Mark Cohen Photographer Video

This is by far the funniest shooting style I’ve seen. It’s like he walked out of a Pink Panther film. Sneaking up and scaring the guy next to the ladder, the camp walk away from the old guy near the wall, talking a photo of the ladies leg. Sheer hilarity.

The key take away is the audacity. He does seem to choose more powerless subjects. Women, old people. I guess that’s the dirty secret of close street photographers. He’s very similar to the work of Bruce Gilden but I like his non-grotesque aesthetics better.

He moves fast, unlike Winogrand. This is such great, important stuff to see.

He seems to rarely look through the finder. But perhaps the range finder viewfinder is so much larger that you can be a little further away.

I envy black and white photographers being able to work in a far wider range of light. And obviously with the flash he increases the possibilities even further.

• mark cohen
• video
• method
• street

Posted 2 years ago

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Mason Resnick 2007.

• Street photography requires the least amount of work. The street is there, waiting, accessible. A web designer is hardly going to go into a war zone like Nachtwey to do conflict photography (an equally meaningless and cliched form).
• The person feels like they ‘know it.’ All these romantic types, ‘seeing, no really seeing.’ They are so sensitive to the beauty all around them. They just can’t help but capture it. No deeper thought, or narrative is required. A very simplistic, cute aesthetic rules.
• The cult of Cartier Bresson, and Winogrand. These two gnomic photographers are absolutely revered by the amateur because of their seemingly non-technical mantras on method. There is enough going on in a street photo that technique, tonality etc. is less of a concern. This makes it even easier for the amateur.

The photo above is a particularly good example of all the things that is wrong with nearly all street photography:

• No discernable tension in the frame, no risk taken. The photo is essentially meaningless. What is it about? Wearing sandals when you’re old?
• Garish framing resulting in a kitch photo which draws attention to itself.
• Terrible technical quality of the pictures (even shown on the web), very flat tonality, over exposed. Focus problems on the front girl is distracting.
• It doesn’t do anything new. Others have done this shot a million times before and a hundred times better. This isn’t saying anything different. How boring. Looking at this stuff is so draining.

Of course this critique stems from my own massive insecurities about what I’m doing. Of course.

• street
• bad
• critique

Posted 2 years ago

WNYC Street Shots: Bruce Gilden (via wnycradio)

“I have no ethics. Ethics! Give me a break.”

I don’t like his aesthetic, but I do like him.

• bruce
• gilden
• street
• method
• video
• master
• ethics

Posted 2 years ago

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“It’s the closest I come to not existing.”

His method is very jittery. It’s as if he is pretending not be taking photos at all. Like he is playing around with the camera, but it doesn’t look very convincing to me. Of course people on the streets are involved in their own thoughts and a lot can be done without notice. He actually shoots just as he brings it to his eye, and then acts as if something went wrong with the shot, or that it wasn’t very important at all. If need be he can be fairly confronting, you can tell that he isn’t backing away. The guy in the blue blazer is clearly wanting to confront him but Winogrand has a very absent minded presence. He seems harmless. He makes it as easy as possible for you to walk away.

• garry
• winogrand
• method
• master
• video
• street

Posted 2 years ago

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“I found myself slowing down, making more use of the street corner. I could look up and down the street in both directions, and there would be a space in the middle where people came together. I usually picked a hard, sunny corner, with something in the frame that appealed to me - like this particular building. It’s an office building, probably 30 storeys tall, with a plastic gold glitter facade. It’s gaudy and horrible, and yet exactly of its era.” (in the Guardian)

What’s new is that he finds a place to stand depending on what’s in the background. Currently I’m in constant movement like Winogrand. The other interesting related concept is that of experts going back and repeating what was successful in the past. I rarely go back the the moment, but this going back, or having a stable background can be very helpful in making coherent narratives.

• joel
• meyerowitz
• master
• method
• street

Posted 2 years ago

“Do you work everyday?”

“Yeah, sure.”

• garry
• winogrand
• method
• street
• master
• video
• work

Posted 2 years ago

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The camera is at his face for the shortest period of time possible. The camera is very small, and very quiet. He is always smiling, always non-threatening. People do stop and turn around but that could be video camera that’s with him. He’s only a little sleazy.

“What’s happening?”

“I’m surviving.”

• garry
• master
• method
• video
• winogrand
• street

Posted 2 years ago

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I trawled through over 5000 street shots that I have and tried to come up with one coherent story. It’s a very particular story and many others could have been told. It’s about anxiety or something. It’s up now at http://www.adnanchowdhury.com/.

• set
• work
• modern status
• street

Posted 2 years ago