Photography Newsletter Issue 2

8/8/2019 Photography Newsletter Issue 2

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Photography Newsletter, Issue 2January 15, 2011

Rudolph Koppitz (1884 – 1926)

Rudolph Koppitz was a Czechoslovak

photographer, often credited asViennese or Austrian.

His work is marked by a pronouncedawareness of form, line, and thesurface play of light and shadow. Earlyin his career, Koppitz was known forstaging groups of subjects in the styleof the Vienna Secession, the most wellknown example of this being hisBewegungsstudie, "Motion Study".

Bewegungsstudie.

The dancer Claudia Issatschenko playsthe cental role in the above veryfamous photograph. It's meaning isobscure, as it was never explained byKoppitz, but the naked dancer may insome way represent death, or even afatal moment – she gives the

impression of having been struck downas she was advancing. Either that, orshe is on the point of coming back tolife. Her three attendants, too, seemto be rehearsing either a revival or aloss of consciousness. The implicationof this, and of a number of suchgroupings of naked and draped

dancers undertaken in the mid-20s, isthat of Koppitz's subject was thestirring of the spirit in relation to thephysical body. Figures on the point of dying or reviving can even beunderstood as metaphors for the work

of art in which material is investedwith a spirit of its own. In the 1930sKoppitz turned increasingly to thedocumentation of country life andlandscape in Austria.

Rudolf Koppitz began his career as aphotographer in small commercialstudios. In 1912, he took a decisivestep and left his professional life to goback to school in Vienna. Here he meta circle of artists and pictorialphotographers. Koppitz's

extraordinary mastery of pictorialprocesses - pigment, carbon, gum,and bromoil transfer printing gainedthe respect of his colleaguesthroughout the world.

Self-portrait.





endlessly. I just need to be patientwith myself. My memory is shot so Idon't retain what I read very well.That is not conducive to this medium.

As far as photomanipulation, I was

able to get Photoshop CS5. Wow – it'scomplicated. Another thing I have nothad a problem with – software. Ahumbling experience. I can't justfigure it out by trial and error. Toomany variables. I got a book TheAdobe Photoshop CS5 Book for DigitalPhotographers. So far, I have beenable to learn a lot in just the first 50pages.

I need to buy a portrait lens and azoom lens for taking close ups of

buildings in the distance. I also have alot of other equipment to buy.Unfortunately, I am going to have tobuy these things a little at a time.

So, I have put taking photos on hold.I have tried in vain to get the effects Iwant. I think having more appropriatelighting is necessary. For example, Iwanted to do a photo of myself layingdown with the emphasis on my torsoand the rest a gray tone. I

experimented with color and found anice red hue. But as far as having thehighlights where I wanted them? Nogo. The problem, I surmise, is that Ihave fill lights (the umbrellas) and softlights (the soft boxes) but nothingconcentrated or powerful enough.That's what you get for buyingequipment without reallyunderstanding it. While I do think thatboth are necessary for a mini-studio,there is definitely something missing.

Thanks for reading.

Celeste J. [email protected]

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Photography Newsletter Issue 2