Photographer Research - Barry Underwood

Barry Underwood

Biography

Barry Underwood is an American photographer who takes pictures of the mixture of the supernatural and the theatrical. He studied Masters of Fine Art, Photography at Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He also studied Bachelor of Arts, Photography at the Indiana University Northwest; Gary, Indiana and Bachelor of Arts, Theatre also at Indiana University Northwest; Gary, Indiana.

Why I chose him

The reason that I've chosen Barry Underwood as part of my photographer research is because his photographs are different; they're unique and always stay true to his own style. His pictures represent evidence of light exceptionally well and I pretty much find them all extremely inspiring. The lights that are portrayed in his photographs are usually the main source of colour in his pictures as the background is often a lot darker than this feature, enabling them to stand out. Barry Underwood captures a lot of landscapes in his photographs which are mystical backgrounds for his lights, which transforms everyday scenese into unique images. Using illusion, imagination, and narrative, his photographs explore the potential of the ordinary. He approached his photographic work with a theatrical sensibility, much like a cinematographer or set designer would, and inspires me to perhaps create an image similar to his.

The black and green theme in this photograph in my eyes is a very successful combination of colours as the bright greens bounce off of the black tones, further enhancing the neon green glow portrayed through the lights in this picture. Inspired by cinema, land art, and contemporary painting, the resulting photograph is both surreal and familiar. It suggests a larger narrative, and yet that narrative remains elusive and mystifying. The miniature lights could somehow be mistaken for woodland bugs that you see in lots of animated films such as Avatar. This picture most certainly portrays an effect of space which is why it is so eye capturing yet peaceful to look at.

The stillness of this landscape contrasts with the luminescent, artificial quality of the lights, creating an otherworldly and etherial effect. His use of unnatural light and colour creates surreal landscapes or illusionistic spaces which he insist speak of the human footprint on the planet – our imposition of unnatural phenomena on the natural world, such as pollution, light pollution and bio-luminescent algae. The mist floating in the background of the trees along with this reoccurring theme in the sky is a contributor to the mystical theme of the photograph. The miniature crowd of lights in the grass makes the viewer question this feature.

This is my favourite photograph of Barry's. He has most likely used a torch or a glowstick and had someone run through the trees with it whilst the camera was on a slow shutter speed setting. This setting allows this type of photo to be taken because it captures the movement of the light and then concludes the picture with the lense shutting and portraying the glows route. This photograph is an example of this technique and it has worked successfully in this image. It inspires me to use the same technique but perhaps write a word in the air with a glow stick. 

The main feature of this photograph that attracted me would definitely have to be the dark trees against the pure white sky along with the ocean blue glowing water. By reading the landscape and altering the vista through lights and photographic effects, Barry has transformed this everyday scene into an extremely unique image. I like that the lights perform a reflection on the water as this adds to the depth of the image, as the water reflects the scenery above it. 

How he has influenced me

Barry Underwood has influenced me a ridiculous amount. He makes me want to use lights in the style that he has and make an attempt at recreating a few of his own images in my style. His photos are all extremely different, yet all contain that one feature; colourful lights. I aspire to achieve an assortment of photographs all containing the same feature whilst still looking different from eachother at the same time. 

This picture is what I took on my initial response shoot. I captured it because I loved the contrast of the two different types of trees agaisnt the icy white sky background. This was the main feature in the last photo above that attracted me to it also. I love this idea of having dark trees infront of a white sky because the contrast looks extremely photographicn and eye capturing.

Summary

Ultimately, Barry Underwoods creative use with light is effective in every single one of his photographs. I originally looked at his work with the intention of recreating my own style of light photography, because I studied him at the beginning of the unit with no idea where I was heading. I eventually found my route and discovered that I didn't intend to do any light photography because he became less important as a source of inspiration to me. However, his last photograph against the sky was inspiring and encouraged me to capture pictures against the sky as I explored a range of sky photography as backdrops.