Whatever we may think of John Barrington's rather low quality control standards, he did a better than average job of recording the names of his models. This handsome young man is one of a relative few unknowns. Pictures like this always leave me wondering if Mr. Barrington intended to publish it this way, or if he was simply in such a rush that he didn't bother to crop and reprint it. I've taken the liberty of cropping it below, and would be interested to hear opinions in the comments.
Your cropped version looks much better, of course. Since professional photographers take many photos of a subject and then select one for publication, is it possible that this photo was one of the rejects that was never intended to see the light of day? If it was intended for publication with all the studio lights visible, then it would be very bizarre – an "art" photographer with no artistic sense whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteBarrington was actually known for this . . . along with really poor print finishing. The term "slapdash" comes to mind.
DeleteI vote for your version.
ReplyDeleteThe cropping gives it that finished look. But I find the former just as interesting giving a glimpse into the process of how shots are set up with lighting, backdrop etc. I do like though either way.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Pat.
DeleteCropped is, of course, much better.. I've cropped quite a number of photos with messy bedrooms and bathrooms and things that don't need to be there..
ReplyDeleteThanks, Vic. I'm also puzzled a bit by the blaze of light across bottom third of the picture. More sloppiness, or some sort of artistic statement?
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