In this photograph I can see a middle-aged man in a bedroom, he is not fully clothed as he does not have any trousers on, so I am guessing he was in the middle of changing or about to change. He is talking on the phone and judging by his facial expression, it seems like he is enjoying it. I can infer that the photograph had been taken at night because the room is dim, and the main source of light is from the lamp in the room. I can also see some photographs which have been hung up and it looks like their photographs of landscapes, the wall colour in the photograph is an orangey red which gives the photograph a warm tone. This picture belongs to the genre of portraiture but its unusual because it has again a warmer tone and usually in photography the subject of the photo is aware of the photograph being taken and the photographer takes a significant look at different angles and making sure the lighting is perfected whilst this photograph uses a dimmer light then usual and focuses on using a warm light from the room. Yokomizo tried to make the photograph seem more natural, as not only does he name it stranger no.1 but he also uses natural props instead of going to wide lengths to present them. For example, he takes the photograph in a bedroom that is not neat, we can see there is no duvet on bed and the photographs on the wall look almost crooked. If I were to take a photograph inspired by this, I would focus on the different framings and focus on trying to make them as symmetrical as possible because in Yokomizo’s photograph, the different square frames are the same size. If I were to retake this photograph, I would adjust the brightness so that I would be able to change the lighting easily, I would drag it down to make it dimmer so that the frame would be completely black therefore the main subject of the photograph would be the subject instead of the framing. The photograph makes me feel a warm tone and natural background make it easy to relax into the photograph more. What I enjoy most about the photograph again how natural it is, the photograph is taken in a bedroom which looks like it has not been cleaned. It looks to be night as the framing is dark which leads me to believe that the person in the photo is getting ready to either shower or go to bed since he is half naked. The fact that the man is half naked also makes the photograph seem more relaxed and natural because it shows that he has not fully prepared himself to take the photo and has just gone with it. If I could ask Yokomizo three questions, I would ask about the man in the photo. Questions like did he know the photograph was being taken or was he caught in the moment? I would also ask how he got the framing to be darker without darkening the room itself? Did he also ever keep contact with anyone he took photos of? The image relates to the theme of opening in various diverse ways. For example, Yokomizo took these photographs by sending letters to people's houses, this relates to the theme of openings because it gives the photographer an insight to the subject's home. Furthermore, the image itself is taken via a window; this means the photographer must have been on the other side of the window which relates they are they are on the outside taking a photo on the inside.
Here are my attempts in taking photographs in the theme of openings, using the work done by Shizuka Yokomizo as an influence.
Here are my attempts in taking photographs in the theme of openings, using the work done by Shizuka Yokomizo as an influence.