I love these challenges as I am discovering artists I have never known! There is a great advantage in being ignorant in that you get so many new and delightful surprises!
So thanks go to all who entered the last Mari Mahr challenge. I was delighted to win with a craft festival find.
We are sticking with monochrome - sepia this time. But slow down!
Julia Margaret Cameron was born 199 years ago, and was given her first camera at the age of 48. She only had a photographic career for 11 years, but became one of the finest British photographic portraitists of the C19th. Apparently her style was not appreciated by all - she had a camera that was not really suitable for portraits with a fixed f stop of 6 or 7. This gave a shallow depth of field which meant that some of the features were out of focus. That, combined with a very long shutter speed (sometimes 4 minutes), meant her portraits were not sharp. She would typically use one light source lit from the side to make her close cropped portraits (the world's first close ups!). Her subjects were the celebrities at the time - poets and artists - models and her children and maids. She strove to capture beauty. She also took photographs to illustrate historical and religious works.
JMC died in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1879 and I have visited the church in the tea plantations where she is buried.
So have a go - try a dark room with one light source, a shallow DOF and long exposure, experiment with differential / soft focus. Perhaps use a filter to reduce the light. If you have children who want to dress up and sit still for a long time, play at being Victorian! mmm, ok, maybe not. But if they are putting on a play get them to pose for you. No willing victims? Have a look through your old files and see if you can find a suitable portrait to doctor. Process in sepia.
Or interpret as you will, and take a photo to show how she has influenced photography today.
@boxplayer Thanks. I was surprised too. I think you'll do rather well at this. I have just watched the video - they really are exceptional portraits. really beautiful, I just love the women and children.
I just took a self portrait today that will be perfect for this challenge! I'll post it tomorrow :) Beautiful youtube slideshow, I really enjoyed it. Great choice for the challenge.
I will be on the lookout for a shot within the time frame but it's nice to know I can also use an older one if need be. I love the idea of sepia- what a nice change of pace!! Great choice.
Here's my entry :) I did my best to work with low light, allowing light to hit from a single source, and some features (such as the eye not covered by the veil) out of focus
Interesting challenge. After watching the slide show of many examples of her work i found myself slightly depressed. She does have lovely light in her photos but almost all of her subjects seem, at the best, pensive and, at the worst, morose.
In any case, being a little short on suitable models right now I searched back through my old files and found a picture of someone in a pensive mood, with lighting mostly from a side lamp and decided to see what I could do with that. After adding a bit of blur, converting to a sepia tone and giving a vintage look to the edges, here is my result.
@gardencat this is excellent, Joanne. You found the right expression and lighting in this shot. I think because the shutter speeds were so long in JMC's day no one could keep a smile going! I can understand why you feel depressed looking at them, I didn't find that. I really love the positioning of the subjects, the light and the depth of character that comes through. I don't have any models either, just now, maybe at the weekend. I will have a look at my daughtr's wedding photos to see if she looks pensive in any of them!
This is so wrong but...
I had been working on my picture for this challenge and then went back to some photos I was processing, from a weekend triathlon race and suddenly, the appearance of some of the things that the competitors were wearing for the swim, reminded me of Victorian bathing costumes and I got the weird idea of combining some of the features of JMC's photos with a shot of some very modern young women.
What I have taken mostly is the soft focus, the sepia toning, and the soft emulsion effect edges of the photos.
Oh well done! You are right- it does have a Victorian feel. I like the composition and facial expressions of the swimmers. The sepia toning with the soft focussing works well. I like this! I wonder if JMC. Ever thought about hand holding a camera?
I considered using a Barbie doll or a pet (cat) portrait but gave in and used a self-portrait. It was kind of fun making myself look a little less old and over-weight--
Tweets ahoy!
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how weird, I wonder if that was a spell check or me going mad? Cameron
I found this video helpful with the descriptions of her work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqnVLwRagbs
In any case, being a little short on suitable models right now I searched back through my old files and found a picture of someone in a pensive mood, with lighting mostly from a side lamp and decided to see what I could do with that. After adding a bit of blur, converting to a sepia tone and giving a vintage look to the edges, here is my result.
I had been working on my picture for this challenge and then went back to some photos I was processing, from a weekend triathlon race and suddenly, the appearance of some of the things that the competitors were wearing for the swim, reminded me of Victorian bathing costumes and I got the weird idea of combining some of the features of JMC's photos with a shot of some very modern young women.
What I have taken mostly is the soft focus, the sepia toning, and the soft emulsion effect edges of the photos.
Anyway, here it is. Please don't throw eggs. :)
;)
At last a willing subject in my garden!