History |
Technique |
Imogen Cunningham was an American photographer (one of the most enduring figures of American photography) of the 20th century best known for her botanical still life photography and evocative nude photographs. During the seven decades that she pursued photography she produced a widely acclaimed body of work which retains its stunning and beautiful aspect to the modern day, demonstrating a range of innovative and original techniques that pushed the boundaries of photography, as well as showcasing a range of experiments and dedication. As a proof to this statement Cunningham was setting trends ahead of many other photographers such as pregnant nudes, thus becoming an idol to her colleagues and photography students. On top of this she was one of the first women to make a living out of photography (started her studio in 1910) and encouraged other women to join her. Although her career was dedicated to photography, Imogen Cunningham majored in chemistry ad also studied literature, German, French and physics, and worked a secretary to her chemistry professor in order to fund her education. She produced her first photographs in 1906 – a nude self-portrait- on campus using a 4"x5" mail-order camera.
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From 1923 to 1925 Imogen Cunningham produced series of magnolia flower studies, placing them on black background to bring out their pureness using the technique of contrasting extreme opposite values. Over the course of the two years, the photographs gained in simplicity in a search for the forms within the subject. In a sense, Cunningham sought to recognise the foundation of nature's off springs. These floral studies were influenced by simple lines and close-ups, for she used the technique where the "paradox of expansion via reduction becomes vivid when one looks at the visual aspect of nature". In other words, the levels of details reverberate in the adjacent larger and smaller levels of scale.
Another powerful technique is the use of negative space to empower the subject by isolating them. Respectively, the study is solitary and fresh as attention is bought to details normally lost to a mass of shapes, from and colour. Cunningham describes the negative space as becoming as critical to the composition as the design elements. Consequently, Cunningham parallels the objectivity of German modernists with her botanical close ups. |
Analysis
Flowers are the primary theme of Imogen Cunningham’s photography. The sharp focus combined with the medium depth of field allow for a detailed portrayal of the lines, forms and textures often neglected when merely observing. Like Karl Blossfeldt, the background is plain and negative space thus encasing the subject which is in the foreground and in complete focus.
The lighting (whether natural or artificial is hard to tell) is peculiar, in a sense it is mid key, however the overwhelming white value of the flowers give the illusion of high key lighting almost resembling a manifestation of their glowing beauty. From the gentle shadows which give soft natural flowing shapes, the light is angled and not directly in front of the subject, rather, it seems to come from the side, and is in most cases, dispersed like in Karl Blossfeldt’s photography. This would suggest that natural, soft and dispersed light conveys the beauty of the plants and the most successful when attempting to capture details such as texture and form. The light also exposes the flowers’ silky texture. On the other hand Cunningham takes a different approach to her composition, by utilising a plain black to dark grey background. The purpose is three fold. First is explicitly embodies the theme of contrast (white of the petals versus the black of the background). Secondly, it enhances the purity of the flower and their vibrancy, thus enhancing their beauty. Thirdly, it strips the photograph of distractions, so that the flower is the only object that can be surveyed.
The organic nature of the flower evidently provides gracious lines that is closely inspected bears resemblance to the Fibonacci spiral, implying that these flowers and their diversity is perfect. They are soft, curved, spiralled or oval thus serve to create a gentle mood whilst leading us towards the centre of the photograph. The way that they spiral out gives a free atmosphere without rigidity, juxtaposing the rigidity of Paul Strand’s architectural photographs. The light and the manner that the shadows fall across the flower help to make the lines crisp thus stand out, resulting in the lines being a compositional tool. Although the lines are generally smooth some are more imposing such as those provided by the leaves which are more controlled resulting in attention being bring to the numerous shapes of a flower. After all, flowers are complex layers of shapes, folds and parts, much like humans. Interestingly the stem is rarely shown, perhaps because the petals and puzzling shapes of the petals hold our fascination.
Repetition unites the elements and adds strength to the photograph, in this instance the emotional intensity of the message conveyed. Clearly the photographs are homage to nature’s beauty, specifically flowers. Their softness, a repetitive element across the flower series portrays the femininity of the flowers whilst others bear more masculine traits (due to the shapes). The repetition elaborates the complexity as the natural shapes repeat, overlap and reappear throughout the frame, giving us a glimpse at the building blocks of these wonders. As for the shapes, they are the components of the flower, the ‘construction’ and are emphasized by the lighting and the resulting shadows as well as the black backdrop. The isolation of the shapes from a singular composition/display successfully does the previous.
What works particularly well for these photographs is that they are monochrome (due to the century these were taken in) which draws attention to the texture and form rather than the rich colours of the flowers. The values are taken to the extreme ends of black and white with only a partial grey scale where the lines, dents and shadows lie, thus giving the illusion of the high key lighting. Furthermore, white is a symbol of purity, whilst black has been tainted, thus signifying the innocence of a flower, untouched by the impure, which in this context could be humanity, hence another theme of contrast.
