Jaap Buitendijk is a film still photographer originally from Holland. After much traveling in his early twenties (where he first picked up a camera and discovered his passion for photography) that he attended Newport School of Art where he studied documentary photography. Buitendijk explored the “apparent contradiction of using documentary skills to record an artificial reality; that of films.” He has worked on numerous big-name films such as Harry Potter and Blood Diamond, as well as smaller production films like The Constant Gardener and Girl With A Pearl Earring.
Buitendijk does a wonderful and effective job capturing the mood of his subjects and seems to do so in his own style; one alternative to how the film itself was shot for theaters. I feel his images are more personal and perhaps less mainstream and therefore can be accepted as a legitimate type of art photography. Or I could just be hoping that the products of one of my dream jobs of being a film still photographer could breach the fine art world. Nonetheless, Buitendijk strongly composes his images, communicating a clear message and garnering a direct response from the audience. I also very much admire his use of light.
While my images aren’t taken on large-production sets, I would consider them to be theatrical and could alternatively be attached to some sort of movie as film stills. Technically, I do not think they are up to par as far as composition and use of focus goes, though, I think my concept is communicated clearly and effectively.
No comments:
Post a Comment