Unit 57/Photographic applications

Photographic Applications

Megan Duffield

In this essay I am going to be explaining and discussing three different types of photographic applications, these will be Fashion, architectural and autumnal photography. The first category I will be talking about is fashion; the first photographer I will be explaining about is the work of fashion photographer Milton H Greene. Greene became a photographer from a very young age as he was interested in taking photos at the age of 14. He did an apprentice with photojournalist Elliot Elisofen and then later working as an assistant for Louis Dahl-Wolfe. He began his photography carrier  at the age of 23 and became known as the “colour photography’s wonder boy”.  His work appeared In fashion magazines Harpers Bazaar and vogue and he photographed many famous, high profile personalities.

Milton H Greene was a classic fashion photography known best for his work with Marilyn Monroe; he was an American fashion and celebrity photographer and a film and television producer. Like Bob Willoughby, Greene gained a special interest 19^th Century. Their friendship ended soon after this in 1957 when Marilyn Monroe fired Greene from her production company. Milton’s work will always be remembered in private collections and museums and will continue to be an inspiration, when Greene died the rights of his photographs were then passed down to his son Joshua Greene, he is now the sole owner of the copyrights to all Milton H Greene collection represented by the Archives llc.

n one specific individual, as well as working with famous fashion icons Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Ava Gardener and many others, he met Monroe after shooting her for a layout for Look magazine, which initially changed his whole life and the course of his career. The two bonded and struck up a friendship, whom of which she stayed with whilst studying to act in Los Angeles, whilst working up in his career the two created Marilyn Monroe productions, (a company in which Monroe created to gain control of her career). Greene and Monroe collaborated on more than 50 photo sessions, and one particular image caught the attention of millions. Greene in 1954 featuring Monroe in a ballet tutu captured the image named “The Black Sitting”. The image was chosen by Time Life as one of the three most popular images of the 20^th century. This image was used for fashion purposes, used in magazines and galleries. The image famous and everyone knows this image even by just typing Marilyn Monroe into a search engine.

Terry Richardson is one of many famous fashion photographers at the present time, he has shot many company’s mainly fashion brands including Marc Jacobs, Aldo, and Yves Saint Lauren. Some of his work are also includes shoots ma y fashion magazines that are popular worldwide for example Rolling Style, Vogue and Harpers Bazaar. Richardson was born in New York City; he was once a musician but then quit his career to become a photographer. His early work begin in New York City shooting scenes of young adults partying and experience New Yorks nightlife, it was here that he got his “big break”. From this he moved to London following the Katherine Hamnett advertising campaign, which then led to Richardson showcasing his skills and talents by producing several campaigns fro Diesel and many other photography exhibitions. Richardson has come across amateur models to big celebrities including, – Miley Cyrus, Rita Ora, Mila Kunis Selena Gomez, and fashion icon and supermodel Cara Delevigne. Terry Richardson photographs celebrities and models for fashion and portraiture purposes, used in magazines, for individual clients. galleries and web pages and any of his photographs are used in Vogue and Harpers Bazaar. 

Bob Willoughby was born June 1927 and died in December 2009; he was an American photographer best know for capturing famous actresses and fashion icons at that time, some of which including: Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, and his favourite subject was Audrey Hepburn. Willoughby took his first photo at the age of twelve and between the years 1948 and 1954 the work that he once captured led to a contract with Globe photos, which then led to work for one of the worlds most read fashion magazines Harpers Bazaar. Bob Willoughby was known best for his classic fashion photography work, appearing in several movies on the side. My favourite image is of the once famous Audrey Hepburn, and millions have viewed this picture. Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian and recognized as a film and fashion icon, Hepburn was active during Hollywood's Golden Age. (During the time Willoughby qualified as a professional fashion photographer). He did a lot of his photography with Hepburn with her being the third greatest female screen legend in the history of American cinema, as well as being a very famous fashion icon and actress at this time. Willoughby first recognized Hepburn at the new starlet, believing that she was a privilege to meet, but when he met the Belgian-born beauty, Willoughby was enraptured. “She took my hand like… well a princess, and dazzled me with that smile that God designed to melt mortal men’s hearts,” he recalled. Making Hepburn his favourite subject, most of his work relied on Hepburn, which helped her be on the cover of fashion magazines and exposing her personality and lifestyle through several photographs over the years.

Simon Kennedy was born in September 1967 in Manchester, he is an architectural photographer. Simon Kennedy inspires me to go and take architectural photographs as his images represent the streets of London, my theme is also architectural but my images will be base in the center of Manchester, my images will be taken in a similar style to this photographer. (Kennedy was also born in Manchester; this could be a link to wanting take pictures in London as Manchester is known for just being a much smaller version). His photographs of buildings at are particularly beautiful; His latest achievement is being named the first place winner of the 2012 Architect's Eye Photography Competition, with his dually serene and unsettling photograph of the Hey gate housing estate in South London. 

