5 Incredible Painterly Photographers
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ค. 2024
- So we talked about the conceptual idea of a painterly photograph as a place between the abstract and the figurative, between the documentary and the conceptual. Today let's look through the work of five master photographers who exemplify this idea. I'll show you some great painterly examples of their work and discuss some of the qualities that give them a painterly look. These are also five of my favorite photographers and I hope to share some of that love with you.
This continues my miniseries on painterly photography: • Painterly Photography
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Books referenced throughout this series:
(These are Amazon affiliate links where available-clicking these links helps support the channel at no extra cost to you)
Photography: The Definitive Visual History
amzn.to/2hM1X2e
History of Modern Art
3rd Edition: amzn.to/2jQmpDx
Newest Edition: amzn.to/2A1Dd0f
Saul Leiter: Early Color
amzn.to/2iI6io3
Fan Ho: Hong Kong Yesterday
amzn.to/2hLHpa4
Erwin Olaf: Volume II
amzn.to/2zdmHHl
Todd Hido: Between the Two
amzn.to/2mTCCZD
Gregory Crewdson: Beneath the Roses
amzn.to/2BdxbrA
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Topics:
0:00 - Introduction
1:08 - Saul Leiter - Painterly Themes
4:33 - Fan Ho - Attention to Detail
8:03 - Erwin Olaf - Illustrative Qualities
11:00 - Todd Hido - Elevating Mood
14:18 - Gregory Crewdson - The Psychology of Story
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Do you have any ”honourable mention” in this ?
For sure, too many to name! I'm bad at picking favorites but I'll throw you a few names to check out. As Michael mentioned below, Philip Lorca diCorcia and Richard Tuschman are fantastic examples.
Hellen Van Meene, Richard Learoyd or Hendrik Kerstens are worth checking out if you like portraits. Alina Lebedeva, Arne Svenson, Hengki Koentjoro, Manjari Sharma...I could drop names all day. Is there someone in particular you were drawn to? Maybe then I could point you to something else you'd dig.
I also profiled Maarten Rots and Kristopher Matheson to finish off this series, you should definitely check those two out if you haven't. They aren't well known but their work deserves the exploration.
dirk braeckman?
Somehow he reminds me of Michaël Borremans and Victor Man.
Now you're naming people I'm not familiar with, but after looking them up I will be checking them out.
A quick look at Dirk Braeckman makes me think you would really like Koentjoro or Hiroshi Sugimoto's images...they have a similar feel to some of their work. For some reason I'm subtly reminded of Uta Barth as well. Of all of them, be sure to check out Sugimoto if you aren't already familiar, he's pretty well known but if he's new to you then you are in for a treat.
Ernst Haas
Wow, a photography channel that's about photography and not strictly gear. Fantastic job!
Thank you so much! I wanted to make videos about topics I had to go digging for and figure out myself. If I wasn’t learning anything researching a video, I’d scrap a topic fast. I tried a gear review once but it wasn’t my thing. This was my favorite series to make by far.
@@VinnyLePes Yes, I'm also always looking for inspiration, for little compositional nuggets that could improve my photography and spark some ideas. Much appreciated!
Excellent video, thanks! Five of my favorite photographers, I've subscribed and am looking forward to watching your other videos.
Thanks, Alan! I appreciate you watching and I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Fan Ho didn't 'wait' as much as you think he did mate. "Approaching Shadow" for instance was done in edit and the girl in the image was his cousin who he posed for the shot. That's not always the case obviously, but it's worthy of note.
You are correct, a few others also pointed this out to me. Thanks for the feedback 🍻
Super insightful! Thank you!
Just found your channel . Exactly what i was looking for!!!! Thats my Monday full then, binge watch!!! Thanks Vinny .
Hey thanks, Pete! Hope you find more videos that are up your alley, I know I can be all over the place 🤣
I'm so glad that I've found youtube channel like this one! Finally! Great job man!
Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed it! I will likely be doing some more 'gushing on my favorite photographers' videos in the coming months 🤔
Hi Vinny. Thanks for your work really well put across and informative. I’ve learned so much from your videos. Hope for some more? Thanks again
Hey, Jezz! Thanks for the uplifting review, I will indeed be back with more!
Awesome series! Very inspiring and a great help!
