*ooof*: Look Back

So many new images of RA are coming up at the moment, all courtesy of the hype and the press junket that is ‘The Hobbit’. Are you all glued to your PC screens and your social network of choice? It looks like Armitage has really upped his game, both in terms of style as well as facing media attention. He has employed the services of a stylist who is making sure Armitage comes across as gorgeous as he is. And he seems to have become more secure (more used to?) at dealing with fan adoration and press situations. I am delighted for him – and for myself, to be witnessing a transformation. Not that he wasn’t *oooofness* personified beforehand, too. He was. And to a certain extent his occasional lapses in the style department were almost endearing in their cluelessness and general “I am just a normal boy” attitude.

Take for instance this shoot from 2005 that was done after Armitage had shot to fame as the “overbearing master” in North and South. From a series of six shots currently accessible on richardarmitagenet.com, I have chosen the only photographically acceptable shot. (In order to keep to my preferred *ooof* format, I am only showing you this one image, but I would urge you to hop over to Ali’s magnificant site to examine the other images from the series for illustration of my point. Click here.) you may wonder why I am emphatic about this being the only acceptable shot. After all, the images in the series are all very similar: Armitage is posing against a white-panelled background. He is dressed in a green shirt, casually leaning, sitting and standing with his hands buried in his pockets. I have not researched which of these images were ever used in newspapers or promotional material, and I have not identified the photographer, either. But maybe the anonymity is deliberate, because 5 out of 6 photographs are really nothing to be proud of. And not because of Mr Armitage but because of technicallym flawed photography.

Cornered into bad style decisions and even worse photography?
Richard Armitage in 2005.
Image via richardarmitagenet.com

The shot above is the only one that is not marred by barrel distortion. Photospeak, I am afraid, but even the non-photographer can clearly make out what I am referring to: if you check any of the other images, you will notice that Armitage’s (beautiful) head is out of proportion with the rest of his body. Image 5 is a particularly obvious example of this effect, caused by a lazy(?), careless photographer. The barrel distortion is caused by standing too close to a subject while zooming out (i.e. getting a smaller view of the subject by adjusting the zoom). Wide-angle lenses are particularly prone to this effect, hence they are also often called fisheye lenses. This is a phenomenon that is widely known by photographers. It is one of the most encountered problems, easily remedied by taking a step back and zooming in. hence I am surprised the photographer got it so wrong here. Because the effect is not pretty: Bending the lines outward, Armitage’s head has ballooned and sits on a body that looks too small for his head. Big no-no!

It could’ve been caused by Mr Armitage moving around, posing for the photographer. Maybe the snapper said “Go on, Richard, give me the Thornton glower that made Margaret feel hot under her bonnet!”, and Armitage complied, leaning forward to angle his head to look from under his lowered forehead. That’s how I like to imagine it. If this is a conscious aesthetic decision on the part of the photographer, then he should be dishonourably excluded from our profession!!! In any case, those images should never have seen the light of day public!

Our image above has other flaws: the background (which reveals itself as the panelling in a stairwell, of all places!!!) in theory adds nice, geometric patterns thanks to the black lines. However, the perspective from which the photographer is shooting, reveals the gap in the corner of the panelling, a detail that annoys me. There are some minor but unsightly reflections in the panel to Armitage’s left. Plus there was obviously no stylist on stand-by as Armitage’s shirt shows fold lines.

In true, adoring fan-form I find it hard to find fault with Armitage himself, though. He is giving off a relaxed but alert vibe with his pose: looking straight at the camera, his head very slightly inclined to the left. Do we see the pattern emerging here, ladies? The inclined head is an Armitage trademark, the equivalent to Margaret Hale’s demure, bashed eyelids, so to speak, the corporeal expression of a modest soul who is just about to fathom the effect he is causing with his acting and his looks. The hands in his pocket give him away – while we often think it is simply a gesture of relaxed comfort to stick our hands in our pockets, it is actually a classic sign of lack of self-confidence, hiding the hands in the pockets also signifies being uncomfortable under scrutiny – all of which applies to a situation like a photo-shoot with a newly famous actor… especially when equipped with such a modest and humble attitude as Armitage.

The discerning viewer cops on to that – and quickly finds the shy demeanor not only endearing but rather adding to the attractiveness: Much in contradiction to how we usually experience attractive people, i.e. full of their own beauty and importance, this extraordinarily gorgeous specimen seems to be unaware of his attractiveness and subsequent effect (also known as “the feels” and onomatopoetically transcribed as *thud*). That appeals even to the most hardened of souls. And even the necklace of questionable aesthetic value cannot detract from that but rather enforces it: this man quite clearly had not dressed to kill the ladies, he’s here as himself, wearing his own jewellery, oblivious to the impression it may leave on the viewer. And maybe, subconsciously and deep, deep down, the enamoured viewer may secretly wish to be that funny shaped pendant, hanging so close to Armitage’s chest, feeling his heartbeat and the warmth of his skin, catching a whiff of his scent…

All niggles aside – this may not be my favourite image of Armitage. But the longer I look at it, the more I find in it that I believe to be the “real” Armitage. The young actor, the up-and-coming TV star, yet unused to the spotlight, but ready to please and to entertain. He is honing this readiness to please to perfection these days, ever gracious in his most recent appearances (anybody see his stint on Canadian talk show Marilyn today? The way he “dipped” the host in a strong and good-humoured embrace had my heart fall right from the ribcage into my belly. Or possibly a few inches lower…)

Keep dipping, Mr Armitage, we love it you!

All text © Guylty at me + richard armitage, 2012. Please credit when using excerpts and links. Images and video copyrights accrue to their owners.

~ by Guylty on December 4, 2012.