Leibovitz vs Nachtwey

Leibovitz Both are similar in the fact that they are photographers; however, their styles differ completely. To put it simply, Nachtwey goes for the shock factor whereas Leibovitz aims for awe. Leibovitz can be found in various magazines such as Vanity Fair or The Rolling Stone, covering more of the glamorous side of human nature. Nachtwey captures human despair, destruction, and violence. Let's just say one would never come across Nachtwey's photographs in an issue of Vanity Fair. Even with such drastic stylistic differences, they can still take pictures of the same thing [i.e. a human being] and have completely different effects. To compare, let's first take a look at one of Annie Leibovitz's pieces:

Because we all wanted to see Whoopie Goldberg naked.

As you can see from the above photo, there is a well known, nourished celebrity "emerging" from a tub of white milk, symbolizing an African American rising out of a majority white pool we call the Hollywood scene. Leibovitz draws on color to make her picture powerful - if this were to be black and white, no one would grasp the meaning Leibovitz was trying
to portray through her photo. Now, let's take a look at some of Nachtwey's work. I must warn you, this war photographer [as you can guess by his title] has a drastically different photography style. I personally find these photos more powerful than Leibovitz.Whoopie Goldberg giggling in a pool of milk? Why, how delightful! Next picture, please! :

This ain't Whoopie Goldberg.

Oh dear God..this isn't delightful at all!

Here we can see one of the many examples of how Nachtwey uses black and white pictures in contrast to color photos. Leibovitz plays on color in her photos, whereas Nachtwey voids his pictures of any color but grey, white, and black. I suppose this is for dramatic effect...and I honestly have to say, Nachtwey, you really do take dramatic pictures. This picture is in no way in resemblance to Whoopie in a bath of milk. It's a lot more depressing than that. Unlike Leibovitz, Nachtwey has a knack for showing what's real - the real world, whereas Leibovitz tends to focus more on fantasy, something that wouldn't happen out of the ordinary. In a way, her pictures are more vibrant than life itself - the use of colors, the clothing, etc. all seem part of a fairy tale. Let's take a look:

I do this daily.
But seriously, on a side note...is that the chick from Buffy?

I bet you couldn't take a picture of this, Nachtwey! You won't find this in Palestine or Africa, that's for sure. Leibovitz requires a set, certain shades of lighting, a costume designer, makeup designer - the works. I don't think Nachtwey gives any of his subjects a makeover like this. To be fair, though, Leibovitz does [or did do] various photographs of the reality of rock and roll bands. No, they weren't posed all nicely and lined up. If I remember correctly, they were for the most part passed out on the floor and couldn't remember the picture even if they tried. I suppose this sort of picture holds some kind of power within it. For me, I would have to say its the vibrancy of the colors within what looks to me like more of a painting or digital art than a photograph. Nachtwey also has a picture that looks similar to a traditional drawing. However, once again, the mood is completely different. Check it out:

Sorry, no smart ass comments. I really like this picture.

The landscape, the cracked ground beneath the kneeling woman completely dressed in black, the touch of the woman's hand upon the tombstone of a loved one. Honestly, this picture really moves me. There's actually feeling in Nachtwey's photos. For Leibovitz I think it's just all about looking good with perhaps a hint of symbolism touched onto it.

I'm terribly sorry, I will finish this tomorrow. Of course you can mark me off for not finishing.

Japanese Portrait..or my attempt at taking one.

So I've been postponing this for quite a while - I honestly didn't want to ask any Japanese natives if I could take a picture of them and post it on the internet. Personally, I would have preferred to capture one of my friends...given that I only know most of my Japanese contacts as mere acquaintances, this proved to be a challenge. Since I only know them at a shallow level, it will be hard to capture their "essence", or personality in a photograph they are uncomfortable of me taking.
Well, here it goes.So this is my friend Ami. I tried capturing her in a more natural way than usual - notice the smile is not posed, and she genuinely looks like she is having a good time. I think this captures her "fun" side (yes, that sounds lame, but what else can I say?), because, to me at least, she seems like the goofiest out of all the Japanese girls that I've met so far. I took a few shots of her while she was laughing but, she became more reserved after the first shot, and I decided this was the best to display for her personality. As for the background...not only was it convenient, but she is a native Japanese so, going to a shrine for her portrait fits, right?!

Oh, and can't forget the peace sign.

I thought that I should also note it wasn't hard to negotiate taking her portrait. If anything, we were both lost as to where she wanted to be photographed, what pose, with what items, etc. We eventually mutually came to this conclusion.