On Monday the 24th of february 2014 we went on a photography trip to the Tate modern. I was really exited about this because as well as going to the Tate to see the exhibitions we had an opportunity to take our own photographs on the journey to and from, as we could build on our confidence of going out on to the streets. Taking photographs on the street was a bit nerve-racking as this was only my 2nd time going on the streets and i was in a busy place that i do not know to well another thing i was concerned about was the reaction people may have to me taking a photograph of them. When we got to the Tate we went to see 2 exhibitions, Harry Callahan and William Eggleston, It was really fascinating as not only did we look for details and some of the subjects they photographed, but also how they were displayed. We had to work out the common feature of the photograph by the way they were displayed.
HARRY CALLAHAN
Harry Callahan was a 20th century american photographer. He was born in Detroit, Michigan. After dropping out of Michigan University studying engineering he soon joined a camera club and began to teach himself photography. Harry Callahan became friends with Todd Webb who was also to become a photographer. Harry Callahan is knows as one of the most influential post war photographers but yet his work is still quite unknown in the UK. His wife Eleanor who he met in 1933 became one of his most photographed subjects, appearing in many scenes; indoors, a lone figure on a beach, a figure emerging from the water and just within the city landscape. Callahan said in 1973 that most of his work is grouped into 3 themes, Nature, Buildings and People. A large percentage of his work demonstrates a sustained interest in lines and composition. looking at some of his images I do see a lot of lines and his images do look like they have been slightly composed as much a he could in the short amount of space he had between seeing something and capturing the photograph.
Harry Callahan was a 20th century american photographer. He was born in Detroit, Michigan. After dropping out of Michigan University studying engineering he soon joined a camera club and began to teach himself photography. Harry Callahan became friends with Todd Webb who was also to become a photographer. Harry Callahan is knows as one of the most influential post war photographers but yet his work is still quite unknown in the UK. His wife Eleanor who he met in 1933 became one of his most photographed subjects, appearing in many scenes; indoors, a lone figure on a beach, a figure emerging from the water and just within the city landscape. Callahan said in 1973 that most of his work is grouped into 3 themes, Nature, Buildings and People. A large percentage of his work demonstrates a sustained interest in lines and composition. looking at some of his images I do see a lot of lines and his images do look like they have been slightly composed as much a he could in the short amount of space he had between seeing something and capturing the photograph.
Evaluation of Harry callahans image
I chose this image because it stood out to me, The main thing that stood out was the woman's face, i think this is harry Callahan's wife as he mainly takes pictures of his wife Eleanor. Also as i looked closer at the water i noticed that her reflection is in the water Also there is a lot of lines in the water as there are small ripples causing the lines in the water, This creates a pattern effect adding layers to the image sepurating the woman from the water. Her facial expression also stands out for me as she has her eyes lightly closed with neutral lips. This makes us feel like we have a connection with her making us feel like we can tell her emotions and what she is thinking. I think she is feeling relaxed. Because of the tones and lines gives this image a soothing smooth effect. the composition is just off central the angle is head on and this i really effective, i think this is the only angle that would have given the image a really nice effect
I chose this image because it stood out to me, The main thing that stood out was the woman's face, i think this is harry Callahan's wife as he mainly takes pictures of his wife Eleanor. Also as i looked closer at the water i noticed that her reflection is in the water Also there is a lot of lines in the water as there are small ripples causing the lines in the water, This creates a pattern effect adding layers to the image sepurating the woman from the water. Her facial expression also stands out for me as she has her eyes lightly closed with neutral lips. This makes us feel like we have a connection with her making us feel like we can tell her emotions and what she is thinking. I think she is feeling relaxed. Because of the tones and lines gives this image a soothing smooth effect. the composition is just off central the angle is head on and this i really effective, i think this is the only angle that would have given the image a really nice effect
William Eggleston
Wlliam Eggleston was one of the first to experement with colours in the 1960's. In 1972 he started to make high complex prints using a process called 'dye tranefer'. William Eggleston mainly took photographs around him home town of Memphis, tennessee. Most of his work is influence by high intensity bold colours . eachh colour is printed in its richest form maintaining strong reds and greens within most of his image. William eggleston did not really have a theme or subject, when he was asked about his theme he simply answered ' life today' that one thing i like about William eggleston he does not need a theme he is doing his own thing and it works for him.
