Hunter Leone
Hunter Leone originally hated photography when he first tried it. He started off doing something for a friend in exchange for a meal and openly admits on his blog his early detest for the subject. Later he opened a fashion magazine and realised what can be done with photography as an art form instead of the stereotypical association with classical photography. I love this photographer because he is openly honest about his earlier opinions and how he as developed as an artist. The majority of his photos within the Three Nails Photography are of weddings or couples. The rest of his work revolve around fantasy inspired work or magazine-styled work. I was especially drawn into this Alice in Wonderland inspired work as he photographed a newly engaged couple before their wedding.
The story of Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, is about a girl who fell down a rabbit hole and the adventure of the world she has found down the rabbit hole with the wacky characters she meets and the events she has encountered. Perhaps the story is a metaphor for adulthood where there are so many bazaar things people have to endure and don't know about this unexplored world. The focus of this photoshoot is on the happiness of the two in their own world, not caring about anything else outside this wonderland they have created for themselves. I think it is an amazing interpretation of the 'happily ever after' scenario which inspires me in my own work. The photoshoot wasn't officially titled as anything other than "Garrett + Bailey engagements." The title of this is the model's name who had done work for Leone before, and as Leone loves to work with couple models, especially works for weddings and engagement photoshoots, this Alice in Wonderland themed one also fits in with his other fantasy studio work. The colours in this photoshoot are pale ones, with the dominating golden hue of the sunrise/ sunset, giving power to the photographs. There are baby blues in Alice's stripped dress and navy waistcoat on the Hatter model, but the golden colours from the sun is the colour which stands out the most. By doing this it creates a calming tone, along with some positions that the models are in. For example the image of the two lying on the floor seems to be in a lovely dream-like state with their relaxed poses, they seem calm and happy in this Wonderland world. The same goes for the objects seen on the table. although the intricate patterns on the teacups or the golden shine of the pocket watch, still seems to be softened by the colour. Perhaps the main reason for this is to focus on the models and not the objects as more. Although this is extremely effective in his work, I would prefer to use more vibrant colours in my work to focus on this world created for pure happiness. Looking at the technicalities, Leone has got a wide range of objects in this shot. The contrast of round items such as tea cups and watches with the rough texture of ageing books creates lots of visual lines and circles within his work. The same can be said for some of his photos with the models. With the table in the background and the couple looking up, the model's round faces contrast with the lines of the table in the background. I think Leone did this to create a balance so that there isn't just straight lines resembling right and wrong, but also rounded objects to resemble the endless possibilities and opportunities. Leone uses shallow focus to make the main focus of the image, the people and the teapots seem to stand out. simplifies the surroundings because the only thing that matters is the people and this unique world this photographer has created. He mainly uses centred photographs on foreground and occasionally middle-ground. Leone might have used something like a ladder or something to stand on when taking the overhead shot of the couple. The photoshoot was done over five years ago. I think the artist is trying to show that studio photoshoots don't always have to be in a studio to get this idealised look. I chose this photoshoot because I feel like it displays the feeling of happiness and the "New Life" section or "Resolution" in the section of a Hero's journey. |
Contact sheets
With my Hunter Leone edits, I wanted to focus on the happiness of the models, designed to represent a 'happy ending' of the story. The Three Nails photographers - Where Leone works - specialises in weddings and couples. His photoshoot was for a wedding, which is seen as a happy occasion and can also be associated as a happy ending in some modern day stories. The first photograph with the shallow focus, focusing on the flower with the tea party in the background gives a since of mystery as to what there is to see. I wanted my experimentation edit to be the first thing people see because I want to give excitement to the viewer, almost teasing them about what they are about to see. I've tried to imitate Leone's style of placing two or more images together with a white outline joining them together. I tried to imitate the offerings of the 'eat me' cake and 'drink me' bottle to show that both people are, symbolically, offering themselves to the other through the gifts shown. I placed the two images together with the full length photographs of each model is looking into the objects on the far left and on the far right, portrayed as book ends. (So the Hatter is looking at the cake then the bottle is seen by Alice.) The next image after that is of the two in an embrace, obviously happy to be in each other's company - symbolically they are each other's 'happy endings.' I used the photograph of the two lying down on the grass, inspired by a similar photograph of Leone's, to resemble eternal love. The cards scattered around them resembles troubles or problems in life, yet the two seem at peace, calming and not distracted or disturbed by ordinary issues seen in day-to-day life. I ended by edits with the couple looking up at the camera with the tea party visible in the background, almost like they are suddenly aware of the viewer in their land and bidding them goodbye.
Hanging Plans
With my first hanging plan I was trying to fit all of my images onto the hanging plan because I felt like all of them deserved to be included. I wanted the last two images on the bottom right to be enlarged to see further detail within these images. With my second hanging plan I wanted to enlarge the images again, but have a slight pattern. I wanted the photographs to have some symmetrical imagery involved in this hanging plan. For example there are images with the grass in the background near the top of the images, making a triangular shape and the same for the objects on the table in a triangular shape. With the last hanging plan I wanted the couple to seem as though they were inseparable. The two seem to to be depressed on either side, and in the middle picture the two seem to be in an inseparable state, because their perfect world is nothing without the other.
With my developed work I wanted to focus on the world that the couple are in. I wanted to express the business but yet natural and beautiful setting in the forest, in this Wonderland where the couple seem to be in a happy, blissful life. At first I was just going to show the long shot landscape photographs I took of the table, however I felt like that had been done too many times before in my edits, and I felt like it was impersonal and didn't fit the theme of "happiness." Instead I created a collage with many of the photographs I had used from the photoshoot. I had used some of the edits I did earlier on, for example the object images and the landscape image of the two at the table at the bottom. I used different scrapbooking tools as stamps of flowers and birds, and different tape. I used the clockwork tape on two images; one of the female model in the bottom right corner, and the other of the male model at the top. I used this tape because it links into the Alice in Wonderland theme and it also represents the passing of time in their Wonderland. I also used the yellow tape on the main focus image located in the centre, to represent the happiness the couple are experiencing. I used the flower stamps, butterfly stamps, and the bird stamps to reinforce the natural nature setting that the Hater's tea party. I also used a tiny bit of glitter to reinforce the idyllic setting and idyllic lifestyle the characters have in their Wonderland.
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