Photography

Assessment
Annie Leibovitz
Who is she? Where is she from?

Annie Leibovits was born on October 2, 1949 in Waterbury, Connecticut. When

she traveled to Japan with her mother in the summer after second year of the
San Francisco Art Institute for studying painting, she developed her interest in
taking photography. After she returned in San Francisco, she began to take night
classes in photography.
She approached Jann Wenner who was finding editor of Rolling Stone and her
picture graced the cover of the January 21, 1972 issue. Two years later, she
became Rolling Stone chief photographer.

What is the typical style of work for her?

Mainly she takes pictures of famous people. Her picture range from
spontaneously captured reportage to exactingly prepared conceptual portraits,
exquisite in their delicate intimacy, but also often deeply visceral in impact.

How is she influenced?

She saw Susan Sontag in 1989 while photographing the writer for her book AIDE
and its Metaphors. Susans influence on Annie was so big. In 1993 Annie
traveled to Sarajevo during the war in the Balkans, a trip that she admits she
would not have taken without Susans input. Annie took a black and white photo
of bicycle collapsed on blood-smeared road. Susan first conceived of Annies
book Women.
When Annie made the book A photographers life she put a photo of Susan as
one of personal photographers from Annies life.

What is she trying to communicate?

She told in the books introduction. I dont have two lives. This is one lifr, and
the personal pictures and the assignment work are all part of it.

List significant aspects from her career.

Born in 1949 in Waterbury, Connecticut.

After she went to Japan with her mother in the summer after her
sophomore year, she interested in taking photo.
Her black-and-white portrait of the Beatle graced Rolling Stones
magazines cover of the January 21, 1971.

In 1973, she became Rolling Stone chief photographer.

In 2980. She took the photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono and this photo
became really famous as John was shot dead only few hours later she
took this photo.

An example of her work and an analysis

The photo of Anne Hathaway
taken by Annie Leibovits. Her
upper body is nude however
she is wearing the black pants
and red cloth. Loop lighting is
used
and
the
black
background makes her white
skin and red cloth looks nice
and vivid.

Greg
Weight
Who is he? Where is he
from?

Greg Weight is a Sydney-based photographer. He is taking adverting and

magazine photographs and working with the Australian Opera and the
Australian Ballet.
Greg was born in Manly, NSW, Australia in 1946. When he was 18, and starting
out as a fashion and advertising photographer, he became the studio assistant
to Sydney artist Martin Sharp. He saw many artists from this job and they all
encouraged him to be a professional photographer. In 1969, Sharp drew the
young photographers included Weight into the Yellow House in Sydney in the
70s which is part of a long Sydney tradition of artist camps and collectives.

What is the typical style for him?

He takes adverting and magazine photographs and working with the Australian
Opera and Australian Ballet, as shown in the last paragraph. He often takes
photographs of aboriginal people or thousands of stars.

How is he influenced?

In 1970 he was invited to work in the consciously creative venue the Yellow
House with Martin Sharp, Ballet Whiteley, George Gittoes and Peter Kinsgton,
photographing these artists, installations and activities and there mounting his
first exhibition, a series of photographs of the Cronulla sand dunes. Over the
next three decades Weight photographed artists and their works for catalogues
and books, assembling the collection of portraits of artists published as
Australian Artists. So Id say he is definitely influenced by these artists.

What is he trying to communicate?

Photography for him was a doorway to visual creative expressions. Anh he

explained he is get some kind of moment in his photography instead of
continuing of spread of time.
The process of photography is reviewing the subject, he said. The best portraits
are inside the person. He has done Land Scape but his portraits are well known.
Carol Ruff and Weight decided to go to central Australia and see what happens.
When he saw the aboriginal woman, Wintia Napaliarri, sitting on the ground and
holding a stick and he felt the connection with humanity. Its he is trying to do
with portraits to make people feel connected to the person in the photograph.
When he takes a photograph the parson or land scape is beginning showing
themselves to him and he is starting seeing them.
Ianet Malcom said Even just by looking around us, we shape reality. Weight
couldnt understand that means but he realized that his point of view changes
the landscape.
There are about the planet, there are about universe and there are about us.
That is what he trying to show in his photographs.

