Grades K-4: Fantastical Photos
Lesson Two
Artist Spotlight: Allison Hunter
Provide your students with full-page images of the artist's work.
Click here for printable images.
After many trips to a petting zoo in New York, artist Allison Hunter decided to explore new ways of photographing animals. She removed the original background, symbols and color from her photographs, leaving only the animal subject. She then created her own backdrops or "stage" for the animal. "I think there is a cinematic quality to my work," she notes. "I create dramatic tension by the way the animals are positioned in the frame."*
Student Connection: Animals on Stage
Step 1: Look closely at the photographs by Allison Hunter. How do the colors, lighting and placement of the animal tell a story, even though the original backgrounds have been removed? Ask students to discuss how they think the animals might be feeling (e.g. shy, proud, sleepy, scared, etc.), and what they might be doing (e.g. resting, traveling, playing, exercising, etc.). What visual clues do the students see that make them think that the animals are feeling and doing these things? How do the lighting and background color contribute to the story? Is it day or night, summer or winter? Have students explain why the colors and lighting caused them to arrive at these conclusions.
Step 2: Ask students to brainstorm where they might normally find one of these animals. For example, they might see a giraffe at the zoo or on a safari in Africa. Next list the different environment features that they would find in a zoo or African setting (e.g. grassland, trees, railing, sky, etc.). Envision the colors, sounds, and smells they might experience in these natural or zoo habitats. Have students create these envisioned backdrops from magazine images, drawings, and painting. Remember to think about the lighting and mood of the piece as well.
Student Connection: Bird's Eye View
You can change the way you view your everyday surroundings by looking at things from a different perspective. Perspective is your point of view–how you see something from where you stand. Imagine that you are as tall as a giraffe or as tiny as an insect. What would the world look like from these different heights? Write a short story or draw a picture from the perspective of an animal. If you have access to a camera, take photos at the animal's eye level. For example, if I were learning to see things from the perspective of my cat, Sophie, I would crawl on the floor and follow her under tables and beds. Life would look very different through the eyes of a cat!
Ask your local library for a copy of Earth From Above for Young Readers by Yahn Arthus-Bertrand & Robert Burleigh. This book contains wonderful satellite photographs from around the world.
Student Connection: Photo Foolery
Part of media literacy is understanding that not even photographs always tell the truth. Help students learn that lesson with these wacky photos in National Geographic's Fake Photo Quiz. Together look at a series of impossible-looking photos and guess if they are real or fake. A pop-window explains how the fakes were created or where the real ones were taken.
*Artist information derived from: Allison Hunter
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