Thank you, Thomas! I'm glad you found it valuable :)
WOW, Vinny truly exposed your depth of photography, in colorful way to illustratethese 5 artists, conveying meaning, mood and emotion. I will try to use this to expand my own. Thanks
Thank you, Michael! I’m glad you found it insightful 🤘
Loving this series and learning a lot. Thanks, Vinny!
That’s awesome! Thanks for stopping and letting me know 🤘
I didn't know about Erwin Olaf, thanks!! What beautiful work!
You’re welcome! Happy to spread the word, his work really is fantastic
Very interesting, informative and enjoyable. Much better than watching TV. Thanks for sharing. Saved. I’m going to watch it again and maybe again!
Thanks, Christian! I’m with you, I’ll take geeking about photography over watching TV any time. Let me know if it holds up the second time around 😂
Enjoyed the calm and inciteful analysis; look forward to hearing more.
Thank you, Michael!
Solid series...HUGE fan of Todd Hidos' work. Subbed! Keep up the good work!
Thanks, Tim! I have some more content inspired by him in the works, since he's been very influential in my own thinking about art and meaning. I have a couple prints of his that recently became affordable, one unopened package burning a hole in my desk and the other on its way. I'm saving them to open when I dig a little more into his work and philosophy on that future video I've been writing.
I subbed back, not in a sub for sub kind of way haha...I haven't had a chance to watch your videos yet but they look like something I would enjoy so I'll be checking them out soon.
This is incredibly informative and useful. Thanks so much.
Thank you, Ryan!
Really enjoyed both videos on this subject. Keep up the good work!
Appreciate it Paul, glad you did. There are three more in the series if you didn't know
will investigate them many thanks!
Wow that’s is very educational thanks for sharing
I’m glad! Thanks for watching 🍻
Vinny you did a great job with this TH-cam video. You tell it so well
Thank you, Peter! There are 4 more in the series if you didn't see and want to go deeper into the subject :)
I dig your whole style of vid and conveying the art of photography
Thank you Chris! 🙏
Very, very well done. This is the youtube I love.
Thanks for the kind words, I'm glad it was up your alley
Vinny Le Pes it reminded me of the first videos I saw on youtube circa ‘08. Not a product review or tutorial. More of a conversation or discovery of talent. I understand why youtube is what it is and am not knocking anyone, its good to see people “broadcasting themselves” as was the original premise for the site.
Cheers!!!
I totally get it, and depending on the video I'm not sure where I land on the spectrum of genres here. I do experiment with some of the more cinematic formats that are current, but my heart is with the original vloggers (when it literally meant video blog and not whatever it means today). I have taken a lot of cues from the old schoolers like Ze Frank and Vlogbrothers, but I also love a lot of the new school guys as well. Or guys like Ted Forbes who sort of bridge the gap by slowly evolving along with the medium. But I also have a lot of respect for guys like Casey Neistat who make even mundane things exciting through great pacing and storytelling. It's interesting to watch the platform evolve over the years and see the impact it has had on all other media.
I really appreciate the input though, I've been really curious how other people would classify my videos since I'm still constantly experimenting with the format. I'm curious to know over time how my videos are received. I find myself often thinking of my videos as a trail of breadcrumbs from where I was at in life to wherever I'm headed.
Thank you for putting these together. I share your passion for this sort of photography. Two other guys that I frequently think of and look at when I want some inspiration in this vein are the somewhat obvious Philip Lorca diCorcia and also the slightly lesser known, Richard Tuschman, who sadly doesn't have any books out, but his Hopper Meditations are absolutely stunning.
Both fantastic. I actually emailed Richard back in mid-2015 inquiring about a book on that series. He said he was planning to release it alongside his new series, and he did a Kickstarter for a book on “Once Upon A Time In Kazimierz”. I'm not sure if the Hopper Meditations were included or not after all, I missed out on the Kickstarter when he released it.
I do hope the book is made available at some point but it has been a year since that campaign: www.kickstarter.com/projects/661630466/once-upon-a-time-in-kazimierz/description
What a great video! I just found and subscribed to your channel.
Thanks, Bee! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for a very nice and well put together review. I was more or less familiar with all from history of photography class, and have been very interested for a long time in the work of Hido and Crewdson. One thing that seeing ryour review is common to all is the treatment of light,, either finding it, as Fan Ho does, or using silicon and post processing as Hido, or assembling a crew of 40 people to control every single light in a scene as Crewdson. Soft light and controlled transitions are part of the trick. But one thing i particularly like and to which I adhere to is what you said of Hido: photographing as a documentarian and processing like an artist. Congrats!
