Michael Kenna

    March 29th, 2022

Michael Kenna  

By: Connor Albaugh

        Over the past couple of weeks, the focus of our Art340 Photography class happened to be on the topic of "The Constructed Image". This was the first time that I had done something like that and the time I spent on behalf of this project involved a lot of experimentation and learning. For my final products, I was petty satisfied with my work although my creativity and execution of these particular images could have been much better. But, being that I learned a lot of the stuff about constructing an image during the work period, I am very proud of how my work came out.

        After having several weeks off from blogging, it is finally time that we get back on the grind and shift our focus to the new project that has been given to us. The project happens to be "The Long Term Project" which is simply a project that will show photos, text, and other photographic details within a book. The topic you chose on behalf of this project should be compelling, articulate some type of message, and executed in the best way possible. Being incredibly passionate as well as gifted in the articular topic of choice makes the project all that much easier and your work is bound to reflect the effort, time, and perseverance shown while meeting deadlines and making sure there is consistency within your work. 

        For the Long Term Project, the topic of choice that I decided to tackle and capture images of is long exposures. Previously, in digital photography I, I thought that the final photo series I had taken of Williamsport with an emphasis on car lights, buildings, and angles came out really well and thought this would be a good strength of mine to build and work through in this project. However, instead of focusing on just car lights, I am also going to create photographs using my iPhone flashlight and produce images with this light as well as alter the color of the light. This will not only make my images more colorful and allow them to stand put, but the way that I capture images of long exposures of both car lights and the iPhone light with different colors will show cohesiveness as well as a pattern. 

        On behalf of my project topic, the photographer that really caught my eye and serves as a good inspiration for my topic happened to be Michael Kenna in the PowerPoint that the class had been given to develop some sort of inspiration for this "Long Term Project". Michael's work is incredibly fascinating and visually entertaining. Additionally, it goes hand in hand with the topic I chose and serves as someone to bounce ideas off of. It all starts in "Widnes, England, in 1953" where Michael was born (Article 1). Michael was a "British photographer, and is best known for his plethora of black and white landscape photographs" (Article 1). Michael's interest in photography would come in his early education at an art school called "Banbury School of Art," where he would go on to major in "painting and photography" (Article 1). This early education would be just the beginning stage of what Michael Kenna has become today. After the school of Banbury, Michael expanded his education and became a "artist and photographer" at "the London College of Printing" (Article 1). It wouldn't be until 1987 where Michael would really develop a love and passion for photography (Article 1). His "Irish-Catholic" upbringing had initially inspired him to be a priest, but plans would change when he "moved to San Francisco in 1977" (Article 1). 1987 would be an incredibly important year for Michael because he would go on to visit Japan for the first time and would spend multiple years here "visiting and photographing each and every part" of it (Article 1). The photographs Michael had taken in Japan would later end up "in the book Japan" as his love for the country and its surroundings would turn into one of his many successful books which led to many of the other works he had created later on (Article 1). From this point on, Michael had put himself in the driver seat and his work and fame would change forever. Although he wasn't certain about his future as an artist with photography, him taking a risk and going to a country he knew nothing about helped him to discover his life's work and the images he would be able to create for the environments and circumstances he would land himself in. 

