Erik Almas: Artist Analysis

Introduction

Memories are short-lived that require a collection of events over time to maintain the constant flow of events in a lifetime (Coban, & Kiyar, 2016). The inevitable temporary memory in human life can well be captured through a photo. Erick Almas is a professional photographer from San Francisco, Norway. He studied in Academy of Arts for four years and graduated in 1999 having an excellent portfolio in the spring show and 2004, and he was awarded an Honorary degree because of his exemplary performance in the photography industry as an alumnus (Almas, 2018). Erik Almas Focuses more on the location of the photograph, and he tries to do something new that is much better than what he has done before. He works best in the advertising industry, which has made him research further and developed a desire for photography. His clients in the advertising industry include top companies advertising their products to the consumers. Eric Almas chooses to use composite images to enhance the creativity of his pictures as an extension of his vision to fulfil the desires of the eyes.

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Image 1: Portrait 34. Retrieved from Almas http://www.erikalmas.com/slideshow/portraits#34

The computer permits the image that he sees in the eyes of his mind to be real through the crafting of the picture he took by a single lens using his computer. This is an excellent image from his beautiful art gallery, and it is an excellent image regarding the choice of colour blue to give the background a night feel. The picture depicts a woman seems to be a middle-aged woman, posing in the street carrying the impression of a musician. The simplicity of the fine art draws the attention of the audience close to the image and gives the feeling of superiority in her musical performance. This picture is among the retouch photos of the photographer that offers an exciting expression of a musical background. Concerning technique, the image is well blended with the event in the photograph with the lights and shadows that have been adjusted appropriately.

I chose this particular portrait because I like the style used by Eric Almas. I love the Elaborate style artwork that he uses, particularly the Flemish style. I noticed that some lines are heavy, some edges are jagged and some lines are swirly. This piece is elegant and has a stable colour scheme. I also like that the two subjects seem to have a closer relationship, unlike most other portraits. It is fascinating how he has transformed the background buildings that resemble the exact building outlook of the street. The subject in the photo is dressed in an attractive black outfit that gives a significant sense of fashion and an artist's background. The subject is surrounded by smoke, and sculpted buildings in the background provide excellent control of the contrast to make it a compelling image. The lighting of the picture plays a vital role in the positioning and depiction of the woman. Viewing the picture, it is evident that the light comes from the front side of the art while the backlight is meant to light the street at the back. He does not use distinctive outlines to express this woman in the portrait; somewhat he blends the colours into one another creating less of a definition between the backdrop and this woman, yet still clearly distinctly profiling this woman from the background. Not only do we see dark colours in the context of this portrait, but also the woman in this painting is not wearing bright, loud colours either. Instead, what the audience sees is a woman dressed in a lighter brown dress, which effortlessly blends in with the background if a ray of light did not highlight it. The bright colours coupled with the straight, diagonal and horizontal lines makes me think that maybe Erik Almas appreciates architecture and the concepts of design.

Eric Almas paid close attention to the dress of the woman and how it fitted her body. While looking through the art of Erik Almas, I noticed that something is interesting about his work. Majority of his work are very similar in a way that he photographs women's hair is almost identical, the hair is never entirely pulled back, and there is always a piece hanging on the shoulder and at the back clearly shown by the flowing and curly hair in the image above. He doesn't ignore them, in colloquial terms, "fly-aways" that most girls have when they pin back their hair. Instead, he highlights the disorderly ways of hair that most girls encounter and struggle to deal with daily. The woman's hair looks natural while this woman was posing for her portrait. The light in the picture shows the facial expression of the woman implying that she is happy with a smile and enjoying the musical rhythm and there are no signs of a feminine sense of being observed. The clear sky with scattered clouds implies to me that there is an appropriate environment for a street performance without the disturbances brought about by the rains. Overall, the artist's intent is clear depicting an urban culture.

Image 2: Portrait 87. Retrieved from http://www.erikalmas.com/slideshow/portraits#87

The photograph (portrait 87) is from Almas' work in the portrait category, developed from water deities from Greek mythology. This is one of the images in the portrait category cropped into a panoramic format among his projects. According to the picture, there are their elements that stand out to be unique. The landscape, clouds and the foreground elements providing beautiful scenery. The background of the image is interesting, and the fisherman is part of the more magnificent scene.

