When I started doing Culture Crossroads, even before I was aware of it, Geogre Meis was one of the first people that came to my mind. Mainly because he does what I intend to do - he is Greek and has toured roughly all of Greece, photographing what's on offer regardless of time of the day, weather conditions and location.
 | |
| Fig. 1 Meis, George – Zakintos, 2017 |
George Meis does not stray from iconic locations, on the contrary, he is famous for capturing these places in a new way (which is an approach I also try to incorporate).
What I love about his style is that he shows Greece the way it is - sunny and hot (most of his images feature dull blue cloudless sky - from photographic point of view and endless blue sea). I am sure he could have created other images, similarly striking to those Krasi Matarov creates but instead, Meis creates images that correspond to what a visitor might encounter - especially if you go on vacation.
In this sense, the works of Meis are more similar to what I intend to create - document what I see on the spot rather than wait for months for one killer image. Meis has traveled around Greece and like me, his style tends to be more similar to the hunter approach - preferring to go around and "hunt" for locations, scenery or moments.
I also love that Meis seems to be more moderate in terms of image editing - no elaborate stacking, no multiple exposures, only (seems to me) colour enhancing. Meis' images seem bright, full of life.
I do not always agree with his choice of framing though - such as this image of the iconic town in Santorini island, Oia:
This image, shows the iconic location for landscape sunset shots at Santorini but obviously when Meis went there, the scene was nothing like amazing. Nevertheless, he still took a picture and it can be seen on the home page of his website. This one, at least to me, is not good enough - it does show Meis' signature style and post-processing technique BUT to me this is simply not good enough. I would have waited for either the blue or the golden hour. Even though, the image as presented is an unconventional way to show an otherwise clichéd location (this terrace in Oia must have been photographed by millions of tourists), I would like to create images that stand out.
After all, Meis has spent the better part of his life working to turn his name into a brand whereas I doubt many people know me so I am rather reluctant to do this (yet).
Still, I love his documentary-yet-pleasing approach and the bright colours (somehow, fail to see the world in monochrome) but as for the excessive contrast (which seems to be quite boosted in some images) I'd rather tone it down. Another matter is, that sometimes the Mediterranean sea looks in surreal shades of blue that are perfectly real, if you have been there to see for yourself, as with this image of the harbour at Rhodes:
To me, the images of Meis speak of a warm welcome, beautiful landscapes and long tangled history. I've been in love with his work for such a long time that I am afraid my critical assessment of it is rather biased. I'd love to create images that document what I see and that are true to what I see (without the excessive over-editing) but I would also want that dream-like qualities of the images of Krasi Matarov.
More on inspiration and influence - in the next post.
What I love about his style is that he shows Greece the way it is - sunny and hot (most of his images feature dull blue cloudless sky - from photographic point of view and endless blue sea). I am sure he could have created other images, similarly striking to those Krasi Matarov creates but instead, Meis creates images that correspond to what a visitor might encounter - especially if you go on vacation.
In this sense, the works of Meis are more similar to what I intend to create - document what I see on the spot rather than wait for months for one killer image. Meis has traveled around Greece and like me, his style tends to be more similar to the hunter approach - preferring to go around and "hunt" for locations, scenery or moments.
I also love that Meis seems to be more moderate in terms of image editing - no elaborate stacking, no multiple exposures, only (seems to me) colour enhancing. Meis' images seem bright, full of life.
I do not always agree with his choice of framing though - such as this image of the iconic town in Santorini island, Oia:
 |
| Fig 2. Meis, George – Santorini, 2017 |
After all, Meis has spent the better part of his life working to turn his name into a brand whereas I doubt many people know me so I am rather reluctant to do this (yet).
Still, I love his documentary-yet-pleasing approach and the bright colours (somehow, fail to see the world in monochrome) but as for the excessive contrast (which seems to be quite boosted in some images) I'd rather tone it down. Another matter is, that sometimes the Mediterranean sea looks in surreal shades of blue that are perfectly real, if you have been there to see for yourself, as with this image of the harbour at Rhodes:
 |
| Fig.3 Meis, George – Rhodes, 2017 |
More on inspiration and influence - in the next post.
References:
Geogre Meis official website
Available at:
http://meisstudio.gr/about/
[accessed 11 April 2018]
Geogre Meis official website
Available at:
http://meisstudio.gr/about/
[accessed 11 April 2018]
List of figures:
Figure 6 – MEIS, George – Zakintos, 2017
Available at:
http://meisstudio.gr/about/
[accessed 11 April 2018]
Figure 7 – MEIS, George – Rhodes, 2017
Available at:
http://meisstudio.gr/about/
[accessed 11 April 2018]
Figure 8 – MEIS, George – Santorini, 2017
Available at:
http://meisstudio.gr/about/
[accessed 11 April 2018]
No comments:
Post a Comment