DFSA Assignment

1. Six
Photos/Photographers

2. Blake Little-Preservation
The concept of Little’s collection ‘Preservation’ was to
create photographs of models looking as if they were
preserved in amber, like many fossilised bugs. He poured
honey over the models which turned them into dripping,
golden statues and uses light to illuminates them.
In his collection this is my favourite image because the
ballerina looks more like a fantasy creature than a statue
like the rest of his work. The way the honey has connected
the arms to the body looks almost like fairy wings. This
matched with the hair style and the dress is similar to the
Disney character Tinkerbell who was a strong character
relating back to the theme of the collection. The subject is
centred in frame as she is the main attraction and placed
against a dark background so the amber colour can stand
out in contrast. The honey makes the model look as if she
was coated in a protective barrier and her calm relaxed
expression gives the image that she feels safe, which was
the point of the collection.
-Lindsey, Front, 2013

3. Alex Prager -The Big Valley
To construct her pictures, Prager
disguises her friends in wigs and outfits
and creates a scene that at first
glance seems quirky with a 60’s
cinematic feel, much alike Cindy
Sherman. Prager’s work however has
more of a sinister feel, its like she
covers the uncomfortableness with
bright colours and pretty girls. She
describes her work as being ‘on the
edge of beauty and disaster’. She
creates images in such a way that
you can imagine a whole story just by
analysing the mise-en-scene. The
images in this collection all look as if
something is right about to happen.
As she grew up in California I think
‘The Big Valley refers to the stereotype
of valley girls. The use of these valley
girl characters could be a comment
on her views of girls who fit the
stereotype. I think the use of 60’s
fashion/style give the impression of
timeless beauty.
-Susie and friends

4. Nick Knight
-Hauteur Space, 2012
Nick knight is known as a very influential fashion photographer, collaborating with designers such as
Alexander McQueen, Calvin Klein and Christian Dior. These images were produced, along with a short
fashion film, for W Magazine in 2012. You can see from the clothing styles that Knight is playing around
with fashion elements from different time periods like the flared cuffs, 18th century inspired hair and 1950’s
flapper girls but mixing them with modern styles to create a futuristic look to fit with the theme of space.
The high exposer and use of black and white make the girls look quite ghostly with a mist around them as
if these were older more worn out pictures. The girl on the left however has no mist, instead it looks as if he
has put a plastic sheet behind her so he can create a background using light. Knight uses a diversity of
different compositions to get a variety of different pictures for each look.

5. Alexander Semenov
-Cyanea Capillata
Semenov is a marine
biologist/photographer, he and his
team often dive in tough and adverse
conditions in order to study under water
life. His main goal is to take
photographs of sea life like never seen
before and boost peoples interest in
marine biology. I chose his picture
because of my interest in marine life,
Semenov’s work stood out due to his
surreal approach to photography. The
image looks almost alien-esque
because of the starry looking
background and how the fish glows. His
use of colour against the dark
background gives an impression of
finding beauty in the darkness. The
image is aesthetically pleasing due to its
use of the golden section. The picture,
although taken of a dangerous fish, is
calming and very serene, the way the
tentacles are spread and the wisps of
light are quite hypnotic and a reminder
of how it feels to be underwater.

6. Jane Long
-Underneath
-Dancing with Costică
Jane Long is a photographer/digital
artist who found pictures taken by
Costică Acsinte, a Romanian war
photographer, and transformed them
into a dreamlike portraits. She took
these images from WWI and wanted to
bring life to them using colour and
adding surreal features. The idea
behind using these pictures was that the
people in them look sad and lifeless but
during there life they would’ve felt
happiness and she wanted to bring
that to the picture. The pictures she
creates are reminiscent of Alice in
Wonderland and Studio Ghibli
character with there unusual elements.
The colours she has used are bright but
slightly muted which give the feeling of
a darker story behind the picture, and
the title ‘Underneath’ gives me the
impression that something is being
hidden, like the children's bird legs
under the water. To me this picture
makes me think of themes like don’t
judge a book by its cover.

7. Jose Romussi
-Untitled
Romussi is a Chilean artist raised from an artistic
background. His style consists of taking fashion images
and using embroidery to alter the look. Romussi
challenges the expectations of fashion photography
and rejects the concept of ‘face value’. Western culture
almost dictates what's beautiful and what isn’t. The artist
has used features that would usually be seen as less
attractive for his picture, almost like saying he doesn’t
agree and won’t conform to mainstream beauty
standards. He re-construes what represents beauty by
adding a bizarre twist to fashion photography. ‘#ANTI-
SERIE’ also makes me think that the collection could be a
comment on a previous series of his called ‘New Serie’
which was much more conservative in comparison. The
new version seems much less editorial and almost like it
had been doodled on due to the scribbled writing at the
bottom and the zig zag shape at the top. The image also
seems much more comical because of the strange
facial features and brighter colours.
-#ANTI-SERIE