Ernst Haas
For my final for Photo 1, I decided to experiment with a long exposure of photographs and play with the motion being blurred in my photos. I used Ernst Haas as my inspiration for the project. Haas was an American photographer who was born in Vienna in 1921. He began studying photography 6 years before actually buying his own camera. Haas become a pioneer for blurry photos, created by a slow shutter speed, similar to what I did as my final. He also was well known for his color photographs. (International Center of Photography)
The first image of Haas that I am choosing to look at is this one. It looks like he took this at some sort of rodeo event. If I had to guess, I would say he probably captured this photo by holding his camera in his hand, setting the exposure to longer, and then moving the camera to follow the action. If he would have kept it steady then the background would be clear. I really like the bright color in this photo because I think it draws your attention to the subject.
The second photo I choose to discuss is more similar to the stylistic approach I took on my project. I like how there are two cars in this photo instead of just one because I think having two creates a more dynamic photo. Additionally, I really like the layout of this photo, how the arrows can be seen, and how they point in the directions that the cars are actually going in. My favorite thing about this photo is how one aspect of it is clear while the action in the photograph is blurry.
That is a similar approach I took to my photos. Although a lot of Haas’ work is 100% blurry, he has a few photos where there is a clear part of the photo and a blurry part. I really wanted to focus on this technique in my 6 pictures. For example, in one photograph, I have someone playing the piano and the piano is completely clear but their hands are moving over the keys and the motion of that is blurry. In another one, I have cars passing by an intersection, and although the background and building are sharp, the movement of the cars is blurry. I wanted to carry this sharpness through my pieces and I think I executed it well in some but not in others.
Overall I really enjoy Ernst Haas’ work. I feel like I have a deeper appreciation for any sort of long-exposure photography because I now understand how difficult it is to do well and he seems to have it mastered which I think is impressive.
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