Blog Post I: Lee Friedlander

Out of all the photographers we looked at in class, I was most intrigued by Lee Friedlander.  His photographs resonated with me in a way the others didn't. While I could appreciate and get inspiration from everyone's artwork, I was most inspired and captivated by Friedlander's work. It reminds me of my own. I feel that when I'm looking through a viewfinder, composition is one of the most important things to me. Aesthetics, balance, framing, and context interest me more than subject matter or technical mastery.  Lee Friedlander seems to have an emphasis on those former aspects while also bring the latter aspects into manifestation.

Lee's photographs look candid and planned simultaneously. I personally love successful candid and street photographs--ones that evoke a sense of nostalgia or ones that almost appear posed.  I also love photos that do this in a different way--photos that are staged in such a way that make them seem to be candid. Friedlander's pictures encompass this style.  They are aesthetically pleasing as well as emotionally identifiable.

I love how Lee plays with shapes and lines. Both these photographs above are just a couple of examples that show how he does this so beautifully.  In the top one, the shapes are defined by contrasts between light and dark tones. Almost all of the lines are soft--the curve of the bedpost, the frame of the television, and even the darkness creeping onto the wall on the left side of the picture makes that edge much softer. This is contrasted by the vertical lines of the bedpost. They are defined by white highlights and contrasting shadows. The deep blacks and the bright whites put the more subtle tonal ranges into context. My eye is not drawn to stark tones. My eye is drawn to the beautiful textured bedspread in the foreground made up of soft greys and the television screen comprised of similar grey tones.  This isn't my favorite photograph of Friedlander's, but I can find so many great things to say about it.
As I was flipping through Lee's photographs, the second one caught me. Its asymmetry and line flow is really interesting. Starting from the left, we see the contrasting shadow of the guardrail cast in a diagonal toward the corner of the photograph, then the nearly perpendicular line of the actual guardrail protruding forward from what appears to be a point in space on the horizon (the horizon being another line). Then we have the vertical posts of the guardrail which sort of mirror the vertical telephone poles and their telephone wires, one parallel to the horizon, the other pushing out from the same point the guardrail seems to be pushing out from. Then we have the rectangular billboard, and the lady figure who lays upon it.  The curvature of her body nearly matches the curvature of the end of the guardrail--the tip closest to the camera. And then the road appears to be continuing out of the edge of the guardrail, in the same angle, from the same point on the horizon. Even the plants on the left side of the road accentuate that same line, getting bigger as they are closer to the camera, creating an illusion of depth and a sense of fluidity.

Lee Friedlander creates a mystical world not only with candid-looking photos, but also by experimenting with light and shadow.  His photos beg you to wonder what is going on, what happened before and after, and what time of day it is. They are mysterious enough to make you ask questions, but practical enough to allow you to form your own answers, creating a sense of comfort and nostalgia when viewing his photos. I am truly inspired! I want to go out and make photos like these, concentrating on light and shadows, people, and intriguing moments.

 

So many shapes and tones. It's wondrous and yet familiar.

A beautiful candid--I'm not sure if it actually was, but it gives that impression.  We're at a party, people are mingling and happy, and falling in love with each other. This photo is perfect--but almost lucky. I'd love to know Lee's process, or the background of this photo and the people in it.

Double exposure? I love how the clouds are manipulated to be this mid-dark grey, and the tree is a silhouette. It's eerie and dream-like. The addition of the koi fish over it adds to that dream-like quality.