Todd Hido Final Emulation Project

For the final Digital Photography Project, our class was assigned to emulate a notable photographer's style when creating our final collection of photos.  I chose to emulate the stylistic techniques of Todd Hido.  I specifically chose to reproduce the techniques that Hido utilizes when creating landscape photography.

Todd Hido was born in Kent, Ohio in the year of 1968.  He now resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Hido is a notable photographer for his photographic documentation of Urban and Suburban housing across The United States of America.  Todd is also well known for his photographs of landscapes and various models.  These models have consisted of former girlfriends, and his current wife.  Many of Hido's photographs of Suburban landscapes are captured during long solitary drives.  In most cases, the main focus of his work is the quality of natural and artificial light in the American Landscape.  Todd claims that he shoots in a "fairly undirected way," but when editing negatives together, he transforms them until an image is produced that reflects the encounter that he had shared with the subject.  In the words of Todd Hido, "I shoot sort of like a documentarian, but print like a painter."  Essentially, Todd is claiming here that he captures photos with little direction, but pays strict attention to detail when printing his works.

When I was introduced to Hido by my professor, I was immediately fascinated by his work.  His manipulation of negatives to produce a unique depiction of every subject caught my eye at Hido's initial introduction.  Although I utilize a different format when capturing photos than Todd, I worked to create a project with his techniques in mind.  I set out on a long solitary drive, and snapped a large selection of landscape photos with an emphasis on the use of natural light.  All of my photos were taken with only a slight direction, featuring a sole focus on composition.  I then transformed the photos in the post production process with the use of artificial light and coloring to create images that reflected the encounter that I had with the locations that I photographed.  Overall, I feel that I emulated Todd Hido's style in a way that featured many of his techniques, while still holding on to many of my own.


Citations

Hido, Todd, and Greg Halpern. Todd Hido on Landscapes, Interiors, and the Nude. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

"Todd Hido - 41 Artworks, Bio & Shows on Artsy." n.d. Web. 07 May 2015. <https://www.artsy.net/artist/todd-hido>.