Colin McPherson

Colin McPherson is an independent photographer and visual artist based near Liverpool in the north west England working on commissions, projects and assignments for commercial, educational and editorial clients at home and abroad.

He is a founding partner of 'Document Scotland' Here is a few examples of his work.

This image is of Hamburg fans, City of Manchester Stadium. I like it because it captures the passion that the crowd have for the football team.

 Gornal Athletic defending against a sunset and Wisbech Town. I love this photo because of the sunset and the way he is behind the players managing to freeze their action. 

 Amazon Footprints - this image is from a collection of photos from Brazil’s Amazon rainforest. 

Two children pictured at their home, a traditional reed hut in a small settlement in a protected reserve in the rainforest. I like this photo because of the light setting and the composition. 

                              
 A large Yes sign attached to a flat in the Royal Mile, Edinburgh. This is my favourite photo out of all the images because for me personally it sums up what Scotland stands for. 

I like this photo because of the angel it was shot from and the composition. 

Robert Frank

Robert Frank is known for his American photography and film. Frank's photography has expanded into film and video and experimented with manipulating photographs and photomontage

Here is just a few of his work. .

This photo above is my favourite because it shows a contrast between busy traffic and still/calmness of a city. I like the composition from a low angle and the reflection.

Donato Buccella

Donato Buccella is an Italian street photographer and has over 20 years experience in the photography industry. He is known for capturing moments of the unknown, if there is a place which he thinks would suit for a photo, he'll wait till the right moment comes along to capture it. Below are a few images of both his work in black and white as well as colour photography. His old work done in black and white I feel works the best as it's brings out the main focus in the photo rather than having lots of colours distracting around. I love his composition and timing in all the photos below. 

 I like this image due to the streaks of lights combined with the motorbike, it really gives it a city night life effect.

This is my favourite out of these photos because, I love how he has managed to make a silhouette out of the man on the bike, I like the still/calmness of the photo as well.

 I like this photo as it captures a real life setting, a guy on the phone, a man waiting on the train and the the train going past quickly.

 I like this photo as it captures the slow shutter speed here as well as the composition captured the woman inside the bike wheel.

I like this photo because the way he has managed to keep the first bike in focus and caught the speed from the bike behind. 

William Eugene Smith

William Eugene Smith was an American photojournalist and known for his World War || photos, his work was greatly admired by McCuillin, so much so that it could be said   that McCuillin carried through Smith’s powerful sense of ‘darkness’ into his own images.

Here are two of my favourite photos by him. In both these images a human is hurt, the first one is a soldier wounded with the help from another soldier. The bottom photo is a baby found left lying struggling to survive whilst the soldier holds and prays for it.

Don McCullin

McCullin is an internationally known British photojournalist, well known for his war photographer and images of urban strife. McCuillin is known for having covered many of humanities war zones around the world: from the fighting between Greek and Turkish Cypriots in 1964 through to Turkey’s invasion of northern Cyprus in 1974; to the Vietnam war and Tet Offensive (1965-1968); the six-day-war of 1967 between Israel and Arab countries; the civil war and famine in Biafra (1968/69); Cambodia (1970-1975); Northern Ireland (1971), through to victims of AIDS and Tuberculosis in South Africa in 2000.

Here is a few examples of his photography. I love the emotion captured and the realism captured in his images. 

This image above is of a shell-shocked American Marine during the battle for the city of Hue in 1968, in the Vietnam War. I love this image because the eyes are just staring into a glaze which very much show the psychological impact of war on the individual. 

This is a photo of a Irish homeless man in the East End of London in 1969.

This last one is my favourite because it captures all emotion, worried, scared, hurt. It makes the viewer want to find out what has happened, what the story is behind that young child's tears. I also love the composition in the photo they are both staring into the camera but it is not posed or thought out. 

James Nachtwey

James Nachtwey is an American photojournalist and war photographer. Nachwey grew up in Massachusetts, he studied History and Political Science.He has devoted himself to documenting wars, conflicts, and critical social issues. Nachtwey worked on extensive photographic essays in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza, Israel, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Rwanda, South Africa, Russia, Bosnia, Chechnya, Kosovo, Romania, Brazil, and the United States.  I love these photos because they each tell a story of emotion. 

This was photographed in Bosnia, 1993 - A family mourning a soldier killed in the civil war.

