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Inspired from directors...

Since I was a kid, I was unable to watch a film just for its story... Later on, I found many times myself approaching photography, inspired by scenes of films by Felini, Aggelopoulos, Antonioni, Hitchcock, Bunuel, Leone, Jarmusch and many many more... Here are some examples, I hope you'll enjoy them.


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Thanks for watching, would love some critique...
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Theodoros,

Could you help us by taking each picture and discussing how it was made and its connection to the inspiration that it draws energy from. If I'm the one who is too ignorant to make the necessary connections, so be it, that way no one else has to admit they didn't know where to start.

However, I'm hooked by this set of pictures and very much want to hear your stories. I have infinite patience when you've got my attention like this!

Asher
 
Theodoros,

Could you help us by taking each picture and discussing how it was made and its connection to the inspiration that it draws energy from. If I'm the one who is too ignorant to make the necessary connections, so be it, that way no one else has to admit they didn't know where to start.

However, I'm hooked by this set of pictures and very much want to hear your stories. I have infinite patience when you've got my attention like this!

Asher
I very much explain the approach (and the idea behind it) in the comment I have when introducing the subject Asher... For instance, this one (an addition to the above):

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is inspired from the way that Leone underlines the environment before he moves to the actual scene that is related to the story... so is this next one:

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The rest, have very much the same approach... (that's why they are part of the same album)... do you want me to be specific on the where the inspiration on each one originates? ...I won't object on this, but I would prefer it if other people have an opinion on the matter... it's important to me, to see if some audience can relate with success the inspiration with the pictures... wouldn't that make an interesting discussion?
 

Jerome Marot

Well-known member
I found many times myself approaching photography, inspired by scenes of films by Felini, Aggelopoulos, Antonioni, Hitchcock, Bunuel, Leone, Jarmusch and many many more...

I can see where the inspiration came from on some of your images (I would guess that the cat is Fellini and the birds, of course, Hitchcock), but to me all these pictures still have the same "style". I can believe that they are all taken by the same photographer (you, obviously). Which would be interesting to test: if the images were presented without markings and amongst other images from different photographers, would we still be able to recognise which are yours and which are not?
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Theodorus,

To comment on your so different pictures, I need to take them one at a time. I like animals so the first picture I'll address to start. I guess this is related to Ekland in La Dolce Vita by the Trevi Fountain. That was a kitten!

Was this a cat eating a fish or was it another feline. I failed several times returning to the photograph and felt so bad that I was not smart enough to know what was going on.

Then this morning it just was so obvious! The neck had just heaped up around the face. It was indeed a cat! There's no fish to be eaten! The cat was just looking down. So what happened to me? Was this just working in my brain until it made the correct pattern recognition or do we look at things each time with a fresh image slate?

Asher


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Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
........Hitchcock.............




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Yes, it's very enjoyable to be challenged! The birds here being in silhouette and full of darkness, do indeed connect us with Hitchcock, but we need a few more. I'd have cheated and cloned enough to get them all over and some flying too. Still, the essential kernel of the connection is well made.

This is fun!

Asher
 
I can see where the inspiration came from on some of your images (I would guess that the cat is Fellini and the birds, of course, Hitchcock), but to me all these pictures still have the same "style". I can believe that they are all taken by the same photographer (you, obviously). Which would be interesting to test: if the images were presented without markings and amongst other images from different photographers, would we still be able to recognise which are yours and which are not?
"Spot on" on your judgment Jerome... this means (to me) that the album "works"! Of course they all mine... Now, I believe if you recognize the "style" you would be able to recognize them among others ...no?
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Others please jump in and help out to see if we can recognize the iconic films behind each photograph here.

Asher
 
Theodorus,

To comment on your so different pictures, I need to take them one at a time. I like animals so the first picture I'll address to start. I guess this is related to Ekland in La Dolce Vita by the Trevi Fountain. That was a kitten!

Was this a cat eating a fish or was it another feline. I failed several times returning to the photograph and felt so bad that I was not smart enough to know what was going on.

Then this morning it just was so obvious! The neck had just heaped up around the face. It was indeed a cat! There's no fish to be eaten! The cat was just looking down. So what happened to me? Was this just working in my brain until it made the correct pattern recognition or do we look at things each time with a fresh image slate?

Asher


19730003s.jpg



Asher, I am not trying to "mimic" the directors... I am trying to communicate their different "eye catching" ability that they convert to experience which then use on their pictures... IMO that's exactly what makes them masters!

Let me relate the above phrase with what I feel that photography has taught me in life... which is that "experience is not that much related to age but much more to the ability we develop to observe and translate as mach as possible from the trillions of information that are passing around us" ...IMO there are youngsters that "suck" the environmental information and others of some age that never watch what is around them... now the later doesn't help much to "exercise brain" ...does it?

So, the idea behind my pictures is not to "copy" or "mimic" a cinema master's scene, but rather to relate how he uses "photographic" life observation to his scenes... and why this is important.
I believe Jerome understood exactly the way I intended the album (by just looking at the pictures)... Obviously there are pictures there (some of less known directors or ones that have been inspired by foreign to you films) that many won't be able to relate, but that's not the point ...is it? The important (IMO) is for the images to work under the title of the album ("like cinema") and to communicate the idea behind photography as an art with respect to cinema, while retaining their own (the photographer's) character as photography and not cinema.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Asher, I am not trying to "mimic" the directors... I am trying to communicate their different "eye catching" ability that they convert to experience which then use on their pictures... IMO that's exactly what makes them masters!

Let me relate the above phrase with what I feel that photography has taught me in life... which is that "experience is not that much related to age but much more to the ability we develop to observe and translate as mach as possible from the trillions of information that are passing around us" ...IMO there are youngsters that "suck" the environmental information and others of some age that never watch what is around them... now the later doesn't help much to "exercise brain" ...does it?

So, the idea behind my pictures is not to "copy" or "mimic" a cinema master's scene, but rather to relate how he uses "photographic" life observation to his scenes... and why this is important.
I believe Jerome understood exactly the way I intended the album (by just looking at the pictures)... Obviously there are pictures there (some of less known directors or ones that have been inspired by foreign to you films) that many won't be able to relate, but that's not the point ...is it? The important (IMO) is for the images to work under the title of the album ("like cinema") and to communicate the idea behind photography as an art with respect to cinema, while retaining their own (the photographer's) character as photography and not cinema.

If "isolating observations" is the discipline of great film photography, then I see this in your work. There's a distance between you and what you show that seem to be setup or brief orientation shots to denote the nature of a place. Perhaps that's what we're seeing.

Asher
 
If "isolating observations" is the discipline of great film photography, then I see this in your work. There's a distance between you and what you show that seem to be setup or brief orientation shots to denote the nature of a place. Perhaps that's what we're seeing.

Asher

Asher, this is really flattering (especially if it comes by another photographer), thank you...
Distance & lighting are exactly (IMO) what develop a director's character and that's what the recipient has to "decode" if he wants to learn from a master's mind... Notice Leone for example, he only "moves in" to show the character's nature... all the rest are distant shots that relate environment to the action and loves WAs with a part of the action near and the other distant. Hitchcock OTOH, uses three distances, one too distant to relate the environment to the ...larger environment, another medium one to describe action and he only "moves in" for the terror or mystery expressions... he also uses different lighting and contrast for different distances, more pale for the distant scenes and he increases contrast the more he "moves in". David Lynn has the same love with Leone in shooting WAs with action both near and distant, but environment is very important for him and he often choses to use environment nearer than the action.
Now, that's a worthwhile conversation to have..., on decoding a master's "style"...no? That's the original intension behind my post too...
 
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