Assessment 1 Photography and Frames
Ezra Stoller(1915-2004) Ezra Stoller was a famous American architectural photographer in the 20th-century. His photographs played an extremely important role in shaping the public’s view of modern architecture. Stoller collaborated and worked with many architects which including Frank Lloyd Wright and Paul Rudolph between the 1930s-1970s, and recording the rise of modernism through photographs.
As a master of black and white photographs, the use of lights and shadows was one of the most significant technique that Stoller employed in his photos(A contemporary building or space with an expressive massing thanks to the use of shadows and light). Stoller loved to use and utilize the natural conditions of lights, shadows and compositions to reflect and highlight the clean lines, texture, stereo vision and structural embellishments of contemporary buildings with an expressive massing. At the same time, photographic compositions such as symmetric structure, diversified lines and shapes have been widely used in his photo as elements of emphasizing the sense of space.
1st photograph- Whitney Museum of American Art
- The first thing I saw in this photo was the man and the child. It's kind of like the point of view of this picture.
- The wall line in the middle separates the light and shadow sections of the architecture which create a sense of contrast.
- The color depth of shadows are different on the architecture as the sunlight projecting on an uneven and irregular surface, which create a sense of layers and three-dimensions.
- Composition: Lines, square lattice, point of view
2nd Photograph- Tunnel of TWA Terminal, New York, 1962.
- Tunnel with a series of indoor light which have reflection on the tunnel's wall
- Shadowy figure of people at the middle of this photograph
- The gradient of shadow in this photo create a sense of layers
- Symmetric composition create a sense of clean and simple (Green line)
- 4 leading lines that direct audience view to the shadowy figure of people (Red Lines)
- Composition: Curves (Blue line)
3rd Photograph- Manufacturer's Trust Company, Fifth Avenue, Skidmore, Owings& Merrill, New York 1954
- The combination of the inside light and the night creates a strong sense of contrast between lights and shadows, which reflects a clean texture of the building
- Under the effect of shadows and lights, the lines and square shapes as embellishments on this architecture emphasizes a sense of layers and three-dimensions
- This photograph was taken at night as indoor light conditions could best reflect with the darkness and shows the most expressive appearance of the building in the photograph
- Composition: Lines, square shapes
My Photographs
Ezra Stoller's method of using lights and shadows provided me some inspirations and ideas for my photographs. Observing and utilizing the best position or angle of architectures, and conditions of light and shadow, then use these elements to reflect the most expressive way of building's appearance was the most straightforward aspects that I gained from Stoller and used in my process of taking photographs.
Photograph 1 'Phoenix Center, Beijing'
Photograph 1
This photograph was taken at the Phoenix center in Beijing. The most significant feature of this photograph is the different patterns projecting on glass fences according to natural light and shadow conditions. According to Stoller’s photographs, we could see that the difference in the angles of light create a completely different feeling of the building’s expression. Therefore I chose the time before sunset to take this photo, when the sun was not too light and not directly shining the frontside of this building, which was the best time to reflect the sense of layers and three-dimensions of this architecture.
Photograph 2 'Bathroom in Phoenix Center'
Photograph 2
This photograph was taken in the bathroom of Phoenix center. The combination of indoor light with architectural structure and the composition of the photograph creates a sense of simplicity, purity and texture
Photograph 3 'Courtyard at Night'
Photograph 3
This picture was taken in a park at night. One interesting thing about this photograph is the lamplight projecting on the wet ground, which creates a light reflection. The strong contrast between the surrounding darkness and the courtyard's lamplight emphasizes the texture and structure of the architecture in this photograph. Ezra used similar method in his photographs.
Photograph 4 ‘711’
Photograph 4
This photograph was taken in a shopping area. I used the same method of lights and shadows as in photograph 3 to shoot 711 store.
Photograph 5 ‘Forest at Night’
Photograph 5
This photo was taken in a forest nearby my house. The street light projects on the wet grass reflecting these light dots, which was one thing that I found interesting during the process of taking photographs. I really like the lamplights shining the back of trees, which reflects a contrast between the shadowy tree and lights.
Reference
Myung Seok, H.,(2016). Ezra Stoller [Photograph]. Whitney Museum of American Art. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325111114_SEEING_ARCHITECTURAL_PHOTOGRAPHS_SPACE_AND_TIME_IN_THE_WORKS_OF_JULIUS_SHULMAN_AND_EZRA_STOLLER_COPYRIGHT_C_2016_BY_MYUNG_SEOK_HYUN_SEEING_ARCHITECTURAL_PHOTOGRAPHS_SPACE_AND_TIME_IN_THE_WORKS_OF_JULI
Dorsa, H.,(2018). Ezra Stoller [Photograph]. Tunnel of TWA Terminal, New York, 1962. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@dorsakarbalaei/photography-and-frame-ezra-stoller-method-1bc09bbbc875
