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.