Thank you for the thoughtful comment, Irene! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Light is everything in photography. It can sound like a cliche but I genuinely feel that photographers who treat it as such miss out. They are always chasing all the wrong things to get the look they want when the answer is often that the light is not working for the scene. It sounds so obvious that I think many overlook the power of just really paying attention to what light does in different situations.
Interesting. Nice photo selection.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed. I picked some of my favorites
Great video!
Thanks, Johann, glad you enjoyed it
Very interesting video, some great artistic work. I have just discovered the work of Fan Ho and it is quite inspirational.
Thank you! Yeah, Fan Ho’s work is just unbelievable.
I'd never heard of Edwin Olav before, he is very reminiscent of Gregory Crewdson. Or maybe it's the other way around. Good video.
Thankyou for your videos on Painterly Photography! I am not seeing the books you recommended.
Can you recommend others as well?
Thankyou so much!
Which ones? Other books by one of the artists mentioned? I realize this comment may find you too late 😬
I see now, everything other than Beneath the Roses is now prohibitively expensive. (They are linked in the description in case you missed that.)
Some alternatives by the same artists:
Todd Hido - Intimate Distance contains a retrospective and I think it also includes much of Between the Two as well as House Hunting. I originally would have suggested House Hunting, which was out of print and too pricey at the time, but has now been re-released. Check out House Hunting if you enjoy that series, or Intimate Distance if you just want to see a lot of his work in one place.
Crewdson: Beneath the Roses is still in print at the original price. Now that Cathedral of the Pines is getting expensive, he released a more affordable edition called Alone Street that contains some of the same work and a new series (which was only for collectors). I believe this was done to intentionally keep something accessible in print while the monographs continue to become further out of reach.
Erwin Olaf: I Am is a retrospective that contains a comprehensive set of his work. I think today that is the one to get since the first ones are so pricey now. I always wanted the first self-titled book but it was out of reach for me even five years ago!
I haven't seen any other Saul Leiter books in person, but I do know other publishers have put out some of his street work in color. I really thought Early Color would have a re-release by now, to be honest.
I don't know of any other Fan Ho books to recommend as I only have the one.
Hope this helps!
what a great content...thanks...bm
Thank you! Glad you found it useful :)
Great video, but Fan Ho *did* stage many of his photos, the diagonal shadow being a classic example - and the shadow was added through dodge and burn.
Yep, he had me fooled!
Thanks!!
Thank you for introducing me to Fan Ho. A true master. Hokusai meets Cartier-Bresson.
That’s a really fun way to think of him!
except hcb didn't set up his shots except for 1 that I know of.
Great tutorial
Thank you!
Good work Vinny. You might be interested in the work of photographer Nadav Kander and also Dan Winters.
Thanks, Mike! Their work is just beautiful. Both are next level!
I visited the exhibition Todd Hido in Arles. His portraits in dark light are fantastic and recall the great painters with the candle of the 17th century as Georges de La Tour
That must have been amazing! I still have yet to see his work in person (beyond his books, of course) but his dramatic use of light and color is inspiring
@@VinnyLePes www.rencontres-arles.com/fr/expositions/view/265/todd-hido?fbclid=IwAR3fmjgiQ-EpIG7uZzzwLzHSra7cTzKJjmykDfNKVw7fRfaiC6LgVN5uFrM
@@VinnyLePes you can click on the portrait to see the others, thanks for the video very interesting (sorry for my bad english)
These are beautiful, Hector. Thank you so much for sharing! (and your English is just fine 👌)
Very interesting and good video! It’s a pity though that it’s difficult to see the photos in the books because of the reflection of the light.
Thanks for the feedback! Yes that was a constant battle. I tried to show each piece I dug into at least so you could pause and look, but I have since improved the lighting angle at that table so they aren’t directly overhead. It still glares a bit but it will be better in the future! Appreciate the kind words, glad you enjoyed it despite!✌️
Great video, thank you. Not sure if you're familiar with Christophe Jacrot's work, I just love his stuff.
I didn’t think I was familiar but it turns out I’ve been following his Instagram. His work is consistently delightful, thanks for the recommendation. I’ll spend some more time learning about him now.
great collection!! i have most of these books. crewdson is my fav photographer. fan ho is in my top 5. philip-lorca dicorcia has the same mood as crewdson.