It shows an angler walking away from a boat that he probably used to fish. Almas shows his unique style in this piece by balancing the lighting clearly showing the waves in the water body and the clouds. The image is symbolic to pay tribute to the mythical figures and the fisherman representing sirens who often got themselves in trouble.

The background of the image shows a majestic and unusual rock formation that elicited strong feelings. The beautiful natural structures associated with the Greek ancient communities' sacred stories (Mammas & Spandidos, 2014). They are viewed as powerful places that people can connect with the divine. According to the Greek mythology, sirens were considered dangerous creatures that lured sailors into the ocean using the enchanting music and voices to ruin their ships on the rocky coast (Clark, 2005). Therefore, the ocean waves signify the hard life and challenges that the fishermen undergo in search of fish. Cliffs and rocks as depicted in the photograph often surrounded such locations.

The waves portray the struggles fishers undergo while fishing. Lighting in the photograph provides a clear vision of the sky showing the light sections of the cloud and darker parts. Almas focuses on both the foreground element and the background elements to help support the activities happening in the foreground. It shows heavy clouds gathering ready to rain. The birds in the sky are in motion and flying above the water body and rocks waiting for food. The photo has a wide aspect ratio that Almas intended to get a clear view of the Background Mountains and the coastal imagery. The simplicity of this portrait is what draws attention to it. At a first look, all you see is a fisherman walking away from a boat with seemingly effortless costume design. First impressions of this portrait give off one notion, but with more notice bring more confusion. The ease of this portrait brings about more detail and meaning than one would first anticipate. Most of Almas photos are in panoramic depicting a pronounced a storyline that induces an imagination. Majority of Almas portraits have a more elaborate foreground and background elements that he utilises to give a better story about the person on the foreground.

Conclusion

The overall understanding of the different types of genres of photography is essential to realise where self-photography fits in the world of photography and subsequently exploring the available prospects (Short, 2011). I have been exposed to various genres of photography, I have exploited the artistic style before where pictures are retouched and blended unrestricted using computer-aided software such as Adobe Photoshop and CorelDraw. The digital age has tremendously reshaped the photography notion with the existence of Photoshop. Eric for instance in the second picture analysis, he combined more than twenty picture to be able to finalise the image. A more apt question might resonate behind strictly defining photography. The work of different photographers defines the broad perspective of photography and elements that each photographer consider as the base for their pictures.

Works Cited

Almas, Erick. "Erik Almas Photography | About Erik". Erikalmas.Com, 2018, http://www.erikalmas.com/about-erik. Accessed 4 Aug 2018.

Almas, Erik. Photography | Slideshow | Portraits". Erikalmas.Com, 2018, http://www.erikalmas.com/slideshow/portraits#34. Accessed 4 Aug 2018.

Almas, Erik. Photography | Slideshow | Portraits". Erikalmas.Com, 2018, http://www.erikalmas.com/slideshow/portraits#87

Clark, Christina A. "Two Handbooks Of Mythology R. Hard: The Routledge Handbook Of Greek Mythology. Based On H. J. Rose'S Handbook Of Greek Mythology. Pp. Xx + 753, Maps, Ills. London and New York: Routledge, 2004. Cased, PS120. ISBN: 0-415-18636-6.". The Classical Review, vol 55, no. 01, 2005, p. 171. Cambridge University Press (CUP), doi:10.1093/clrevj/bni096.

Coban, Ibrahim, and Neslihan Kiyar. "TRADITIONAL, DIGITAL AND INTERACTIVE PERIODS IN CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY". Ulakbilge Dergisi, vol 3, no. 5, 2015. Sada Institute, doi:10.7816/ulakbilge-03-05-03.

Mammas, N, and Demetrios A. "An Instructive Viewpoint From The Greek Mythology". Journal Of Paediatrics And Child Health, vol 51, no. 2, 2014, pp. 172-173. Wiley, doi:10.1111/jpc.12602.

SHORT, NIGEL. "A Creative Guide To Exploring Your Life: Self-Reflection Using Photography, Art And Writing". Journal Of Psychiatric And Mental Health Nursing, vol 18, no. 3, 2011, pp. e5-e5. Wiley, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2850.2010.01638.x.