Jane Bown is an English photographer born 1925, who is mostly know for her black and white photograpic portraits using existing light. She worked for The Observer for six decades, capturing famous people from Bertrand Russell and Margaret Thatcher, to Mick Jagger and Cilla Black. She would often accompany a journalist to an interview and wasn't given much time to take her pictures. She learned to shoot quickly, using the existing natural light, never flash. Using black and white film and measuring the light at the back of her hand, she never felt compelled to go digital. In fact, she has claimed that she is "supremely uninterested in photographic technology". She always used a f2.8 aperture, creating her photos with sharp faces and blurred background.
When she photographs people she has said that at that instant she is in love with them. But usually there is no recognition or acknowledgement between them as they often look away.
"Some photographers take pictures, I find them" she has said. I think this is a inspiring motto, and her style shows that photography is more than gadgetry and more about thinking and feeling. I feel myself more compelled towards natural light, and I'm also more interested in the content rather than the technology.
Click here to see a gallery of her pictures.
Source: The Observer, 18 October 2009
When she photographs people she has said that at that instant she is in love with them. But usually there is no recognition or acknowledgement between them as they often look away.
"Some photographers take pictures, I find them" she has said. I think this is a inspiring motto, and her style shows that photography is more than gadgetry and more about thinking and feeling. I feel myself more compelled towards natural light, and I'm also more interested in the content rather than the technology.
Click here to see a gallery of her pictures.
Source: The Observer, 18 October 2009