History of Photography Artist 1 & 2

Paul Strand

Paul Strand was not only a brilliant photographer, he was a filmmaker as well. He focused mainly on his film work before pursuing his career in photography, his wife assisted him. One of his more famous photographs is "Wall Street" (shown below). 

I like this image the best because it shows just how different Paul Strand's photos were from other photographers in that time period. His urban photos make quite a statement.

This piece is called "Under the Dark Cloth" and I like this photo because it's a simple profile photo but the contrast and lighting Strand uses gives the photo a really simple, rough look which is quite intriguing.

 

This photograph is called "Fifth Avenue" and is another one of my favorite Paul Strand photographs. I think it's the angle of the flag and the people slightly turned around and looking at the camera. It's a completely normal day on Fifth Avenue and that simplicity makes me enjoy this piece. 

Alfred Steiglez

Like Paul Strand Alfred Steiglez was also a modern photographer for his time. He ran New York galleries for a big part of his life and influenced America with the European artists he introduced. For much of his life Steiglez refused to sell or promote the photos he took, he kept them to himself. All of his earliest most famous work he took on his honeymoon with his wife. 

This is Steiglez photo titled "A Wet Day on the Boulevard-Paris" and it was taken on his honeymoon. I think I like this picture because it makes a rainy day look beautiful. The light reflects off of the water on the pavement and you can tell the people are in a hurry to get out of the rain and this photo just makes everyday life look better. 

This picture is called "The Venetian Canal" and was also taken on Steiglez's honeymoon while in Italy. I have seen this picture many times before on various websites and I always thought it was beautiful but I never knew who the photographer was. By doing this project and finding more of Steiglez's work I realize how much I like him as a photographer. 

This photo is called "The Terminal" and this is the photo I like the least out of all Steiglez's work. I don't like hos\w the dust or smoke is blocking the view of the horses because it distracts from the rest of the photo. .This reminds me of our bad photo project because of the subject of the photo being obstructed.