Jane Bown through the decades

Jane Bowne photographic carrier has spanned more than fifty years, she became a photographer almost by accident, picking up a camera at the end of the Second World War after leaving the Wrens.

The revealing portraits she has taken for The Observer newspaper group have become legendary, working in black and white, avoiding the use of artificial lighting she has a tremendous knack for capturing the personality of each individual sitter.

Bertrand Russell, 1949
I like the way this portrait has been shot, the position and posture of the sitter within the square format bottom right, Bertrand’s side profile is also shown in hi-contrast with only the main facial detail and shirt collar picked out using the available light, the background blocks of grey also add to the overall composition.

Orson Wells, 1951
This square image has very little detail in the background at first glance, the face seems to be floating in a solid black colour but as you look closer you can see some background detail possibly panelling which helps to break up the black area of colour.
The position of the arm with the white shirt cuff works as a counter balance to the face which seems to disappear in to the blackness.

David Hockney, 1966
This landscape shot focuses in on the face and in particular on the eyes which are framed by chunky glasses, cropping in and around the face makes the portrait stronger and tighter in composition, also the position of the sitter to the left balances well with the background.

Samuel Beckett, 1976
This portrait seems to capture the intensity of Beckett, every crease on the face seems to have been burnt in to the image, the eyes are looking directly and engaging with the viewer, the body has been cropped away to focus in on the face.

Bridget Riley, 1989
The way in which the sitter has been positioned and how the hand is covering the mouth seems to capture an intermit moment, the angle of the head also add to the natural look and feel, as if you are engaged in a private conversation with Riely.

Sinead OConnor, 1992
This portrait seems to capture a private moment, the position of the face, looking down portrays a private moment and the way in which the picture has been tightly cropped helps to intensify this moment.

David Bailey, 2005
This landscape image of David Bailey captures an intense strong stair, he seems to be engaging with the viewer directly, the light which is captured on the right of his coat helps to bring him forward from the background.