Wlliam Eggleston was one of the first to experement with colours in the 1960's. In 1972 he started to make high complex prints using a process called 'dye tranefer'. William Eggleston mainly took photographs around him home town of Memphis, tennessee. Most of his work is influence by high intensity bold colours . eachh colour is printed in its richest form maintaining strong reds and greens within most of his image. William eggleston did not really have a theme or subject, when he was asked about his theme he simply answered ' life today' that one thing i like about William eggleston he does not need a theme he is doing his own thing and it works for him.
I like this photograph by William Eggleston as there is a lot of contrast in this image, The wall to the chair, The woman to the wall and chair. I also like this image as you also feel as if you could guess parts of their personality just from the back of their head. just by their hairstyle what they are doing with their hands, in this case holding a cigarette, by were they are and if they are with anyone, yes they are. Another reason i like this image is because they have a really nice brick pattern that frames the photograph and help the woman i the foreground stand out. The final thing i like about this image is that you can only see a small part of the person in the background so it leaves you with lots of questions like, are they male or female, are these to people on a date r something, and also it makes you imagine what both the people look like making your imagination run wild.
I know most people would have chosen pictures of people in the streets but in my opinion this is one of my favourites as you have multiple lines in the foreground and background you have shadows coming from the pigeons and the railing, you also have some rectangles and reflections in the background in the water from the building and the boat. I also chose this image because it has multiple layers you have the first layer from the pigeons; then the rail then the water, the boat , the green wall, the building behind the wall, the building behinds that building and then the shadow in the final building. In this photograph all of the colours are different you don't have 2 of identical colours as some are slightly lighter from the angle that the camera is getting from the sun. I think this image could have been better if i was closer but i wanted to keep my distance and get a good photograph and not get too close, scare the birds away and get no photograph.
I like this photograph as it shows day to day life perfectly I think. you have the 2 girls eating something and talking, one of the girls is looking directly into the lens of the camera making you feel like you have some kind of connection with her. I also like this because you have the two people holding hands as one the main subject in the image. But as well as that you also have the couple in the background with their arms round each other. When I first looked at this photo i saw quite a few lines but as I kept looking there just got more and more, this is the same with triangles, there is just lines and triangles everywere
I think this is one of my best photographs i took on our trip as the shadowing is really bold an effective another thing i like about this is the fact that the background is all one surface i think if it was different surfaces this image would not have been as successful so it was the perfect day to take this image. Another thing i like is the lines. the woman creates a lot of lines but also the object she is holding, you also get a nice effect from the pattern of the wall in the background which has a great amount of lines and all the different squares are different sizes creating a really rough texture to help the bold colours of the womans clothing and the woman herself stand out.
one of my favourite things about this image is that the woman's jumper matches the colour of trees in the background causing a blending effect to the person admiring the image. Also you have the black from her trousers and the bench. I really like this photograph as it is very natural and you can see the smile on her face even though it is quite light. I think this is a really interesting image because of all the ; tones, lines and triangles. It gives the image an unusual effect that make this photograph stand out above the rest of the photographs. My favourite thing about this image is the texture of the image as it has different textures. the top part of this image is really soft especially around the woman but the bottom part of the image is quite rough and grainy giving this photograph an strange yet somewhat satisfying feel.
Final Piece.
I have chosen these three image as my final piece for the street photography topic, each image has a common theme of having at least one person within each image, which allows the images to compliment each other well. However each image, contains different features that make each image differ from the next. For example the first image contains a large amount of vertical lines, as well as different tones within the images. The second/middle image also contains a large amount of line however it also contains a large depth of field which has been exaggerated by the reflection in the background and the harsh light that is falling on the elements within the background of the image. The final image, has a different focus, it is a reflection off of an unusual surface that has created a seemingly double exposure effect to the image, which has caused a lack in focus as well as adding tone and texture to the image.