Welcome to Pho·tog Friday!
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| Portrait of Colombo By: Daniel Blaufuks |
At the time, I was not sure if he was serious about the "point and shoot" comment and I found myself thinking, "is this guy serious?" Surely my Nikon D-Whatever can shoot a better image than my small point and shoot. Although, as the months went on... I quickly learned what Colombo was referring to. Let's take a peak at a few black and white portraits which Colombo shot with his point and shoot:
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| Photos By: Jorge Colombo |
These are just a few of the images that Colombo took within this series. He took pictures of his friends, family, and other artists. If you were in front of Colombo when he had his camera, he would take your picture. Here's a closer look at some of his subjects:
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| Colombo, Jorge, Amy Yoes, 2006. |
Above is a photograph of Amy Yoes, Colombo's wife. She's also an artist... a really good one if I might add. I'd like to point out a few things in this image:
- Lighting: Clearly, the light is being reflected onto Yoes' face via some type of LCD screen.
- Background: Notice the simple background and repetition of books. The simple background allows Yoes to stand out in the photograph.
- Gaze: Notice Yoes' eye gaze. I would consider this to be a natural expression on her face; lost deep in thought perhaps? Regardless of what your interpretation is of her facial expression, it's important to be aware of these things when shooting your own portraits.
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| Colombo, Jorge, Iain Kerr, 2006. |
The photograph above was taken of Iain Kerr, who is a professor and artist. He's a member of the artist collective known as Spurse. I had the pleasure of having Kerr as one of my professors while I attended Maine College of Art's MFA program. I would not say that this image is about lighting so much as it is about expression. What are some visual clues within this photograph that would make this image more about expression - or thought?
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| Colombo, Jorge, Mark Dion, 2006. |
The gentleman with the glasses is contemporary artist Mark Dion. Although he was not one of my professors, he did come speak to my class in 2006. The image above displays a wonderful use of the Rule of Thirds, don't you think?
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| Colombo, Jorge, Melanie Fiander, 2006. |
Lastly, here is a photograph that Colombo took of me in 2006. There's a bit of a story behind this photo: this was taken in one of the third floor bedrooms of my Great Aunt Mary's house in Brooklyn, New York. The house was built around 1910 and the third floor looks as though it hasn't been touched since the 1960s; a true relic! This is the bedroom where my cousins and I used to stay when we'd visit Brooklyn for the summer. What really catches my eye about this photograph is the use of light. What are your thoughts?