Jannik Plaetner
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jannik.ca
Jannik Plaetner
@jannik.ca
25 followers 10 following 17 posts
I am a photographer and Canada are my stomping grounds. Mostly!
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jannik.ca
In this series of 4x5 black-and-white portraits, I revisit the aesthetics of early 20th-century portrait photography, employing period-specific equipment, lighting, and posing to recreate its distinctive look and feel.

#VintagePortraits #1920sPhotography #4x5Film #Photography
#ViewCamera #Retro
Photography and the Male Gaze The portrait photography of the 1920s and 1930s often reflected an intense, uncontested male gaze, framing women through the lens of male-defined ideals of beauty and femininity. Female subjects were typically depicted as soft, graceful, and elegant, with poses emphasizing delicate facial features, smooth skin, and diffused lighting to create a dreamlike, romanticized aesthetic. These portraits frequently excluded non-conforming bodies, favouring a narrow ideal of perfection that reinforced societal norms of the time. Today, such techniques and ideals may feel distant or inappropriate in a cultural landscape that increasingly values diversity, authenticity, and self-expression. Modern portraiture celebrates a broader range of body types, identities, and imperfections, challenging the restrictive gaze that once dominated photography. While the male gaze persists, particularly in commercial and mass media, it is met with growing resistance and critique. Female photographers and subjects have reclaimed creative power, shifting the lens toward more inclusive and empowering representations. In this series of 4x5 black-and-white portraits, I revisit the aesthetics of early 20th-century portrait photography, employing period-specific equipment, lighting, and posing to recreate its distinctive look and feel. I aim to provoke contradiction and ambiguity in the viewer’s mind by juxtaposing these historical techniques with modern women. The work invites reflection on how these historical aesthetics resonate—or clash—with contemporary values. Through this exploration, I hope to prompt questions about progress, representation, and the lingering influence of the male gaze. How much have we changed, and how much more change is needed? By revisiting the past, this series seeks to challenge assumptions about beauty, agency, and the evolving language of portrait photography. Photography and the Male Gaze The portrait photography of the 1920s and 1930s often reflected an intense, uncontested male gaze, framing women through the lens of male-defined ideals of beauty and femininity. Female subjects were typically depicted as soft, graceful, and elegant, with poses emphasizing delicate facial features, smooth skin, and diffused lighting to create a dreamlike, romanticized aesthetic. These portraits frequently excluded non-conforming bodies, favouring a narrow ideal of perfection that reinforced societal norms of the time. Today, such techniques and ideals may feel distant or inappropriate in a cultural landscape that increasingly values diversity, authenticity, and self-expression. Modern portraiture celebrates a broader range of body types, identities, and imperfections, challenging the restrictive gaze that once dominated photography. While the male gaze persists, particularly in commercial and mass media, it is met with growing resistance and critique. Female photographers and subjects have reclaimed creative power, shifting the lens toward more inclusive and empowering representations. In this series of 4x5 black-and-white portraits, I revisit the aesthetics of early 20th-century portrait photography, employing period-specific equipment, lighting, and posing to recreate its distinctive look and feel. I aim to provoke contradiction and ambiguity in the viewer’s mind by juxtaposing these historical techniques with modern women. The work invites reflection on how these historical aesthetics resonate—or clash—with contemporary values. Through this exploration, I hope to prompt questions about progress, representation, and the lingering influence of the male gaze. How much have we changed, and how much more change is needed? By revisiting the past, this series seeks to challenge assumptions about beauty, agency, and the evolving language of portrait photography. Photography and the Male Gaze The portrait photography of the 1920s and 1930s often reflected an intense, uncontested male gaze, framing women through the lens of male-defined ideals of beauty and femininity. Female subjects were typically depicted as soft, graceful, and elegant, with poses emphasizing delicate facial features, smooth skin, and diffused lighting to create a dreamlike, romanticized aesthetic. These portraits frequently excluded non-conforming bodies, favouring a narrow ideal of perfection that reinforced societal norms of the time. Today, such techniques and ideals may feel distant or inappropriate in a cultural landscape that increasingly values diversity, authenticity, and self-expression. Modern portraiture celebrates a broader range of body types, identities, and imperfections, challenging the restrictive gaze that once dominated photography. While the male gaze persists, particularly in commercial and mass media, it is met with growing resistance and critique. Female photographers and subjects have reclaimed creative power, shifting the lens toward more inclusive and empowering representations. In this series of 4x5 black-and-white portraits, I revisit the aesthetics of early 20th-century portrait photography, employing period-specific equipment, lighting, and posing to recreate its distinctive look and feel. I aim to provoke contradiction and ambiguity in the viewer’s mind by juxtaposing these historical techniques with modern women. The work invites reflection on how these historical aesthetics resonate—or clash—with contemporary values. Through this exploration, I hope to prompt questions about progress, representation, and the lingering influence of the male gaze. How much have we changed, and how much more change is needed? By revisiting the past, this series seeks to challenge assumptions about beauty, agency, and the evolving language of portrait photography. Photography and the Male Gaze The portrait photography of the 1920s and 1930s often reflected an intense, uncontested male gaze, framing women through the lens of male-defined ideals of beauty and femininity. Female subjects were typically depicted as soft, graceful, and elegant, with poses emphasizing delicate facial features, smooth skin, and diffused lighting to create a dreamlike, romanticized aesthetic. These portraits frequently excluded non-conforming bodies, favouring a narrow ideal of perfection that reinforced societal norms of the time. Today, such techniques and ideals may feel distant or inappropriate in a cultural landscape that increasingly values diversity, authenticity, and self-expression. Modern portraiture celebrates a broader range of body types, identities, and imperfections, challenging the restrictive gaze that once dominated photography. While the male gaze persists, particularly in commercial and mass media, it is met with growing resistance and critique. Female photographers and subjects have reclaimed creative power, shifting the lens toward more inclusive and empowering representations. In this series of 4x5 black-and-white portraits, I revisit the aesthetics of early 20th-century portrait photography, employing period-specific equipment, lighting, and posing to recreate its distinctive look and feel. I aim to provoke contradiction and ambiguity in the viewer’s mind by juxtaposing these historical techniques with modern women. The work invites reflection on how these historical aesthetics resonate—or clash—with contemporary values. Through this exploration, I hope to prompt questions about progress, representation, and the lingering influence of the male gaze. How much have we changed, and how much more change is needed? By revisiting the past, this series seeks to challenge assumptions about beauty, agency, and the evolving language of portrait photography.
February 9, 2025 at 10:56 AM
jannik.ca
Many small Prairie towns in Saskatchewan are slowly dying.

