Michael P. Harker
Michael
P. Harker is from western Illinois. He has been fascinated with photographer since
the young age of twelve. But that soon faded until he was stationed in the
Germany at the age of 21. He rediscovered photography in a men’s club which was
overseen by Hans Jurgen-Heider from Germany. Harker took photos while in the
army and was published in Army newspaper. He desired to become a professional photographer
from then on. He attended Southern Illinois University and earned a bachelor’s
degree. He started out in advertising photography did that for twenty-five
years. Due to the economy he had to change jobs. He was out of a job for about
two years. Harker then became an ophthalmic photographer where he performs
diagnostic imaging of patients with eye disease. Most importantly, he began
doing documentary photography of historically significant barns in Iowa. That
is what he photographs in the book I got from the library. Harker’s Barns was published after several years of working hard
and taking photos. Harker’s photographs of barns are black and white. He seems
to be fascinated with structure. The barns he photographs are all kinds of
structures. Some round, square, falling apart, fancy, old, far, and up close.
They all differ. His goal was to convey rural America and it’s history from his
home state of Iowa. His barn’s are what you would find if you were to drive
down old, country back roads. He likely uses a tripod and photographs each one
differently, none the less from few angles.
Stephen Shore
Stephen
Shore grew up in Manhattan until the age of twenty-three. That is when he and
his friend decided to embark to Amarillo, Texas. Since he did not drive his
first view of America was seen through the passenger’s side window. He was mesmerized
by how he could be in the middle of nowhere and then all of a sudden the light
would hit a seen for a few minutes that once boring place was transformed. He
photographs in color film because it shows the intensity but also the color of
light. When he photographs he sees it as an experience every time. He refers to
it like fishing, uniquely enough. They are both an art that call for
intelligence, concentration, and delicacy. His photos from his book Uncommon Places are so that, uncommon. They
are older from around the 80’s. They have an 80’s vibe to them. Because he used
film there is a vibrancy to them. The colors are bright and contrast with
eachother. I believe he likes to use the sunlight as a way to achieve this
brightness in his photos. He uses a lot of lines in his photos and it works
well. He photographs anywhere from cities to the beach to camp sites. His gets
around. If I were explaining his photos to your mum I would say his photos are
of scenes he finds interesting with intense, bright colors. Places you see
every day in a unique perspective and color that is intriguing.
Willian K. Greiner
William K. Greiner has an
interesting story. He began working as a sports photographer at only the age of
19. First working in the NFL for a couple years. Then he covered the Tour de
France for Bycycling magazine, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times. He stopped
photographing sports and retruned to college. In college he became friends with
a girl whose father was a famous photographer, William Eggleston. The girl
introduced Greiner to her father’s work which was at the time being exhibited at
MOMA. Eggleston was recognized for legitimizing color photography as an
artistic medium. His photos are full of great color and angles. Both William’s soon
became friends. Greiner went on to study photography, but did not pursue it at
first. Instead he went on to sell real estate. He started to photograph again a
few years later and has since completed six projects in color, one of which is The Reposed. The Reposed is interesting.
It is not often that the dead are photographed. Not literally but where they
reside and lay to rest. I found that interesting. Greiner photographed cemeteries
from Louisiana. From his photographs you see a number of different things.
Cultural influences, architectural styles, economic realities, and some just
how time has passed to these sites. Greiner’s photos have a unique color to
them with a uniqueness to every picture. He photographs cemeteries and
graveyards. His photos are not straight on of just a head stone or coffin.
Instead, he captures the graves in a meaningful way. He emphasizes the things
family and friends leave for them. Or the detail in their place of rest. It is
an interesting thing to photograph but I like it.
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