Eliot Porter was born on December 6th,
1901, in Winnetka, Illinois. He later died on November 2nd, 1990, at the age of
89. Porter was the second of five children, and at the age of 10, was given his
first camera. He quickly began taking pictures of birds. However, he set aside
his new-found passion, and went to Harvard University. Porter then earned a
B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1923 and a M.D. in 1929. He then began teaching
there until 1938.
Porter was
never educated in the art of photography, instead he relied on the work and
experience of others, like Ansel Adams. Even though his passion for photography
was put on the backburner, he was always fascinated with Ansel Adams and Alfred
Stieglitz. Adams encouraged Porter to work with a large-format camera, and soon
after, his work was put on display alongside Alfred Stieglitz at An American
Place in 1939. From then on, he stopped teaching at Harvard, and devoted
himself to a career in photography.
The photograph I chose is entitled “Moss, Waterfall, Cinders, near
Mt. Hekla, Iceland”. The subject of the photograph is a soft waterfall, surrounded
by yellow moss. The waterfall is imbedded in the side of a hill, giving the
photograph depth. This creates a kind of illusion. because I perceive the
waterfall, appearing flat with the ground, instead of on a hill. I think Porter’s
intentions when photographing this scene, was to capture the beauty and peacefulness
of the waterfall. He gives the audience a beautiful contrast with the use of
the yellow moss, and the bluish cinders. The long exposure made the water appear
to be soft and mist like, rather than a stream of water. Porter also dark lines,
that help distinguish the subject form the surrounding content. Nothing was distracting
from the subject, allowing the viewer to see the image, rather than being confused
by what’s being photographed.
Overall, I
think Porter was a courageous and talented photographer. He was willing to give
up his job at Harvard, so he could finally follow his dream. I think his
artwork really reflects on how he saw the world. The types of colors and
fascinating landscapes of his artwork really shows how his eye was keen on
beauty. His photographs are breathtaking, especially when you consider the
tools he used to extract such allure. Porter’s photographs will continue to be
a shining example of how landscape photography should be.
Works Cited
International Center of Photography. www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/eliot-porter?all/all/all/all/0.
Encyclopedia Britannica. www.britannica.com/biography/Eliot-Porter.
Amon Carter Museum. www.cartermuseum.org/collections/porter/about.php.
“Eliot Porter: In The Realm of Nature.” The J. Paul Getty Museum ,
www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/porter/.
No comments:
Post a Comment