PHOTOGRAPHER PRESENTATION / MIMIC
Choose a photographer and research these areas:
How the photographer became interested in photography
What does the photographer say about their own work
Why does the photographer choose their subject matter
Select 5 photographs made by your photographer that represent what you learned about the photographer.
Make your own 5 photographs that emulate both the subject matter and the style of that photographer as best you can.
Notes:
It is okay to choose a photographer working in color (noted for b/w classes)
The subject matter does not have to match, think more about style or approach
You don’t have to “copy” the 5 photographs from the photographer. Your goal is to try to make photos that look like they could have been made by your chosen photographer. You are emulating the style of the photographer.
Things you may want to include:
Political, social or personal experiences that helped shape the photographers’ ideas.
Summaries of reviews from critics or historians.
Photographers’ own words.
Avoid making a full-blown biography of the photographer. Only include details you feel are relevant to the work being shown.
Deadlines:
If you miss your presentation date, you must be prepared to present it at the next available class and your best possible grade is a B. If you are still not prepared at the next available class you must turn it in as an essay with photos and your best possible grade is a C.
Grading (15 Points)
Public Speaking (Engage the audience – 3 Points)
Look at your audience
Don’t just read off notes or slides
Speak so all can hear
Quality of presentation material (4 points)
Legible slides (watch out for low quality web images) and good photos (made by you)
5 photos from photographer and 5 from you that emulate that photographer
Relevant Information about photographer (include some or all – 4 points)
Style
Subject matter
Reason for making photos of subject matter
Influences from background, education, other photographers
Strength of Emulation (Mimic – 4 points)
Are there clear stylistic and conceptual ties between your photos and the photographer’s
Some Suggestions – You may research your own photographer, but they must be known outside of social media.
- MCCC Library
- realphotoshow.com
- The bookcase in the photo lab
- Any Museums or Galleries (just search or their websites)
- MOMA NYC
- ICP (International Center for Photography)
- The Whitney
Portraiture:
Julia Margaret Cameron
August Sander
Hill and Adamson
Lorna Simpson
Augustus Washington
James Van Der Zee
Judith Joy Ross
Lewis Carroll
Straight Photo:
Henri Cartier Bresson
Manuel Alvarez Bravo
Roy DeCarava
Garry Winogrand
Margaret Bourke-White
Chester Higgins
Edward Weston
Helen Levitt
Paul Strand
Berenice Abbot
Lee Friedlander
Imogen Cunningham
Robert Frank
Gordon Parks
Mary Ellen Mark
Joel Meyerowitz
Stephen Shore
Thomas Struth
Graciela Iturbide
Lola Alvarez Bravo
Dorothea Lange
Sally Mann
Robert Adams
Ansel Adams
Pictorialism:
Alfred Stieglitz
F Holland Day
Edward Steichen
Julia Margaret Cameron
Landscape:
Timothy O’Sullivan
Eugene Atget
William Earle Williams
Robert Adams
Carleton Watkins
Photojournalism:
W. Eugene Smith
Robert Capa
Weegee
Susan Meiselas
Color Photography:
William Eggleston
Joel Sternfeld
Joel Meyerowitz
Andreas Gursky
Constructed Images:
Cindy Sherman
Clarissa Sligh
Man Ray
Carrie Mae Weems
Jerry Uelsmann
Philip-Lorca diCorcia
Jan Groover
Gregory Crewdson
Wendel White
Photographers to Avoid
Any photographer who is primarily known through social media