Tuesday, March 30, 2021

John Dugdale

 John Dugdale is one of those photographers who went through a tragedy of life and still came out successful due to his will power to continue his work. Dugdale suffered a stroke at the age 33 that left him almost fully blind, which led to being fully blind. Through this tragedy he became more and more successful learning old techniques of photography. He is most famous for his cyanotypes. 

One of his cyanotypes that specifically stood out to me was this one below:

John Dugdale | Cyanotype, Alternative photography, Contact print  
I like this cyanotype and that he chose to do a cyanotype with this photograph because it seems like a rather "blue" empty, emotional photo. I think choosing to take this photo a create a cyanotype fits what Dugdale was trying to express through this photo. The person in the photo seems to be in water looking out to the distance. It is so blue it almost seems like he is stuck in this pool filled of nothingness. The blues of the cyanotype and the depressed, emptiness of the photo really come together and make this stand out in my opinion. 
Another one of his photos that really stood out to me was this one below:
A Quiet Confidence – New York Master photographer: John Dugdale - VAGA  magazine 
I like this one because it also fits the theme of cyanotypes. As we can see this is of a man who is also nude. There are flowers on the table and they seem to be dying. The man Is seen with his head down and hands on the table as he is being covered with the dead petals. This photograph stood out to me because it really seems to capture a moment in time. Dugdale really made it look like this man has been in this position for years, like he never moved. I really enjoy this from this cyanotype. I think again, as the one above, the blues really give off a sense of a depressed and empty emotion. 

Although these two photos really stood out to me, I checked some of his other work and I do not really fancy it. I just do not think his work is that great in a sense of others I have seen and it is just not my taste. Even with this thought I think that it is absolutely crazy and amazing that he is fully blind and can shoot and capture and create these beautiful photos and cyanotypes.

-Bronwen Lewis

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Chuck Kelton

 I am choosing to write about Chuck Kelton. Kelton is a photographer and a professional in chemograms. What he does is transform light, chemistry, and paper into abstract paintings and landscapes. All of his photos are made without the use of negatives and cameras. All of the processes happen in the darkroom. Kelton was a master at black and white printing which eventually led him to exploring with chemicals to expand on those colors. 

One of his photos that really caught my attention was well, really all of them. They all are done very similar but I will pick two to talk about. The first one I will talk about is the one shown below: 


  I like this photo because it looks like an explosion in the air. When I first took a glance at this photo I thought it was an actual photograph of an explosion, but it is really just manipulation of chemicals in a darkroom. The photo or chemogram also looks like it was a photograph that could have been manipulated after chemicals, but that is not the case. Kelton knows how to handle the chemicals so well that he can control them in a small sense to where he can make it look like a landscape. I really enjoy this photograph because of the simple fact that it looks like something it now and that is talent. It looks like a photograph, but it is just manipulation of chemicals. 

Another on of Kelton's photos that I like is the one pictured below:

I enjoy this photo again because it looks like a landscape photograph, but it is not. This photo or chemogram looks like a cloudy sky with a horizon straight across in the background with a pond that shows water right in front. I like this photo because Kelton really shows his control with the chemicals to make it look like water is there. He also really knows how to work the chemicals so much to a point to where they flow really well together. This chemogram is one of my favorites because I know a typical person would think this is a real photograph, but it is not.


I really enjoy exploring and looking through Kelton's work because it is something I see myself trying to accomplish. I enjoy his work and I think it is something I want to try for my chemical painting photos.


-Bronwen Lewis

Abelardo Morell

  Abelardo Morell was born in Havana, Cuba in 1948. He immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1962. He attended the college of ...