Photography: Learning From Helmut Newton
When Helmut Newton photographed landscapes he often placed a model in the foreground. This isn’t to say his landscapes were without significance. For example during the 1968 fuel strike, when no petrol was to be found in France, Newton made images of people kissing in front of oil storage tanks.
His images wern’t always so dramatic. For example Newton’s early fashion shots photographed for Australian Vogue are far more static and render the Australian landmarks into more conventional, (even pretty), backdrops.
Later his subjects were frequently photographed out of doors in the twilight, sometimes against elegant citiscapes but often against dramatic surroundings into which tension had been added by way of lighting or camera angle. To my mind his landscapes are far more sophisticated that that other master of revealing the macabre in nature ~ Bill Brandt.
It really isn’t necessary to photograph nudes to create images that have this tension. A couple of days ago I found this treee that had been struck by lightning near our home. No matter how I attempted to photograph it I couldn’t improve upon this shot incorporating an electricity pole.
Blasted Tree and Electricity Pole
