Karl Blossfeldt

For the final assignment, I was inspired by German photographer, Karl Blossfeldt. He is well known for his close-up photographs of plant life. I believe Blossfeldts' images to be rather modern for his time. He has captured the the small details and textures of a plants natural structure and form, but interestingly, not in its natural habitat. He took his subject out of nature and shot them in front of plain white backgrounds. To me, this aids his 'close-up technique" because the details truly pop. His photographs are whimsical and have a delicacy to them. Plants are obviously naturally delicate as it is, but the negative space, and interesting line work captured in his photographs are what make his compositions most appealing to view. 

“IF I GIVE SOMEONE A HORSETAIL HE WILL HAVE NO DIFFICULTY MAKING A PHOTOGRAPHIC ENLARGEMENT OF IT. ANYONE CAN DO THAT. BUT TO OBSERVE IT, TO NOTICE AND DISCOVER OLD FORMS, IS SOMETHING ONLY FEW ARE CAPABLE OF." - Karl Blossfeldt

 The details are the factors that play into what has inspired me. For my Photo Essay, I wanted to capture the details behind the farm stand. Though my images are not black and white, as Blossfeldts' are, I feel it would've been a big flaw for my series. Therefore I made the decision to keep them in full color. If Blossfeldt made the decision to photograph such subjects in their natural setting, still in black and white, I might just feel different about him. I believe his commitment to place his subject against the white background works well for what he wanted to achieve with detail and form.

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