STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
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“Everybody Street illuminates the lives and work of New York’s iconic street photographers and the incomparable city that has inspired them for decades. The documentary pays tribute to the spirit of street photography through a cinematic exploration of New York City, and captures the visceral rush, singular perseverance and at times immediate danger customary to these artists. Covering nine decades of street photography, “Everybody Street” explores the careers and influences of many notable photographers––a number of whom have never been documented, featuring: Bruce Davidson, Elliott Erwitt, Jill Freedman, Bruce Gilden, Joel Meyerowitz, Rebecca Lepkoff, Mary Ellen Mark, Jeff Mermelstein, Clayton Patterson, Ricky Powell, Jamel Shabazz, Martha Cooper, and Boogie, with historians Max Kozloff and Luc Sante."
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BRUCE GILDEN
Gilden was born in 1946. He took interest in photography when watching the film Blowup. He purchased his first camera and began taking classes in photography at School Of Visual Arts in New York. He then was very intrigued with 'normal' people on the street. He had big ideas and turned to a career or photography. Since 1998 he took pictures of the homeless, prostitutes, members of bike gangs and Japan's yazuka mobsters. He says he was fascinated by the double lives these people lived. Bruce is very out there and not afraid of exploring the streets.I think Bruce Gilden is a really good photographer as he is very out there. He just takes the photographs and doesn't plan in advance. He is very straightforward and interacts with the people he takes photo's of in a non physical way. I really like his work because it's not 'normal' but so casual. Some of his images are to the right. |
I really like this image by Bruce because it's so abnormal. There are two young females in a swimming pool (which is quite a childish and innocent thing to do) and one of the girls are smoking (which is something that adults do- stereotypically ones that aren't innocent or good) this is a really interesting contrast as you would expect a child to be cute and innocent but in this image it shows the child to have a rebellious element to them which reflects quite badly on them. The main focus is quite clearly the girl smoking but there's former focus which is the girl in the back sitting down.
This is my most successful image because it has loads of lines. The shadows really makes the image stand out and the light on the wall contrasts to the floor. You can see half of a person which makes it more interesting and mysterious. You can faintly see the shadow of a tree which gives quite an eerie effect.
This is my least successful image because it hasn't got many things going on in it. It seems quite boring because it's just a person standing and there's not anything that stands out. If the photo was taken in another angle maybe it could have captured more things such as lines, depth of field etc. The shadow of this person does give the photo an extra effect which looks good and stands out more. There are quite a few different colours in the image. There are quite a few different colours in this image which contracts.
We were put into groups and had a certain subject matter to take photo's of. My group focussed on cropping. I particularly liked this image because you can see the main focus clearly as I was standing in the middle of it. I was intending to get the lower half of the body because it shows the movement of school accurately. The composition is not too chaotic but is slightly messy and it's quite neat in a sense as the legs are in a row. The black jeans and orange floor contracts as black is quite a dark and gloomy colour and orange is a more happy and exciting kind of colour. The light coming through creates shadows which adds an extra effect and makes it more alive.
Vivian Maier
Vivian was an American street photographer who was born in New york and raised in France. She wasn't known until after she died. She used to do loads of experiments in her spare time and they were all discovered after she died. She worked on and off as a nanny for 40 years and took many photo's for the family. She travelled around the world and took many pictures of everything. Her photographs have been exhibited in the U.S, Britain, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Belgium. A book of her photographs were published in 2011.
I really like this image because the different shades of black and white go really well together. It has a very wide depth of field. The composition is very well thought about and it all fits together really well.
Vivian was an American street photographer who was born in New york and raised in France. She wasn't known until after she died. She used to do loads of experiments in her spare time and they were all discovered after she died. She worked on and off as a nanny for 40 years and took many photo's for the family. She travelled around the world and took many pictures of everything. Her photographs have been exhibited in the U.S, Britain, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Belgium. A book of her photographs were published in 2011.
I really like this image because the different shades of black and white go really well together. It has a very wide depth of field. The composition is very well thought about and it all fits together really well.
Rule of thirds
The rule of thirds is a guideline which helps you take your images more accurately and so the photo is well balanced. Not using the rule of thirds doesn't necessarily mean your image won't be balanced or accurate but it is very useful. The basic principle behind the rule of thirds is to imagine your image breaking down into a grid of 9 squares. The theory is that if you put your focal point along these grid lines, your photo becomes more clear and balanced to the viewer and maybe even interact with the viewer naturally. I've learned that the rule of thirds helps improve your image much more, than without, as it tends to make the image interesting. My first image(to the right) is probably the most successful image I took as it clearly shows what the focal point is. The focus was the expression on her face and I made sure the camera was in the centre so I could get her whole face in. |
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Diagonals are a compositional technique of two lines which cross each other from different angles.
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I really liked these images which include diagonals because they were really well composed and everything was in order with no 'mess'. I particularly liked the image with the hand and watch in focus as captures a lot of items within range because of the angle it has been taken. It has a wide range of tones and textures- the different shades of black and white, the smooth ground, the rigid trees etc. The composition is incredibly formed as everything is in line and seems to be 'harmonizing'. The focal point is the arm sticking out and the background is the trees, road, houses etc.
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William Klein
This is a very powerful image as there is a young boy pointing a gun to the photographer(Klein). The anger on this young man's face suggests that Klein had done something awful to create a reaction like this. You then notice the other young innocent looking boy next to him and he looks rather confused. It seems like the boy pointing the gun is supposed to be guarding the other boy as his facial expression is slightly blank, like it would be if you were scared of your guardian to question their actions. The lighting on this image is really well set. The little boy has a really bright face compared with the boy holding the gun. |
Henri Cartier-Bresson
This little boy seems very peculiar due to his facial expression. He seems quite intrigued at something. When you look closely into the image, you notice that he is holding some sort of bomb which decreases his innocence, if, he had any at all. This image is similar in certain ways compared with William Klein's imagine. They both include a boy who somehow seem to be quite devious and rebellious, in their case as they are carrying dangerous weapons/something that could harm their surroundings. The two boys also have a very bleak facial expression which in someways shows their personalities. These two images also have some differences. The second image has a clear background and captures more whereas the first image focuses more on the boy's face and has no distractions. |
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Here are my images of shadows.
I thought that these images were really cool as they also managed to capture school life. In school: students are quite crazy and weird and these images clearly show that. Shadows are a really effective photographic technique as they draw attention to light and directs us to the focal point. It could also reveal texture and form in certain cases. Shadows tens to attract attention to objects. They sort of highlight the image. |
This image is a great example of 'shadows'. The water reflects the bike and people which gives quite an abstract effect. The black and white effect makes the image more appealing as the different tones of black and white make the image stand out more. The lighting is very high key. Everything is quite bright although it's not in colour. The shadows really highlight the image and makes it more interesting.
This is an example of 'reflections'. It's a really good photo as everything is blurred except the reflection itself and the man. The background is blurred because the main focus is the man and the reflection. It seems like it may be at a tube station because of the way the man is standing and also the way the mirror is placed.
This image is an example of 'walk on by'. It is quite chaotic as loads of people are in the shot and they're all moving around. It's an interesting image because there's someone who seems homeless sitting on the ground but no one is stopping to help in. This image shows the chaotic side to a city.
This is an example of 'Triangles'. The 3 objects that form the triangle are the two palm trees and the car. This is a slightly odd combination as you don't normally see two palm trees with a car in the middle that is covered. The technique makes the image more exciting and adds more to the image.