Todd Hido
Todd Hido is an american photographer and was born in 1968 in Kent, Ohio. He is known for his ‘House Hunting’ – series, in which he took photographs of several homes in California. Usually he photographs at dusk and makes use of overcast days and fog to give the images an unnatural but attractive touch. The houses seem to glow in the dark, because of the bright lights that shine through the windows. “His pictures are suffused with anonymity and sadness, which suggest the failures of the inhabitants of these houses” (Grundberg 1998). The empty living rooms let the suburban houses appear like a part of a ghost town. Just by diving the domiciles in soft pastel colors he prevent these impacts. Furthermore he often frames his photographs through the windshield of his car to use it as an additional lens. Hido himself said that all of his images “are made on analog film with long exposures and there is no lighting” that he was adding to the scenes.
William Eckersley
William Eckersley was in born in 1980 in London, UK, and studied at London’s University of Arts (LCC and St.Martin’s). His ‘Dark City’ – series from 2011 is a four-year collection, deals with unpeopled urban areas at night. The images are characterized by “garish spotlighting casts deep shadows and silhouettes, with hues of pink, cyan and orange” (Positive Magazine 2011). He shot his series on the Sinar Norma 5×4 camera and similar to Todd Hido he took his photographs without making use of additional light sources. A very important aspect of taking images at night are still conditions, he said. “Even a slight wind would shake the camera and blur the shot over a 15 minute exposure” (Eckersley 2012).
At night the streets are lit from different angles by shards of light that all have different hues depending on their colour temperature. It felt like the stage was in the spotlight after the actors had left. (Eckersley 2012)
References
AUGSCHOELL, D., n.d. Interview with Todd Hido [viewed 22 November 2016].
Available from: http://www.ahornmagazine.com/issue_6/interview_hido/interview_hido.html
GRUNDBERG, A., 1998. House sitting: the photography of Todd Hido [viewed 22 November 2016].
Available from: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE|A20757313&v=2.1&u=southampton&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&authCount=2#
INC, E.B.A., 2009. Limited edition photography prints [viewed 22 November 2016].
Available from: https://eyebuyart.com/content/artists/william-eckersley
MAGAZINE, P., 2011. Dark city by William Eckersley – positive magazine. In: 16 December 2011 [viewed 22 November 2016].
Available from: http://www.positive-magazine.com/dark-city-by-william-eckersley/
MILLS, J., 2012. WONDERKIND: William Eckersley’s Dark City [viewed 22 November 2016].
Available from: http://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2012/01/wonderkind-william-eckersleys-dark-city/
ANON., 2010. Todd Hido, Bruce Silverstein gallery [viewed 22 November 2016].
Available from: http://www.brucesilverstein.com/artists/todd-hido
Tim Woköck – Contemporary Photography Project (CUP640)
tim woköck 