Networked Media-Week 7

Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practising?

Stephen Wilkes is an American photographer born in 1957. He started photography at the age of 12. Then, he studied at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, where he graduated with a bachelor of science in photography. Since opening a studio in New York in 1983, photographer Stephen Wilkes has established an unprecedented work system. He is hailed as one of the most iconic photographers in the United States. His art, Editors and commercial works have been widely recognized. Wilkes ’early interpretations of works in Mainland China, California Highway 1, and Impressionist Burning Obiects laid the tone for a series of career-defining projects, making He became a top figure in photography.

What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyze (can you provide a link?) 

Flatiron, NYC, DAY TO NIGHT, 2010

在 Instagram 查看这篇帖子

This Day to Night of the iconic Flatiron building is a personal favorite. I photographed on the 10-year anniversary of 9-11, and at dusk when the tribute of lights appeared, this photograph took on another layer of meaning. Now almost 10 years later, we find ourselves in unprecedented times. During this time of physical distancing, it’s more important than ever to stay connected. I would love the opportunity to reach out to so many of you. Please take the time to visit with me on INSTAGRAM LIVE this SUNDAY @3pm. I’ll be talking about what I experienced during the shooting of this image, and I would be happy to answer a selection of specific questions you all might have about my work, inspiration… or anything at all. Please send your questions to the comments section in this post. I’ll choose a group of the best questions to answer during Sunday’s live event. I am looking forward connecting & speaking with everyone!! #Flatiron #NYC #DaytoNight #iglive

Stephen Wilkes (@stephenwilkes) 分享的帖子 ·

With the photo or video, you are examining when was it produced (date)?

This photo was taken on the 2010 Flatiron, NYC, which is the most classic work of his representative work Day To Night. 

 How was the photo or video authored? 

In the past ten years, photographer Stephen Wilkes has carried out an epic project, Day To Night, which eventually allowed him to shoot locations for hours or even days. The result is fantastic photographic works that detail the visual changes that occur at a particular place as the day progresses, thereby transforming light into darkness. Wilkes’ “From Day to Night” series originated in New York, has spread all over the world, and beyond the urban environment, has become an incredible capsule of photography time in the massive space of the earth. According to Shutterbug’s Tech Talk, I learned that Stephen Wilkes shoots his Day to Night project images with a Linhof 4×5 camera fitted with a Phase One digital back. His lenses range from 28mm wide to 180mm long, depending on his vantage point. He adjusts his shutter speeds to account for movement and changes in the light; the ISOs and f / stops are locked in for the shoot. The f / stops are chosen based on his research and testing for the sweet spot of each lens. In his most famous project, “Day to Night”, he began using two cameras to photograph cities and landscapes around the world in 2009-one for the day and one for the night. One of his sources of inspiration was the British artist David Hockney, who would take hundreds of photos in a scene and glue them together. To capture the ebb and flow of time, Stephen took as many as 1500 pictures in 24 hours, ranging from the Wrigley Stadium in Chicago to a bar in Serengeti. During shooting, Stephen often used cranes at least 50 feet above the subject. When he was shooting, the food was put in a bucket, and the sleep was in a short catnap. It may take several months to mix these images into one photo.

How was the photo or video published? 

The photos of Day to Night were posted on Instagram. At the same time, he explained in the description that the iconic Flatiron building is his personal favourite from day to night. He took this photo on the 10th anniversary of 9-11, at dusk when the tribute of lights appeared, this photograph took on another layer of meaning. Now almost ten years later, he found himself in an unprecedented era. In the end, he also invited followers to participate in his IG Live on the weekend. He will explain this photo in detail and answer all questions about this work. As he said, with the development of technology, the camera phone is highly popular. The most ordinary mobile phone has become the default tool for publishing and sharing photos (Palmer, 2014). So Stephen Wilkes is not only a photographer but also a distributor.

How was the photo or video distributed?

When Stephen Wilkes posted his Day To Night on Instagram, his photos will be automatically distributed to 570,000 followers. In the description, he also used # NYC, # Flariton, # IGLive and his showreel #daytonight Some tags like this. When he tags Flariton this famous landmark, Instagram’s internal software algorithm will help him arrange distribution according to geographical conditions (Palmer D, 2014). At the same time, people who are interested in NYC and Flariton Building will also find his works according to these tags. If these viewers are interested in his works, they will also be led to his collection according to the tag #daytonight. The benign circulation of photos around the world is distributed to more interested people. At the same time as a photographer of National Geographic and Life magazine, his works were also sold offline in the form of hard copy. Compared with Analogue Photography, the works produced by digital devices are more diverse and more exquisite. They will eventually exist in the form of data on the Internet or a personal computer. In this way, whether it is an online preview or a print collection, the life of the work tends to be eternal, and it can be distributed to all humans from generation to generation.

Reference List

Mead, N., 2020. Stephen Wilkes Blends More Than 1,000 Photographs Into Each Day-Night Cityscape – In Pictures. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2014/oct/23/day-night-stephen-wilkes-photographs-in-pictures> [Accessed 1 May 2020].

Palmer, D 2014 ‘Mobile Media Photography’, in The Routledge Companion to Mobile Media, (eds) Goggin G., Hjorth L., Routledge, New York pp. 249–55.

Stephen Wilkes. 2020. Day To Night ™ | Stephen Wilkes Photography. [online] Available at: <https://stephenwilkes.com/fine-art/day-to-night/> [Accessed 1 May 2020].

Nationalgeographic.com. 2020. Stephen Wilkes. [online] Available at: <https://www.nationalgeographic.com/contributors/w/photographer-stephen-wilkes/> [Accessed 1 May 2020].

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