The Insight Visual website has 15
photographs by Paul Close taken from this particular exhibition.
The images are environmental
portraits with a difference - whilst they are serious photographs there is also
clearly a element of humour. The individual to be photographed is isolated on a
white studio backdrop, however, rather than take a studio-typical portrait shot
the photographer has chosen to include significantly more than just the
individual. This portfolio comes across as though it was actually taken by
somebody other than the photographer - almost like the assistant taking images
of the photo-shoot as it was being set up.
I personally find the style of
these photographs engaging because of the focus on one particular individual
(aligned to the caption giving the location and the aspiration of the
individual) and because of the cleaver way it includes, almost as a second
image, the environment in which the individual lives.
Do these images work as documentary photographs?
In my opinion yes, however, I can
appreciate that in purist terms they would not fulfil the brief. To be
purely documentary, you would not expect the image to be staged nor would you expect
to see any impact of the photographer; in these images, this is clearly not the
case.
The photograph below is my favourite
- the very serious pose of the subject and the focus and puzzlement of the
little boy watching him.
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| Photograph by Paul Close © 2009 Visual Insight |
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