This was photographed in Bosnia, 1993 - Mourning a soldier killed by Serbs and buried in what was once a football field.

Out of the four images, this one is my favourite. It is a shocking image, nobody wishes to see a dead body let along a body with the ribs showing through. This was taken in Somalia, 1992 - Famine victim sewn into burial shroud.

 This was photographed in Bosnia, 1993 - Wounded soldier.

Matt Stuart - Documentary - Street

 

 

Matt Stuart is known as a street photographer and took to being fascinated by people and their lives. Joel Meyerowitz and Henri Cartier-Bresson are a few of his influences. This image is from a roll of  24black and white photos.

 

 

 

 

 

I like this photo due to the humour, where the worker is tipping his bin, there's a man walking down the steps however, the viewer can only see the man's head to bring humour as if the worker is tipping the man out of his bin.

Documentary - Henri Cartier-Bresson

 

 

These are an example of Henri Cartier-Bresson photography. He was a French photographer and was well known for candid photography. He was one of many street photographers that stood out and captured "The decisive moment" which has influenced many photographers to follow suit e.g. Elliot Erwitt.

 

 

 

 

I love this photo because it shows “The Decisive Moment”   either the this happened on a spontaneous moment or the photographer was patient and waited for it. I like everything in the photo including the  people, background, framing, and composition. They all combine together nicely. I love the reflection of the boy jumping and reminds the viewer of being back in school at the playgrounds.

 

 

I like this photo as it is captured where a guy is on his bike and without an idea that the photo is being taken, it captures a shutter speed to make the image look slow and caught in the moment. I also like the composition that the viewer is getting an image from the stairs leading down.

 

The first image is my favourite,  Bresson made a book illustrating "The Decisive Moment" in which both these captures the reference to the title.  

 

Documentary - Joel Meyreowitz

 

 

 

Joel Meyreowitz is a street photographer, and portrait and landscape photographer.

 

 

Ths photo is shot at aperture f8 . In which this gives  a sharp focus on the tree in the main ground. I also like the reflective look from the water and the colour in the sky. I like the composition as well it shows a clear illustration of shallow depth of field.

This is a great photo. Beautiful use of light all colours are complementary. I find the composition interesting as it gives the impression of being cropped and intriguing as we can't see further than the peer.

 I love this photo as it has good use of light and composition. Although the photo has a mysterious feel like a never ending road, the composition makes it interesting with the different shapes.

The photo above would be my favourite out of the three images used as examples. The image is similar to images from a book which Joe photographed in Tuscany and which I believe the photo above is taken from as well.

Elliot Erwitt Documentary Photography

 

 

Here is a few examples of Elliott Erwitt's documentary photography. Erwitt was also known for his advertising photography with black and white candid shots of ironic and absurd situations within everyday situations within everyday settings and inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson's "decisive moment."

This is a photograph by Elliot Erwitt. I love the composition it sets the scene straight away by seeing the Eiffel Tower in the background. We can guess that the weather is dull and has been raining due to the props 'umbrella's' in the image. It tells a story that although it may not be the best of weather life still goes on people are in love and happy. I love the silhouette effect and the idea that they are close to the Eiffel Tower. I also like the fact the photo is in black and white rather than being in colour, if it was in colour it may not have the same effect.

This is a photo by Elliot Erwitt, I love the composition how the background is blurred so we're brought to the attention of the main focus of the couple. This draws the viewer as it is a warm caring image rather than a sickly lovey dovey image. This has a deep sense of humanity and making it black and white has brought a personal feel to it. I love how the instant capture of a couple showing an everyday feeling has been captured brings a more real story to the image.

A photo by Elliot Erwitt. Initially I am drawn to the reflection of the sunglasses, the image of Elliot taken the photo appears so clearly that many people would think it has been photoshopped however it wasn't. I love the modern day feeling to it although this image was taken in the sixties. I love the fact this image is in black and white, it makes it feel more military given the sharp depth of field. If this image was in colour I don't think it would have the same effect and wouldn't work as well.

I love this photo by Elliot Erwitt he has made it seductive and it is not "in your face" pose but more natural. I love the sharp clear eyes. The image draws the viewer making them feel a connection with it.

My favourite photo from these examples would be the second image, which looks like it is from a collection of prints made into a book.