Contemporary Photographers 

Alice Hargrave 

Bio: 

Alice Hargrave studied art and architectural history in Italy and worked as a photographer in France and Spain. She received a University Fellowship from The University of Illinois, Chicago. She is still working in Chicago.  She is an advocate for environmental insecurity, habitat loss, and species extinctions. She tends to take her photos in groups of the same theme or location and makes her work into albums/collections. For her most recent one, she collaborated with The Cornell Lab of Ornithology NY, to create her collection "Last Calls/Pink Noise." Which are portraits of threatened birds using sound waves of their last calls in the wild. This project has been widely exhibited and won awards. This is one example of her ability to spread awareness about wildlife through her photography. Her work has been in many exhibitions and is well known.  Hargrave has taught photography since 1994 at The School of The Art Institute Chicago, and the University of Illinois. before her full-time professorship at Columbia College Chicago.

Thomas Peschak

Bio:

Thomas Peschak was born and raised in Germany.  He is a National Geographic photographer, explorer, and storyteller who specializes in documenting the beauty and life in the world’s oceans. For National Geographic Magazine he has published 10 stories and many photos.  He has written and photographed eight books. Originally he planned to be a marine biologist but ended up a photojournalist because he realized that his photographs could have a greater impact than his scientific statistics. Thomas is the Director of the Save our Seas Foundation. He is also a director of the Manta Trust, and a member of the International League of Conservation Photographers.  Thomas has written eight books, his latest being published in a national geographic magazine. His images and stories have won 17 Wildlife Photographer of the Year and 7 World Press Photo Awards. He also has an extremely popular ted talk, "Dive into an ocean photographer’s world" Thomas Peschak's message is to spread/ display the beauty and life in the ocean, in hopes to spread awareness to issues and brighten the future for the world's oceans.

(Overall)Compare and contrast: 

Alice Hargrave and Thomas Peschak are both successful contemporary artists. I have noticed some similarities between them. One being, they both take photos of animals/nature. For theme, they both appreciate nature and are trying to raise awareness for it.  A difference between them is how they present their work. Peschak presents each photo as an individual piece and Hargrave presents hers in groups as more of a set of photographs that go together.  Another difference is that Thomas Peschak works for National Geographic whereas Alice Hargrave works more for herself. 

(Single photo) Compare and contrast:

Similarities: 

A similarity that I notice in these two photos is the color scheme. Both of them have natural greens and blues. They both capture the beauty of nature and make me want to go outside. A compositional similarity that I see is that both photos use formal balance. Another thing that I noticed is how both photos have a very interesting depth to them. They both look like they go past what you can see.  

Differences:

A difference that I notice right away is the chaos/ movement that seems to be happening in Peschak's photo v.s. the calm and serenity present in Hargraves.  Peschaks image looks as though it was captured in the perfect moment, whereas Hargraves looks like the moment may have lasted for a little while.

Critique: 

Alice Hargrave 

What do you like about this photographer's work? (think compositionally, subject matter etc…) Why?

I really love the sense of mystery in her photos. The dark but rich colors in them really make an impact on the strength of the photo. A lot of here images have fog in them and that makes them seem ominous. 

What do you not like? Is there anything that makes you uncomfortable? (think compositionally, subject matter etc…) Why?

One thing that I don't like about her photography is that some of the images are kinda creepy looking to me.  The lighting and the subject on some of them work together to make it a little spooky. 

Are there any connections that the photos bring up in your own life?

I love nature, I think this is why I was drawn to her work in the first place. Being in nature makes me happy, and looking at these photos gives me that sense, which I enjoy. 

Thomas Peschak:

What do you like about this photographer's work? (think compositionally, subject matter etc…) Why?

I really like the action/movement captured in Thomas Peschak's photos.  I like how you can get a story from looking at his images. He also does a really nice job making his photos compositionally interesting. Right away I notice rues of thirds,  repetition/ grouping, formal balance, and informal balance.

What do you not like? Is there anything that makes you uncomfortable? (think compositionally, subject matter etc…) Why?

There is nothing that I dislike about Thomas Peschaks work. I love how lively all the photos are, and they really inspire me as a photographer.

Are there any connections that the photos bring up in your own life?

I can connect to these photos because I am very interested in marine biology and photography, so I can relate to both.

Inspired photos