“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” Elliott Erwitt
Today’s quote comes from Elliott Erwitt, who is another photographer that has influenced me greatly. Erwitt photographs in the reportage style, which I spoke about yesterday in ‘China Trip (Part 2) – Revenge of the Tilt-Shift Lens‘. If you recall this is a style of photojournalism where you walk around looking for photographs and capturing slices of life as they occur. The most famous photographer of this style was Henri Cartier-Bresson. One of things that has always attracted me to Erwitt’s work is his use of juxtaposition in his images. When you look at his photographs you will see strange pairings or angles of subjects that make you think about what you are looking at. One image that I recall you see a person up in a high rise apartment building and there is an enormous parade animal balloon lurking around the corner. The slice of life quality, with the reality of the quirkiness of real life mixed in is what I find so intriguing about Erwitt. I am also drawn to his fine use of composition and sense of graphic design. When I see many of his images I am struck that not only was he able to see the situation forming, but he was able to record it. He is truly an observer of life. In 1956 Erwitt was asked to join the prestigious Magnum Photos agency. Magnum is one of the highest photojournalistic organizations that a photographer can belong to. It was begun by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, the great war photographer, and David Seymour in 1947. One of my special moments in photography was when my photographs from Paris were displayed in a show with Erwitt and four other photographers in a Los Angeles gallery. Just to know that my work was being shown alongside his was a great honor.
So Elliott Erwitt’s quote points to something that I have mentioned before and that is that photographs are everywhere, you just have to learn how to see them. Many times students complain to me that they could not find anything ‘interesting’ to photograph. They need to remember that to become a good photographer you just have to slow down and learn how to see. There are thousands of great photographs waiting everywhere. Learn how to see them. That is, once you have the technical stuff out of your way.
To learn more about how to improve your photography you should read;
‘10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Photos (Part 1)‘
‘10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Photos (Part 2)‘
Gary Miller
Houston Fine Art Wedding Photographer
Eye Candy and Brain Veggies
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