Several weeks back, Nick attended a workshop taught by Clay Enos, the photographer who shot the stills for the movie, The Watchmen. One of the things discussed at this workshop was how Clay photographed his stark black and white Avedon-like images (Richard Avedon is well known for his minimalistic portraits in which the subject was photographed on a white background).
How he photographed these images was so simple that it is easy to replicate. All you need is four things: a subject with character, a wall that is in the shade (but still has access to plenty of day light), a piece of white foam core large enough to fill in behind the subject, and a camera. That’s it.
Filled with knowledge, Chris and I have both experimented around with the idea of using this technique some how. Last week, Chris photographed a couple of lawn workers that were working behind the studio. While I saw the intial images that he downloaded, I am highly interested in seeing his final treatment of these images.
This week, I finally started with the idea I had in mind: to photograph every member of the studio in this way. I figure it will be a slow work in progress that I can knock out before the end of the month (as I do not want to bother or interupt any studio business). My first victim: Dotty, the manniquen used on pre-light days. While not a living person, Dotty is still a vital member of the studio as she has worked hard during her time here and it shows.
Dotty, July 2009
Dotty, July 2009
And, just to show how much wear and tear I had to repair on Dotty in Photoshop, here are a before image of her:
My second victim was Michael Stine.
Michael Stine, July 2009
Michael Stine, July 2009
I will have about 9-10 other individuals that I hope I can get photographed in the upcoming weeks (Nick, Nicholas, McCorkle, Lee, Gabe, Keely, Patty w/ Kirby, Kevin, and Murray). The hardest ones to get will be Nicholas since he is currently living out in LA and only travels back home to do projects and Kevin and Murray since they are usually only here on days when we have actual shoots (no time for an intern to be taking personal pictures). Regardless, I have high hopes that these will turn out neat given that we have plenty of characters up here.
AJ
