Photo 1 Alfred Stieglitz Self Portrait 1907 Born in Hoboken, NJ in 1894 German – American Parents Raised in New York City
Avid Outdoorsman and by 1994 walked more than 500 hundred miles in the Austrian and Swiss Alps, this inspired him to take photography very seriously. Alfred Stieglitz wanted to bring attention to photography as a serious art form.
Notice that this is a self-portrait. He is the SUBJECT. Do you think he is standing or sitting? How would you describe his expression? ! Photo 2 Self Portrait in Germany - vertical Went to Europe to study engineering
Stieglitz was in school in Germany and noticed a small showcase containing photographic material in a Berlin show window, and “I decided I must try to photograph” Lens in a cubic box – which was called a camera – the simplest kind of camera – this is called a Graflex camera.
Compare this self-portrait to the last. Whole body included here. Trees in BACKGROUND. Photo 3 A Snapshot in Paris - 1902 Emphasized spontaneity, simplify form and subject What do you see in the FOREGROUND (front of the picture) and what do you see in the BACKGROUND (back of the picture)? The word FOCUS means center of attention. When a photo’s in focus, the image is crisp, detailed. When it’s not focused, image is blurry. What can you see clearly in the picture - what’s in focus? What is unclear or blurry? VANTAGE POINT refers to where the photographer stands when taking the photo. This is one of the most important choices a photographer makes. This choice shows that the photographer has the power and creativity to make the most interesting photo. (Is he close-up or far away? Is he taking a worm’s eye view from below, or is he taking a bird’s eye view from above or is he taking the photo straight on?) Where do you think Stieglitz was when he took this photo? Photo 4 Steerage 1915
One of Stieglitz’s most famous photographs, taken 25 years after starting in photography
The Steerage marked a turning point for Alfred Stieglitz. In it, he abandoned the idea that photographs should bear some likeness to paintings, and embarked on a new path to explore photos as photos in their own right. From what VANTAGE POINT did Stieglitz take this photograph? “The scene fascinated me, a round straw hat, the funnel leaning left, the stairway leaning right, the white drawbridge, railings made of chain, white suspenders crossed on the back of the man below, the mast cut into the sky, completing a triangle.” He stood spellbound. Stieglitz marveled in the shapes and how they related to one another Worked to capture what he saw and felt
Photos 5 and 6
1919
Stieglitz photographed close ups of hands to capture mood and personality Describe what they are doing with their hands. Georgia O’Keefe hands, her hands had been admired all her life Stieglitz photographs hands; one with skull and one with a thimble Hands with skull conveys the message that all tings have a beginning and an end Stieglitz used a blue/green filter to darken the skin tones to make the contrast with the white skull Would you say the SUBJECT is the skull or hands? Would you say the SUBJECT is the hands or the thimble? Photos 7 and 8 Dorothy Norman and Georgia O’Keefe 1918-1923
Everyday we observe people and from their expressions, gestures and actions, we interpret who they are and how they are feeling. Describe the people you see here – their expressions, clothing, mood. From what VANTAGE POINT do you think Stieglitz took these photos? Shows the angle of photographs and how this paints a mood, is Dorothy, happy or sad? Are you drawn to her eyes, nose or mouth? Where is Georgia O’Keefe? Can you tell she is in a car? What’s included in the frame, and what’s not? (photo is framed in the car window) Where is your eye drawn - her face or hands? Why? (LIGHTING!) What do you see in the background? What does that tell you? Photo 9 Equivalents 1930 Stieglitz photographed clouds to capture emotion and ideas
From what VANTAGE POINT did Stieglitz take this photo? The clouds captured feelings of people and changing expression Photographing moving clouds showed Stieglitz’s work to “hold a moment” in time Notice the LIGHTING. Is it bright or dark? Soft or contrasty? What shapes, patterns or lines do you see?
Does this cloud photo feel happy or sad? Photo 10 and 11 Dorothy Norman series 1928
Compare these two photographs. Study of different views of the same subject, focusing on lighting, framing, composition From what VANTAGE POINT did Stieglitz take these photos? What did he decide to include and not include in these photos? Stieglitz experimented with photographing different body parts of the same subject, focusing on eyes, hands, noses to capture different emotions. Stieglitz used different lighting, shadows, shades of black and white to convey different moods in the portraits. Where is your eye drawn first in each photo? Does the lady look happy or sad in photo 13 and photo 14?
Photo 12 and 13 New York Series 1935 Late works in Stieglitz’s life
Talk about the importance of LIGHTING in these photos. Light rays reflect off surfaces and into camera where film or a digital disc records the image. The use of light can make photos look and feel very different. Is the light coming from above, below or the side? Are there any shadows? Can you guess where these photographs were taken from? (Stieglitz’s window in New York City) Focused his art on the blurring of nature and abstraction How would you describe the difference between the photos based on the time of day and the lighting? Are you more drawn to the building to the right or left? What elements of nature do you see in these photos? (the clouds) How would you compare the SUBJECT of these photos to the earlier city scene from Paris?
***Conclusion: The important thing to remember is that photographers make many different kinds of choices when they take photographs. Can anybody remember some of these choices? They need to choose a SUBJECT. They need to decide what’s going to be in the FOREGROUND and what’s going to be in the BACKGROUND. They need to choose what’s going to be in FOCUS and what’s going to be blurry. They need to decide from what VANTAGE POINT they’re going to take the photo. They need to decide what kind of LIGHTING to use in the photo.
Now it’s your turn to become photographers and make some of your own choices about how you’re going to “photograph” today…