Ernst Hass

 I have never heard of Ernst Haas before and I am happy to say that I really enjoyed his work. Ernst has was an Austrian-American photojournalist and color photographer. He was not only just a color photographer but he was one of the very first that made it an art form and known as the premier color photographer in the 1950s. At the time color photos were seen as amateur and childish but he showed how beautiful they could be and published a 24 page ground breaking color essay on New York City. But his career started much earlier when he was back in Austria and would take pictures of the soldiers returning from war. 


“The camera doesn’t make a bit of difference. All of them can record what you are seeing. But, you have to SEE.” – Ernst Haas

 This quote is probably on of my favorites when it comes to photography. Haas made it a point to show that it didn't matter if you had all the latest and greatest equipment there was. If you had no vision and no eye you could never capture a great image. On the opposite end there could be someone with the bare minimum equipment and super outdated stuff but if they had an amazing eye they would be able to produce far greater images than anyone with the better equipment but no vision. 

 Through his color photos Haas showed New York in a way that no one had ever seen it before. From taking pictures off of reflective surfaces or getting super up close to random details like the cracked glass of a taxi cab. I find his images to be very interesting in the way that everything seems very intentional. Such as his photos of the bull fighter or the running horses which are both blurry but it adds to the images rather then taking away from them. 

Edward Burtynsky

 Edward Burtynsky is a Canadian photographer and he is know for his photos of the beautiful and eye opening world of mass industry and manufactured landscapes. Photography started for him at a pretty young age when his father bought a dark room. He learned how to do black and white prints and along with his father and sister they started a little business taking portraits at the local Ukraine Center in Ontario, CA. He then went on to study graphic arts and photography and in the process obtained a diploma in graphic arts from Niagara College and a BAA in Photographic Arts from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute. The next few years he worked in photo labs and it lead to him creating his own business Toronto Image Works. It was from here that he got opportunities that sent his photo career to the next level. 

 He has traveled all over the world witnessing, capturing and documenting what he comes in contact with. He goes to the places and areas where the supplies and products that are needed for very common products are located. He goes to these areas and see how the process of manufacturing is an amazing and impressive feat of humankind. However he equally sees what these actions are doing to the environments and people that are located in or around them. Most of the time people don't think about what has to be done or what is the result of all of the products they use or come across in their everyday lives. Burtynsky makes it a point to go to source and show everyone what it looks like. 

 Edward Burtynsky is a very impressive artist. He is not afraid to go out in the world and show the reality of what humanity does. The things that are done are without a doubt very impressive and even beautiful in a way. However there is no denying that there is sadness in what is being done to the world because of it.