Photographers Report (pt.1)
1. Photographer: Bernice Abbott (7/17/1898 - 12/9/1991)
Background: Bernice Abbot was born in the U.S, SpringField, Ohio in 1898. She briefly studied at Ohio State University before moving to New York in 1918 where she studied art in the forms of sculpture and drawing . She continued her studies overseas in Berlin before becoming a darkroom assistant in Paris. In 1925 she set up her own photography studio in Paris and created some photographs of aristocrats still well-known today. In 1929 she moved back to New York and was so shocked at the quickness of industrialization in the city that she began to document the city and become a well-known photographer because of it. After her documentation of New York she taught photography in New York and in 1968 she finally settled in Main and devoted her time to printing her photos.
2. Bernice Abbott’s work was taken in balck and white, exhibiting contrast between the dark shadows of her work and the bright highlights in her work. This contrast that she displayed in her art was/is similar to the works of Ansel Adams; in the way that both photographers capture a lot of depth and life through the range of shades in their photos.
Not only was Bernice able to use contrast effectively as she was also good at using natural lines to lead your eyes through her photos. In photos like “Broad Street looking toward Wall Street, Manhattan '' she uses the natural lines of the building and road to lead your eyes down the road then up the building, emphasizing the height. Another example of her using lines is in her picture “Seventh Avenue Looking South from 35th Street, Manhattan"
3. Bernice Abbott became most famous for her pictures of the rapidly modernizing New York. She took photos of the tall buildings, bustling city and new shops appearing. I think through her work she was trying to capture this time period of the growing New York and trying to emphasize how rapid industrialization and Modernization can occur. Through her works she was trying to display the section of time like a piece of history so it would remain prominent within her photos.
4. This Photographer really influenced and inspired me while doing my architecture photos. She captures the growing city of New York with its big buildings and bustling streets. While I was completing the architecture section of my portfolio I kept her photos in mind and tried to capture brick buildings similar to the ones she photographed and new buildings making them look taller or more different in design than the other ones. I tried to get pictures of new buildings to show the ever-adapting evolution of architecture and design in our modern world just like she did in her time.
Background: Bernice Abbot was born in the U.S, SpringField, Ohio in 1898. She briefly studied at Ohio State University before moving to New York in 1918 where she studied art in the forms of sculpture and drawing . She continued her studies overseas in Berlin before becoming a darkroom assistant in Paris. In 1925 she set up her own photography studio in Paris and created some photographs of aristocrats still well-known today. In 1929 she moved back to New York and was so shocked at the quickness of industrialization in the city that she began to document the city and become a well-known photographer because of it. After her documentation of New York she taught photography in New York and in 1968 she finally settled in Main and devoted her time to printing her photos.
2. Bernice Abbott’s work was taken in balck and white, exhibiting contrast between the dark shadows of her work and the bright highlights in her work. This contrast that she displayed in her art was/is similar to the works of Ansel Adams; in the way that both photographers capture a lot of depth and life through the range of shades in their photos.
Not only was Bernice able to use contrast effectively as she was also good at using natural lines to lead your eyes through her photos. In photos like “Broad Street looking toward Wall Street, Manhattan '' she uses the natural lines of the building and road to lead your eyes down the road then up the building, emphasizing the height. Another example of her using lines is in her picture “Seventh Avenue Looking South from 35th Street, Manhattan"
3. Bernice Abbott became most famous for her pictures of the rapidly modernizing New York. She took photos of the tall buildings, bustling city and new shops appearing. I think through her work she was trying to capture this time period of the growing New York and trying to emphasize how rapid industrialization and Modernization can occur. Through her works she was trying to display the section of time like a piece of history so it would remain prominent within her photos.
4. This Photographer really influenced and inspired me while doing my architecture photos. She captures the growing city of New York with its big buildings and bustling streets. While I was completing the architecture section of my portfolio I kept her photos in mind and tried to capture brick buildings similar to the ones she photographed and new buildings making them look taller or more different in design than the other ones. I tried to get pictures of new buildings to show the ever-adapting evolution of architecture and design in our modern world just like she did in her time.
Photographers Report (pt.2)
5. Compare and contrast images from Bernice Abbot to my own, taken inspired by her
The photo on the left was taken by Bernice Abbot in Manhattan, 1938 and is titled Charles Lane between West and Washington Streets. I took inspiration off of her work and went downtown in Ann Arbor to find an alley with a similar width. As you can see, the biggest visual difference between the two photos in the smoothness of the roads and buildings, the one taken by Bernice Abbot is more rough with al ot of brick layouts and is marker of her time period, while mine taken in downtown Ann Arbor, 2024, are smoother and made of concrete (also a marker of time). While there are clear time period differences the overall composition looks similar and were both taken in road/Allies with a similar width (and similar feeling because of the trash in both locations).
The photo on the left was taken in 1936 by Bernice Abbot and is titled Jay Street, No. 115, Brooklyn, the photo on the right is a photo taken by me that was inspired by her work. One noticeable difference you can see right away is the layout of the stairs, the stairs on the left are porch stairs leading to a house, whereas the stair on the right go up the SIDE of the building and don't lead to a living quarter. A similarity between the two photos is that in both photos there is a family sitting/standing on the stairs; to recreate this phtot I used my family and my brother's friend as models to get a similar composition.
To the left is a composition created by Bernice Abbot in Brooklyn, 1936, and is titled Brooklyn Bridge, Water and New Dock Streets, right of this image is my work that was created in inspiration of hers. The right photo was taken in Downtown Ann Arbor under a railway bridge as opposed to the Brooklyn bridge which cars drive over. In my work you can she similar elements of Bernice's work though, it's completely unique because of the differences; in both works there is a large structure on the right of the image, a bridge, and buildings in the background, mine, however was taken in a smaller town and the purposes of the structures are not hte same, making mine still unique.
6. In all of my photos I tried to re-create a feeling but not make a replica of Bernice Abbot's work. I kept many aspects of the image the same as far as architecture goes, I would find locations with similar structures such as stairs, bridges, buildings and/or people but I would shoot things from a different angle or try to emphasize a difference in the photos to show the change of time periods. Not only did I take inspiration from her individual photos but I took inspiration from her photography career as a whole and her intention of capturing this new New York in photos; in my photos I sometimes tried to emphasize a change in clothes or design of buildings to capture downtown ANN ARBOR in MY time period.
In all of my photos I made sure to make it clear that there are/were differences between the two different time periods and locations. Bernice Abbot's work INSPIRED me but I kept all of my pieces unique to my photography style just like how she did when she was photographing New York through the 1930's.
In all of my photos I made sure to make it clear that there are/were differences between the two different time periods and locations. Bernice Abbot's work INSPIRED me but I kept all of my pieces unique to my photography style just like how she did when she was photographing New York through the 1930's.