More than anyone else, Garry Winogrand led me to take an interest in street photography. His pictures often have a certain something that draws the viewer in and causes them to linger.
He had a very matter-of-fact philosophical perspective on photography, what photographs are, and how they should look. Essentially, he held that there are no rules with regard to things like composition. This is perhaps most obvious in his work where the camera is deliberately tilted - he would consider what he wanted to include in the frame and would manipulate the camera to achieve that, regardless of the effect it had on the horizon and verticals. He said that most of his images don't quite make it in terms of being selected for publication - his modus operandi was basically to let the pictorial ideas flow freely while taking pictures, and to edit ruthlessly much later, long after any emotional association with an image had faded.
To me, his approach is very pure, direct, and uncluttered. Even now, decades later, it can be hard to disregard conventional ideas about photography and photographs. With this in mind, I'd like to propose a challenge that takes cues from Winogrand's approach. The criteria I have in mind are...
Street photography.
Any 35mm rangefinder or compact camera.
Fast B&W film such as Tri-X, HP5, etc.
Unconventional compositional elements, such as wonky horizons.
The idea is to try Winogrand's methodology by using fairly similar equipment and media, with the emphasis on stepping outside the comfort zone of conventional thinking about what photographs are supposed to look like.
No timescales in mind at present, other than fairly long to allow time to take photographs, and to then forget them for a while before selecting entries. I guess it could start at any time, and I'm thinking of late Autumn or early winter next year for the closing date. Could possibly have more than one entry per participant - although a challenge tends to have a fixed number, I'd like to encourage participation and posting of work.
Thoughts and feedback welcome.
He had a very matter-of-fact philosophical perspective on photography, what photographs are, and how they should look. Essentially, he held that there are no rules with regard to things like composition. This is perhaps most obvious in his work where the camera is deliberately tilted - he would consider what he wanted to include in the frame and would manipulate the camera to achieve that, regardless of the effect it had on the horizon and verticals. He said that most of his images don't quite make it in terms of being selected for publication - his modus operandi was basically to let the pictorial ideas flow freely while taking pictures, and to edit ruthlessly much later, long after any emotional association with an image had faded.
To me, his approach is very pure, direct, and uncluttered. Even now, decades later, it can be hard to disregard conventional ideas about photography and photographs. With this in mind, I'd like to propose a challenge that takes cues from Winogrand's approach. The criteria I have in mind are...
Street photography.
Any 35mm rangefinder or compact camera.
Fast B&W film such as Tri-X, HP5, etc.
Unconventional compositional elements, such as wonky horizons.
The idea is to try Winogrand's methodology by using fairly similar equipment and media, with the emphasis on stepping outside the comfort zone of conventional thinking about what photographs are supposed to look like.
No timescales in mind at present, other than fairly long to allow time to take photographs, and to then forget them for a while before selecting entries. I guess it could start at any time, and I'm thinking of late Autumn or early winter next year for the closing date. Could possibly have more than one entry per participant - although a challenge tends to have a fixed number, I'd like to encourage participation and posting of work.
Thoughts and feedback welcome.
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with Simon
The-Girl-in-the-Crowd-b&w-blur
