I believe that Szarkowskiâs Mirrors and Windows thesis is based on comparing your life to someone else’s. The mirror is just a reflection of who you are and or who you are trying to become. It’s like an inside view on the way that you view the world. I also see it as being a creative individual. Windows are the opposite, it displays the way that the world sees you. Broadcasting what is the norm. Showing what is expected based on what we have come to accept in society today.
In the Crewdson image, i see this one as a mirror, because its something that you don’t see very often. The mother is proof of that because she in a state of either shock or disgust thanks to the grocery bag on the floor next to her. This image has a High Contrast thanks to it being taken at night time. Its sharp overall with very light depth of field. It is has a heavier balance than the other photo thanks to the suburban background. The subject is also side lit from the way the car lights and the street light shine on her.
In Winogrand image, i see this as a window because this is what most people except to see in a normal middle class family. Nothing here is out of the ordinary its basic in a way. This photo has full scale tone and contrast in the background and also in the garage. It is also soft focus because the whole image isn’t sharp. The child has direct light shining on her thats why she pops out of the garage while the boy in the back has directional diffused light on him.
Good complete answer. A mirror is more personal than a window. A window is more about society than the individual. As for the Crewdson, it is an image of something that you don;t see very often or would never see? and as for the Winogrand, the scene is “normal.” it is primarily the sharp contrast of the light and the sense of the house being isolated that make it a statement.