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| Summer Camp |
The vantage point, definition; a place or position affording a good view of something. This term is incredibly crucial when it comes to the element of photography. Having the proper vantage point at the moment of shutter release is absolutely significant to the development of a great photograph. When examining the works of Georgia based photographer, Mark Steinmetz, it is very clear within each one of his photographic works, that his distinct positioning skills is what captures such a detailed and thought provoking image.
With a vast collection of portraits, the abilities of Mark Steinmetz as a photographer can be analyzed under many different viewpoints. As a portrait photographer myself, I was drawn to Mark’s work for many reasons. When exploring each one of his works, a “time” or “essence” appears to be captured in all of them. Beginning with his works from the 1980’s up until present photographs, no matter the specific decade, each photo captures a similar, distinctive point in time. All of these photos appear to me, that they could have been taken all in one day. Clearly when one takes a look at Steinmetz project gallery on his website, we can see the works broken down into specific time frames and locations. When examining a collection like Steinmetz, it becomes clear what makes a photographer a talented one. “Signature look” might not be the best descriptive term, but, to take a photo in Georgia in 1984 and then precede to take a series of photos in Paris and Italy throughout the 1990’s and even in recent years, and provide and evoke the same feeling as the other images, depicts an immense amount of skill behind the lens.
Coming back to the vantage point idea that is clear in Steinmetz work, can be exhibited in so many of his works. “What I can say is that I've always been most interested in photography that is open-ended, work that poses questions and doesn't rush into solutions…I'm not so sure my work has any single specific emotional effect - so much depends on the eyes of the beholder and where he or she might be at in their life or in their cultivation. The work is open to interpretation. I think my psyche is just wired a certain way and that I'm pretty much helpless to photograph things the way I do. It's my nature.” This quote comes from an interview with Mark Steinmetz conducted by Daniel Austell and Anya Jasper for ahorn magazine. In the images in Steinmetz’s, South Central, South East, and Summer Camp collections the depiction by the viewer doesn’t need to follow any certain idea or representation like Steinmetz states in the interview. By choosing the specific vantage point of shooting, the ability to interpret and perceive the image falls into such a wider category because of the open viewpoint being provided. Two specific images that not only represent Steinmetz’s ability to create a feeling and a style that defines a collection, using a vantage point that provides a wider outlook, come from his South Central and South East series. In the black and white image from South Central of the group of children playing in the street and the image from South East of the dog in the street, key traits of Steinmetz are clear. The perspective coming from Steinmetz’s positioning pulls in so many different components that create a story that only the viewer can tell. Even looking at a close up portrait of a female on car from the South East collection as well, the vantage point isn’t as wide but the positioning, the closeness, the eye contact, allows for the one surveying the image to feel apart of the image. When looking at a Steinmetz photo, not only is an individual or idea being represented, the moment is being depicted. A moment that the viewer can easily place himself or herself into.
When I look at street photography, which is what I would define Steinmetz work as, I always assume that the images were produced due to spontaneity, right time, right place, and the idea of the candid. To learn that Steinmetz would go up to his subjects to have them pose or recreate an image that he, with his specific mindset, was able to acknowledge would make an artistic images, exhibits a skill that all photographers have, but instead of letting the image that once could have been go, he knows he can get it. Communicating with a subject, an unknown subject is an idea that I feel doesn’t belong in street photography, but by learning that method, I wonder how many shots one can get. To know that an image doesn’t have to be gone forever, takes a large amount of experience, which Steinmetz strongly exhibits in his work. However, in another interview with Steinmetz, he simply states that photography for him is simply about releasing control. I find this idea incredibly interesting. If control needs to be relinquished to take a photograph, how can he ask strangers to recreate a position, or to have their hand moved a little to the left? The artistic eye knows what will create an interesting composition, but if one has to go in an establish certain elements of the image, doesn’t that establish more control than renouncing it?
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| South Central |
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| South East |
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| South Central |
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| South East |
