Stanley Kubrick: Film Director and Photographer ---Nick Bailey

Stanley Kubrick was born on July 26th, 1928 in Manhattan, and he died on March 7th, 1999. Although Kubrick is most well known for his astonishing film directing career, he actually first got his feet wet in the arts as a photographer. Most people say that Kubrick first gained an interest in photography when his father gave him a Graflex camera as a gift. His first strong work as a photographer came when he was only 16 when he staged a newspaper vendor to look like the reaction to the death of Franklin Roosevelt. This photograph did not go unnoticed, ultimately it landed Kubrick his job doing freelance photography at Look magazine in 1946, where he would work until ultimately he directed his first film in 1951. Although Kubrick's career as a film director really took off at that point, he always kept all of those things he learned as a photographer and applied them to his films. He says that his "photographic eye" has helped him establish the specific style of film making that he exhibits in all of his films.

Kubricks photographs are very similar to his films in the fact that they are very heavily based on camera noir.They are also usually very narrative. Kubrick often enjoyed photographing people, and the relationship between photographer and subject is very strong and well composed, as Kubrick was a master at pushing his shutter at just the right time. It's amazing that he could capture these moments at exactly the right time. The composition in his photos are magnificent. Kubrick is a master of positioning and lighting, which can be clearly seen in all of his mediums. Kubrick's work as both a photographer and director has often been described as very obsessive because of his perfectionist nature. Stanley Kubrick definitely figured out his visual styles that are trademarks of his film through his early years as a photographer.











There is a book titled Stanley Kubrick: Drama and Shadows that focuses on his career as a photographer.

http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-Kubrick-Shadows-Rainer-Crone/dp/0714844381
http://www.avclub.com/articles/rainer-crone-stanley-kubrick-drama-shadows,4119/

For more on Stanley Kubrick photography:

http://wecantpaint.com/log/?p=460
http://ldesign.wordpress.com/2006/08/10/about-stanley-kubrick-the-photographer/