Unit 3 Landscape
Photography
Roger Ballen
Afloat
I think this photo works due to the mist in the distance between the foreground and the mountains in the background. Because of the mist your eye is drawn to the clarity of the small island, I like the newly grown tree surrounded by dead trees in the lake on its own. Also the small clump helps draw your eye to the island The mountain in the background is partly obscured by the mist which adds an eerie atmosphere to this photo, this adds some sort of a depth of field to the photograph.
Compositionally the picture works because the island is to the right of the frame rather than being in the centre. To get this shot a wide angle lens was used on a SLR, then the photo was cropped. Not much editing has gone on in this photo, maybe just a few touch ups but nothing major.
Hanging Down
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This photos main focus is the vibrant red berries in the foreground, eventhough everything in frame is in focus your eye is drawn to the branch drooping into frame. The eye is drawn to the branch not only because of the composition but also because of the greens and yellows of the leaves. The water stream has a blured look due to slow shutter speed which adds the look of motion and life to an otherwise lifeless photo.
Like the photo above compositonally the main focus is on the right of the frame rather than centre. This photo was captured in wide angle with a digital camera then cropped a little, he used a slow shutter speed to capture the rushing water. Just like the image above not too much has been done the edit the photo.
Biography
Roger was born in New York, USA in 1950. Since the 1970s he has lived in Johannesburg. He began his career by documenting dorps and small villages in South Africa, he started photographing the inhabitants from the 80s to 90s. As a result of this was his 5th book 'Outland'. His other book 'Shadow Chamber' is based on the interactions between people, animals, and objects. His most recent work has been sculptural and similar to paintings, which are not closely associated with photography. Roger's work has work has recently been selected for a solo exhibition in the Smithsonian Institute's Museum of African Art.