Sally Mann

1972-1973

I'm always a sucker for beautiful, impressive landscapes, but I'm not sure how I feel about them being in black and white. For me, what is consistently beautiful in a landscape is the colors. But this picture has caused me to think more about what it takes to make a landscape so beautiful. Is it the colors? Or is there something more impressive about it? 

This is definitely an impressive landscape, yet it lacks colors. What makes it so impressive to me? It's got something to do with the lighting. Perhaps, what can be most impressive in landscape isn't the colors at all, but rather something even more fundamental to all photography--ferocious lighting. 

Arnold Newman

John F

     When it comes to portraiture and environmental photography, Newman definitely sets the standard high. So much of who a person is has a lot to do with their environment. A person's desires, tastes, ideas, goals, and even strengths and weaknesses can be heavily influenced by the world directly around them. And Newman consistently gets this right when he does his portrait work. He almost seems to put the subject in a secondary position, with their environment being he main focus. 

     This image above, simply titled "John F" is truly a great one. It's a great one because it has a way of capturing a great man (John F. Kennedy) in a way that shows the greatness that was not JFK's but that influenced him and surrounded him. This portrait shows the greatness of architectural and governmental might that is U.S. Politics in many ways, how how these great ideas of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness influenced JFK into the president that he was.