June 30, 2011

From Gerald R. Lucas

V&A and Neighborhood

Today was our class field trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum to see the Figures and Fictions photography exhibit. I was blown away by the images – not what I expected from South African photogs.

In fact, I wasn’t sure what to expect for South African photogs. All of the images were powerful, and many were hyper-formal, juxtaposing Western ideas of portraiture with the pastiche of reality that now seems to represent a post-Apartheid South Africa. I particularly liked: Graeme Williams’ The Edge of Town series; Pieter Hugo’s portraits, like the Hyena Men; and Jodi Bieber’s Real Beauty series.

After some time at the V&A, we went to Hyde Park the second part of the assignment. I let the students work, and Giles and I walked and took photos, making our way to Westminster. We photographed a bit of the V&A, Hyde Park, Buckingham, Parliament, and areas in between.

Canon Camera Information
Camera: Canon Digital Rebel XT1, Canon EOS 30D, Canon EOS 5D, or Canon EOS 6D • Prime Lenses: Sigma 10mm f/2.8 EX DC Fisheye HSM, Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM, or Canon EF f/1.2 85mm L USM • Zoom Lenses: Canon EF f/2.8 16–35mm L, Canon EF 24–70mm L, Canon EF 70–200mm L IS USM, Tokina AT-X 124 AF PRO DX 12-24mm f/4 • Processed with Apple Aperture.