*ooof*: Armitage in Sight

Life is unpredictable. As I was gearing up for yet another *ooof*, having decided to forgo Ascroft once again and shake things up with a photo from the past, Armitageworld goes into tail-spin over the emergence of new images. At one stage yesterday morning I counted the same image 18 times in a row uninterruptedly on my dash. (Ok, it says a lot about my tumblr stream, namely that I seem to only follow tumblrs that obsess fangirl over Armitage… but nonetheless a previously unreached record of Armitagisation of my dash…) I decided to react to that by *ooof*ing one of the AAP press photos from Sydney, shot by Tracy Nearmy, because they are *yum*. Alas, I can’t! They are copyright protected and are technically safeguarded in such a way that you can link neither to the thumbnail versions nor the watermarked high-res images. I could, theoretically, take a screenshot and use them that way. I could apply some photoshop wizardry and even rub out the watermark so that nothing obscures Mr Armitage’s handsome likeness. But no, I will not do that, because I think it is time to respect the copyright of photographers who make their living with their expertise, their craft and the resulting images.

I know that I am in danger of preaching some very unpopular sermon here. And that is why I am stopping short of it in this post. (However, I did originally rant on for another 800 words on this topic – now deleted – which I am instead posting simultaneously over on my Guylty-Wordpress-blog. I’d be very obliged if you hopped over there and had a look at my post Credit Where Credit Belongs – it’ll open your eyes!!) Let’s soothe our souls on this image, posted by Sydney newspaper mX on their Twitter yesterday:

Armitage operating in a gray area???
Richard Armitage for mX, Sydney, 2013
Source: https://twitter.com/mxsydney

Mr Armitage is posing outside. He is in what appears to be a back yard with evidence of some foliage, a small flower bed and the outside walls of the yard or house. This is taken in daylight, with no evidence of artficial lighting – apart from the usual give-away line on his angular forehead… He seems to be illuminated from above – the huge big soft box in the sky (also called “sun”). For once we have a photo, by the way, that seems to be taken from more or less Armitage’s head height.

And we have some nice perspective work going on in this image. Leaning against a wall, Armitage is looking at the camera. Part of the wall is visible in the shot. The composition of this image is yet another classic rules-of-thirds example. If you drew a vertical line along the edge of the bricks and another one along Armitage’s right side, you would divide the image into three equally wide strips. Now imagine three horizontal lines. The one going along the brick edge of the flower bed is the obvious one. Another one could be drawn along Armitage’s mouth. You now have divided the whole image into nine equal rectangles. And guess where Armitage is? In the vertical middle section. If you include a secondary horizontal line on that ledge that is visible on the back wall, you will find that it goes slap bang across the half-way mark of the image. Now draw another half-way line, vertically – and guess what: It goes right along Armitage’s nose and across the knot of his tie. Interesting: The cross section is directly above his heart. With imaginary lines in mind, the photo almost looks like a view through the sight-finder of a gun. Eros taking Armitage in sight? I wish…

But is that coincidence? No. It’s classic composition – almost a tiny bit predictable and boring – if it weren’t for the bricks on the right. They provide nice guiding lines that immediately draw our gaze to the most important part of any portrait – the subject’s eyes unless you have other fetishes, but more about that later. Also, they add a bit of texture to an otherwise slightly monochrome image that has a tad too much gray in it to be visually stimulaing. But the short-range depth of field, which throws anything that is beyond or in front of Armitage out of focus, nicely emphasizes the human centrepoint of the image.

It is autumn on the other side of the world (from where I am) and Armitage looks suitably dressed in a brown leather jacket, shirt and tie, and jeans. Armitage is nearly back for his Hobbit pick-ups, we all know, and therefore he has been growing his beard again. Did I mention already that I am rather non-plussed by the beard *ggg* ??? Yeah, not a fan. IMHO it adds a few years onto his face. And so does his outfit in this shot. Ilaria – where are you????? What *is* this horrible BROWN leather jacket??? With a huge big collar. Ugh, really, the hair on the back of my neck is standing to attention for all the wrong reasons. Combined with a tie that looks very narrow from this perspective, the outfit takes on a distinct retro charm. Hail the 1980s! One shudders. But then remembers that “nothing can disfigure a beautiful man”.

Not even the little belly that seems to be making an appearance here. The Tumblr RArmy has gone quite wild over the appearance of the tummy! I think I can spot it here, too, or what is lurking under the tie? No, I am not trying to slag Mr A off. If anything, the appearance of a bit of flesh will serve to make him more human. Not a mere fitness machine, steeled from endless hours of gym routine, not a God made out of steel abs and guns, but someone who *lives*.

Or that is how we *may* interpret  the way Armitage is presenting himself here. The beauty of press photography like this is, that it gives us a less stylised impression of the sitter. It is much less planned and contrived than a shoot like the Ascroft images – less beauty/fashion styling, less conscious/artificial posing – because there is usually much less time allowed for a shoot like this. It allows us to glimpse the man in a much more personal way, and it has quasi-documentary quality, especially when taken at events like red carpets or launches.

Unlike the carefully composed studio photography of Ascroft et al, this is not centerfold material. Even though Armitage most certainly always is centerfold-worthy. And yet I am pleased to see new images – they prove he is alive and well and taking part in this next step of his career. And I think that he can afford to show a bit of softness *at his age* oh the cheek of me.

All text © Guylty at me + richard armitage, 2013. Please credit when using excerpts and links. Images and video copyrights accrue to their owners.

~ by Guylty on April 30, 2013.