Suzy Allman

Suzy Allman is a New York based editorial photographer that shoots Sports photography, travel photography and also Portrait and Landscape Photography. She has done a lot of work for the times newspaper, american express and also a lot of magazines. Suzy holds a degree in Environmental Science from Macquarie University in Sydney Australia. This piece has been presented in exhibitions much like her other photographs. This image is different from her usual sport photography as its less obvious and tells a story kind of like documentary/portraiture photography. The title of the piece is from Tennessee Williams 'Luxury is the wolf at the door and its fangs are the vanities and conceits germinated by success. I have chosen to analyse this piece because it relates to my theme that I have chosen and also the technique she has used I would like to experiment with and use myself. I have also been looking at other photographers that use this technique such as Dan Mountford.

The genre of this photographers work is mainly Documentary as she documents a lot of events. For this photograph she has included the Documentary theme with also some Portraiture elements also. I think the theme of the image is the female opening up her thoughts and what she feels inside. Suzy Allman has used the double exposure technique to merge two images together to create an interesting effect. I think the meaning behind this image is that the female in the photograph has had past experiences in that house that she is letting out which is represented by the door being opened. She is also smiling which could indicate happy thoughts.

She has used the double exposure technique to isolate part of the image and put something else there which has worked very well. Suzy hasn't used any editing methods such as photoshop the photograph was captured as it was. The uses of colour are very plain but this is one of the most important aspects of the photograph. The grey and black theme creates a serious and meaningful aroma about the photograph and makes you feel like there is an emotional side to it and there is more to it that meets the eye. The dark and faint colours make you concentrate on the image more in depth and make you think about what it could mean. The photograph looks like it has been produced in a dark room and it quite contrasty.

I chose to look at this work because I have been looking into photographers who specialise in this type of documentary double exposure photography and this image inspired me. When I first looked at this photograph many questions came into my head like what is it the female is doing, what the door opening represents, what the meaning of the image is etc. I like the way she has used the double exposure technique and also the contrast and definition of the plants in the doorway. I have seen another photographer create very similar work to her called Dan Mountford who also uses the double exposure technique. This work has inspired me to base my own work around this technique and experiment with it.