I decided when looking at the work of photographers who were
relevant to my degree, that one portrait stood out to me the most, and this was
Tom Barnes’ portrait of JJ Peters. The
main reason however, as to why I chose this specific photograph is because of
the way in which he adds a sense of identity to the image. Within the work, you
can begin to see the subject’s face in full detail, and as you begin to look at
the portrait, you see the cymbals tattooed to his face, as well as the
numbering. The numbering is often something seen in gangs, but asides this, JJ Peters
has this tattoo as a cymbal of a crew he belongs to- had Barnes photographed
him facing on towards the camera, we would have not have seen these tattoos
that are a huge part of his identity. The portrait is haunting in the way in
which he is also looking to the camera, and because of this, it’s almost as if
his expression connotes his serious personality, and in many ways begins to
make for a more intimidating photograph.
Tom Barnes also used medium format film, a medium that enables the
photographer to capture vasts amount of detail, an important aspect when
shooting portraits.
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