Unit 208 theme 2 - Portrait Photographer -Andrew Montgomery.

Andrew Montgomery was born in 1969, Andrew began his career at 14 years old, when he had access to a dark room in the garden . Andrew then progressed to a five year degree course in fine art and then into a three year apprenticeship  in photography. In 1995 Andrew's work had appeared in a extensive range of top publications with clients in England and all over Europe,
 Andrew's commissions have included artisan workshop in Paris, coracle makers in Wales ,costume dramas in Prague , portraits of designers , single mothers , fisherman , gypsies  and Cistercian monks .
 Andrew has many clients too such as Conran , Country Living , Elle Decoration , BBC Homes and Antiques,
Independent on Sunday , Sunday Times Travel , Sky , Food Illustrated , Red Magazine , Ikea and The National Trust.
 Andrew Montgomery has gained some national awards too , Andrew gained A O P Photography Awards in 2004 , highly recommended for commissioned portraiture category . In 2003 Andrew also gained an award  from the British Environmental and Media Awards for best photographic coverage of environmental issues.     Andrew is mostly known for his portraits of real people in their natural environment . Andrews work has inspired me to take some of the shots in my portraits and people theme. I have tried to recreate the first picture in this selection of Andrew's work with one of my own shots of Annie in her workshop, I like the way you can actually connect with the people in the shots as if you where the actual there in person with them .

 The first five pictures in this section have been scanned from magazines that I have researched for my portrait theme , the next five are taken from Andrews web site .
                                                                              

The Boss - Annie.
To get this shot Andrew and his team dissembled the roof of Annie's workshop so the shot would have natural light which is fantastic . I like the warmth the light has produced ,the depth of field with the detail of the jugs and the naked flame burning in the background ,the composition is fantastic.

Mr A Hulme - Fish Monger , supplier of local poultry and Game.

In this shot there is Mr Hulme senior .The shot is taken in black and white which suits the photograph and the type of shop that is in view , there is not many of these types of shops left ,running for years with generations of family working in the business  , traditional ! I like the fact Mr Hulme is holding a brace of partridge and next to a sign , fish for sale .I like this shot as it shows what the seller is all about, game and fish .The positioning of the shot is excellent ,just enough detail and good composition. 

The  Painter .

I like the colors in this photograph along with the composition .There is texture in the grass in the fore-ground and the curvature of the beach in the mid- ground leads you to the cliffs in the back-ground .This shot shows what the picture is all about ,telling a visual story of the woman in the photograph.

The Restorer.

As a child I have always loved the old gypsy caravans so the composition and colors in this shot really appealed to me ,I like the fact that the guy is center in the shot and the bowtop at the front of the caravan frames him  . I love the fact that you can pick up the detail in the paint work and  grain of the wood at the front of the caravan .This shot again shows enough detail to tell the story.

Hand Made .

There is good texture in this photograph ,the path way, brick and stone walls lend themselves in this black and white shot ,the different tones really suit the composition , I like the position of the ladies and the way they are standing , I also like the fact that Andrew has made the ladies at work feel relaxed which has produced a fab photo.

Field Workers.

In this image the ladies are working out in the field  , I think this shot shows the the warmth of the afternoon sun (even though there in no color in this shot) and it also shows that the ladies are ready for more hard work,  probably all by hand .

 

 Fisherman.

The fisherman in this shot shows his catch , you see the sheen on the fish, the texture of the floor, the pattern and texture in the lobster baskets , the point of view is central and the rule of thirds is vertical .

Fisherman.

This shot shows the calmness of the water as the fisherman hauls in his catch, the texture , pattern of his nets and tonal ranges of the shore in the distance is great.

Maker of Glass .

The woman in this shot looks relaxed as Andrew takes his picture ,The photo shows the place of work the finished product, this image has great light ,lines and pattern and the glass wear looks illuminated .

Sheep Farmers.

Again another shot out in the field , the rule of thirds is horizontal in this picture , there is texture in the hay on the floor and I like the depth of field with the shapes of the sheep in the mid-ground and the mist rising in the background .

My take on these pictures are in my Butcher ,Baker and Candle Stick-Maker theme ,there is a shot of Annie with her candles , a shot of Mark next to a beef hind quarter in his fridge and a shot of a woman holding hand packed biscuits ready to be weighed.