Emerson Quinn

Quinn wants each of his photographs to be very unique. He wants to show a person’s inner darkness within his images.

I picked out two of his images to analyse that were very simple to match my idea for one of my pieces. I believe that we can extract so much information from just a simple image.

This is a monotone photograph, which immediately shows its simplicity. The contrast level is just perfect to pick out the details that suggest death and decay.

“A bright color or contrasting colors make great minimalist subjects. The same applies to textures. The viewer should be able to almost feel the texture.” Valerie Jardin – Minimalist Photography – 4 Tips To Keep It Simple With A Maximum Impact

The feeling of isolation produced in this image is very large, as Quinn’s use of lighting means that the light is focused only on one closed area in the centre of the image. However the feeling of isolation is not the same as feeling alone, and he has managed to show this very well. Our peripheral view in the image is too narrow; it halts too soon, and falls in to darkness way too abruptly. This is playing on the human fear of something lurking just beyond our viewpoint, or that something could be hidden in the shadows, waiting for a waver of attention in which to strike.

I gain a massive sense of sadness from this image. The focus of the image is pulled to the far right-hand side; the depth of field is so short. This is like when we are sad, we are pulled in to ourselves so that we can only experience the present moment; we cannot see past what is happening in the current situation.

The image is also very desaturated in colour instead of being vibrant and full of joy. To me, black and white is used to suggest glamour and drama, and full colour photographer is used to connote fun and happiness. This is why a faintly coloured images gives me a feeling of sadness; it sits at neither end of the scale. Although perhaps the feeling is more depression than sadness, as the faint colour is dull and despondent.

With my images that I will create, I really want people to take so much just from such a simple thing. I want to experiment with contrast and lighting, as well as with colours and positioning.

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