So back in our first couple of weeks of school, for Analogue Techniques class, we had to choose a Black and White photographer to do some research on and write a short introductory paragraph about them.
For part of this weeks major assignment, we have to go back to this photographer and look at their work from a more technical perspective. Here are my conclusions on my photographer.
Elliott Erwitt
Elliott Erwitt is particularly well known for his black and white candid shots. His portraits aren't shot in the typical way you might 'expect' them to be shot. They would often include an element of humor too and this is particularly found in his dog portraits.
Originally, Erwitt shot on a square format, however, he found that it wasn't best suited to the type of photographs he wanted to produce. Since changing his format, he most often uses a Leica 35mm camera and generally prints sizes 8x10 to 30x40.
The structure of his images vary slightly depending on the subject he is shooting, however his dog portraits that I find particularly interesting, do follow a similar compositional pattern.
In regards to the examples below, Erwitt frames his subjects in a particular way to make the small dog, the main focal point of the image. In these street shots, the owners feet and part of their legs are in the shot, however, never the rest of their body. I feel that this is Erwitts way to emphasise how small the dog is, and also, it adds to the humor of the image and makes it interesting because I feel like the viewer is almost left wondering about who this dog owner is and what sort of person they are. He doesn't shoot 'typical' dog portraits. He likes to add an element of humor to these images, as you can see in my first example below. This image in particular I find amusing, as the tiny dog is jumping as high as he can, and yet he's still only waist level with his owner. They way he is positioned almost makes the dog look like he's upright in a 'human position', mirroring his owner's stance. Also, in the third example, not only is the small chiuawa next to his owner, but there is also, a Great Dane's legs on the other side.
Again, I feel that this really emphasises the size comparison of the dogs and adds to the humor (especially as the chiuawa has a little outfit on too)! I really like this style of work, as it is different to the usual dog portraits you see. They are simply shot and almost look like they could of been just random shots taken down the street, with no pre-planning, which I feel adds a lot of character to the images and is probably what Erwitt wanted to get across. You can see this is a style he used often, as each of these 3 examples are very different, yet have the same compositional elements.
As well as the dog portraits, Erwitt's people portraits really caught my eye. In the 2 images below, he uses the rule of thirds and also fairly tight cropping (which is often a theme amongst his images), so you are really drawn to the subject.
I really like the Marilyn Monroe shot as it is not a conventional shot of what you would expect to see of her. It is almost like it has been taken unplanned; her face is covered by her hand and she isn't dressed up all glamorous like you would expect. The strong contrast of the image makes her stand out in the image and where she is all in white, it's almost like she is glowing against the dark shadowy background.
The final image, stood out to me, again, for its unconventional composition. Instead of looking at the couple directly, we see them in the image through their reflection in the car's wing mirror. I love that by seeing them in this way, you can also see their surroundings, and the ocean gives the image a sense of tranquility, corresponding with the smile on the woman's face, it makes the scene feel calm and happy. I love how the main focus of the image is meant to be on the people, even though they are only visible in a fragment of the frame. I also feel like the viewer is drawn to them because they are framed by the circular shape of the mirror. This really works for me.
