City life
Street photography is photography that captures unmediated random encounters and activities within public places. I will first look at street portraits, stripping away most of the person’s identity by placing them in front of the same brick wall and asking then to pull a emotionless face. This will show how little insight you can get into a person’s life from a short glance, which is more than what we can get from a trip out in public places. Next I shall look at slightly more insight into strangers in the street, such as people shopping, eating, running etc.
Street photographer Richard Sandler explores unusual perspectives of people in public spaces, revealing just a small amount of information about their personal life. Sandler captures the everyday activities performed by ordinary people but capture them in exceptional ways which make then look extraordinary. He typically includes lines which divide the photo, either leading the viewer through the photo or to represent a defined divide between the subject. For example, in his photo titled Donnell Library the photo is divided by a line roughly down the centre on either side there are women. On the ride is a younger women applying make up and then on the left is an elderly woman, this shows a defined contrast in age and identity as the women is oblivious to the rest of the world because she is doing her make up, but the older women looks directly at the camera. My favourite thing about Sandler’s work is his abstract and unique perspectives. In my own work I would also like the explore creative angles and try to capture the same contrast in both the surroundings and in subjects.
Evaluation; Titled ‘subway kiss’ this is one of my favourite photos taken by Sandler. The photos focus is on the two men sitting down, separated by the bar, yet the title brings the attention to the two subjects mid kiss in the background. The two main subjects are oblivious to each other let alone the scene happening in the background, highlighting the unknown truths about people surrounding you in public. I like the contrast of the subjects with the messy background which really detaches them from their surroundings, which is typically what people do while on public transport, often daydreaming to become unaware of their environs. My favourite part of this photo is the framing of the scene in the background which draws the focus towards them. The reason I love this photo so much is because the photo has a lot of content, and there is no plain or boring section of the image.
Street Identities
Face/Phone, Face/Face, Face/Phone
Vinaros women
Liverpool soldier
People watching
street conversation
10 Up, 2 Down
Each image in this section reveals aspects of city life, capturing the individuals littering the streets. I like the monochrome tone basic feel to the collection, the simplistic approach to the colours and contrast brings focus completely on the individuals. Out of the collection my favourites are titled "Street conversation" and " people watching". These photos emit emotion from the individuals, the facial expressions and the body language become the main focal point of the images. I also like the abnormal high point of view on the photo of a couple, taking on a different perspective of city life. If i was to improve my collection i would have taken more photos from unusual angles as well as capture individuals interacting with each other to get a full grasp on street life.
Selective view
To further develop my journey through street identity i have chosen to see the city through a selective view. First i have looked at the colours in the city, which brings focus on individuals and their surroundings. In these images i like the contrast between bright and vibrant colours with the high contrast black and white. To improve these images i would of explored images closer to individuals rather than landscapes, the collection would of also been improved through a larger variety of shots. Next i moved on to movement, captured with a low shutter speed, focusing on the people moving by, no longer identifiable due to the blur. I like the rush of these images and how they depict a busy moving street, and how it represents strangers rushing by, so fast their identity does not even show. For this collection, i would of liked to explore movement with colour, rather than black and white, to experiment with colours mixing together. Finally i have looked into the lines, and stories of the street, capturing lines that lead both the subjects through their route as well as leading the viewer through the photo. To emphasis these lines as well as create a sense of urban, day time rush i have explored colour channels to add to the hectic movements of the photos. To improve on these i could of experiment with mixed media, adding coloured threads to emphasis the moving lines.
Colour
Movement
Leading lines
