When i look at the work of other photographers, I am most inspired by these same sorts of things. When looking at Eugene Atget and Garry Winogrand, I gathered pictures with reflections on bodies of water and intriguing and aesthetic candids of people and characters. I gathered photos of reality that also commented on it, like this image:
What I love about this photo is the harmony between the aesthetic composition, the conversation happening between the subjects, and the candidness of it (the fact that this moment doesn't look like it was staged. Of course, it could have been, but it has the quality that it was not, which is important). Another example of what I'm talking about is this other photo by Winogrand:
I think one thing that these photos have in common is they have a distinct locative quality. We know where these are taking place via the environmental and social. The first one looks like a couple of parents took their rowdy kids to the zoo because of the obvious animal, and because we can relate to being a kid, having a kid, or seeing a kid behave in this uninhibited way in public places. On second thought, I don't think those are the parents, but they might be strangers, gawking at the courage and sense of adventure these children have. She's envious of the freedom that the carefree nature of the child affords them. She's constricted by her social position. The children don't even see her; they remain in their own worlds. The woman envies this sense of life. Or maybe she's just intrigued by the couple of "animals" who got out and ended up right next to her.
The second one looks like a mom and her many kids maybe? They're definitely in a city, and she's definitely a mother of several. They need to get from A to B, mom has an agenda. In a similar way, the girls off to the left in the photograph are in their own worlds, oblivious to the world of the adult. And they are content being lead by a leash by hardworking mom and big brother.
The fact that we can relate to both these photos due to their distinct sense of location and social situation makes them memorable. This intrigues me. How do we make a photograph memorable?
I want to expand on my photography of places and architecture by exploring new, unique places and creating unconventional photographs there and in familiar places alike. I'm not sure if this is too broad, but I can narrow it in the coming week.
^ (Winogrand) Candid! More or less, we know where they are based on what they're doing, how they're doing it, and how they're dressed.
^ (Atget) The reflection picture I mentioned earlier. An interesting take on a wooded area. Unconventional, aesthetic
^ (Atget) Lots going on in this photograph, I kind of know where this is. There is an emphasis on aesthetic composition and interesting shapes and lines.
^ (Atget) Gosh, I just think this is gorgeous. It's simple, and effective. It's something I would make, I think. Very angular, very pretty, hard not to like (unless you think it's cliche). But it's a great print and a great photograph altogether. I think i want to go a little more unconventional than this. More like this:
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