The Guy that Inspired it All
Alvin Langdon Coburn a teenager from a middle class family who got a break later became known as the father of and first to create fully abstract photos. in order to do this he made a triangle out of mirrors that fit around his camera to turn a straight forward photo into an abstractions of lines and shapes that slightly resemble the world we live in. I decided to take this concept and go a step further by adding color to the images and rather than focus entirely on straight lines and concrete shapes I tried to take just everyday objects and transform them using more organic flowing pieces rather than straight lines and concrete images. The image I would like to focus on would be the third one only because it stands out as a more dream like and surreal image. the abstraction of the image due to the mirrors doesn't fully distort the image beyond recognition but rather creates a dreamlike photo with triangular distortion. my favorite part of this photo is the contrast between background and the stark subject and the strong faded triangular lines that break up the different focuses on the face. the mirror allows for the break up of each image and exposure within the image instead of a slow fade distortion that usually occurs with a long exposure zoom. The technique and experimental use of both camera and outside tools have highly influenced me in my work and how I view the camera and its features. I'm going to further pursue this technique by combining arrangement photography along with the kaleidoscope to create crisscrosses of color and line and shape.