Researching Street Life

Alan Schaller

Whilst researching street life I happened upon Alan Schaller's website where I found some of his work as a street photographer. I fell in love with his work since it reflects my view of street photography. I really liked the black and white aesthetic that he uses, giving his photos a timeless feeling and also the way he introduces the basic shapes that can be found in the modern urban environment into his shots is very subtle yet effective.

Figure 1: Stairs (alanschaller)

In the image above Schaller used the shape of the stairs to frame the subject using the golden triangle rule. This gives the image a pleasing balance even though the composition is not symmetrical.

Figure 2: Circle Framing (alanschaller)

In this image he decided to use framing, this is done by putting your subject into the negative space of an object in the foreground. This image also has repetition because of the armrests that repeat themselves and also uses the bench planks as leading lines, ultimately leading you to the elderly man seated at the edge.

Figure 4: Reflections (alanschaller)

In this photograph, Schaller manages to disconnect this woman from her immediate surroundings. By taking the photo through a window, the reflections manage to erase the inner surroundings of the outside world, giving the viewer a glimpse of what the woman herself is observing from her position. Her position in the photo gives us a feeling of contemplation, a study of human behaviour.

Figure 5: Metropolis (alanschaller)

With this image, Schaller seems to be using the contrast as a means to direct the viewer to the subject. The lack of light in most of the image makes the little light on the woman's face very noticeable directing the viewers eyes to her face. This photo also reflects the chaos of urban public transport and the disconnect between the people that meet in the ever rushing streets of a city but never engage.

Christophe Jouniaux

Figure 6: Symmetry (christophe-jouniaux)

In this photo Jouniaux managed to capture perfect symmetry in this archictectural piece. The image can be divided into two, perfectly in the middle, and the perspective is almost like an optical illusion. Looking at this image pulls you in, because of the multiple leading lines, making you focus in the centre. Also the element of repetition makes for a pleasing composition.

Ernst Haas

Figure 7: Reflections (Ernst Haas)

Haas in this photo composed his image in a way that splits the image in two or dare I say maybe almost in three. The line in the middle of the image separates the subject from the reflection which barely looks like one, in my opinion and the roof of the structure almost divides the top part from the rest by making this triangular shape. I think it was a very clever use of reflections splitting the image in 3 triangles.

Artwork Analysis

Here Schaller uses the position of the car and the light from the sun coming at an angle to make for a representation of the headlights of the car being on. The light coming from the sun creates a triangle of light that highlights the girl on the pavement as well as leading the viewer to the car, the light and dark parts of the image also make a golden triangle. The image feels well balanced and expressive. Schaller uses high contrast to separate the image in two parts using a diagonal line. The diagonal line created by the light and shadow makes the image separate into two triangles. The light reveals the texture on the brick wall behind the car. The typography present un this image is not the main focal oint of the image and thus isn't framed as such however, it helps identifie where the setting of the image is i.e. an urban metropolitan setting. The use of black & white enhances the textures of the wall and the pavement whilst also creating the devide between the range of light in the image, almost a ying-yang effect. I think that the use of light in this image is very clever, the way the light falls on the headlights of the car is perfect, the balancebetween light and dark is harmonic 

References

Schaller. A, 2018. Alan Schaller Street Photography [ONLINE] Available at: http://alanschaller.com/streetphotography/ [Accessed on: 24/10/2018].

Jouniaux. C, 2018. Architecture/Street-Photography - Site de Christophe Jouniaux Photographie [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.christophe-jouniaux.be/architecture-street-photography/ [Accessed on: 25/10/2018].