Alma Angeles
Famous Photographer: Rough Draft
Alma Angeles
Mrs. Larsen
Digital Photography
October 3, 2014
Rineke Dijkstra
In the city of Sittard, the Netherlands, Rineke Dijkstra started her life wanting to be a teacher. When she was nineteen, she was introduced to photography and decided to continue it. She went to Gerrit Rietveld Academie in the Netherlands. Here she learned more about photography and influenced by the Dutch Masters, took photos in her own unique style.
In her early work, she came to America and took her first pictures on a beach in South Carolina. She wanted to take pictures of shy adolescents in order to capture their insecurity. In the end she took pictures of confident teenagers. She was disappointed until she realized her photos did show an insecurity. They showed how the adolescents were trying too hard to look perfect. It made them look awkward and so she decided to continue her work.
A few years after she started her beach portraits, she took photos of matadors, mothers, and more adolescents. By this time she had become a scandal in the art world. People everywhere, were fascinated with the emotions that were captured in her photos. Everyone could see the adrenaline in the eyes of the matadors, the maternal instinct of protection in women who only recently gave birth, her portraits were captivating. In every portrait she takes, she will always have a blank background. This way, people can focus on the little details of a person. This is especially true on her most recent works.
When she was taking pictures of a French soldier on his first day in the French military, he looked young and innocent. But as the years went by, he had changed from the little boy in the first photo to the strong, enduring man he is today. The changes are so miniscule, but as you look at the photos I sequence, you can see the physical change and the emotional one. Rineke always strived for this in her photos. A portrait wasn’t successful unless it showed emotion.
Today, Rineke Dijkstra is over fifty years old continues taking portraits. So far, her most famous sequence is “Almerisa”. It follows a young Bosnian refugee living in a Dutch asylum. You can see her change from a little girl to a young woman. Like all her portraits, they show the emotion and change a person goes through and all it takes is one close look.
Famous Photographer: Final Draft
Alma Angeles
Mrs. Larsen
Digital Photography
October 8, 2014
Rineke Dijkstra
In the city of Sittard, the Netherlands, Rineke Dijkstra started her life wanting to be a teacher. When she was nineteen, she was introduced to photography and decided to continue it. She went to Gerrit Rietveld Academie in the Netherlands. There she learned more about photography and, influenced by the Dutch Masters that came before her, took photos in her own unique style.
In her early work, she came to America and took her first pictures on a beach in South Carolina. She wanted to take pictures of shy adolescents in order to capture their insecurity. In the end she took pictures of confident teenagers. She was disappointed until she realized her photos did show an insecurity. They showed how the adolescents were trying too hard to look perfect. It made them look awkward and so she took the decision to continue taking portraits of other adolescents.
A few years after she started her beach portraits, she took photos of matadors, mothers, and more adolescents. By this time she had become a scandal in the art world. People everywhere, were fascinated with the emotions that were captured in her photos. Everyone could see the adrenaline in the eyes of the matadors, the maternal instinct of protection in women who only recently gave birth, her portraits were captivating. In every portrait she takes, she will always have a blank background. This way, people can focus on the little details of a person. This is especially true on her most recent works.
When she was taking pictures of a French soldier on his first day in the French military, he looked young and innocent. But as the years went by, he had changed from the little boy in the first photo to the strong, enduring man he is today. The changes are so small, but as you look at the photos in sequence, you can see both the physical and emotional changes he underwent. Rineke always strived for this in her photos. A portrait wasn’t successful unless it showed emotion.
Today, Rineke Dijkstra is over fifty years old and continues taking portraits. So far, her most famous sequence is “Almerisa”. It follows a young Bosnian refugee living in a Dutch asylum. You can see her change from a little girl to a young woman. Like all her portraits, they show the emotion and changes a person is going through. All it takes is one close look to notice them.
Works Cited
Guzman, Alissa. “Rineke Dijkstra: Contemporary Photographer or Old Master.” Hypoallergic. Hypoallergic Media, 12 Oct. 2012. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.
Marcoci, Roxana. “What’s in a Portrait? Rineke Dijkstra’s Almerisa.” Moma. The Museum of Modern Art, 14 Jan, 2010. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.
“Rineke Dijkstra: A Retrospective.” Guggenheim. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 2012. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.
Famous Photographer: Composite
In order to this composite, I had to search for 25 pictures on the nternet. One of them had to be of the Photographer, while the other 24 were of their work. The photographer I chose to do this on was Rineke Dijkstra. She takes portraits in sequence. In order to do the composite, I first opened a blank canvas and then opened the first picture. I selected the part of the picture I wanted and then copied it. I then pasted it on the blank canvas and sized/placed it however I liked. I combined the photos together using the eraser.