Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?

Hannes Becker is a German freelance photographer who specialises in documenting outdoor adventures and landscapes. Becker has been practicing professional photography since 2014, and for the past five years he has been using Instagram to share his passion and works, whilst gaining 1.3 million Instagram followers.

What is the title of the photo  you have chosen to analyse (can you provide a link?)  

The photo I have chosen is called ‘Preikestolen’

View this post on Instagram

Taking carefully steps at the edge of Preikestolen.. #followinglight #norway

A post shared by Hannes Becker (@hannes_becker) on Sep 22, 2018 at 9:54am PDT

With the photo you are examining when was it produced (date)?

Preikestolen was posted to Instagram by Becker on the 23rd of September 2018, but presumably was produced some time before, because the photo was taken on a DSLR and uses his own editing software. Despite networked photography making this process much easier and faster (Palmer, 2014), Instagram also creates an environment where popular profiles need to create posting schedules ahead of time, creating a more curated and less spontaneous publishing process for popular accounts. 

How was the photo authored?

The photo was taken on a DSLR before Becker posted it on Instagram. Becker uses a suite of editing software to softly enhance the photo through colour grading. This adds a deeper mood to his works and creates a thematic colouring, consistent with his Instagram gallery. This authoring enables his Instagram profile feed to appear more curated and cohesive, reflecting his style as an author and the importance of a curated aesthetic on Instagram, which exists to make and distribute aesthetic and unusual images (Palmer, 2014, p.245).  

In a strange turn of events, Becker’s camera phone inspired him into get into photography and editing, and yet as he continued on his path he turned back to the slightly more traditional medium of DSLR. This switch allowed him to author higher quality images, which in turn lead to a career creating adventurous and aesthetic content. If he had kept taking photos on his iPhone would he have ever made the career he has? This shows that even though camera phones ‘represent something new in the history of photography’ (Palmer, 2014). It could be argued that just because it is ‘new’ it may not necessarily better, just more accessible and perhaps a stepping stone in the photographic profession.

How was the photo published?

The photo was first published on Becker’s Instagram account on the 23rd of September 2018, and it was also published on his website at around the same time. Becker authors his photos on a DSLR for quality purposes, but it is important to note that he publishes them on Instagram through his smart phone. Halpern and Humphreys (2014, p.7) highlight that the ease of  publishing photos is one of elements that ‘made the iPhone a “revolutionary” tool for photography’.

Out of curiosity, I scrolled down to the bottom of his profile to his first published posts. His early content from 2014 leaves something to be desired. The harsh, original Instagram filters and borders cast an amateur lense on his record of the mundane world. However, they also provide an insight into the process that many online publishers go through to understand how to build a following on Instagram. He has always published landscape content but has transitioned through phases; from the harsh, standard instagram filters snapped on his iPhone, to the intensely sharpened images of urban scenes. He then shifted more towards snow landscapes with softer filters, before transitioning into brightly saturated photos, of a higher quality, taken on DSLR and with a more distinct aesthetic. Finally, he arrived at his current theme, using dark filters to reflect the dramatic and moody landscapes, with colour grading which is more unique to his work.

Becker’s account is a great example of how online photographic authors publish content according to what is most popular to audiences. As well as how Instagram’s tiled format is used to publish digital galleries of photographs.

1. Becker’s First posts, using Instagram filters and borders to capture everyday occurrences.

2. Becker’s intermediate posts, still relying on Instagram’s suite of filters, more curated and thematic content

3. Becker’s current feed, highly curated, high engagement, strong use of personalised filters applied in post production.

How is the photo distributed?

In line with the nature of Instagram, the photo was distributed to his 1.3 million followers through the platform and its algorithms. By using hashtags (#followinglight and #Norway) as well as a Norway geotag, Becker distributed his photo to a much larger audience of Instagram users who may not have been following him. The photo was then re-distributed, along with many of his works, through reposters, who then tag him and add hashtags to incite conversation and showcases the generative nature of Instagram and other social media platforms.  

Despite not being able to find any information on the Becker’s posts topic, it is important to mention that Instagram users, like Becker, can also distribute their content through sponsored ads which can reach a huge audience. Instagram ads can be tailored to target specific ages, genders, geographical areas and interests based on the amount of ad spend invested by the distributor.