Yeah, all great books for sure. Sounds like we have similar taste in photography, diCorcia was almost one of the five I selected for this series, but I wanted a lot of visual variety to prove it was more subtle than a simple visual style. Thanks for hitting me up! Let me know if there are any lesser known books you think I should try to get my hands on ;)
it does seem like we have similar taste. Im a fan of Francesca woodman. i recently found JENS OLOF LASTHEIN. my god his work blew me away. he uses a widelux film camera which views the world in a unique way.
I was not familiar with either of them and both are fantastic!
Lasthein's panoramas actually took me back to a moment I had at the National Portrait Gallery on a short trip to DC a few years back when I first discovered the painter David Lenz. There is this large panorama he did that is just breathtaking to stand in front of. I'll leave a link here, but trust me when I say that it does his work zero justice at all--the original simply glows and surrounds you, while the digital version looks rather flat. The original has an incredible light and depth to it and the people are brimming with emotion and the whole thing feels like standing in front of a real moment. I found it almost overwhelming.
Beyond both working in panoramic format, they also seem to focus on everyday life and emotion in a similar way. I love the quote from him in the article below, his argument against including some kind of 'important figure' in his NPG commission: "Everyone is important".
www.huffingtonpost.com/john-seed/david-lenz-eunice-kennedy-shriver_b_2103763.html
thanks for the link. i didn't realise it was a painting at first. it looks so real. i could imagine how you could be consume by the painting.
im going to see if he will be exhibiting in europe anytime soon.
Im his son lol
Greg Crewdson's work makes me think of Edward Hopper. Thanks for the video.
It makes perfect sense! Both had clear themes of Americana, psychological tension, the cultural landscape, loneliness...I can totally see the connection.
@@VinnyLePes Yes and mostly the "noir" atmosphere.
Yes! Now I’m suddenly curious what makes something “noir” 🤔
@@VinnyLePes When I say "noir", I mean the gloomy, threatening image and the suspense it generates. That's how I see Hopper and Crewdson for me creates a similar atmosphere. (a highly personal remark, I know)
It’s impossible to get too deep into art or psychology without it getting personal, in my opinion. That’s part of the appeal! The inherent subjectivity of art makes it personal and that’s one strong reason why it’s so powerful. But you are so right, even this thought I’m having now is completely subjective and personal to my life, and also something we share with each other ☺️
Спасибо! интересный обзор
Спасибо за добрые слова. Ваше здоровье!
so inspring nice video
Thank you so much for that! If I got “powerlurker” to stop lurking and leave a comment I must have done something right 😏
@@VinnyLePes i learned a lot from saul leiter's way of using color, and a fan of Fan Ho aswell, very glad to know other great photographers from u , nice video buddy.
Have you seen the film made about how Greg Crewdson made Beneath the roses? It's called Gregory Crewdson : brief encounters / producer, director, and cinematographer, Ben Shapiro
Yes and it was fantastic to see behind the scenes like that. I’ve rented it twice now so I probably should have bought it because I’d totally watch it again. Thanks for the rec!!
Enjoyable review, thank you. A sidenote: Fan Ho did stage some of his images. In particular, the image on the cover of the book is called "Approaching Shadow," and the lady (his cousin) posed for him.
Thanks for sharing! Someone else pointed this out as well...it bugs me to know I made such an assumption, but it happens! Glad you enjoyed the piece 🍻
@@VinnyLePes Love the video -- would also point out that the "Shadow" was actually created in the darkroom. Still an amazing photo though -- I own both a vintage print and a limited edition print of this.
Thanks! I’m learning a lot about this image since making this video...not to mention learning a lot about my research shortcomings haha
U should ( could ) have a look to Gerard Rancinan, Bart Ramakers or David Lachapelle.
Thank you Hector, I will check them out 🍻
You should / could take a serious look at Bart Ramakers (from Belgium) or Gerard Rancinan (from France ) photographers.
Thank you, I will check them out!
@@VinnyLePes About Gerard Rancinan, French youngest photoreporter (15 yo) 5 World Press award, a picture sold 260.000 € ( auction, best price in France) many exhibitions here and there etc...
If Wikipedia is trustworthy, in "Approaching Shadow" it's not a matter of someone standing there at the exact moment the shadow intersected the corner and the woman's feet. The figure is the photographer's cousin, and she's posing. Also, the photographer added the shadow in processing. I don't oppose staging, but it's good to know when a photographer has staged a scene, as is apparently the case here.