List significant aspects from his career

1946 Born Manly, NSW, Australia.

1967-76 Freelance fashion photographer
1976-85 Tutor in photography, Hornsby TAFE
1984 Tutor in photography, Sydney College of the Arts
1985-89 Tutor in photography East Sydney Technical College
1990-2000 Work as a professional photographer, based in Sydney
1999 Resident Artist, Hill End, NSW
2000-2009 Portrait and Landscape Exhibitions, Fine Art Based
Sydney worked Australia
Artist in Residence, Taronga Zoo, Sydney

An example of his work and an analysis.

This is the portraits of Fmily Kame
Kngwarreye. When Weight took
photographs of her she was
wondering why he took two
photographs. She thought Weight
wanted only one. And then he told
her I do want only one but I might
have to take 500.
This portrait has made at Delmore
Station in 1994. He spent the whole
day with Emily and talking and
taking pictures. It was only at the
end of the day that this magic
moment occurred, Emily turned her
head in perfect profile to where he
was sitting, listening something in
the distance.

Martin
Schoeller
Who is he? Where is he from?

Martin Schoeller is a highly successful German portrait photographer. He is

based on New York.
He was born in Munich, Germany in March 12, 1968. When he finished high
school he had no idea of what he wanted to do. Education in German is free, so
he enrolled in college. He worked with a handicapped man who had multiple
sclerosis.
There are advantage system in the European education system; you have
health insurance, and you can earn money without paying takes. And then one
on his friend who was applying to a photography school in Berlin said Why
dont you apply with me?
Scholler had never liked photographers much; he always thought photographers
as voyeurs. But his friend applied for the schhol and he thought Why not?
Maybe it will be cool. The chances were one in twenty, and 80 people applied.
They gave him certain of assignments and in the end they accepted him and
not his friend.

What is the typical style for him?

He is very known as a portrait photographer. Twins and Female Body Builders

are examples of his fine art work. He also take photos of famous people such as
Barack Obama.

How is he influenced?

When he finished photography school he assisted a still life photographer in

Frankfurt, and then he went on to work for a very famous photographer in
Hamburg, who fired him after three months. He saved money, moved to New
York and called up Annie Leibovitz, Steven Meisei, and Irving Penn. Nothing
happened. After he came back home he found a job for free for a month for a
photographer. He knew somebody who worked in Annies studio. He sent many
applications and he introduced himself. He told Annie that he would be a very
good assistant and he started working for her for three years.
It was very intense to work as her first assistant. He learnt so much working
with Annie because she gives away so much responsibility. She doesnt always
know how to achieve what she wants, but she knows what she wants.
Sometimes Martin were not able to make her happy with it, and he tried very
hard to please her, but always successful. He said he would never have had the
career that he had without having worked with her.

What is he trying to communicate?

He does not think much about the terms fine art and artist and photographer.
He sees himself as a photographer because he thinks the goal of a true artist
should be to come up with an idea thats never been done before.
Lot of people take gratification from the fact that they consider themselves
artists; it becomes a big part of their identity. He doesnt feel that need. He is
not ashamed of doing advertising work. As a photographer, he just try to create
the best work he can no matter what the assignment is.

List significant aspects from his career

Started his career in Germany.

Came to New York in 1993 and worked as an assistant for Annie Leibovitz
from 1993 to 1996.
Soon his street portraits started getting published in Rolling Stone.
In 1999 he joined Richard Avedon as a contributing portrait photographer
to The New Yorker since then.

An example of his works.

References

http://www.biography.com/people/annie-leibovitz-9542372
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/annie-leibovitz-life-through-alens/16/
http://www.vanityfair.com/contributor/annie-leibovitz
https://au.pinterest.com/pin/223702306460514042/
http://www.portrait.gov.au/people/greg-weight-1946
http://yellowhousesydney.com.au/about/
http://www.gregweightphoto.com.au/
https://www.annenbergphotospace.org/person/martin-schoeller
http://www.vh-artists.com/photographers/Martin-Schoeller/Overview/thumbs
http://petapixel.com/2015/02/08/interview-photographer-martin-schoeller/