Winogrand

That was worth watching. I'm fascinated by his mannerisms - he had this neat trick of bringing the camera up to his eye and instantly snapping the shot, then whipping the camera up and away as if he had changed his mind about taking the shot.
 
He's probably the quintessential street shooter....but...I think that a photograph can be narrative.

Subject for a deep psych thread?

Regards!
Don
 
Thanks for that link Ash. Ive never seen him at work or heard him speak before. Anyone else notice he doesnt seem to have a camera strap?
 
Thanks for posting that, it was great to see. I love his work, and seeing him in action is inspiring. It appears almost effortless to him. Also, I've never wanted an M so badly. It's practically invisible in his hand.
 
Ash, you're my hero. Thanks for finding and posting this!

edit: linked it to my blog too.
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Excellent! Excellent!

He was a god, I like his philosophy, so much more humble than alot of the modern day ilk.

Todd
 
He sure took some interesting photos with a pre-asph canon lens. ;) His book 'The Animals' has always made me chuckle and smile.
 
ChrisN said:
That was worth watching. I'm fascinated by his mannerisms - he had this neat trick of bringing the camera up to his eye and instantly snapping the shot, then whipping the camera up and away as if he had changed his mind about taking the shot.
Click to expand...

I read a Meyerowitz interview (I think in Winogrand's Figments ' ) book, and he described that mannerism, so it was neat to see. Also of note, he's left-eyed.


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Thanks Ash, great video. I saw it with my girlfriend the other day (somebody posted a different link to the same video) and we both chuckled when we saw his mannerism. You could see though it worked, he took a few photos of crossing pedestrians point blank, and they weren't sure, they were looking at each other in disbelief ('What the?...did he? didn't he?').

The way he took photos also explains his choice of wide-angle lens. Hyperfocal at f11-16 under the strong Californian sunlight, and shooting at close range. It made me wonder if I need a 28mm lens after all. (why does everything have to lead to GAS :bang: )

I also liked him a lot as a person, he seemed easygoing and fun ('mad scientist' is what my girlfriend said he looked like) and his commentary on his own work was very interesting, but this was a person who obviously preferred to do photography rather than talk about it. His behaviourist philosophy about photos capturing the surface of reality, (which, according to him, is all there is to it) or about them not having a narrative but only a straightforward descriptive, ostentive function was also very revealing about the man. And the bit I agree most with him is that you really cannot outdo the theatricality that people provide for you in their everyday lives.

It was certainly educational, even a little rivetting to watch him at work - and I can tell you, the day I watched it, I went out to shoot with a slightly different mentality.
 
Don't thank me, thank the guy who owns the blog. He's a member on LFPF, so I stole the link from his post about it.

Thought you all might like it.

In all honesty when I'm shooting, I shoot a lot like winogrand, but with less chatter about it. Often focus and take the shot or move the camera to some angle (but not so tilted.. well except for Gun Shop shot!) to catch people without them reacting.

But hey, Wino is the hero, I'm just Ash ;)
 
"Anyone else notice he doesnt seem to have a camera strap?"
Aha, I watched it again after reading your comment and you are partly right. The first time we see him out on the street he has an M4 with a thin brown leather strap around his neck, which I didn't notice first time around. When we see him out on the street the second time he must be using another M4 as it does indeed not have a strap. all the same his "camera action" is pretty fluid.
 
I too found this video fascinating. I decided the external 28mm finder really helped him be quick.

I also liked the sort of crazy answer he gave ("Just trying to survive") to somebody who challenged him ("What's up? What's up?). This strategy is brilliant (unless the questioner is with law enforcement).

willie
 
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