I like it when it is not certain what one sees. When we do not know why the photographer has taken a picture and when we do not know why we are looking at it. All of a sudden, we discover something that we are seeing. I like this confusion.
Saul Leiter
Saul Leiter is one of the iconic photographers of the mid-twentieth century. He was a photographer and a painter. His innate sense of curiosity made him a student of arts of all kinds. Here is a link to The Saul Leiter Foundation. Coming into photography recently, I have uncovered his style of photography. I have used it and for the most part I am really happy. I have been able to use the world around me to communicate a story through an image.
There are two techniques that he uses: layering and the use of anchors. Let me explain.
Layering is when he positioned elements between the camera and the subject to create a composition that is a coherent mess with a story. Layers can obscure or distort a subject but they can also create depth through sub framing. He generally shot on longer lenses, which compresses the view, making it easier to fit several overlapping layers into one frame. He inserts foreground elements to create negative space and adds flat areas of colour.
Below are photographs I took to illustrate this idea.
Bicycle In The Garden. The image is itself a reflection off the window of my balcony door. The foreground is the white door that creates our negative space. The next layer is the dark green balcony rails. And lastly our bicycle, which is in focus.
Mundane. The image tries to create negative space with foreground elements that are out of focus and shot as halves. Both the plant and the woman are the foreground negative space. Then our eyes are guided to the centre by flat areas of colour, in our case the white walls. Lastly, the room with a towel hanging from a line looks to be a laundry room.
The next technique is equally powerful, maybe more. The use of anchors. Anchors are the recognisable elements in the image that help you make sense of what you are seeing. The anchor, or subject, is often close to the side of the image. And for a bonus, Saul Leiter liked to shoot saturated reds and yellows. For my next hand in, I think I nailed it.
Highway. The anchor in this photograph is the number plate captured. The saturated reds and yellows are in this composition. This was a lucky photograph and it came out so well. At night with less light, if you use a longer lens it takes time to focus, and this allows for the long streaks of light. I have an 18-300mm lens and the image was shot at 39mm. If I were to use a shorter lens like an 18-45mm, this would not have been possible.
Lastly. I know in the title I said abstract street photography, but I'm mostly indoors on weekdays and I can't be walking on the streets of Nairobi with a camera guys :)