Lastly is space and texture, both important for the composition and visual messages. Space is balanced by having the positive space centrally placed, and the negative space around. This is a form of contrast, between the freeness of the flower and the photographer’s need to organise, categorise and patatisise. Then the negative space is key to the composition – which is minimalistic as opposed to the complex portrayal of the subject- as it frames and forces the viewer’s attention to the flower. This technique also constrains the flower to a small space, robbing it of its freedom and thus eliciting a reaction from the viewer by prompting them to view their actions from an observant viewpoint. Finally the texture is the aspect that Imogen Cunningham focuses on by isolating the flower and placing value on its fragility and paper-thin petals. The result is stunning and mesmerising, as the flower appears both strong and fragile at the same time.
The lighting (whether natural or artificial is hard to tell) is peculiar, in a sense it is mid key, however the overwhelming white value of the flowers give the illusion of high key lighting almost resembling a manifestation of their glowing beauty. From the gentle shadows which give soft natural flowing shapes, the light is angled and not directly in front of the subject, rather, it seems to come from the side, and is in most cases, dispersed like in Karl Blossfeldt’s photography. This would suggest that natural, soft and dispersed light conveys the beauty of the plants and the most successful when attempting to capture details such as texture and form. The light also exposes the flowers’ silky texture. On the other hand Cunningham takes a different approach to her composition, by utilising a plain black to dark grey background. The purpose is three fold. First is explicitly embodies the theme of contrast (white of the petals versus the black of the background). Secondly, it enhances the purity of the flower and their vibrancy, thus enhancing their beauty. Thirdly, it strips the photograph of distractions, so that the flower is the only object that can be surveyed.
The organic nature of the flower evidently provides gracious lines that is closely inspected bears resemblance to the Fibonacci spiral, implying that these flowers and their diversity is perfect. They are soft, curved, spiralled or oval thus serve to create a gentle mood whilst leading us towards the centre of the photograph. The way that they spiral out gives a free atmosphere without rigidity, juxtaposing the rigidity of Paul Strand’s architectural photographs. The light and the manner that the shadows fall across the flower help to make the lines crisp thus stand out, resulting in the lines being a compositional tool. Although the lines are generally smooth some are more imposing such as those provided by the leaves which are more controlled resulting in attention being bring to the numerous shapes of a flower. After all, flowers are complex layers of shapes, folds and parts, much like humans. Interestingly the stem is rarely shown, perhaps because the petals and puzzling shapes of the petals hold our fascination.
Repetition unites the elements and adds strength to the photograph, in this instance the emotional intensity of the message conveyed. Clearly the photographs are homage to nature’s beauty, specifically flowers. Their softness, a repetitive element across the flower series portrays the femininity of the flowers whilst others bear more masculine traits (due to the shapes). The repetition elaborates the complexity as the natural shapes repeat, overlap and reappear throughout the frame, giving us a glimpse at the building blocks of these wonders. As for the shapes, they are the components of the flower, the ‘construction’ and are emphasized by the lighting and the resulting shadows as well as the black backdrop. The isolation of the shapes from a singular composition/display successfully does the previous.
What works particularly well for these photographs is that they are monochrome (due to the century these were taken in) which draws attention to the texture and form rather than the rich colours of the flowers. The values are taken to the extreme ends of black and white with only a partial grey scale where the lines, dents and shadows lie, thus giving the illusion of the high key lighting. Furthermore, white is a symbol of purity, whilst black has been tainted, thus signifying the innocence of a flower, untouched by the impure, which in this context could be humanity, hence another theme of contrast.
Lastly is space and texture, both important for the composition and visual messages. Space is balanced by having the positive space centrally placed, and the negative space around. This is a form of contrast, between the freeness of the flower and the photographer’s need to organise, categorise and patatisise. Then the negative space is key to the composition – which is minimalistic as opposed to the complex portrayal of the subject- as it frames and forces the viewer’s attention to the flower. This technique also constrains the flower to a small space, robbing it of its freedom and thus eliciting a reaction from the viewer by prompting them to view their actions from an observant viewpoint. Finally the texture is the aspect that Imogen Cunningham focuses on by isolating the flower and placing value on its fragility and paper-thin petals. The result is stunning and mesmerising, as the flower appears both strong and fragile at the same time.
Response
1/The focus of this photoshoot was to poetically illustrate the organic forms of the flowers influenced by Imogen Cunningham and Edward Burtynsky. I considered the types of flowers settling on tulips and roses. There were other flowers I do not know the name of. They had contrasting forms, for example oval petals, circular petals etc. This gives diversity to contrast the black background, especially as the flowers appeared white against the backdrop.
I carefully considered the lighting and camera settings so that Photoshop would be unnecessary. I had to soft lights at half power facing each other on the sides of the subject. This gave a glow to the flowers, increased the colour’s vibrancy and cast soft, defined shadows. Essentially I was sculpting with light. The subject was positioned two metres from the backdrop thus preventing the creases from showing in the photos. The lights were angled towards the camera so that no light was cast on the backdrop. This also meant a lower ISO could be used. My camera was on a tripod, eye-level with the plant. On occasion I changed the angle to low or high, depending on the flower’s section I wanted to capture. I also switched between colour, monochrome, portrait and landscape, depending on the mood. For example, the shot of the flower facing away is monochrome, as this has connotations of nostalgia and tragedy whilst also angling one light away, to emphasize shadows and create a dramatic atmosphere. The value contrast of the flowers and the backdrop is emphasized as they are two extremes, with mid-greys occurring in the forms of the petals. Value is essential in giving life to the photographs through depth and mass.
