Photographer Research 4: Thomas Barbey

About this photographer:
Originating from Switzerland, Thomas now lives and works in Las Vegas where he takes inspiration from the big and bold lifestyle there. He only ever works in black and white, and his final images never come from just the one shoot. Working for more than 20 years now in photography, Thomas takes little parts of images from different shoots spanning across these 20 years as he likes to incorporate the past with the future, which is what gives his work that unique twist.
Why have I picked this photographer?:
Whilst i was originally drawn to the photographer Jerry Uelsmann, Thomas' work proved to be very similar, but I preferred that his work had the unique twist of combining the contrast of the past and the future. I liked that he uses a technique that I already often do with my work, which is to combine images from different shoots, which I have already done with my shoots 1 + 2 for this current project. I LOVE how with combining different images in unique ways, he can make the impossible look very possible.

Evaluation:

I think the way he has photographed the textures in this image is really cleaver as they all seem to blend into the one image, rather than there being distinct differences which is what makes it look realistic. He has also clearly thought about the shape well as the curves within the horse's structure mimics what shapes are also within the mountains. The nature of this photo is also very believable as it could quite simply be a horse laying down in a substance such as snow or sand, but really the photo is telling you a story of a mountain that comes to life as a horse.

Although I find that this concept is quite common in photography, using a door to lead the eye into another surreal location, I really like how Thomas has placed the door leading to a location inside the mouth - adding another complete layer to the image and therefore adding depth to the image, which leads the viewers' eye on a visual journey. I also really like that he only works in black and white or sepia, and I think it looks particularly effective with this image as it adds a particular grittiness to the image, and for some reason I feel that a full-colour image would have been too overpowering because of the level of detail in the whole image.

I would really like to be able to construct an image like this myself as the attention to detail is beautiful yet very complicated at the same time. His attention to detail especially in textures is stunning as this is what makes the image seem like it really is real, with the intricate folds and creases in the woman's skin as it is being pulled back like a curtain. Although I don't usually enjoy photographs with a lot going on in them, I think that in the case of Thomas Barbey, it really works as his pieces are made to entertain and they allow for different levels of depth for the viewers to look at.











I think this is my favourite piece of Thomas' work as I love just how surreal it really is, as, when would you ever see pianos and zebras in the same image!? I think the use of pattern is really clever, matching the stripes in the zebra up with the keys on the piano, creating lines for the viewers to follow further back in the image, adding depth. This particular image gives off a really nice happy tone, purely because of the positive emotions associate with listening to music and seeing animals, especially as the two zebras are enjoying each other's company.









Influence:
I would defiitely say that Thomas Barbey's work has influenced me, especially as we both use different elements of separate shoots to create unique and interesting pieces. I found that his work particularly influenced my first and second shoots for this unit, as I not only combined different images but I also kept the work in black and white as I felt that adding a more serious tone to the work. I am definitely going to take some of his work for inspiration and attempt to make my own images like his.

Summary:
I love Thomas' work as he mostly focuses on the editing-together of his images, rather than the shoots himself. Whilst this is not to say that little thought should go into the shoots themselves, it is equally important to be as creative as you possible can during editing, even if it means trying out experiments that might not work. I look forward to combing many of my images together to attempt a surreal piece just like Thomas.