This semester I am enrolled in a basic photography class as part of my fine arts curriculum, which I think will be really beneficial for me. I am not a photographer by any means. With all that we have been learning, I feel like I now have the opportunity to peek into a tiny window that leads into this world of photographers and photography (a world that I know very little about).
Matthew Pillsbury is a photographer that works with black and white 8 x 10 photos. My favorite photos of his are the ones in which he used a very slow shutter speed/long exposure.
Can you tell what the light in the background is in this photo?
It's the moon traveling across the sky and it's reflection on the water! Isn't that brilliant?
The beautiful transparency and ghost-like quality of the figures is created by the long exposure (sometimes for two or more hours) along with the movement of the figures. Sometimes, he chooses to illuminate the subjects with minimal light from electronic devices (such as desktops, television screens, cell phones, etc), creating an eerie feeling. In these photos, the bodies are invisible and seemingly nonexistent without the light from the electronics.
This photo is beautiful! I imagine that lying in that bed feels like floating away on a soft fluffy cloud.
Pillsbury has taken many photos in museums around the world. A few of these photos are of stuffed animals and dinosaur bones in the Museum of Natural History. He captures the movement of the visitors in the museum, presenting a contrast between the life and vitality of the people and the stillness of the museum displays.
Instead of capturing an instant or moment in time, like most photographers do, Pillsbury captures life and movement, and presents it in contrast with the inanimate objects that surround it in the picture frame. Matthew Pillsbury is a fantastic photographer and I am so glad that I have been introduced to his work!
Cassandra
No comments:
Post a Comment