So today’s photograph is somewhat different to the usual landscape and outdoorsy shots I’ve been sharing. If anything it’s a hybrid between two styles: portraiture and street photography.
Here’s Day 15’s shot, titled “Testing”:
It was actually an accidental shot, as my camera had gone to sleep and I was trying to wake it up – perhaps the concentration on my face gives it away.
Anyway, as I previously mentioned, this challenge isn’t about perfecting one style of photography rather, it’s to allow me to experiment with this medium. But I hope to pursue some of my favourite photographic techniques and styles; one of those is street photography.
Street Photography
As an artist who’s practice involves scavenging disenfranchised objects during anti-social hours, the secretive nature of a street photographer has always intrigued me. More so than any other type of photographer, the street photographer has to think on their feet, and draw as little attention as possible to themselves if they want to capture an authentic shot.
Other traits I admire, is their ability to firstly see the beauty in the everyday, but to also force us to see the beauty in our everyday lives and routines, from the mundane to the spectacular. And if they want to create their art, they need to react at the speed of lightening if they want to make sure they record a certain aspect of a scene, event or happening.
Nobody does this better than Vivian Maier.
Vivian Maier
One of my heroes is Vivian Maier. A New York Nanny who took her extroadinary talent for street photography to the grave. It was only when her lock-up was auctioned off to pay for her debts did her furious documentation of the world around her emerge. The buyer found over 100,000 negatives spanning five decades and sought to piece together this furtively private yet outwardly liberal nanny’s work.
Here she is:
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| Vivian Maier – self portrait |
Vivian’s unique ability to both capture “joe public” with poise and seize part of the narrative unfolding in front of her has captivated audiences worldwide.
Iamge courtesy: http:/www.vivianmaier.com
For the majority of Vivian’s pictures, the subjects were totally unaware that they’d been photographed. I particularly love this one:
image courtesy: http:/www.vivianmaier.com
We can see that Vivian must have been close enough to capture this couple, but it was her inconspicuousness that allowed her to record the intimacy.
I hope to be able to explore street photography more over the year.
