EMULATING TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS

 

My assignment was to emulate a photographer and write a research paper about he/she that included why I liked the photographer's work and how I was going to push the emulation further than just copying the style.  Obsessive student that I am I chose two photographers: James Balog and Brenda Tharp.  Balog is a photojournalist and Tharp is a Fine Art Photographer.

  
James Balog is best known for his work on “The Extreme Ice Survey.”  He started this project in 2007 to bring awareness to the plight of a planet being transformed through climate change.  In this innovative series, he uses 25 time-lapse cameras--powered by the sun --to photograph the ongoing retreat of glaciers and ice sheets around the world. 

Although I love the abstract qualities of his photos of the glaciers, his body of work on ancient trees is my favorite. In this series he was determined to photograph the oldest and largest trees of North America before their disappearance.  

Brenda Tharp has been a photographer for more than 25 years and has followed a more traditional path to producing photos than James Balog. Tharp’s interest lies in the beauty of nature for its own sake rather than as a means to teach scientific truths or express values. 

When looking at the photography of both Balog and Tharp I am drawn most to their use of high contrast, simplicity of subject, and abstract composition. Always striving for simplicity, high contrast and abstraction in my emulation of their work, I went further by using color where it was not expected, rotated photos, used photo montage, created some super high contrast photographs and used filters in Photoshop. 

Here are my results: