Photography
Artists
Tana Hoban
Nina Crews
Susan Kuklin
A crop of Tana Hoban's art from Dig Drill Dump Fill
Photography produces images of reality.
When using film, photography is the process or art of producing images of objects on sensitized surfaces by the chemical action of light.
Digitally, photography is the taking or manipulation of photographs that are stored as data files on a computer.
Tana Hoban: Dig Drill Dump Fill
Tana Hoban used black and white film photography to show an assortment of big machines, including trucks, graters, and drills. Hoban illustrated her books with starkly beautiful photographs of objects from everyday life that appeal to children and adults alike. Her approach was considered revolutionary. Hoban kept a camera with her at all times, and her pictures of everyday scenes triggered the idea for her children's books.
"A neat row of garbage cans sitting in the bright sun inspired me to do the counting book, 'Count and See,' " Ms. Hoban wrote in an autobiographical essay in 1979. "All but half of a dozen of my books come from such perceptions of daily surroundings, organized so as to give the child a sense of verbal relationships, or concepts."
Tana Hoban; Reshaped Children's Books By Matt Schudel
Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, February 10, 2006 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp dyn/content/article/2006/02/09/AR2006020902232.html
Nina Crews: The Neighborhood Sing-Along
Nina Crews used digital photography in her color illustrations that help interpret favorite childhood songs in her urban city setting. “I chose to make photographic books because photography was and is my favorite medium to work in. I write the story first, though most often a visual idea motivates me to start a book.” In other photographic work, Crews also employed a series of stop-action photographic images to give the appearance of a child dancing across the pages. Additionally, the artist's use of photo collage allowed her to simulate the fade technique used in animation.
Susan Kuklin: Dance
Susan Kuklin has worked in dance, acting, directing, writing, and filmmaking. These experiences have informed her illustrations as she photographs for her children's and young adult books. When photographing Dance, Kuklin's vision included: capturing perfect form, recreating the choreographer’s vision, and visually expressing the meaning behind the writer’s words. “You won’t find these rules on Google. I just made them up," Kuklin said,"But this is pretty much what’s involved. As you might imagine a heap of dance images end up under the delete button."
Susan Kuklin: Families
Susan Kuklin had experience in dance, acting, directing, writing, and filmmaking, all which she bought to the photographs for her non-fiction books mostly for youth. In Families, Kuklin allowed everyone to choose how they would be photographed, what clothes they would wear, and how the house would be shown. Her vibrant photos show us the real families.