Tag: <span>film photography</span>

surrealism, humour, toronto, marching band, 1983, Toronto,
Marching Band, Toronto; 1983                                 © Avard Woolaver

Martin Parr‘s photographs are known for their whimsical, sardonic wit. In a recent blog post I mentioned the painter René Magritte, who consistently challenged perceptions of reality by showing ordinary objects out of their usual contexts (by, for example, putting a silk mask on an apple, or having a train emerge from a fireplace).

Parr also finds humour in everyday objects and situations. In article in The Telegraph, he noted, “Part of what I’ve done is to make the everyday look more interesting.” The photos British photographer Martin Parr takes are known for gently satirizing people and their cultures. The viewers can be left with ambiguous reactions—not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Creating humour in photos is a difficult task: if it’s too subtle, no one gets the joke; if it’s too overt, it isn’t very funny.

Photo tip: the key to many good photographs is patience—observing the scene and waiting for something interesting to happen. Often it’s something behind the scenes that produces the witty photo.

Marching Band, Toronto; 1983 is from the series: Toronto Days

Blogging Colour Documentary Film Photography Observation Photography Social Landscape

brooms, mops, Toronto, street scene, St. Clair West, everyday objects,
St. Clair West, Toronto, 1983     © Avard Woolaver

Photographer Willliam Eggleston is known for legitimizing colour photography as art. His photos are a visual treat without clichés—no sunsets, no lighthouses. Instead, he has ordinary scenes and everyday objects—things that we mostly pass by without notice.

As Eudora Welty says in her introduction to Eggleston’s book The Democratic Forest (1989), one of his photographs might include “old tyres, Dr. Pepper machines, discarded air-conditioners, vending machines, empty and dirty Coca-Cola bottles, torn posters, power poles and power wires, street barricades, one-way signs, detour signs, No Parking signs, parking meters and palm trees crowding the same curb.”

Eggleston looks at the world in a democratic way; all things, even the most banal, are worth photographing. It’s a form of mindfulness—being aware and concentrating on the moment.

“I just wait until [my subject] appears, which is often where I happen to be. Might be something right across the street. Might be something on down the road. And I’m usually very pleased when I get the image back. It’s usually exactly what I saw. I don’t have any favorites. Every picture is equal but different.” – William Eggleston

When I’m in that zone, I take time to observe everything around me. I find it relaxing and meditative. And it can lead to photos of brushes and brooms!

Photo tip: Try taking photos just where you happen to be. In the coffee shop, in your backyard, in the parking lot. You don’t need to go to Mt. Everest to get good photos.

Colour Documentary Film Photography New Topographics Photography Social Landscape