'Parks'

Spring Hats in Bath (copyright: Norman Parkinson Archive)

I have been enjoying revisiting the work of fashion photographer Norman Parkinson with a view to basing one of my course projects on him.

I felt the picture above was perfect for an analysis of the visual language of a photograph. Parkinson has used a pillar to emphasise the rule of thirds and has positioned model Anne Chambers's face at the golden mean intersection. The road leads the viewer into the photo and the buildings provide leading lines pointing towards the model's face. I also like the way the model is a darker tone from the rest of the image, making her stand out even more.


More generally, this is another image that fires my enthusiasm for black and white photography. I like the subtle tones that give this photo a timeless quality.

I saw an exhibition of Norman Parkinson's work at Bristol's M Shed last year and thoroughly enjoyed the quality and variety of the photography. Just down the road in Bath earlier this year, the Norman Parkinson centenary was celebrated with a recreation of the photo above by dress designer Roland Mouret.

The result is shown below. Personally, I much prefer Parks's original effort and his black and white treatment. But it was a fun exercise that was interesting partly because it provided an opportunity to show how little Bath itself has changed over the decades.