As my close to home project is about lifestyle, and community I decided to use the AOL to find 'lifestyle' photographers. I found Samuel Hicks work which I liked due to his use of portraitue and how he creates a true feeling of being there in his images. He uses lots of different 'photo types' to tell the entire story like, portraits, closeups, and action shots of the people that use this park, this shows the viewer how diverse the park is, and how strongly it has affected their lives.
The first portrait I noticed is an image taken with a wide angle lens and a shallow depth of field, you see a person dressed all in red, with red sunglasses to the right of the frame. Hicks is shooting at eye level and has framed the person from their thighs upwards. On the left of the frame/ behind the subject you see the skatepark with lots of other people in it, the are out of focus which keeps your attention on the person in red however it is still readable and provides the context of where he is to the viewer. The image was taken at the start of the golden hour period in the natural golden light, and has been exposed for the highlights on the person, this creates further contrast and separation from the background due to the background being brighter in parts.The tones in this image are warm, and natural and feels summery, fun, and relaxing. I liked this image as it shows lots of detail in the person whilst still showing the viewer the location and other people using the park, without being distracting. I also think this is an effective way of showing the viewer more views of the park without taking loads of boring location shots with nothing happening in it.
The next photo I looked at is a group portrait of the people, the image was taken close up with a wide angle lens with a shallow depth of field. Hick is shooting into the sun which is low in the sky and using a flash to somewhat balance the exposure. He is hooting at eye level with three people and you see a person smoking on the left, and in the centre and right you see two people having a conversation. Behind them you see the red fence of the skatepark and part of a bike, this adds in the context to a image that could be taken anywhere if he had chosen a different background, I like the warm tones in the image and how relaxed and summery it feels. This is emphasised by the slight sun flare across the image and helps tie all the images together visually. Due to such a bright highlight in the sky the top half of the frame is soft and has a a lot less contrast than the bottom of the image however the photo still feels punchy and effective. I like how this shows the other side to the skatepark, the community side and it shows the viewer the kind of day and experience they have at the park.
I looked at this image, due to how it is a closeup shot, with very little background detail yet it fits in with the other more detailed shots. I also like that it shows the viewer the passion of the people that use this park and enables them to keep doing what they enjoy. The image was taken close up with a wide-angle lens in natural light, you see a photo of someones tattooed forearm in the centre of the frame with their body taking up the right side of the frame and on the left you see an item of clothing on a ledge in the background. You can see this ledge in the other images which helps the viewer understand where it was taken as well as adding tot he context. The tattoo is of a skateboard with ribbon around it, with words I do not understand on it. I find this interesting as it shows how permanent this passion/ lifestyle is for these people, the fact you see no other detail of this person as well tells the story that this persons identity is skateboarding. Again the tones are warm with lots of red and pink. The light is natural and coming in from the right, highlighting the persons arm drawing your attention to it and creating contrast between the arm and the darker t-shirt he's wearing.
Comments