Zane Sommese Paragraphs

Ralph Eugene Meatyard was an American, black and white photographer from the 1960s. He is famous for the distinctive masks shown in his photography as well as sometimes using dolls. His models are always wearing masks or holding them and their natural faces are never shown. He also experimented with dreamy or psychedelic effects in his photography occasionally. His scenes were often very rustic, abandoned scenes or woodland scenes. Meatyard’s process included choosing the environment first then direct his subjects how he saw fit while considering lighting. He stated that the reason he has people wear masks in his photography is that as mask “serves as non-personalizing a person.” I believe I could replicate his photography by picking rundown environments or woodland areas and have my models wear masks. I have access to masks very similar to the ones in his photographs so that won’t be an issue. I will need to convert these images to black and white and also decide whether my subject should be moving or still. It will also be important to choose the right masks to properly replicate the aesthetic his photographs give off.

George Tice was an American black and white photographer. He photographed aspects of America generally speaking. He photographed urban and suburban areas, landscapes, as well as people. A specific group of people he is famous for photographing is the Amish but he was not limited to this. He used an the 8-by-10 view camera with a tripod to take his photographs. His use of these manifest as very still images. His photographs many aspects of American life. For example you may see an elegants photo of a small diner, or a farm. This conveys a homely feel and something Americans can identify with and other people from around the world can fantasize of. To replicate his photography setting is crucial especially for his landscapes and photographs of buildings. They have to have a certain feel that I think Tice also looked for when he scouted for locations. Similarly this will be important when finding subjects. I would need to think about if Tice would also use the models I choose. I think I would avoid trying to copy his Amish photographs as that may be very hard. I would stick to his American-esq feel.

Diana Arbus was an American photographer that photographed. She was famous for photographing people with unique qualities and marginalized people. For example, she photographed twins, transgenders, and people with tattoos. This may be challenging to do in State College as compared to her home in New York City but I do know people who would match the overall feel of her subjects. She used a TLR Rolleiflex 6x6 camera to take her photographs and used tripods.Her photographs were important because they represented marginalized people in a time when that did not happen very often, and many people probably had gone their whole life without seeing some of the types of people that she photographed. To take photographs in her style i’d need to find the right people and also try and put them in a pose that looks somewhat natural. Setting is also important to consider because it looks like she photographs in places that the models feel comfortable. This makes it easier for me and also the model which is probably what she thought when she photographed the people she did. I also noticed that in some other photographs she used flash when necessary so this is something I would for sure consider when taking photos in her style.