Subject Looking at Photographer: Or Not

I have been a street photographer for more than 50 years. At the start, it was just my hobby to take pictures of people as they go about their daily lives. Then I learned about the “techniques” of telling a story through moments frozen on film. Interestingly, at that point the people stopped being the center of my attention, but rather it was their interaction with the environment that appealed to me.

And it was for that very reason that I decided not to take photos of people’s faces directly, especially avoiding them looking at me or my camera. That is not always the case with street photographers. Many click when the person is looking at them, with special attention to capturing the eyes or the look. For me that is intrusive.

But there are moments when I click too soon or too late and the subject notices my presence and looks at me. I usually do not keep those photos, but not always.

…. So, two days ago snow storms passed over the high desert of Arizona. Change in temperature and colour is always a celebration when one lives in the desert. I was enjoying snow fall when a falcon perched on the chimney top of a house more than 50 meters away. I watched it for a few minutes admiring the slim and perfect lines of his contour against the cloudy sky.  The snow fall stopped a few minutes later and the falcon was still perched upon the chimney top.

So I grabbed my Nikon F3, put on my favorite 1960s Nikkor – P 180 mm telephoto, and took a few photos with the lens full open at 2.8.

When I looked at the prints, I noticed that just before taking off the falcon had seen me and that I had captured that look.

So, I thought about moments when the subject of my interest had looked at me, despite my efforts to escape being noticed.

Here are a few:

Falcon looking: This is what I wanted to capture – a profile against the sky.

And this is the cropped frame of that amazing falcon look (with a lot of resolution loss given the age of the lens)!

Notre Dame, Paris: I saw this woman walking in a motion similar to the body language of some statues on the front of the cathedral. I waited till she came in line with the background statues but she did see me….

Sheep say “cheese”:  This domestic animal had a very humanoid face… I wanted to have a perfect angle but it did see me try. Perhaps the look got better because of the curiosity it exhibited toward my medium format classic camera…

Brutus, Baltimore: Yes, that was his name as I heard his master call him. But Brutus had no interest in moving, and even gave me a scolding look when I clicked!

Turkish street dancer, Vienna: Brutus was not the only one with that look when I tried to take a photo!

Siena, Italy: This is perhaps my favorite as it shows cultural attitude. A group of young man was celebrating in the street of this medieval city, and I wanted to get the building and the women on the balcony as background.  But the young men saw me and decided to reciprocate by taking a picture of me taking a picture of them! Then, when I spoke with them, the guy taking the picture told me “It was not a picture of you that I wanted to take, but of that antica camera you are using!”

I took that photo with a 1948 Rolleiflex TLR camera….

January 20, 2017

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2017

People as Statues; Statues as People

It always delights me when, out of the 20,000 readers of my blogs, I receive comments that are streamlined around a topic I recently discussed.

So, after posting an essay about aesthetics and statues, (https://liveingray.blogspot.com/2017/01/aesthetics-that-tell-story-fluidity-of.html) I received a number of emails from Europe and South East Asia where readers were asking why I do not take photos of statues with the same attitude I have when taking photos of people. Namely, why not take photos of status if they tell a “street story”.

It is true that, for the same reasons that I do not take photos of landscapes, I do not take photos of statues. For me they are “predictable”. I know landscape photographers would disagree by noting that with changing light, seasons, foliage, etc there is nothing predictable about landscapes. Yet, as I am trained to take spontaneous photos of people, their postures and actions, I find it difficult to wait a season to pass before I click again.

But, as I thought about the emails I got, I searched for a few photos I have taken of statues or historical edifices.  As I looked at them, I realized that the reason I took these photos was because there were people next to them! In fact, and unconsciously, I was taking photos of people even if the statues were in the frame….
Here is what I mean:

Paris, France. I took this one in 2008 with a 1948 Rolleiflex TLR. It is of course the Arc de Triumph but my instant click was about the posturing of the woman. Could it be a political or social statement?

Belvedere Palace, Vienna, Austria.  These trans-species statues adorn the walkway of the Palace Gardens. Yet, it was the leaning of this man against the statue that caught my attention.

Imperial Garden, Vienna, Austria. The woman in this photo has no face – it seems that her face is a massive telephoto. But her posture next to the baroque statue of cherubs gave me the feel of a new times attitude. In fact, I thought of her as a modern statue!

..So, I have taken photos where statues and edifices were in the frame. But my interest and focus remains on warm-body humans and what they do around or away from these statues.

January 14, 2017
© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2017

Aesthetics that Tell a Story: the Fluidity of Two-Dimensional Optics

I finished reading a book by Hewitt H. Parker titled “The Principles of Aesthetics” where the author discusses the ways in which art finds gracefulness in observing people, their bodies and re-presents them in sculpture. I am not a sculptor but I identified with many of the principles he proposes as these are relevant to photography, especially to street photography where the focus is on people, their behavior and their body language.

Therefore the author’s statement that

“The sculptor has this advantage over all other artists, that his chief subject is the most beautiful thing in the world–the human body. In two ways the body is supremely beautiful: as an expression of mind and as an embodiment of sensuous charm”

may be too restrictive. After all when people are photographed, the artist is celebrating who they are – body, mind and attitude.

But there are many eloquently stated principles of aesthetics in Parker’s book that go beyond sculpture and are truly germane to all artistic expressions where the visual is the mode of communication. For example, a street photographer often tells a story (or perhaps more appropriately captures a moment of a story) he/she has a focal point. Technically, there is one subject, a person, who is emphasized by focusing on that person with the lens. Traditional photographers using manual focus (and film!) cameras, add their technique to the choosing of the story by selectively focusing on a person, blurring the background and surroundings, and deciding on the shades of light that give B&W photos the feel of three-dimensionality.

Parker expresses this situation very well:

“When the charm of the body is the prime object of expression, those actions and poses which exhibit grace and vigor are the ones naturally chosen. This beauty is best revealed in the single figure, because in the group there is usually some dramatic interest which diverts attention from it. The figure is preferably wholly or partially undraped, or when drapery is used, it should reveal the body underneath and possess beauty of line of its own.”

… To illustrate these points, I chose a photos I recently took in Vienna, Austria, from Singapore and one from Washington DC.

Vienna: This is a famous and massive statue at the entrance of the Hofburg palace grounds. I have looked at it at every visit from a different angle and I see something new every time.  So, it does tell a story, perhaps a different one depending on the expectations of the observer.

In this photo I wanted to capture body language, but also wait till I can include symmetry and harmony between the two persons’ posture and the sport cars mural in the museum. I wanted fluid shapes, no rough angles contrasting the restful postures on those on the bench to the suggested speed of the race cars.

Singapore: There is an Armenian Cemetery at the center of the city, and a chapel. The Armenian Community dates back to the 1800s and does not exist anymore. The cemetery is a national heritage site, and at every visit to Singapore I am touched by the gravestones and the beauty of the statues there. This one is my favorite -- it has pain, hope and the undeniable beauty defined as kàllos in Greek. Yet, it is made of sandstone and the tropical weather of Singapore shows the passage of time. But not of beauty.

Washington, DC: Finally, I chose an older photo I had taken of a woman struggling with the lock-chain of a bicycle. It was taken very quickly, so it is off-focus but does seem to have a story. Given the attire of the woman, her bag and sandals, I did not expect her to be navigating in Washington DC on a bicycle.

The aesthetics of the human body in its different forms.

December 7, 2017

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2017