Ken Kaminesky

Bio:

"Over the last fifteen years I have shot commercial lifestyle images for stock photography agencies such as Jupiterimages, Corbis, and Getty Images. I’ve been lucky to work with some amazing people, both at these agencies and on my teams of models, producers, stylists, and assistants. I’ve had my photos published for editorial and commercial purposes all over the world and have had some great commercial clients along the way as well. In the last five years I switched to shooting travel images and fell in love with photography all over again." 

- Ken Kaminesky's biography on his website kenkaminesky.com

Why I chose Kenkamine:

Ken Kaminesky is one of the most diverse photographers I have studied in regards to his style of Landscape images on his different locations around the world. When looking through his work, he edits his images in a way which is much more contemporary and almost futuristic. This makes his work stand out to me as it is unique in its style, and his landscape images are fantastically composed. Having shot commercial images for stock agencies such as Getty Images, the beautiful nature of his images prove the reason they are so widely published for editorial over the world. When studying his work, I found his travel images the most intriguing aspect of photography I have recently studied. The reason I felt this is because the people images do not relate to the style of photography I am studying at the moment. For example, he also takes portraits of couples in different locations, however compared to other photographers I have studied they are not as appealing to me. Some of my favourite shoots of him is his landscape images which involve light and illuminate the screen. In some of these images, there is a bright coloured building lit up by LED lights among a dark background, this is often in front of mountains or along a peaceful natural background. Below I have analysed a range of his photographs from the Travel section of his website. 

Bookcase
In the above image the audience is shown a bookcase, towering high above the positioning of the audience. Depth of field is explored within this image as the books almost create a line, directing the audiences eyes towards the top of the bookshelves. A brown colour is emitted to show the feeling of the books being antique, but also of a high importance.
The light at the top of the image is illuminated the frame, where the edges are slightly darkened as a result of the single spot light. The books conform to the formal element of repetition, as the image is entirely made up of the antique books. The importance is also exaggerated by the towering height of the bookcase, connoting to the audience that we are in an old library perhaps in a religious part of the world. 

The image has been edited to be so mystical that it does not look like it could be on this Earth.
This is one of the most mesmerising images that I have ever seen, due to the clear reflection of it on the lake below. There is a slight mist above this which allows the audience to see that it is a correct reflection on the lake, as there is a slight difference in the colours. Above the reflection, the colours are much bolder whereas below it they are softer. The photograph has also been taken so that the reflection follows the horizon and is certainly precisely half way through the image. The dark colours and shadows from the trees are also contrasted between this and the light green grass and the ombre amber sky in the background. 

This image shows journey in several ways, such as the steps which take up the middle section. They are the first object that the eyes are drawn to and show a journey as the male stood outside has to walk up the stairs - showing a transition and a journey. The male in the image is a complete silhouette, and he is darkened in comparison to the Art Deco style colours which make up the stained glass to the grand hotel. I like the way this image comes across, exploring the idea it is a place of fun and inviting me to come and visit it one day. 

Contrast between the gold which makes up the edges and the sea of red which make up the chairs on the floor. The ceiling is also covered in a combination of red and gold due to the paintings. All of the gold posts are lit up and they are highlighted by the dark black shadows that come from the inner part of the theatre. I love the way this image challenges the conventions, and the use of a wide angle creating a 'Fisheye' effect makes it stand out to me. It also gives the approach that this is a 3D image and it is clear that it is circular as it has no edges.

Influences and Summary

Kaminesky has influenced me to take pictures using the fisheye effect, however due to the lack of a large wide angled lens; I decided to create panoramas which allowed me to create images with more depth and not just your typical images of places. I took these images in Rome, and therefore I was also able to explore this technique using a range of buildings and a different style of architecture. Kaminesky influenced me in such a way to look at locations and change the way you can photograph them.