For this week's assignment concerning vantage point and perspective in photography, I chose to research the photographer Emmet Gowin. I took out his photo book "Mariposa Nocturnas - Edith in Panama" from the library, which is a series symbolizing his fascination with insects and nature combined with his life as a parent. His work in this book reminds me of something old and dusty. He photographs silhouettes of dead leaf skeletons and fluttering moth wings. He mixes these very natural things with silhouettes of himself, his wife, and children, making for surreal compositions that combine humans with the natural world.
Concerning vantage point and perspective, Emmet Gowin does not experiment with the position of his camera much in this photo series. He shoots his human models straight-on--they are either facing the camera or are profile silhouettes. The moths in many photos are the only moving things in the photo, swirling about the human figures in dizzying blurs, making for a dreamy soft texture in the background. Despite not experimenting much in his perspective, Emmet Gowin's photos are still fascinating to look at, and he makes his simple compositions and vantage points very interesting through subject matter, lighting, and texture.
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