“The Hadza” by Martin Schoeller
Mokoa (in Hadza) © Martin Schoeller
They grow no food, raise no livestock, and live without rules or calendars. They are living a hunter-gatherer existence that is little changed from 10,000 years ago. What do they know that we”ve forgotten. – National Geographic
See the stunning head shots of the Hadza by Martin Schoeller here and read the incredible article at National Geographic.
It is remarkable how Martin Schoeller has created a “brand” by keeping the same close up format to take portraits of people, with smooth lighting and shallow depth of field each image is made similarly but each picture becomes an example of the amazing diversity of people and the commonalities between them. Close to the camera all individuals are interesting, and all share a feel of humanity that is unifying.
Mustapha (in Swahili) © Martin Schoeller
Studio lighting, for a project like this? Mentioning “a brand”? Seems much more like a self portrait of Schoeller than portraits of villagers. I don”t know — does not reverberate with me at all.
Loved the NG article and assigned it to my anthropology class. The photo portraits Schoeller are indeed striking because of the signature format mentioned, but I found the way the artificial light is reflected in each person”s eyes to be a tad disturbing. The vertical bands of light and dark make the eyes look like those of lizards or goats. If the photographer want us to appreciate our common humanity in spite of our differences, would it be better to use a different form of lighting?