        Michael Kenna's background and his journey in photography was very interesting to analyze and make sense of. He is inspirational in the sense that he tried something new and that he may or may not be good at which ended up being his life's work and career. I think, especially in terms of Michael, that taking a risk in life is necessary to see what you are made of and what you truly enjoy. This is also important in helping to yourself, what you value, what you are passionate about, and what you are willing to put the most time in to see the best possible results. On behalf of Michael's photography, his style and craft is similar, but very different from my topic of choice for the "Long Term Project". Michael Kenna's style happens to encompass black and white photographs. He can create such beautiful images because of "his long-time exposures, which are mainly taken in the morning before sunrise or in the dark hours of the night" (Article 2). Michael various when he takes photos because different times of the day can produce certain images that can express power and enhance a background better than one would see with the human eye. Not only does Michael utilize the environment around him, but he also includes "human-light structures" and these two aspects of his photos combined together are what make his images impeccable and breathtaking (Article 2). One thing that Michael does is he "hand processes" his images which goes to show his audiences and his viewers the "respect and appreciation" he has for past photographers and their ability to create detailed and eye-grabbing images without the presence of technology such as Photoshop (Article 2). The images produced by Michael really showcase "his artistic approach" and the use of black and white communicates a string message to people around the world (Article 2). Black and white is not easy, but having the talent and precision to convey a mood and general idea for each of his images is truly remarkable. For example, the image at the beginning of this blog is one of many images Michael Kenna has taken in his career (Article 4). The image shows a diagonal white line that streaks across the sky to the top left while the top right of the photo is accompanied by black, or darkness. The light from this streak illuminates the surrounding environment which happens to be little mountain islands in a body of water while a mountainous region sits on the left side of the image. Overall, I think this image is spectacular. The white streak in the sky is likely from the moon moving positions in the sky as the Earth rotates on its axis throughout the night. The light exerted from the moon is enough to light up the natural environment which includes water and rock formations within the water. The white light from the streak helps to create a mysterious look to the image as structures and other objects in the distance of the photograph appear fuzzy. The composition of the image is exquisite, which includes leading lines from the mountain tops to allow the eyes of a viewer to look deeper into the photo while also following the exact movement of the moon as it moves throughout the sky. The white streak from the moon, the highlights it gives off, and the misty grey color of the water surrounding each and every rock formation is done by a long exposure. The long exposure was likely done for a couple hours which gives the water a light grey color and a glossy look instead of ripples seen from waves that the moon can create with its gravitational pole. Also, this image was likely taken in colder weather, and this created blurry splotches around the white light of the moon and the white color seen in the bottom left of the image which shows white reflecting off of the water as it crashes up against the mountains seen in the photo. In my opinion, I really enjoyed three things about this image. First, the long exposure was done very well and was located in an excellent spot. It was held long enough to create a path for where the moon was traveling. The long exposure also helps in creating a dramatic and mysterious effect for the image which makes the viewer uncertain as to what the weather or environment was and how much it was able to reveal as time passed. Secondly, the lighting is perfect. The black color of the sky at the top of the image helps to bring out the rocky and mountain regions in the image. Furthermore, the white streak created by the moon in the sky creates a perfect reflection of white in the background of the photo an reflects off of the water brilliantly which helps the viewer to see the rock texture and the glossy look of the water. Lastly, the overall image and what was captured is quite interesting. Making this image black and white as opposed to color really forces the viewer to take in each and every detail of the photo and opens for interpretation on behalf of long exposure and why this particular scene was chosen to photograph. Without the white streak of the moon and the light that it is able to generate, this image would have an incredibly hard time topping the image at hand. 

       In the end of it all, Michael Kenna is an incredibly talented and decorated photographer. His use of long exposure, the colors he produces, the objects or environments he captures, and resulting mood his images can convey are all things worthy to consider in his style. If it weren't for his experimentation in Japan and being destined for greatness, who knows where Michael might have ended up. With this risk he took, Michael has surely made a mar for himself in the photographic industry and has had an incredible impact on photography itself. "His quiet approach to the environment" and the things that he chooses to photograph provide an insight and general intention behind the pursuance of landscape photography (Article 3). His photography has been known to create "dream-like sceneries" which not only possesses vivid detail, but the opportunity for viewers to interpret and come up with a certain idea for the image and its purpose (Article 3). Not one, but the majority of his images require one to take all of the aspects of his images with a grain of salt and connect them to a certain mood, feeling or emotion. Similarly, Michael's images emit a certain softness that is unique to his environments and specific landscapes he chooses to photograph (Article 3). Having a soft image allows the process of thought to come clearly to individuals and it makes it easy on many viewer's eyes when trying to find closure for the image itself. Michael's "work can be found and has been displayed all over the world" for the public to see (Article 1). He has also been lucky enough to have worked shown in museums, has published several books, and has received multiple awards for the work he has been able to create. Michael Kenna and his ability to use long exposure has helped him to capture "several photographs and pertinent detail that much of the human eye is incapable of seeing" (Article 1). This goes farther than a simple image because the more time the shutter is open, the more detail that a camera will be able to pick up on and showcase as opposed to an image that takes a second to process. When looking at Michael Kenna's work in the PowerPoint, it didn't exactly match up with my topic choice for "the Long Term Project" except for his use of long exposure. The images in my project will include a lot of rich and vivid color, and black and white that is frequently used by Michael Kenna wouldn't allow my images to shine and have the meaning they need. However, taking a look at this photo at the top o the blog coupled with how he implements long exposure into his images was visually inspiring. Michael makes sure his lighting his persistent. the environment he captures is in focus, and there is some resemblance of texture which enhances the detail of the certain things in his photos. These are three aspects of his photography that I plan on implementing into my own project. Instead of perfect images, having abnormal colors or lines show up in my photographs through the use of long exposures will help to make my series visually entertaining. Additionally, how I use long exposure and my creativity in regards to where I use long exposure, how long the shutter is open, and when the photo is taken will all be crucial to capturing the images I will use to create a book. While keeping Michael Kenna's style and story in mind, I am inspired and happen to be very excited to take a few of his perks as a photographer and implement them into my work in order to create one-of-a-kind images, have some cohesive structure within my images so my book makes sense, and that my image creations are appealing to audiences in the future. 

Sources:

Article 1  - https://www.irastehmann.com/artists/37-michael-kenna/biography/

Article 2 - https://bau-xi.com/collections/michael-kenna#:~:text=Kenna's%20signature%20style%20is%20attributed,landscape%20and%20human%2Dmade%20structures.

Article 3 - https://www.michaelkenna.com/phorevu.php

Article 4 - https://www.johnpaulcaponigro.com/blog/14927/12-great-photographs-by-michael-kenna/