Nadar: Studying the History of Photography

For my History of Photography class we were told to choose of any movement, historical process, or persons we learned about this semester and somewhat emulate that work for our final project. I chose Gaspard Félix Tournachon. Félix, better known as Nadar, came around time of the invention of photography. His work is so significant because he is one of the first to really take portrait photography to a new level. It was no longer a stiff straightforward subject. He was able to take a person of a particular stereotype or profession and photograph them as mere human beings. What I particularly love about him is that he would photograph the same subject quite often, I assume over a number of years, and it is as if each photograph reveals something new about the person. 


These 4 were my 'turned in' portraits. They are shot on a Minolta, 35mm film, then colorized in Photoshop to look more like the originals. We did the shoot above 'Hemming Village' in Rexburg with lovely window light in the midst of a construction zone (literally). Bless my beautiful models' hearts. 


The first is Lauren portraying one of his most famous portraits -and his favorite subject it would seem- Sarah Bernhardt, a budding actress. The second is the same subject. The third is Alex as Gustave Courbet, a french painter who led the realist movement. And finally, the last is Ashley as my modern interpretation of the Sarah Bernhardt series.

 

 

And here are a few other favorites from the roll

My Frens

I had a few more exposures to use up on my camera so I took a some of my friends on campus. And managed to be in a couple as well.

My Sister