‘Most photographers use the camera as a tool of memorialization. They choose which moments to rescue from the enormous trash heap of everyday existence, by referencing some sort of defined visual hierarchy, a scaling of what scenes deserve to be immortalized. A “good” photograph happens when reality lines up in a way that is more valuable than other arrangements (see Cartier-Bresson’s “decisive moment”), and a good photographer, therefore, is someone with a knack for recognizing that value and clicking the shutter.’
I found this passage from this article by Gideon Jacobs really interesting. This project for me, is about really getting back to what photography means to me – what makes it special and what makes a good photograph/photographer. Just as Jacobs’ says here, photography is about paying attention to what’s around you and recognising the right moment. I want to remind myself to notice these moments, and also draw the viewer’s attention to these parts of everyday life that they might otherwise overlook.
The article goes on to discuss the work of Stephen Shore, one of my favourite photographers. Perhaps one of Shore’s most recognised photographs is ‘Breakfast’ [below].
In this article, the writer discusses this image. He describes it as a ‘highly intentional accident’, taken from the familiar perspective at which we all view our food. He explains how the skewed cutlery and casual framing, make it seem all that more ordinary and everyday. Another sentence that particularly caught my attention in Jacobs’ analysis of this photo was, ‘we may ponder the scene, and what our country’s particular styles of consumption say about us’. This reminded me of something that Nigel Shafran says in his interview with Charlotte Cotton, about how we place things being very telling of how we are and how we’re raised. This idea that objects can expose who we are more than we often realise is something I’m very interesting and something I want to try and express in my own photos. Finally, Jacobs says that with Shore’s photographs, ‘it’s not always about what we are seeing, but how we are seeing it.’ Perspective, subject matter and framing will clearly all be important things to bear in mind when taking my own photos.
https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/01/28/stephen-shore-seer-of-the-everyday/
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