Famous film photographers who all shoot on black and white film, which might help inspire you or expose you to photographers which you might not have come across before. I will be talking about Eugene Richards, Gordon Parks and Dennis Stock, outlining their background, breaking some of their projects down, and discussing what I enjoy about their work.
'Black and White Film Photographers You Should Know'
Eugene Richards:
eugenerichards...
/ eugenerichardsphotography
Gordon Parks:
www.gordonparks...
/ gordonparksfoundation
Dennis Stock:
www.magnumphot...
www.magnumphot...
Eugene Richards’ project Dorchester Days, published in 1978, documents his hometown of Dorchester in Massachusetts. After spending several years away living in Arkansas, he returned to his hometown noticing how radically different it had become since he had left. From the increase in crime rate, drug abuse, and the influx of different cultures it was now a completely different place to what he previously knew.
This was the project that first introduced me to Eugene Richard’s work a few years ago and as soon as I picked up the book, I was immediately drawn in and immersed in his narrative. I think this is due to the fact that he is so close to his subjects when making these images, creating a really strong relationship.
And as you may have noticed he also shoots exclusively on black and white 35mm film which is quite refreshing to see in this modern day. I found it really allows you to focus on the subject as there are no distractions in terms of different color schemes and I find it really adds to the grunginess which was an aesthetic that is quite common in Richard’s work.
Gordon Parks is no doubt one of the most well-known and respected African-American Photographers of all time. Often known for his work around the civil rights movement, poverty and segregation in America, his work provides a historical record of the struggles African-Americans faced in the 20th century.
Gordon Parks was introduced to various mentors, one of them being Roy Stryker a famous American economist and photographer in his own right. This program also hired other famous photographers such as Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange who shared the intention of documenting the misery of post-depression America.
His project “A Harlem Family” follows the lives of the Fontelle family, and their 8 children. In 1967 at a time of civil unrest and uprising, Gordon Parks was commissioned by Life magazine to show what may be causing the anger to his predominantly white audience. This essay was a clear demonstration that this family, like many others in New York, were living in insufferable poverty and aimed to raise awareness to the issues these people were facing.
These emotional and powerful pictures are a true testament to Park’s work and his ability to honestly portray the struggles that he himself faced. Out of the many things I admire about Parks' work, I think his strong connection to his subjects is what inspires me most which is so important in documentary photography. It’s clear that Gordon Parks felt he had an obligation to present these horrific struggles in order to benefit this family as well all African-American people.
Dennis Stock was a photojournalist also based out of New York in the mid 20th century. He’s most known for his work documenting the rise of Hollywood and the Jazz scene in America, capturing iconic portraits of James Dean, Billie Holliday, and Duke Ellington just to name a few. He was a member of Magnum photos for most of his professional career and has an extensive collection of projects all focusing on human behavior and later shifting into the natural landscape.
But what really blew me away was his behind-the-scenes work on various film sets, in particular, the 1968 version of Planet of the Apes. These photos are probably the most absurd collection of images I have ever come across which is what makes them so interesting. In the pre-CGI days as you can see the use of prosthetics was far more prominent than they are today which is really cool to see and look back on. His images are quite comical which I’m not sure was intentional, especially in some of these photos where the actors are in real-world locations decked out in their costumes. Once again shooting on black and white film, these photos have such a nice quality to them and also work well with the post-apocalyptic feel of the movie.
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