Xugeli Artist research

 Xugeli-

Artist research-

Xugeli is a photographer who captures unique surfing compositions around the world, he explores creative lighting and movement through his images. I feel inspired by his creative compositions and colours captured in his dusk images. He explores the figure through the human form and how movement alters it, surfing is really effective in capturing it. The main theme in most his images are the figure. 

The pictorial space is often shallow as the image is very up close and doesn't include a background so there isn't much depth. The surfer is adjacent to the wave so it creates a sense of scale of how big the wave is. However some of his closer up images are very abstracted so it's hard to see a sense of scale. The genre of his images are seascapes and landscapes. His use of slow shutter really abstracts the shape and form of the wave and figure. Xugeli shoots using a Digital camera and water housing- he experiments with shooting in water and on land. Although he shoot using digital he adds grain to his images to create a vintage effect as if he had shot using 35mm film. His images look as if they are taken spontaneously with ease. His visual language is very natural and free flowing as he captures candid moments In surfing, As surfing is so unpredictable you never know what image you will be able to capture- there is no way of planning in advance. A wide range of tone has been used in his photographs. Starting with his black and white images- his monochrome colour pallet has a limited tonal range as his B&W photos have mostly mid tones with little bright highlights. This creates an almost eerie, still effect. This is unique because surfing is a sport with such energy and happiness yet Xugeli captures it in a completely different atmosphere. However in his colour photos he uses a wide tonal range with bright colour/ warm hues with bold highlights and dark areas. So his images have a real difference in atmospheres. The tone of voice is very subtle in his images. My emotional response to all of his images is very calm however some radiate positive energy and some a duller eerie emotion. He is very talented in capturing different emotions in his images. His images relate to my project as I am focusing on surf and skate culture and he follows similar themes in his work. He approaches this subject in a unique way and captures it in a way other photographers don't usually do which really inspires me. Overall I feel very inspired by the techniques Xugeli uses such as slow shutter and monocratic colour schemes to create different atmospheres in his work. This is something I am going to incorporate into a shoot in my personal investigation.