Visual Research: Alec Soth

After attending the Research for Visual Inspiration seminar at the library earlier today, I had a chance to browse the oversize section for photography monographs. Among the many books I stumbled upon was Alec Soth's Sleeping by the Mississippi. Though I had seen a few of the photos in this monograph before, I never had an opportunity to see the entire series in print like this (nor did I know that Hannon Library carried so many monographs).

I was drawn to Alec Soth's work in particular today for two reasons. The first is his use of color in the pictures he takes. There is an overall sense of muted color tones in Mississippi, an effect that is clearly owed, in part, to the cold, overcast environments that he was shooting in. When striking colors are seen in his images, they have a purpose and separate the subject from its background (as in the above photograph).

 

The second appealing aspect of Alec Soth's work that I respond to is his use of large format photography. The resolution, extra focal control, and shallower depth of field that large format photography allows creates a unique type of image that can't be replicated by 35mm film. I had an opportunity last semester to work with 4x5 photography and I really enjoyed the process. Despite the added cost that comes with shooting 4x5 color negative, Soth's work makes me want to commit to large format for my final project.

Lauren Marsolier

Yesterday at Bergamot Station I got a chance to see Lauren Marsolier's photography exhibit, "Transition." Lauren shot photos in cities and near major freeways and roads and digitally removed key components of each frame, transforming the images into desolate landscapes with very subtle tonal patterns. I liked the above picture in particular because of its balance achieved through both color and composition. The two converging freeway overpasses direct the eyes down the center of the image nicely, and their slightly curved edges make for a less rigid manipulation of perspective than, say, shooting down the middle of a street. Color, though scarce, is well thought out. The blue of the sky works well with the small yellow sign because the two are complimentary colors, and through her alteration of the image Marsolier creates a subconscious sense of symmetry in the shot.

Eggleston

 

 I'm surprised I hadn't heard of William Eggleston before this exhibit popped up, but the images I saw were definitely familiar. My appreciation for older color photographs is so high that it nearly turns into envy, and Eggleston's work didn't fail to impress me. The compositions and subjects of so many of his photographs seem as arbitrary as those a kid might take if he got a hold of his parents' camera, but the color really draws your attention. The above shot wouldn't be effective in black and white because the colors add to the balance of the frame. My envy grows when I see a picture like this because this is the kind of color I'd like to see in my own work--varied and well placed but slightly muted in tonality--the kind that seems like it could only come from a different time period. The yellow in this photo is so striking, but it isn't too loud or distracting; and the blue and red in the frame create a spectral symmetry that, despite a seemingly uninteresting composition, adds a new dimension to the shot. If I could achieve something in the same vein as this sort of color in my own photos I'd be extremely happy.