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Writer's pictureAmber Houbara

P | P5 | EX2: Homage

Select an image by any photographer of your choice and take a photograph in response to it. You can respond in any way you like to the whole image or to just a part of it, but you must make explicit in your notes what it is that you’re responding to. Is it a stylistic device such as John Davies’ high viewpoint, or Chris Steele Perkins’ juxtapositions? Is it an idea, such as the decisive moment? Is it an approach, such as intention - creating a fully authored image rather than discovering the world through the viewfinder?


Add the original photograph together with your response to your learning log. Which of the three types of information discussed by Barrett provides the context in this case? Take your time over writing your response because you’ll submit the relevant part of your learning log as part of Assignment Five.


A photograph inspired by another is called ‘homage’ (pronounced the French or English way). This is not the same as Picasso’s famous statement that ‘good artists borrow, great artists steal’; the point of the homage must be apparent within the photograph. It’s also not the same as ‘appropriation’ which re-contextualises its subject to create something new, often in an ironic or humorous way. Instead, the homage should share some deep empathy or kinship with the original work. An example is Victor Burgin’s series The Office at Night (1986), based on Edward Hopper’s famous painting of the same name:


‘The hackneyed idea of ‘influence’ is not at issue here. I am not interested in the question of what one artist may or may not have taken from another. I am referring to the universally familiar phenomenon of looking at one image and having another image

spontaneously come to mind.’

[accessed 25/01/18]


You may already have taken some homage photography where you’ve not tried to hide the original inspiration but rather celebrated it. Refer back to your personal archive and add one or two to your learning log together with a short caption to provide a context for the shot.



 

Working on this project I took a phenomenon photography course with Joel Meyerowitz on Masters of Photography. I felt this course sparked in me the passion to photography which might have laid dormant for a little while.

I adore Joel's work and his wonderful way of teaching how to look.



Looking at a homage I wanted to do, I visited a surf museum in a small town on a trip we took recently (when working on part 4). I always loved looking at the photography of surf culture and especially the ones from the 60-70-80s.


I came across this amazing photographer names Jeff Divine. One of the pioneers in creating the surf culture photography in the 80's. From the very first minute I saw his photography I was in love with it so I had to order his photography book straight away.

I love how he found beautiful moments other than his beautiful surf photography (in the water, which is impressive in itself), to capture the surf culture which was emerging. At the time, so many people looked at surfers as beach bums, and the 70s was basically the time when the surf culture turned from being hippie to mainstream.



Research
Articles


Jeff Divine Photography from articles above




Videos watched





I feel like what I learnt about street photography in so many videos and tutorials as well as on Joel Meyerowitz course, and instead of needing to be 'in the streets' of a city, using the same techniques and inspiration and 'way of looking' to capture moments in the surf culture, where I hang out pretty much every day.

The only difference I feel, is that nowadays in surf breaks where people live, people come and go, and don't hang out as much as they would do if they were in a traveling destination.

People, same like me, come in, check the surf, put the wetsuit on, zinc and wax, lock the car and jump in the water, coming back from the surf its the process in reverse and go home to actually work or study (because surfing can get one hooked, and if we cancel everything else for the surf, we might as well get ourselves back to life as soon as possible - which is when we get tired physically or the conditions change).


My point is, on my first attempt to photograph the car park scene and what is going on around, I didn't have much. First of all, I felt so shy taking pictures, and it brought me back to thinking about the main conflict in street photography, when people can be angry to be photographed and how do you actually capture the split of a second moment if you need to stop the happening and ask the subject if it's ok to photograph them.

I really had to work on my shyness to put the camera out and found myself not really coming up with much.


Usually, when I have my film camera with me, I will find very rare moments which worth my film frame and rise it, capture once or some rare times 2-3 times if I wasn't sure I had the shot, and that's it. I also feel like film cameras are considered more 'cool' as they are slow, you don't take 1000 photos with them, and they are more invisible than one person hanging out in a carpark taking a lot of photos.



The second time I did it, I felt more things were happening (the surf was also a lot bigger and better) and I felt I had the bandage off and I was more invisible or at least it felt more natural. I also found people who liked being photographed.


I took about 310 photos, in 3 different locations. I chose my favourite 17.


My point of inspiration and homage is not to one specific image rather to the spontaneity, the surf culture documentary aspect, the bright colors, and the way Jeff Divine made his photos. I tried to keep very new cars or very short boards out of my frame and focus on more timeless look, however some of it was inevitable, so I guess my response was documenting Margaret River in 2024 after all, but I did try to do it through the eyes and mind of Jeff Divine.



Homage to Jeff Divine // Surf Culture in Margaret River






Contact Sheets















 
From my Archive

This is not a direct homage, rather an inspiration.

A photographer I really love is Pierrot


From his website:

"A PHOTOGRAPH BEFORE BEING A STILL LIFE, A NUDE WOMAN, OR SOME OTHER ANECDOTE, IS JUST A SPACE AND TIME BETWEEN THE LENS AND THE SUBJECT. SO IT IS CRITICAL FOR AN ARTIST TO FOCUS ON THE APPEARANCE OF HIS FEELINGS ABOUT HIS SUBJECT. WHETHER A LANDSCAPE OR A PERSON, THE SETTING AND ENVIRONMENT SHOULD REMAIN NON-CONCEPTUAL. THIS WAY THE FEELING OF THE WIND ON YOUR BACK, SAND BETWEEN YOUR TOES, OR TENDERNESS OF YOUR LOVER’S GAZE, CAN FIND A CLEAR WAY INTO THE MIND'S EYE OF THE VIEWER.ETHICS THAT GOVERN ONE’S BEHAVIOR, EQUAL ONE’S AESTHETICS."



He also manages an instagram account called equator journal which he finds a lot of beautiful archive photography from all over the world in history.

I always find inspiration on my photography with these images





My recent film roll







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