Street Photography
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Everybody street shows the everyday lifestyles of people in the streets of New York. This documentary goes through the nine decades which shows and explores the extraordinary and well known street photographers. They explore the life's and works of the people in New York through they use of photographs. The documentary includes street photographers like Bruce Davidson, Elliott Erwitt, Jill Freedman, Bruce Gilden, Joel Meyerowitz, Rebecca Lepkoff, Mary Ellen Mark, Jeff Mermelstein, Clayton Patterson, Ricky Powell, Jamel Shabazz, Martha Cooper and Boogie. The Film has shown me that you have to take the photo in the moment and you have to be quite daring and not be afraid to jump in peoples faces and take the photo.
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Bruce DavidsonBruce Davidson is an american photographer. His photographs, notably those taken in Harlem, NYC, have been widely exhibited and published. Bruce Davidson began taking photographs at the age of ten in Oak Park, Illinois. He attended Rochester Institute of Technology and Yale University. He was later drafted into the army and stationed near Paris.
When he left military service in 1957, Davidson worked as a freelance photographer for LIFE magazine and in 1958 became a full member of Magnum. In 1963, the Museum of Modern Art in New York presented his early work in a solo show. In 1967, he received the first grant for photography from the National Endowment for the Arts, having spent two years witnessing the dire social conditions on one block in East Harlem. |
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Evaluation of Image
This is one of my favourite images taken by Bruce Davidson.
The girl with the cat, who is in focus, looks like she might be homeless because of the sleeping bag she is carrying. She is wearing ordinary clothes and is on a ordinary night street, which is not in focus. The picture has a black and white filter. The girl is very centred in the image and we are drawn in on the foreground, the girl, as it is in much more focused then the background and it stands out the the viewer. The image is also very calm and quite still. The position of the photographer would have been standing up because the photo has obviously been taken at eye level and it wouldn't of been that far apart from the girl. The angle of viewpoint is looking straight on and the photographer was standing still while taking the photo. We can tell this because the subject is visible and is seen clearly. The photographer has taken the photo making sure that the main focus of the image is the girl and has blurred the background to do this. The photographer has only captured the top half of the girls body. The image has a shallow depth of field as the background is completely blurred and the foreground is in focus. The texture is soft however it is a bit grainy in some places. Also the contrast makes the girl stand out compared to the background. The emotion that I feel when looking at the image is a sweet and tender but also a sad feeling is also given off by the expressions on the girl's face and also the tones in the image. I would want to know why Bruce took the photo in that exact place? this would help me understand his perspective of the image and also what interested him about the girl? |
My First Set Of Photos
Evaluation of Images
Reflection Photos.
Using an iPod/Camera, we had to take 10 photos of our chosen theme in our groups. Our group chose to take photos of Reflection and shadows using the iPod's rather then the digital cameras as they are much easier to use and you can use the different apps on the iPod. I took the photos around the school outside using the app Lomora. I like using this app as i can access loads of really nice effects which give the photos a different mood and emotion. Whilst taken these photos I thought about how i wanted the photo to turn out and because we couldn't look back at the photos this made us think about what the street photographers think about while they take the photos and what it feels like too take the photos in the moment. |
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My Street Photography Photos.
TrianglesTriangles in my photos.This image above was taken by me and I think that it demonstrates the triangle, compositional technique. The three heads in the image join together to create the triangle. The triangle makes the composition balanced and that's what makes the composition interesting. However there is another triangle by the feet which shows that the composition is really balanced and equal. The image below shows the compositional technique.
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Triangels are one of the best compositional techniques in a photograph. They are great in street photography as it adds balance and movement to the image bringing it alive. The three main points/subjects in the photograph join up to create the triangle tips. The triangles create balance in the image and really fill the frame of the photograph. This image is an image taken by Eric Kim. This image demonstrates the triangle Composition. The triangle points are the ladys head and the two other heads behind her. The triangle in the image brings the image to life, its clear and the triangle is easily spotted. Also there are more than one triangles in the image; the mans head, the light and the pole in the background.
