Photography in the United States of America

Анастасия Шиманова

г. Коломна, МБОУ Гимназия №2 «Квантор»

Ю. Е. Кудинова

PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE USA

Photography is one of the newest and most exciting types of art, spanning all the genres (and more). Its relationship with reality has given rise to a new set of aesthetics. The world's first photograph was made by Frenchman, Joseph Nicephore Niepce, it was a view from the attic window of his house near Gras. Photography had begun.

At the same time photography started developing in the New World. In the United States of America were a few outstanding photographers who have played a significant role in the development of photography.

One of them is Mathew B. Brady^[a] who is best known for his scenes of the Civil War^[b]. His use of a mobile studio and darkroom enabled to made bright battlefield photographs that brought home the reality of war to the public. After the war, these pictures went out of fashion, and the government did not purchase the master-copies as he had anticipated. Brady's fortunes declined sharply, and he died in debt.

Also we know an amazing American photographers, such as Edward Sheriff Curtis^[c] who was a photographer and ethnologist whose work focused on the American West and on Native American people^[d].  Or Alfred Stieglitz   ^[e]who was instrumental over his fifty-year career in making photography an accepted art form. In addition to his photography, Stieglitz was known for the New York art galleries that he ran in the early part of the 20th century, where he introduced many avant-garde European artists to the U.S. And  Gertrude Käsebier ^[f]who was one of the most influential American photographers of the early 20th century. She was known for her images of motherhood, her portraits of  Native Americans, and her promotion of photography as a career for women^[g].

Nowadays photographic art  is most known by photojournalism and by fashion photography, both of which are inextricably linked with the media, and digital communication.  In the United States there are a lot of talented photographers whose works are well known  among  us.  And  I`m going to speak about  the most famous American photographers of the 20 and 21 centuries.

Ansel Adams ^[h]is well known for his breathtaking nature photographs in the 1930’s and for 25 years to follow. Few people know that he was also a staunch environmentalist. He grew up in Northern California, and spent much of his youth at Yosemite, which became the spotlight of his work. His first notable piece was his famous image Monolith, the Face of Half Dome. You can watch more about Ansel and his work below^[i]!

Dorothea Lange ^[j](May 26, 1895 – October 11, 1965) was an American documentary photographer and photojournalist. She is best known for her Depression-era work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). Her early work mostly involved photographing the social elite in a studio setting^[k]. Later, Lange’s photographs humanized the consequences of the Great Depression. She influenced the development of documentary photography into what it is today.

Steve McCurry^[l] is one of the most successful and respected living photographers in USA.  He continued in photojournalism on graduation, and in 1978, having saved a bit of money, was drawn to the visual possibilities of India. It proved a pivotal experience; the inspiring diversity of colour, life and activity prolonged a six week trip to a two year adventure. He travelled throughout the Subcontinent, exploring India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan^[m].

Imogen Cunningham ^[n]is known for her botanical photography, nudes, and industrial landscapes. Cunningham’s early work consisted of soft focus and blurred imagery, which gave a mystery to the photographed figure. As Cunningham began experimenting with sharper, crisper images she began to create a style known as sharp focus photography^[o]

Currently, the fashion industry and photography are inseparably linked to each other. Fashion industry’s most successful photographers have a way of capturing the zeitgeist of our culture and documenting the changes that take place in our daily lives. A distinctive and unique style, which can’t be replicated by any other, is what makes a good photographer great.

Annie Leibovitz ^[p]is one of the most modern photographers. She has produced some of the most striking and well known portraits and fashion photos^[q]. She has a way of fine tuning the lighting in her shots to conjure a precise mood. She also uses really bold compositions to make strong statements about her subjects.

Irving Penn ^[r]was one of the 20th century’s most influential photographers. In addition to shooting portraits and fashion editorials, he was known for capturing modernist still life images of food, metal, bones and other small objects^[s]. In 1943, he actually photographed Vogue’s first and only still life cover. With an artistic background, Penn studied drawing, painting, graphics and industrial artwork at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art (now the University of the Arts), which clearly translated into his photography. With an emphasis on form and shape, and work characterized by simplicity, composition and clarity, his career lasted for almost 70 years and his clients included Vogue, Issey Miyake, and Clinique.

Richard Avedon ^[t]was an American fashion and portrait photographer, known for capturing emotion and personality in his images. For^[u] a fun fact, the 1957 film Funny Face, starring Audrey Hepburn, is loosely based on Avedon’s early life. During his career, he shot a total of 148 covers of Vogue and he was one of legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland’s staff photographers, bringing her visions to life by shooting imaginative and exotic fashion stories for her around the world. Avedon was also behind many notable fashion advertisements of his time, including a Calvin Klein campaign with 15-year-old Brooke Shields, Revlon’s ‘The Most Unforgettable Women’ campaign, and an advertisement series for Gianni Versace beginning with the spring/summer campaign 1980.

To sum up, I can say that the most powerful and important photographs was made in the twentieth century . So we can say that it was a generation of cameras, color cameras, digital cameras, high definition cameras, the same advances came to video and cinema.

Шиманова  Анастасия Романовна

Кудинова  Юлия Евгеньевна

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