Aaron Siskind ,Bill Brandt

Aaron Siskind  

Aaron Siskind December 4, 1903 – February 8, 1991 was an American photographer widely considered to be closely involved with, if not a part of, the abstract expressionist movement. In his autobiography he wrote that he began his foray into photography when he received a camera for a wedding gift and began taking pictures on his honeymoon. He quickly realized the artistic potential this offered. He worked in both New York City and Chicago.

Aaron's work focuses on the details of nature and architecture. He presents them as flat surfaces to create a new image out of them, which, he claimed, stands independent of the original subject. His work has been described as crossing the line between photography and painting.Early in his career, Siskind was a member of the New York Photo League. Working with that group, Siskind produced several significant socially conscious series of images in the 1930s. Among them the “Harlem Document” remains the most famous. He originally was a grade school English teacher in the New York Public School System.

In 1950 Siskind met Harry Callahan when both were teaching at Black Mountain College in the summer. Later, Callahan persuaded Siskind to join him as part of the faculty of the Art Institute of Design in Chicago  

This is one of many of Aaron Siskind, I really like how this is in black and white I love how this has been taken it looks old and decay look to the pictures and he has a-few like this one,I also like how the paper or paint is coming off it because of the years of weather and rain but I think this being in black and white was the best idea because I don't think it would look as good as this and have this much tone and shade to the picture,I think the main focal point this picture is the women's legs and you can see that was a poster under or on top of the other one and I just love this rustic to the photo it dose look like he hasn't photo-shopped it only just change the filter of the photo .
When I see his work I really liked how he dosent really,edit his work I like that you see what you get and how he hasn't really edited it,I don't me wrong I love the work of Bruce Weber and the work he did for Calvin Klein,I love that perfect body and not a hair out of place work but I also love how this is showing you everything has a sell by date and nothing last for ever,I pick Aaron because I like how he takes something that you wouldn't look twice at and made you look at it more and wonder the story behind the pictures.

When I took this I didn't really bother look at what I was doing I was just taking pictures I wasn't trying to focus the camera,I was really just pressing the button and I didn't realise how much I really liked it till I got back to class and I was looking though the pictures I took and see this and I just love how it looks,I like how the 2 is the main focal point to the picture I didn't want to photo-shop the picture I just thought it looked fine how it was but if I was to I would of done it in black ans white or just played around with the brightness/contrast but I also like how you can see texture to the picture which you can see on the 2 how the red paint has chipped off over time I think the little details matter and I really like that.I like how I didn't photo-shop this picture I wanted to have my own style to the work and I thought if I was to play with it in photo-shop I thought I would lose all the little details like the rust on the screw,And the detail on the sign,you can see the brush strokes,I didn't want to lose that also I do really like it in colour and I sure it would of looked better with a little clean up but I wanted to do my work like Aaron and he leaves his work raw,but he dose add a filter or he might of took his work with an old film camera where you use film and all the work comes out in black and white,but if I was to redo this I would like to used and film camera,just I feel like it might bring more tone,texture,shape to my work.

After I looked at the photos I took I wanted to look for someone who has the same theme as this close up shot and I found Bill Brandt,he has a theme of world war 1/2 theme going thought out and I liked the look so I thought I can combine the 2 photographers and see what I get I like how bills has this Victorian Britain with kids in the street playing and when I look at this sign it doesn't look like the ones we have today they look very Victorian style so I thought I could find some more and I've took abit of both photographers work/style,So I went looking for old street signs and I found a-few in town so I did a close up shot and I like how you can see more detail on this one than the other,like the crass on top of the E and how its dirty,I think for something so simple,It just works really well and I wasn't going to photo-shop this one just because I liked how the other one come out without photo-shop so I just left,I took about 100 different ones with different letters but I really like something about this and I think its the detail on top of the E and I like how the focus is all on the E and a little on the letter next to it,I like how the top of the picture is blurred out and the bottom is just showing you that its all about the letter E.I  am more than happy with how this come out and I wouldn't change anything about this picture. 

Bill Brandt 

" Born in Hamburg, Germany, son of a British father and German mother, Brandt grew up during World War I, during which his father, who had lived in Germany since the age of five, was interned for six months by the Germans as a British citizen. Brandt later disowned his German heritage and would claim he was born in South London Shortly after the war, he contracted tuberculosis and spent much of his youth in a sanatorium in Davos, Switzerland He traveled to Vienna to undertake a course of treatment bypsychoanalysis. He was, in any case, pronounced cured and was taken under the wing of socialite Eugenie Schwarzwald. When Ezra Pound visited the Schwarzwald residence, Brandt made his portrait. In appreciation, Pound allegedly offered Brandt an introduction to Man Ray, whose Paris studio and darkroom Brandt would access in 1930.

In 1933 Brandt moved to London and began documenting all levels of British society. This kind of documentary was uncommon at that time. Brandt published two books showcasing this work, The English at Home (1936) and A Night in London 1938. He was a regular contributor to magazines such as Lilliput, Picture Post, and Harper's Bazaar. He documented the Underground bomb shelters of London during."

During World War II, Brandt concentrated on many subjects – as can be seen in his "Camera in London" 1948 but excelled in portraiture and landscape. To mark the arrival of peace in 1945 he began a celebrated series of nudes. His major books from the post-war period are Literary Britain (1951), and Perspective of Nudes (961, followed by a compilation of his best work, Shadow of Light (1966). Brandt became Britain's most influential and internationally admired photographer of the 20th century. Many of his works have important social commentary but also poetic resonance. His landscapes and nudes are dynamic, intense and powerful, often using wide-angle lenses and distortion.Brandt died in London in 1983

Here are some of his work I was talking about I love this world war 1/2 theme well it isn't a theme it was his time,but I think these are very detailed and something simple and I just find them really interesting