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DiagonalsDiagonals are another compositional techniques. In diagonals there are three types of main lines ; Horizontal, Vertical and Diagonal, also the reciprocal diagonal line. Diagonals in my images.The slideshow below is a collection of my images. Too take these images I used a iPhone and had B&W filter on for all of them.
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Below are examples of the different diagonal lines. |
Surfaces
Compare And Contrast.
Similarities.
The similarities between these are that they are both taken in black and white. They both have a group of people in the image and not just one. The elements in both images are equally spread in the thirds of the image. Also all the people in the image are sitting down. All the main people are in the foreground of the image. Both the photographers like capturing images with a group of people in them and to me it kind of makes the image a bit more interesting, however hard to focus on one point. All the people in both pictures have some kind of contact with each other.
Differences.
The Differences in the image are that in the image taken by William Klein, the group of people are more crowded together the image taken by Garry Winogrand. Also in Klein's image the people are placed at different heights rather than the same height in the whole image this makes the image a lot more interesting. Another difference in the images is that in Winogrand's image none of the people in the image are looking directly in at the camera whereas in Klein's image most of the people are. Also in Klein's image it looks like its been taken in a closed area and indoors whereas Winogrand's image has been taken in a outdoor public place. The background elements are a lot more clearer than the background elements in Klein's.
The Rule of Thirds.
The rule of thirds is a 3x3 imaginary grid, divided into 9 segments, that helps us to take a photograph with better composition. As well as it making a better composition, it also makes the composition interesting and neater. While taking the photo, using the rule of thirds, you have to think about where you want the elements to go in the image. |
After taking the photos, I learnt that I need to think a bit more about my layout of the photo and where about's are the elements going to be laid out. I need to think about what's in the foreground, what's in the background, the lines, the triangles (etc) and be brave to take the photo and experiment in different ways. The rule of thirds grid I think helped me with the composition because it gave me guideline to take the photo.
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This is an image by Bruce Davidson. It clearly shows the Rule of Thirds. The two men, in the foreground, are in the two thirds on the side of the three columns. In the background is the red train doors which stand out in the middle compared to the edges of the background which are quite dull and faded. Also the two men are equally spread out which makes it clearer for us to view them.
Supplementary Challenge
This image doesn't fit the rule of thirds as there isn't a specific point that we focus on.
I don't think this fits the rule of third either as the windows are equally spread out across the the image, not fitting any of the rule of thirds.
I personally don't think this fits the rule of thirds as there are kind of two diagonals going across and overlapping. The stairs are going in a upward diagonal way whereas the string seems to be going in a downward diagonal way.
This does not fit the rule of thirds compositional technique either as the window and door take up most of the image. As its so equal it does not fit any of the rule of thirds.
This image doesnt really fit the rule of thirds compositional technique. The two main parts in the image are the poles and the floor. I think that top half of the image kind of fits the two horizontal top thirds.
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I think that this also doesn't fit the rule of thirds as its kind of a half and half view, imagining that there is a line going straight down the middle making the image symmetrical.
This photo doesn't fit the compositional technique of the rule of thirds as it again has a half and half view. A line would go down the middle creating a symmetrical view for the viewer.
This again is similar to the other windows photo. The windows are equally spread across the photo.
This doesn't fit the rule of thirds compositional technique as the floor takes up most of the image which goes out right across the image.
Finally this image doesn't fit the rule of thirds compositional technique. The ground seems to be going inwards toward the wall. The windows are equally spread out across the wall. The tree is one side of the image and the bench on the other. The image overall is quite equal.
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ROBERT FRANK: THE AMERICANS
MAGNUM CONTACT SHEETS.
FINAL IMAGES + EVALUATION.
To finish of our Street Photography Topic we have to choose our 4 favourite, most successful images that we have taken and explain why we have chosen them, ready to present to the class. The images below are a mixture of different tasks we have had to do through out the Street Photography Topic and these are the ones which feel are the most successful.