Towards the end of the photoshoot the sun was setting which cast soft golden light onto the flowers. The dispersed light cast soft shadows that gave a porcelain/silk illusion on the flowers, especially in monochrome.
My camera settings were set so that the exposure was at 0. Sometimes I changed the shutter speed to over- or underexpose the photograph, again depending on the mood and subject. In general, the aperture was f6 or f11, which is starting to be shallow, the shutter speed was 1/180 -1/200. The mid-shallow depth of field focuses the flower as the fast shutter speed captures detail and light, thus my photographs were sharp much like Cunningham’s. However, I decided to centre my subject similar to my Karl Blossfeldt photoshoot, which gives a sense of isolation. Isolation allows attention to form, line and detail by using negative space to separate the subject from the backdrop yet bringing equilibrium.
In addition, I experiment with burning and freezing the flowers for destructive photographs, however the alcohol must burn blue. Unfortunately, the alcohol I soaked the flowers in burned out quickly and only produced a blue flame when a match was held under it. Not only was this dangerous but my fingers could be seen in the majority of the images. Consequently the composition was weakened, as the attention was not focused on the primary subject. Although this was not a success, the idea is worth pursuing after research into alcohol and light set-ups to capture fire.
Freezing the flowers was also a challenge as they remained brittle for 30 seconds maximum, therefore requiring the flowers to be crushed quickly before they became too wet. As they thawed, they stained the paper underneath and the colour became less saturated, reducing the impact of the photograph. The petals and stems were laid flat on the paper so I angled the soft-boxes down slightly, and used a shallow depth of field of f4 to suggest an infinite trail of petals (hence carnage).
The most successful photographs were impactful such as ones which reflected beauty, grace, solitude, optimism and so on. The composition contributes to this effect, yet the most successful was light combined with form ad angle which establishes particular mood. For example, the close-up flower opened to the camera signifies acceptance and trust, inviting us to observe the beautiful forms.
I carefully considered the lighting and camera settings so that Photoshop would be unnecessary. I had to soft lights at half power facing each other on the sides of the subject. This gave a glow to the flowers, increased the colour’s vibrancy and cast soft, defined shadows. Essentially I was sculpting with light. The subject was positioned two metres from the backdrop thus preventing the creases from showing in the photos. The lights were angled towards the camera so that no light was cast on the backdrop. This also meant a lower ISO could be used. My camera was on a tripod, eye-level with the plant. On occasion I changed the angle to low or high, depending on the flower’s section I wanted to capture. I also switched between colour, monochrome, portrait and landscape, depending on the mood. For example, the shot of the flower facing away is monochrome, as this has connotations of nostalgia and tragedy whilst also angling one light away, to emphasize shadows and create a dramatic atmosphere. The value contrast of the flowers and the backdrop is emphasized as they are two extremes, with mid-greys occurring in the forms of the petals. Value is essential in giving life to the photographs through depth and mass.
Towards the end of the photoshoot the sun was setting which cast soft golden light onto the flowers. The dispersed light cast soft shadows that gave a porcelain/silk illusion on the flowers, especially in monochrome.
My camera settings were set so that the exposure was at 0. Sometimes I changed the shutter speed to over- or underexpose the photograph, again depending on the mood and subject. In general, the aperture was f6 or f11, which is starting to be shallow, the shutter speed was 1/180 -1/200. The mid-shallow depth of field focuses the flower as the fast shutter speed captures detail and light, thus my photographs were sharp much like Cunningham’s. However, I decided to centre my subject similar to my Karl Blossfeldt photoshoot, which gives a sense of isolation. Isolation allows attention to form, line and detail by using negative space to separate the subject from the backdrop yet bringing equilibrium.
In addition, I experiment with burning and freezing the flowers for destructive photographs, however the alcohol must burn blue. Unfortunately, the alcohol I soaked the flowers in burned out quickly and only produced a blue flame when a match was held under it. Not only was this dangerous but my fingers could be seen in the majority of the images. Consequently the composition was weakened, as the attention was not focused on the primary subject. Although this was not a success, the idea is worth pursuing after research into alcohol and light set-ups to capture fire.
Freezing the flowers was also a challenge as they remained brittle for 30 seconds maximum, therefore requiring the flowers to be crushed quickly before they became too wet. As they thawed, they stained the paper underneath and the colour became less saturated, reducing the impact of the photograph. The petals and stems were laid flat on the paper so I angled the soft-boxes down slightly, and used a shallow depth of field of f4 to suggest an infinite trail of petals (hence carnage).
The most successful photographs were impactful such as ones which reflected beauty, grace, solitude, optimism and so on. The composition contributes to this effect, yet the most successful was light combined with form ad angle which establishes particular mood. For example, the close-up flower opened to the camera signifies acceptance and trust, inviting us to observe the beautiful forms.