Jonathan Bielaski: Environmental Photographer
Environmental portraits are a very involved type of portraiture that is a slow and methodical process requiring interviews and understanding of who the person is. In the end, it requires the photographer to deliver a product that tells something specific about who the subject is. The aim is to tell viewers about this person without needing to put words.
Jonathan Bielaski has been doing this for years, and knew that he wanted to be a photographer from a very young age. He is based in Toronto, Canada and some of his clients include, Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors and TFC), Sports Illustrated, Billboard Magazine, T+D Magazine and the list goes on.
Jonathan Bielaski got into photography naturally: his dad was a master print maker and his mom a graphic designer. Growing up, he was surrounded by images 24/7. Both parents tried to encourage and raise him to do something other than the arts but it was just part of him, he knew he wanted to create images at a very young age. By the time he was in high school he was assisting on commercial jobs and had a studio to start taking my his very own images. From there lots of hard work and persistence led to where the man is now.
What first attracted him to shooting portraits then environmental portraits?
When Jonathan Bielaski started out in photography he didn’t enjoy making portraits and was attracted to still life photography, he says that he now understands that it was his attraction to lighting and with shooting these types of images he could master light and its effects. But something was missing–whenever he was photographing custom motorcycles and custom made products the story about the makers became a huge interest to him. Who they were and where they lived or worked fascinated him. He wanted to capture them in their workspace. People have a story as well as their space, together they complete a visual story and you can capture who they are and what they do in a signal frame.
Jonathan likes to sit down with his subjects and learn : With making any portrait I do–I like to sit down with the subject and learn about them: what they do, where they come from and where they want to go. He would ask them to take him though a typical day, show him some of their favorite places and tools. He really tries to get to know them, to get a strong understanding of them as a person. Sometimes this is done on the same day of the shoot and sometimes it is done beforehand, but the best thing that he learned to do is listen. By listening, you learn and find the small details that makes them who they are.
To Jonathan Bielaski, a perfect environmental portrait is a portrait that tells a story, you are learning something about the person in the portrait without the use of words. The background and foreground are just as important as the person in telling the story but they are the supporting cast and the person is the lead roll. On their own they could make good images but together they make a great image.
Jonathan Bielaski’s Work
I looked into some examples of Jonathan Bielaski’s work and I took a big interest in him. I’ve uploaded my favourite photos of his work, the ones that stood out to me the most.
The thing that drew me to this image was the man’s shirt and his eyes. For me, the eyes stood out the most, they are clear and have godo catchlights in them, and for me personally, I’m drawn to eyes more than anything else in an image. They are powerful and can tell a story, so the clearer the eyes, the better. With the hat and the shirt and obviously the chickens, I get the impression this man is a farmer or at least works around farm animals. I liked how well he was put together: most likely, this is something the man would wear on a regular basis when doing his work amongst the animals. I liked how well he captured this man, I feel he has a strong expression on his face, his beard is neat and “sharp” and I think Jonathan Bielaski captured the man perfectly.
The background of this image is what captured my interest the most.It is a messy background to me despite attempts to make it neat and tidy, to me, this screams artist. The man has paint on his apron and you can see paint brushes in the background and many other crafting items he uses. I have friends who art artists, and often their workstation is a mess of dried in ink, paint or even just their tools. I feel the background captures the madness within an artist’s mind: putting your ideas into place and creating your idea is your main focus, and it shows in the background. I liked this photo because it displays an artist in his work place.
Compared to the above farmer image, this image has a lot more in the background, it’s cluttered and busier, to show the work and mind of an artist. I feel he captured the mood of this image rather well, for me, it tells a story of a busy man with many tools for his craft.
I like this image because it is another outdoor image. But for me personally, it tells a story of someone who enjoys the outdoors and some adventure, I like how well the image turned out with the sun behind the model and the environment altogether. I like the use of light here, the model is lit well and the sun isn’t doesn’t overpower the model, my main focus is the model herself. She is sat in amongst shrubbery, which most likely wasn’t very comfortable! But comfortable or not, if she enjoys being outdoors, then this would be a rather normal place for her to sit and explore.
I like the depth of field in this image, it helps to blur out the background but also shows what’s there and how it affects her story.
This image tells a strong story for me. There are numerous props to tell you about the model in the centre, she has a disability for the wheelchair to be there, she likes tattoos and for me, I think she finds a tranquility brought by music. Music is very calming, and in this photo, there are books and one woman is reading a book, this scene tells me a story of looking for tranquility, peace and quiet, looking for a small escape from stress.
For me personally, I enjoy reading and I enjoy listening to music whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed by stress, so this image resonated with me. I liked how the environment itself tells you a lot about the model, all while not telling you a word of it. It is beautifully lit with sunlight, possibly near golden hour, but not quite. It gives off a mood of comfort and warmth.
The two images above are of the same man, but I liked the use of shadows in these photos. Immediately, you’re drawn to the man’s trade: blacksmithing. All around him are tools of his trade, fire and water he would use on a regular basis in his work. I liked the ambient lighting, I prefer darker images to brightly lit images, so these two photos drew me in immediately. The man himself tells a story: he looks rather tired to me, he is a little bit scruffy and dirty from working hard, a smoker to destress while on his breaks.
I like the story this image tells, the story of a working man who works in a warm environment on a daily basis, working red hot metal, steam, hard labour involving heavy tools such as hammers. It would be a tiring job to do, especially every day, it tells me a story of strength more than anything else. He is a man working naturally in his trade, and it tells a strong story of manual labour.
