I really love these pictures taken by Colin Pantall who I found over in photo rank (here) and he was also featured on Conscientious (here) back in May. I really don’t have a specific need for this type of photographer because the scope of his work is so limited I’m not sure what I would hire him to shoot but I’ll never forget these images. I’m sure something will come up someday and I’ll have no problem remembering him.
That fact is worth noting.
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^ Yeah love his work. Love the detailed body language displayed in the couch series.
<3
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Posted 26 Nov 2007 at 1:38 pm ¶Wow, they are indeed very beautiful!
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Posted 26 Nov 2007 at 1:43 pm ¶beautiful, indeed. and very to the point.
i hope his daughter wont hate him when she hits the real rebel phase of her teenage years. getting aware of being an exploited arts object. spoken exaggeratedly.
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Posted 26 Nov 2007 at 4:49 pm ¶If you like those, you should check out:
http://jessroberts.com/
She won the Hyeres Festival in France this past year and I think her work with children is really strong. The series of note is “Before The Coming”.
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Posted 26 Nov 2007 at 7:03 pm ¶the bottom photograph is in the Photographic Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery in London. It was definitely one of my favourite images.
http://www.npg.org.uk/live/PPP2007_45.asp
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Posted 26 Nov 2007 at 8:32 pm ¶I find 2, 3, and 15 very strong images. Especially 15. Is it the colorization? Is it the lens? Is it simply her gorgeous face? Is it the light?
What I find fascinating is trying to put my finger on what exactly makes a body of work stand out. Why do these images stand out, (for me), so much more than the Jess Roberts images? Maybe it’s the added light in the Roberts images; makes them feel less honest to me.
Kudos to Mr. Pantall. He’s on to something. It’s even more compelling, as a body of work. Kinda like that Red Sofa series, but with about ten thousand times more soul, and more heart. Keep it up.
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Posted 26 Nov 2007 at 10:39 pm ¶I think if you were to see a larger body of work with this hard honesty – hiring may become an issue. Repeatability …. let’s say: next week on Friday, at the restaurant on 8th and 65th – with the two models we’ve hired to be there at 2pm.
How many of these images would he have to show to gain that scale of confidence?
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Posted 26 Nov 2007 at 10:42 pm ¶Not to be peevy…but I have to take some affront at part of the original statement. The scope of his work is so limited? Meaning he just shot kids with no lighting but amazing composition? Not to mention his eye for color in how he printed those images for presentation? I would say this fellow would be a perfect candidate for shooting amazing environmental portraits. Unless of course the interpretation of the work being so limited in scope assumes that he only has the conversational aptitude to speak to small children. Ok…so I was a little peevy, but I hope my sarcasm has not fallen on deaf ears.
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Posted 27 Nov 2007 at 1:08 am ¶d, in response. A friend of mine, until recently, was an AD at a large ad agency in NY.
For a major campaign, he (they) hired Ryan Mcginley. In case you don’t know McGuinley’s work, it reminds me of Pantall’s (in some ways), except Mcginley is much, much, much more accomplished and recognized.
Long story short, the shoot went far from well. Turns out, he shoots his pictures like no other, but when it comes to commisioned work, it’s a whole other ball game.
That said, I would hire Mcginley in a heartbeat, and Pantall a few beats later. But, I’m not an AD and my ass is not on the line.
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Posted 27 Nov 2007 at 1:24 am ¶I see your point PE, I’ve come across Colin’s work before via Lightstalkers and was an instant fan of the work.
As they are primarily portraits of his daughter watching tv I can totally understand the hesitations re offering work.
I’ve always hesitated to show the images I’ve shot of my daughter in a professional arena as family entails an extraordinary relationship that no client would ever really believe you could recreate on the spot with a given subject. Colin’s work definitely deserves the attention it is getting, and as an artist I really respect his abilities but I would think twice about showing this kind of work on my portfolio site.
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Posted 27 Nov 2007 at 8:02 am ¶@d: I would agree with you except I’m missing one important piece of the puzzle. The ability to repeat the results outside of a familiar environment.
Very important for editorial photography.
I would also take into account the fact the photographer is only a year out of graduate school.
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Posted 27 Nov 2007 at 8:04 am ¶Pantall’s work on his daughter is indeed great. Less important to me would be the idea that he is recently out of grad school. More important, and what we see in the work I believe, is the fact that he is a mature adult well into his 40’s, I’m assuming that’s his kid so he is a guy with responsibilities, etc. I don’t know how that relates to giving him an assignment, but I do think some of the stuff we are responding to in his work is all of that age, maturity, blood bond with the child. He is not a tourist.
Agree?
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Posted 27 Nov 2007 at 8:57 am ¶Thanks for the lovely comments which are pretty much spot on – it’s great that people can see where the work is coming from. Thanks especially for the age and maturity comments, Tim. That is a consolation to me.
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Posted 27 Nov 2007 at 4:26 pm ¶Colin is also an excellent writer.
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Posted 28 Nov 2007 at 4:01 pm ¶Post a Comment