Review • Jane Bown: Exposures

I was given this book for Christmas off my friend after they realised how much I admired the work of Jane Bown and the beauty of black and white portraiture. I have looked at this book with awe for the past few months, wondering how I can use a film camera to develop my portraits using the correct lighting and the right location. The book looks at the best photographs that Bown has taken, including unpublished ones that "hit the newsroom floor" and were never seen by the public eye. 

"She works quickly, unobtrusively and decisively, often snatching great pictures in impossible circumstances, and she has an unerring instinct for capturing the telling moment, even in the midst of a media scrum or rushed in mid-interview."

The cover of the book shows on of Jane Bown's most iconic photographs, I looked at this photograph whilst I was studying a GCSE in Photography and fell in love with the lighting and contrast in the wrinkles in the mans face. I always told myself that if I took a photograph like this in my career, I would be extremely happy. Overall, the book is amazing, it looks at the life and work of Bown, as well as highlights from her career and the people she has photographed.

Just one of the photographs I admire from the book itself. The location is nothing special, nor is the model. However, the beautiful lighting and contrast in shadows is something to be admired. The lighting frames the sitters face perfectly and gives real depth to the image. It makes me feel emotions that maybe the woman is feeling herself. It looks like she is sat in a the living room of her house, perhaps looking into the distance, daydreaming about the future. The blank look on her face makes me believe that this photograph hasn't been staged, however, the position of the photographer makes it hard to believe this is a candid photograph.

I have always admired this image, due to my interest in fashion and dance photography from an early age. Although a candid shot, the dancer is posed beautifully, and looks graceful and elegant. I find that all of Bown's images ooze elegance, and make the sitter look important within the shot. Overall, I am very impressed with the book Exposures by Jane Bown, a beautiful collection of her best work over the span of her sixty year career for the Observer (at the time of the book being published in 2009).