I’ve always enjoyed taking care of and raising plants, so I was really excited to start our second project. As we worked in the greenhouse, I found I really enjoyed taking photos of the plants more than I enjoyed our first project. As we moved on to different projects, while I did enjoy most of them, I found that I didn’t enjoy any of them quite as much as I enjoyed photographing the flowers. Additionally, when we had to choose which photos we wanted to print, I found that my best work was the close-ups I took of the plants. So, for my self-defined project, I immediately knew that I wanted to continue photographing close ups of plants, and thus, I created this series.
While watching the film on Duane Michals, “The Man Who Invented Himself,” I found that I was captivated by many of Michals’ quotes. For example, during the movie, there is a scene where Michals says “It is no accident that you are reading this… Remember me.” This quote in particular stuck with me because I couldn’t help but think it was extremely beautiful and poetic as soon as the words came from his mouth. I felt similarly when he talked about his piece “Many Moons.” In this piece, he talked about how, as a kid, he originally thought that there was more than one moon, and that the moon at his house, and the moon at his grandmothers’ houses were different. As he grew up, he learned that they were all the same moon, and he couldn’t help but feel that the sky seemed so empty. With both of these lines, I was mesmerized by Michals word choice and thought that, had he not become a renowned photographer, he could’ve became a renowned poet.
Another memorable line from the movie was when Michals gave the advice, do not try to be an artist. To summarize, Michals said that one should never try to be an artist, rather, you should instead be yourself. I really liked this advice because often, people will try to imitate old masters to be successful, and in the process, they lose any creativity and originality they had to begin with. In Michals’ case, I believe one of the reasons he was so successful was because, rather than trying to copy other photographers or follow any unsaid rules, Michals decided to be himself. This is seen in many of the strange scenes in the movie, such as him wearing a wig and trying to call a taxi in the wrong direction, or him having a conversation with an inanimate duck, but was especially seen in his works where he combined text with his photographs, something no one had seen before.
Lastly, one sequence from the film that stuck with me from the film was the Pandora’s Box clip. In this segment, we watch a woman reading a book look up after hearing a knock on the door. Once opening the door, she discovers a box, which, upon opening leaves her distraught. She then responds by setting the box on fire and running away from the room. Upon first viewing this, I had no idea what was happening and was very confused until the caption finally appeared, telling me what the story was about. Once I saw that the clue was describing the story of Pandora, I was inspired with ideas about how to take narrative photography. Therefore, I really enjoyed this film and feel that people can learn a lot from it, just as I have.
While taking these portrait shots, I discovered that even though taking photos of people appears to be very easy, it is much more difficult than it seems. I had the most difficulty with this assignment than any of the others, mostly due to the fact that I was unsure how to take a good shot. A lot of consideration needs to go in to take an accurate photo of someone and make it look good. For example, deciding what props should go in the frame, deciding how someone should pose for the picture, what angle should you take the shot from, etc. While I like the portraits I have taken, I still feel that improvements could be made, so, in the future, I would like to continue taking portrait shots in order to improve.
Self Portrait, Edward Curtis Studio, 1908 – Portrait of Imogen by Akeyama, 1908
Imogen Cunningham was a famous American photographer, best known for her photos of nudes and plant forms. She was born on April 12, 1883, in Portland, Oregon. She received her first camera in 1901, a 4×5 inch viewing camera, for $15, after ordering it from the American School of Art in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She then lost interest and sold the camera to her friend. In 1903, Cunningham began to study chemistry at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Three years later, in 1906, Cunningham developed an interest in photography once more, after an encounter with Gertrude Käsebier’s works. After this event, she began to study the chemistry behind photography, with support from her professor, Horace Byers. She even paid for part of her tuition by photographing plants for the botany department, and by 1907, Cunningham graduated.
Magnolia Blossom, Tower of Jewels, 1925
During her time at university, Cunningham had found inspiration through the works of Käsebier, and Alfred Stieglitz, as well as through the photography movement, Pictorialism. To further explore her interest and to utilize her inspiration, after graduating, Cunningham began to work under Edward Curtis as a photo technician in his studio in Seattle. Under his tutelage, she learned more about portraiture and the practical side of photography. In 1909, she earned a scholarship from her sorority to study at the Technische Hochschule in Dresden, and she left Seattle. There, she studied under Professor Robert Luther and by May 1910, she finished her paper on a process that could improve the printing speed and clarity of highlights in photos, as well as produce sepia tones.
Roi and His Sons, 1922
Later that year, she headed back to Washington and opened her own studio, where she quickly built herself a solid reputation for her portraits and pictorial work. By 1913, she was a highly sought after photographer and had he works displayed in several exhibits. In 1915, she married Roy Partridge, who would become the subject for many of her works. Between 1915 to 1920, the couple had three kids, Gryffyd, Rondal, and Padraic, which would lead Cunningham to dedicate a large amount of her photos towards her family. By 1920, the family had moved to San Francisco, and there, Cunningham began to shift her focus towards the botanical. In the late 1920s, she became interested in industrial landscapes before joining many West coast photographers in Group f.64, in 1932.
Her works for Group f. 64 lead to the revival of West coast photography and ultimately led to her employment by Vanity Fair. In 1934, she was invited to work for them in New York, leading to her divorce to her husband. She worked for them until they stopped publication in 1936, and then moved on to street photography in the 1940s. By 1947, she became an instructor at the San Francisco Art Institute, and earned several awards until her death in 1976.
