Monday, 23 March 2015

Bobby Neel Adams

Bobby Neel Adams was born in Black Mountain, North Carolina and presently resides in Arizona on the Mexico Border. He has exhibited worldwide and his photographs are in the collections of: International Center for Photography, NY, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Station Museum, diRosa Foundation, and the Norton Family Foundation to name a few. Adams has received grants and awards from the Aaron Siskind Foundation, LEF Foundation, MacDowell Art Colony and the Hermitage. His book Broken Wings was published by the Greenville Museum in 1997. Adams is currently working on a series of Memento Mori photographs of insects, birds, and mammals. Adams' work conveys evidence by showing a contrast in age by having a portrait of a person being shown at different ages.



This image uses a contrast in age by showing the same person. Both sides are wearing the same clothes. We can see that light has been used in order to enhance the wrinkles on the person's face and as a result makes the difference in age more noticeable. Form is a strong feature within this image as it is used to enhance the shadows within the image. The added detail to the image allows for the contrasts within the image to be more noticeable. This enhanced detail makes it easier for wrinkles and other age defining features to be seen and compared with the more pure, younger version of themselves.



This picture uses contrasts of dark colours against a whit background in order to make the image stand out more. Against the dark background, features such as grey hair become more prominent and show age in a more obvious way. This contrast is further enhanced through the use of colour. The younger person's squinting within the portrait appears brighter while the older version appears to be more darker. This may suggest that the child is brighter because the child is more pure and innocent. The older version is darker because the colour tone may reflect masculinity while also suggesting that the older version is more worn.



This image attempts to show the change in age in a more striking way. A different background has been used with a different tones on the face in a way that creates a clear contrast between the young and old image. Tone is a key formal element within this image. The image goes right to left through light to dark. The shadows on the side of the older portrait's face can be used to enhance age-defining features such as wrinkles, but it can also be used to show how time is passing and the person is ageing. This would explain why he appears brightest when he is younger but as the image moves to the older version, his face grows darker.



This image uses a black and white image in order to blend the tones of the images together. The black and white filter allows for the wrinkles on the older face to be more prominent and it shows age more effectively as a result. The black and white filter within the image highlight more of the differences between the two images. The image on the left appears be paler than the portrait on the right, suggesting that the person has become more withered with age. The change in eye colour from a bold black colour is changed to a paler, empty colour, highlighting how the person has aged and his innocence has been removed.

Summary:

Adams is able to show the evidence in age by using contrasts of old and new pictures. This approach offers a visually striking image that can attract audiences eyes by showing some key formal elements. The effect of the image is achieved through blending two images into one. This creates a more interesting example of contrast as a result because the images blend seamlessly. This technique can be used in order to cause people to define clear examples of ageing such as wrinkles and can be used to show evidence of the child growing up.

Influence:

 I would replicate this style of evidence by ageing people in photoshop and comparing different ages. I could achieve some interesting results while incorporating interesting formal elements to produce a more visually interesting result.


I was able to recreate some of the key aspects of Bobby Neel Adam's photography. I was able to show a striking contrast between old and young. I was able to show this within a single portrait that matches together seamlessly. Tone of the image is used in order to show wrinkles and other defining features of ageing by enhancing the shadows upon the face. Since I was not able to create a version where I compared an old photo of a younger person with an updated, recent image, I was forced to go in the opposite direction and create an older version through photoshop.


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