Obama's People
- Thread starter Pablito
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MichaelHarris
Well-known
I can show you some but I'm not sure we can link George Bush photos. Just looked at the Greenburg stuff, didn't like it either.
Gabriel M.A.
My Red Dot Glows For You
Yeah, but not "potential war criminal".
bmattock
Veteran
I think we should all get used to seeing the banal and the average celebrated as the new excellence.
Signs and portents, incidents and accidents, hints and allegations. Double, double, toil and trouble.
xayraa33
rangefinder user and fancier
well, that was the exact moment when the guilty judgement was announced to the now not so fat "Dutchman".
bmattock
Veteran
a) Don't know who he is.
b) Don't care.
c) Still don't know what makes a person look like a 'potential war criminal'.
d) I rather suspect people see what they want to see. Me, too.
xayraa33
rangefinder user and fancier
MichaelHarris
Well-known
Thardy
Veteran
The shot of Nancy Pelosi made her look like the host of Cabana Chat on MadTV.
bmattock
Veteran
So predictable, you lot.
MichaelHarris
Well-known
It's all I got after 8 years. Twelve seconds into his buh bye speech tonight he went all 9-11
Rick Waldroup
Well-known
Fascinating series of portraits. Great stuff and I really enjoyed viewing them.
Rick Waldroup
Well-known
Thardy
Veteran
gdi
Veteran
I think bad is the new good.
swoop
Well-known
I like the descriptions. Apparently Obama brought a lot of his friends along with him.
I personally liked the disheveled look of the photos. It shows that they're just ordinary people. A nice contrast to Leibovitz's photo of the Bush cabinet, that in my opinion made them look like a bunch of gangsters.
And yeah. A lot of those guys are younger than I would like.
I personally liked the disheveled look of the photos. It shows that they're just ordinary people. A nice contrast to Leibovitz's photo of the Bush cabinet, that in my opinion made them look like a bunch of gangsters.
And yeah. A lot of those guys are younger than I would like.
Gabriel M.A.
My Red Dot Glows For You
I like the descriptions. Apparently Obama brought a lot of his friends along with him.
I personally liked the disheveled look of the photos. It shows that they're just ordinary people. A nice contrast to Leibovitz's photo of the Bush cabinet, that in my opinion made them look like a bunch of gangsters.
And yeah. A lot of those guys are younger than I would like.
Again, I may hate a big chunk of the people on that photo, but that's a good photo. Relaxed and well framed, lit...well, it's a very good photo. I don't even like Leibowitz personally.
I don't think the photo "made them look like", btw. It's a very "unfiltered photo". 😉 No, really.
vdonovan
Vince Donovan
These portraits are using a deliberate technique, what you might call an anti-portrait.
Warhol very much used this technique, and he sort of borrowed if from WeeGee. The lighting used is the least flattering possible: straight on and a little low. There's only a little diffusion. Note that some of the women were allowed to show a profile, which is more flattering in that light.
Most importantly, the photographer is doing nothing to make his subjects feel at ease. He might even be doing things to *make* them tense and uncomfortable, like yelling at an assistant, or saying something like "I'm going to take your picture now. Get ready."
Everyone--except professional models--freezes up and looks uncomfortable in front of a camera. One of the tasks of the portrait photographer is to connect, however briefly, to the subject and get them to relax. In my portrait shoots frequently the first shot is awkward, the second quite natural, and the third stiff (because they are *trying* to relax). Quite often that second exposure is the keeper. In this portfolio it looks like he used the first shot, when the subjects were most uneasy.
So I like this series. The photographer used a specific technique to achieve a specific result, namely portraits that don't look like "official" portraits with a flag in the background and hands folded in the lap. These portraits are saying (to me): we're not whitewashing anything. You're going to see it warts and all.
I imagine it's a challenge to take portraits of famous people (I never have). How do you give a fresh look at someone whom everyone has already seen a million times?
One of my favorite portraits ran in a profile on Jimmy Carter in the New York Times magazine last year. I can't remember the photographer, unfortunately. The photographer used a black background, a soft spot, and a very VERY shallow depth of field. Only Carter's eyes were in focus, the rest of him faded away. You knew it was him, of course, but you had to pay attention.
In that portrait Carter was smiling. His eyes were positively twinkling. Clearly the photographer had taken the time to connect with Carter so he could get a nice expression. Carter's an old pro as well. He wouldn't freeze up in front of the camera.
Unless the photographer, either as a deliberate technique or accidentally, did something to make him freeze up.
Warhol very much used this technique, and he sort of borrowed if from WeeGee. The lighting used is the least flattering possible: straight on and a little low. There's only a little diffusion. Note that some of the women were allowed to show a profile, which is more flattering in that light.
Most importantly, the photographer is doing nothing to make his subjects feel at ease. He might even be doing things to *make* them tense and uncomfortable, like yelling at an assistant, or saying something like "I'm going to take your picture now. Get ready."
Everyone--except professional models--freezes up and looks uncomfortable in front of a camera. One of the tasks of the portrait photographer is to connect, however briefly, to the subject and get them to relax. In my portrait shoots frequently the first shot is awkward, the second quite natural, and the third stiff (because they are *trying* to relax). Quite often that second exposure is the keeper. In this portfolio it looks like he used the first shot, when the subjects were most uneasy.
So I like this series. The photographer used a specific technique to achieve a specific result, namely portraits that don't look like "official" portraits with a flag in the background and hands folded in the lap. These portraits are saying (to me): we're not whitewashing anything. You're going to see it warts and all.
I imagine it's a challenge to take portraits of famous people (I never have). How do you give a fresh look at someone whom everyone has already seen a million times?
One of my favorite portraits ran in a profile on Jimmy Carter in the New York Times magazine last year. I can't remember the photographer, unfortunately. The photographer used a black background, a soft spot, and a very VERY shallow depth of field. Only Carter's eyes were in focus, the rest of him faded away. You knew it was him, of course, but you had to pay attention.
In that portrait Carter was smiling. His eyes were positively twinkling. Clearly the photographer had taken the time to connect with Carter so he could get a nice expression. Carter's an old pro as well. He wouldn't freeze up in front of the camera.
Unless the photographer, either as a deliberate technique or accidentally, did something to make him freeze up.
bcostin
Well-known
A nice contrast to Leibovitz's photo of the Bush cabinet, that in my opinion made them look like a bunch of gangsters.
Speaking as a fellow black-hearted and soulless Republican neo-con, I like that shot.
Even though it reminds me of the opening of the Addams Family just before they all snap their fingers.
Pherdinand
the snow must go on
i like the images. They present very real people, not some stupid smileface overconfident poses.
People are not perfect looking. Even politicians don't have to be.
About the taylor business... Well, i guess no matter what is posted, some people will always complain about things. I see nothing wrong with their outfit in general...not perfect, no, but you think the one with the pencil behind his ears is an accident? Or the ones without a jacket? It is obviously intended to present them like they just stepped in front of you on a busy morning out on a corner.
People are not perfect looking. Even politicians don't have to be.
About the taylor business... Well, i guess no matter what is posted, some people will always complain about things. I see nothing wrong with their outfit in general...not perfect, no, but you think the one with the pencil behind his ears is an accident? Or the ones without a jacket? It is obviously intended to present them like they just stepped in front of you on a busy morning out on a corner.