After being published and distributed on Instagram, Becker put the photo up for sale as a print on his website.

References:

Halpern, M & Humpreys, L 2014, ‘iPhoneography as an emergent art world’, New Media Society, vol. 18, no. 1, pp.62-81.

Palmer, 2014, ‘Mobile Photography’, in G Goggin and L Hjorth (eds), The Routledge Companion to Mobile Media, 1st edition, Routledge, Abingdon, UK, pp. 244-254.

 

Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?

Nam June Paik (1932-2006) was a Korean American artist who pioneered video art. Paik trained as a classical pianist for most of his life before moving to West Berlin to pursue his interest in avante garde music, composition and performance. During his time in Germany, Paik met John Cage (american composer, artist and music theorist) and became associated with the Neo-dada Fluxus movement. Through Cage, Paik met Marcel DuChamp both of who are said to have had a huge influence on on Paik and stimulated his rise in the avante garde through performance.

What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyse (can you provide a link?)  

The title of the video I have chose is ‘Electric Opera #1’ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/category/arts-culture/artist-nam-june-paiks-electronic-opera-1/

With the video you are examining, when was it produced (date)?

Nam June Paik created this video in 1969. 

How was the video authored?

The video was authored by Paik in 1969 by manipulating, distorting and saturating the recorded figures of three hippies, a topless dancer and various political figures (such as Richard Nixon). Paik uses a voice overs to inform the audience that the video is “participation TV” and commands the audience to open and close their eyes at various individuals.

How was the video published?

The video was published as an analogue television signal. Analogue video and television is highly reliant on physical objects in our world (Lister et al, 2009, p. 19), such as cables, aerials, television monitors, a constant power supply and so on. This means there are many points at which the signal be be interfered with. The notion of interference became central to Paik’s work as he makes the audience question whether the signal has encountered interference or if it was a stylistic choice of the artist.

I can’t find any specific publication details but the video would probably have been originally published on an analogue television in an art gallery during an exhibition. I also can’t find details about whether or not it is currently on display, however the Nam June Paik Art Centre opened in Seoul, South Korea in 2008 and houses many of his works (Guggenheim, 2018).

How was the video distributed?

Along with many of his other works, Paik’s work is still being distributed and circulated in many art galleries around the world (Guggenheim, 2019). Paik has been involved and incorporated in numerous exhibitions, including two major retrospectives and has been featured in international exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale (Guggenheim, 2019). Since its release in 1969 the video has been distributed through numerous museum sites as well as platforms like YouTube and Vimeo.

References:

Guggenheim 2019, Nam June Paik, viewed 21 April 2018, Guggenheim Collection Online, <https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/nam-june-paik>

Lister, M, Dovey, J, Giddings, S, Grant, I & Kelly, K 2009, New Media: A Critical Introduction, Routledge, New York.

“Photographs are no longer rare artifacts, nor primarily a means of learning about the exotic or unknown. They arrive instantaneously on our phones every day from every corner of the world and from all kinds of people. With a smartphone, everyone is a photographer, and images compete for crowd approval on social media channels like Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.” ~ New York Times

Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?

Henri Cartier Bresson (1908-2004)

What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyse (can you provide a link?)  

Title: Palermo (Boy with Wheel)

Where: Palermo, Sicily, Italy

When: 1971

https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2011/PAR/2011_PAR_01048_0033_000(henri_cartier-bresson_palerme_italie_1971).jpg

With the photo you are examining when was it produced (date)?

This photograph was taken in Palermo Italy in 1971.

How was the photo authored?

This photo was taken on black and white, 35mm film using an analogue camera. Cartier-Bresson was known for his love of Leica cameras, whose quality became characteristic of his work. Cartier-Bresson formulated the idea of ‘The Decisive Moment’, that is – the singular moment in which the photographer has the opportunity to capture a photograph that accurately reflects the time, place and culture (Zanon & Sabbag, 2017).

Cartier-Bresson inadvertently became the pioneer of photojournalism, but considered himself a surrealist artist, because he considered photography an art. It is said that he would search for a visually stimulating area that would create a good composition and wait for his ‘decisive moment’ to occur (The New York Times, 2016).

