image of the day // 001.
Okay, so I was poking around a random journal and found a link to the Conde Nast Shop, which focuses mainly on selling prints/photographs of old Vogue/Vanity Fair/Gourmet covers, as well as photos from the various publications. And of course, I had to go poking around their photography archive, and am now wringing my hands over LOTS of various really gorgeous pictures of food and Ginger Rogers and all that. So.
I've decided to try and quell the desire to actually PURCHASE a print by sharing some images that I really liked with y'all. I've tacked on "of the day" since I may start doing this regularly in the upcoming year, just because. I know I've set myself a goal to take more photographs in the upcoming year and nothing helps kind of nudge me in the right direction more than looking at images that just sort of inspire me. So without further ado. Today's image:
Helen Hayes Afraid, Edward Steichen (via Conde Nast Shop)
My love of photography started when I was young and has always had its roots in portraiture, probably because the photographs I like to take most, and tend to enjoy looking at the most are of people. Whether casual or posed, formal or snap-shot, I've always considered images of people to convey -- below the surface -- sometimes as much about the photographer than the 'sitter' or subject. Their style, their rapport with the subject, etc, always seem to speak to me and it always makes me wonder about the contexts of a given photo, even one that's as 'formally posed' as this one.
I chose this image because I think it's a beautiful image, though vaguely unsettling (I think it's something about the way the light reflects in her eyes). The shallow depth of field, the fact that parts of her face seem slightly out of focus and yet the lace cuffs of her shirt are sharp. I also think it's interesting that this is very clearly an image of a woman acting (it's part of a series where she goes through some emotional paces), and yet it was something about her haunted expression that made me stop on the image, consider it, and then realize after the fact that she's an actress acting. Her body language, her fingers pressed against her mouth -- there are a dozen tiny small things that my eyes catch on in what is a very simple photograph, but to me, make it worth a longer glance.
I've decided to try and quell the desire to actually PURCHASE a print by sharing some images that I really liked with y'all. I've tacked on "of the day" since I may start doing this regularly in the upcoming year, just because. I know I've set myself a goal to take more photographs in the upcoming year and nothing helps kind of nudge me in the right direction more than looking at images that just sort of inspire me. So without further ado. Today's image:
Helen Hayes Afraid, Edward Steichen (via Conde Nast Shop)
My love of photography started when I was young and has always had its roots in portraiture, probably because the photographs I like to take most, and tend to enjoy looking at the most are of people. Whether casual or posed, formal or snap-shot, I've always considered images of people to convey -- below the surface -- sometimes as much about the photographer than the 'sitter' or subject. Their style, their rapport with the subject, etc, always seem to speak to me and it always makes me wonder about the contexts of a given photo, even one that's as 'formally posed' as this one.
I chose this image because I think it's a beautiful image, though vaguely unsettling (I think it's something about the way the light reflects in her eyes). The shallow depth of field, the fact that parts of her face seem slightly out of focus and yet the lace cuffs of her shirt are sharp. I also think it's interesting that this is very clearly an image of a woman acting (it's part of a series where she goes through some emotional paces), and yet it was something about her haunted expression that made me stop on the image, consider it, and then realize after the fact that she's an actress acting. Her body language, her fingers pressed against her mouth -- there are a dozen tiny small things that my eyes catch on in what is a very simple photograph, but to me, make it worth a longer glance.