The first image reminds me a little of what Manchester looks like, This captures what I think is Londons city centre; the image is taken from a high angle meaning it wasn’t taken on ground level, this was either taken in a different building or attraction, also taken at night. My favourite detail about this image is the blue lighting effect in the background, this gives the photograph colour and I hope to capture a similar image when taking my photographs. I feel the image was taken for promotional purposes, advertising London’s city centre, maybe used in a magazine or as just as high street studio work. If this image was taken for only promotional purposes, I feel it could have been taken differently showing the whole of London’s centre. However the photograph could have been used for architectural reasons as well, this image could be categorised in a number of categories and the result is good in terms of how it was taken.

This image that has also been take by Simon Kennedy captures London in a different way to the first one. This being that the streets looks rough and on either side of the picture is a row of what looks like council flats. Taken in daylight the photograph represents the rougher parts of London (In my opinion I think it is the south of London in which this image has been taken). As well as the row of houses looking empty, abandoned and rough, the trees in the middle also make the picture look empty. From the colour of the sky I am guessing the picture was taken in the Winter, which will explain the trees being bare but I think Kennedy took this image at this specific time to give it the feel of it being so abandoned. As well as capturing London in a different perspective I will also take pictures of Manchester at different places from the rough side to the city centre.

Out of the all three images taken by Simon Kennedy this one is my favourite one. This image captures the architectural sculptures built in London and the detail in the reflection is my favourite part of the image. I have chosen to analyase this picture due to the fact that I too will be taken of the sculptures built in Manchester fro example, the big wheel and the Manchester Bridge. Although this image is taken from a distance the image really captures London from another person perspective. In my opinion I think this image was captured in the centre of London but from quite a distance. The image uses a lot of colour and the main one being a dark blue colour, so from this photograph I think the picture was taken at around 18:00pm.

Adam Burton is one of the UK's leading landscape photographers and author of four books. This photographer Since 2008 he has been working as a full time professional landscape photographer, regularly supplying imagery and undertaking commissions for a wide range of business clients. He has photographed five of the seven continents and now specialises in the landscapes of the UK, particularly Southwest England.

The first image reminds me of a safari image, but in fact was taken in Devon England. Another theme I have decided to 

use in an autumnal theme and I will be taking pictures from September to November. I will be taking pictures of the colour change so some of the colour’s that I will be seeing are; reds, greens and yellows. What I like most about this one image is the large tree on the right hand side and how the branches spread right across the image. Burton has captured a silhouette of this and many other trees in the background, which is what makes the image so unique. Another detail I noticed is the mountain\landscape in the background, with many pale colours that brighten up the picture in a lot of ways. The image is very dull in my opinion but little details are what make’s the image so special.

This image is very much like the images I wish  to take when I take my photographs in Hyde Park, except I wont be taking them in the summer; but hopefully I will capture all the vibrant colours like the rich greenness in this image. I like this image as it is unique and reminds a bit like where the film Twilight was set. The crooked branch that seems to be broken is in the centre, slightly to the left of the image; this one branch is in between a silhouette and the normal colour. The background looks as if it was painted in the background, which is what makes the image effective, because it makes the one tree trunk and the branches a whole lot more effective. This one picture inspires me to take autumnal photographs very similar to this image as the location i wish to take them looks very similar to this fantasy themed forest. 

The last image I will be analysing is also by photographer Adam Burton. This image like the previous one is very fantasy themed and reminds me a little of Alice in Wonderland. This photograph inspirers me to to capture fantasy/autumnal images as I find that they are fascinating, this photograph in particular looks more like a set than a photograph, but that’s what makes it unique. I like the fact you can withdraw the fantasy theme within the image. Although is just a picture of tree trunks; there is a lot detail and greenery that makes the image stand out from the rest.  The reason behind me thinking that it reminds me of the film Alice in wonderland but ultimately it looks like wonderland, if I was to film I would use this location as a set as I can see where the fantasy themes would make people believe it is wonderland. Although this isn’t my favourite image by Andrew Burton I feel it is very close too it, overall the photograph is effective, unique and successful.

In my opinion, my favourite photograph that I have analysed is of Marylyn Monroe taken by Milton H Greene. Researching this photographer and to read more on Marylyn Monroe’s lifestyle was interesting and I found myself hooked onto the subject. I enjoy reading about classic fashion photographers, and also to go backwards in fashion by looking at images used in old fashion magazines, especially Vogue.  Overall reading up on the history of photography rather than the present was much more interesting and I have learnt how much it has changed over the years.