Cartier-Bresson was mainly concerned with the human condition, but only if he could reflect it candidly. His small 35mm Leica, which he often covered in tape, allowed him to do this. Many people argue that the small size of camera phones allows them to capture intimate moments, because the subject is not influenced by the size of a professional camera. Despite the fact that the devices we use to author film photos are vastly different to the camera phones we use to capture digital photos, it is in a similar way that Cartier-Bresson and his small Leica managed to capture and author these moments inconspicuously. 

This photograph is an example of his obsession to capture the human condition, the photograph is shot diagonally, and in the foreground two boys play with, and chase, an old bicycle wheel. Behind them a line of traffic is forming, a large black hearse dominates the background. In this moment, Cartier-Bresson captures the two defining characteristics of the human condition, life and death. The two young boys happily play with the bicycle wheel, running in the opposite direction to the hearse, and completely unaware. This is a jarring dichotomy, which forces the audience to become aware of the transience of life the fragility of the human condition.

The photo, along with all of Cartier-Bresson’s work is an example of analogue photography. Lister et al (2009) define ‘analogue’ as the “…processes in which one set of physical properties can be stored in another ‘analogous’ physical form. The latter is then subjected to technological and cultural coding that allows the original properties to be, as it were, reconstituted for the audience”.

How was the photo published?

According to Christie’s (2019) this photograph was taken in 1971 and printed in 1990. It is a Gelatin silver print, which are developed in dark rooms. When an analogue film camera captures a photo, the shutter opens for a split second, which allows light to pass through the lense, this light is reflected onto film which is a light sensitive plastic. This film is developed in a dark room, which is lit with red light so that you can see what you’re doing without destroying the film. In the dark room, the film moves through a series of chemicals from developer, to stop bath and then fixer. This creates a film negative, which can have light shined through it in order to cast the photo onto light sensitive paper which creates a positive print (Woodford, 2018).

Developing the photographs is a huge part of analogue photography, because the photographs cannot be seen, published or distrubted, and for many this is one of the most exciting things about film. However, Cartier-Bresson did not enjoy developing his own photographs and was also averse to any enhancement to images after the photograph had been taken. 

How was the photo distributed?

Because of the mediums available at the time this photograph would have only been distributed through print media. I can’t find the specific time or place, however the photographer has had many exhibitions across the world and and many books, both before and after the publication of this photo (Magnum Photos, 2018). furthermore, the photograph would most likely have been shown in an exhibition after its publication or in one of his books.

More recently, this image has been published online online by Magnum Photos (the photography agency he helped found). Christie’s distributed an image of the photo online as a signed print was up for auction. These two representations of the photo have been re-distributed online through Pinterest, Artnet and Google Images.

In the same way a watch is a representation of time, I see photos, particularly analogue, as a representation of time and place. There are a number of characteristic elements to photos that provide a snapshot into the time and place –  the style and kind of buildings, what people may be wearing, the quality of the device and the photo produced. All of these characteristic provide insight into how the photograph was authored and published, as well as how it may be distributed.

 

REFERENCES:
Lister, M et al 2009, New Media: A Critical Introduction, Routledge, New York, p.17

Zanon, W.R & Sabbag D.M.A 2017, ‘Henri Cartier Bresson’s Decisive Instante and Indexation: An Exploratory Study of Photography and INdexing Methods’, Digital Journal of Library and Information Science, vol.15(3), pp.639-714.

Christie’s 2019, 100 photographies provenant de la Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Christie’s, viewed 5 April 2019, <https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/henri-cartier-bresson-1908-2004-palerme-italie-1971-5494214-details.aspx>  

The New York Times 2016, ‘Henri Cartier-Bresson, Whose “Decisive Moment” Shaped Modern Photography’, The New York Times, 3 August, viewed 5 April 2019, <https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/obituaries/archives/henri-cartier-bresson-photography>

Woodford, C 2018, Film Cameras and 35mm Photography, Explain That Stuff, viewed 5 April 2019,<https://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-film-cameras-work.html>

Magnum Photos 2018, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Photographers, viewed 6 April 2019, <https://www.magnumphotos.com/photographer/henri-cartier-bresson/>