I guess I was too caught up in the romanticism of it to check my assumptions. That's fascinating, thanks for sharing :).
Really nice and good analysis. Music is a little too present and loud to hear you clearly sometimes...
Thank you for the feedback, I’m glad you enjoyed it
Vinny, Dont you realise that there is a glare on the book?
In hindsight, yes. I will be sure not to repeat the mistake in the future, I can see it’s distracting. Thanks for the heads up.
The books may be interesting with beautiful images, but with the glare of the light on the pages, the images are impossible to see. Except of course when you put them on the screen.
Apologies, I definitely won’t let that slip by again. Thank you for the helpful comment.
I like my self.
As you should!
dont know if its just me but does the music sound louder then the voice ?
What are you listening on? Maybe I can learn from it to do better in the future
what’s up with the beer pop at the beginning? lol. michelob ultra, i see. cheers. try coors banquet, way better.
Lol just having a little fun 🍻
That photo where the woman is standing in the precise point where dark and light meet was actually staged. That is his cousin.
Thanks! I learned that later from another comment, mea culpa 😉
You should (could) have a serious glance for GERARD RANCINAN.
Fan Ho actually staged a lot of his photos and he did not make secret about that :-)
Haha yes it’s true. I’m reminded here in this very comment section regularly 🤣
@@VinnyLePes OK, I did not read through comments but now I see it, we are fast to point out such things I suppose :-D Great video anyway :-)
No worries! I do appreciate when people point out things I’ve missed because I learn something new :). Just having some fun about it, thanks for watching and reaching out with some feedback. I see your point though I don’t always read the comments before making my own either!!
Maybe move the book out of the glare next time.
Auto Focus thanks for the feedback! It has since been fixed but I assure you it was not that simple ;). I tried to show everything of note zoomed in so people could pause to review and since this shoot I have changed my lighting setup. Sorry for the annoyance, you aren’t the only one to point it out but it isn’t a problem anymore moving forward.
Vinny Le Pes it’s ok. I loved the video regardless. Some great photography
Your overhead light on the book shots is crap and really screws with the appreciation of what you're talking about. Shame you didn't re-shoot
Thanks for the feedback! I did my best with what I had at the time and it was a learning process, but if you think this is crap you should see my earlier stuff 😂
@@VinnyLePes :) well as long as you've learnt something LOL
The day I stop learning is the day I’ll start worrying 🍻
@@VinnyLePes That's exactly how it should be...and the philosophy I've always had
Is there even one woman whose work can contribute to your conversation?
Yes of course! Thank you for the reminder. I really regret the oversight, to be honest it's embarrassing.
Uta Barth was in my original script, I don't know why it didn't occur to me to pay more attention to the diversity of the photographers I included. I discovered in an interview she doesn't like being described as "painterly" and doesn't feel photography needs to be compared to painting, so I felt it would be disrespectful. I don't know why it didn't occur to me at the time that my series was so exclusive. If I return to making videos, I will surely put more effort toward highlighting a more inclusive range of artists. I appreciate the comment!
If you like the kind of work in this series, here are a number of women in photography you may also enjoy!
Julia Fullerton-Batten is phenomenal and would be high on my list. She has actually done some re-creations of well-known paintings by the Pre-Raphaelites that are just stunning.
Helen Van Meene's work has a painterly look while also confronting human psychology in a similar way to Crewdson and Olaf from this video.
Manjari Sharma stands out to me as well. Her Shower Series is intimate and painterly, and her Darshan series blew me away. They are large scale dioramas that hardly resemble photography in the finished work, achieving a surreal and vibrant look that is just gorgeous.
Uta Barth, as I mentioned, doesn't prefer the term "painterly", but her work was a huge inspiration when I was researching this series. Her use of composition, texture and simplicity are what initially drew me to her work. She has a wonderful eye for minimalism and mundane beauty.
Paulette Tavormina has some wonderfully painterly still life work. It absolutely blurs the line between a long history of oil painters modern photography.
Many of Ira Bordo's portraits look and feel like a modern take on the Dutch masters. Many of her subjects look like they were carved from marble, as well.
Julie Blackmon's mise-en-scéne is incredible, with that painterly attention to staging and details highlighting more light-hearted subject matter around family.
I could keep going but at this point another video has almost written itself! Do you have any more names I should check out?
Great video!
Thanks, Ivan!