Eliot Porter 1901-1990
1. Personal Background: Eliot Porter was born on December 6th, 1901 in Winnetka, Illinois. He began taking photos when he was a kid. He used a Kodak box camera to take pictures of birds and landscapes at his family’s summer home in Maine. Later, while he taught and researched at Harvard he was encouraged by Ansel Adams to use a large format camera to capture as much detail as possible. A few years later, Porter’s work was praised by another photographer named Alfred Stieglitz, who also showed his work in his own gallery. In 1939. Porter left Harvard to pursue a career as a photographer. He continued taking pictures of birds and landscapes as he traveled the world. Eliot Porter died on December 2, 1990 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
2. Style: Eliot Porter was mostly a nature photographer. His early images were mostly of birds, these images were very unique because of the extreme detail he captured with his large format camera. He often used the “straight” style, similar to Ansel Adams. This was to capture as much detail as possible. One problem with this technique was that it required equipment that was very large, and because of this he couldn’t move spots very often, and sometimes would sit in the same spot for hours or even days to photograph the bird he was looking for.
3. Philosophy: Because he was the first photographer to photograph nature in color, he was showing the public the beauty of nature. In addition to this, Porter was also trying to spread awareness about the importance of conserving nature. Ultimately, Porter was simply in love with nature. He was so fascinated with nature that he would sometimes set himself incredibly difficult challenges. These included photographing new born spiders, or the entire life cycle of a mosquito.
4. Influences: Although he was one of, if the THE first to photograph nature in color, he was inspired by a number of people. The first was his brother, Fairfield Porter who was a painter. His brother was the person who ultimately convinced him to leave his job and pursue photography. Another person who influenced his love for nature was Ansel Adams. Adams was the first to recommend to Porter that he should take his photos with a large format camera to capture as much detail as possible. Porter’s love for nature came from his father.
5. Compare and Contrast:
I think that my images are fairly close to those of Eliot Porter. I think that in image 1, the flowers that I photographed resemble those of Porter’s image. I think that the spacing of the flowers is also accurate, they aren’t too far apart, and they are similar in number.
For image two, I again think that I was able to accurately emulate Porter’s photo. I may not have the same setup of the flowers with the larger leafed plants hanging over the flowers, but I do think that I have the same types of plants in my image. I have a larger leafed plant, and a number of smaller flowers around it.
You might be wondering where Eliot Porter’s last image is. The reason I haven’t included a 3rd photo from Porter is because that I don’t think I could do justice to his extremely detailed photos of some of the most beautiful places in the world. I simply cannot recreate these photos. My 3rd image is an image that I think Porter might have taken if he had the chance.
I think that my images are fairly close to those of Eliot Porter. I think that in image 1, the flowers that I photographed resemble those of Porter’s image. I think that the spacing of the flowers is also accurate, they aren’t too far apart, and they are similar in number.
For image two, I again think that I was able to accurately emulate Porter’s photo. I may not have the same setup of the flowers with the larger leafed plants hanging over the flowers, but I do think that I have the same types of plants in my image. I have a larger leafed plant, and a number of smaller flowers around it.
You might be wondering where Eliot Porter’s last image is. The reason I haven’t included a 3rd photo from Porter is because that I don’t think I could do justice to his extremely detailed photos of some of the most beautiful places in the world. I simply cannot recreate these photos. My 3rd image is an image that I think Porter might have taken if he had the chance.
6. Personal Artist Statement:
For my first two images, I tried my best to find flowers and plants that resemble those of Porter’s extremely detailed photos. I decided that I would take those photos in black in white not only because the pictures I as trying to recreate were in black and white, but to also show that you can find an infinite amount of beauty even without color. For my third image, I believe that Porter would have taken this picture because of how much was going on in it which is a favorite theme of his. The only reason I would say he might not take this photograph is because it doesn’t have one thing that is the focal point of the image.
For my first two images, I tried my best to find flowers and plants that resemble those of Porter’s extremely detailed photos. I decided that I would take those photos in black in white not only because the pictures I as trying to recreate were in black and white, but to also show that you can find an infinite amount of beauty even without color. For my third image, I believe that Porter would have taken this picture because of how much was going on in it which is a favorite theme of his. The only reason I would say he might not take this photograph is because it doesn’t have one thing that is the focal point of the image.