efforts and his photographing history, just as the Victoria Tower Bell will be remembered for its part in Canadian culture in the early 1900’s. 

---

[1] "Walker Evans." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 16 Jan. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/196965/Walker-Evans>.