#AbandonedPlaces #RuralDecay #PrairieTowns
#SaskatchewanStories #ForgottenCanada #BlackAndwhite #Photography #MainStreet
Abandoned Cafe in Rural Saskatchewan photographed at night in Black and White. A single light source on the left illuminates the front of the Cafe
December 18, 2024 at 9:02 PM
jannik.ca
Iceland is an absolute magical place when it comes to photography. To me, winters are the best time with the daily five to six hours of magical light.

#IcelandNature #BlackAndWhiteSeascape #WildAtlanticWaves
#NaturePhotography #MoodyLandscapes #Iceland #Photography #NikonZ8
Waves crashing onto a black sand beach by the Tetris Cave Blue ice piling up in the Diamond Beach lagoon. Several birds can be seen in the images on and near the ice Interior Iceland on the ring road flanked by yellow reflecting markers to help identify where the road is during whiteouts Waterfall in winter with frozen cliffs from the spay. Long exposure on the water showing white with a blue streak in the middle
December 16, 2024 at 3:13 PM
jannik.ca
I made this image in New York during a recent trip and street photography workshop. It was early morning, and I could not sleep - what better way to amuse oneself.

#ArchitecturalPhotography #StreetPhotography
#UrbanMinimalism #Photography #NikonZ8
Black and White photograph of a staircase inside a building lit up at night. All about geometry and lines
December 15, 2024 at 7:17 AM
jannik.ca
If you ever find yoursels in Casablanca Morocco the Hassan II mosque allows for photography. It is well worth a trip to this place - the sheer size will impress you.

#StreetPhotography #EverydayLife #CandidMoments
#ArchitectureAndPeople #HassanIIMosque
#MoroccanArchitecture #DailyLifeCaptured
Three workers at the Hassan Mosque II in Casablanca are having a show and tell with each other. One person looks like he is describing how to hang laundry. This is a candid shot
December 14, 2024 at 2:07 PM
jannik.ca
I'm getting pretty tired of all the Facebook nonsense so I've decided to give Bluesky a go. So far so good.

Now for my work. An image from the recent intense solar storms we had in North America

#AuroraBorealis #NorthernLights #NightSkyMagic #NatureSpectacle #SaskatchewanSkies #Nature'sFireworks
Northern lights reflecting in a small lake stretching down to a small lit up farm on the opposite side of the lake
December 13, 2024 at 9:55 PM