Carl Van Vechten

Carl Van Vechten became famous for his photography starting in the 1930s. He began as a portrait photographer, but then transitioned to dance photography as well. He covered many genres of dance, spanning from the American Negro Ballet to a nine year old Balinese dancer named Ni-Gusti-Raka.
During that time period, black and white photographs were common. I believe that taking dance pictures in black and white intensifies the photograph and makes it more interesting to look at. Dance is an art, and black and white photos seem to be more artistic to viewers.
Van Vechten’s photographs capture the subject’s strengths as I tried to do with my pictures. In his photo, Martha Graham and Bertram Ross In Clymtemnestra (1961), you can see how strong the models’ poses are. I tried to copy both his and the photographer I did my report on earlier in the year, Lois Greenfield in my work and believe I succeeded.