Peter Conquet Mirrors and Windows

Crewdson’s photo of a family outside their home gives off an uneasy emotion right away. The three subjects all have different facial expressions and create a mood for the photo without any real content that suggest anything. Winogrand’s photo of children playing in the driveway is a more relaxed feel and lets you see through a perspective that might not be your own. It creates a scene that is refreshing and you almost feel as if you are there. That is the exact opposite of what Crewdson’s picture makes you feel when you look at it. With Crewdson you feel as if you want to look away because of the content that is shown, but at the same time you want to look closer to try and find a visual clue as to what is going on in the photograph. Also both photos seem to be of a scene in a small town but give off completely different feels. Both Crewdson and Winogrand use different photographic styles to create a feel for each of their photographs. Crewdson uses unnatural light to create the focal point of his photograph. The half naked girl’s back has light shined on it, even though the car is facing her front side with the lights on. Also it is night time and dark everywhere in the image except for the three subjects of the image. This sort of forces your eye to look where Crewson wants you to and stops you from looking else where in the photograph. Winogrand on the other hand uses natural light to create a beautiful contrast between light and dark. With the natural light he still creates a focal point which is the baby who is dressed in all white. Your eye is drawn naturally to the baby because of the intense contrast of the baby with the garage shadow. Crewdson’s photo is a mirror because of the instant emotion it creates. It makes you think what was the photographer thinking of when he was taking this, and what is the message that we should get from this photograph. Winogrand’s photo is a window because it is letting us see through someone else’s perspective. We are getting a glimpse through their eyes as to what everyday life is to them.

2 thoughts on “Peter Conquet Mirrors and Windows

  1. rmichals

    You describe the photos well. Mirrors and windows are on a spectrum. Crewdson’s image is also a mirror because the photo is entirely planned. It is a vision created by the photographer. Winogrand did not set his image up. He found it.

    Reply
  2. rmichals

    You describe the photos well. Mirrors and windows are on a spectrum. Crewdson’s image is also a mirror because the photo is entirely planned. It is a vision created by the photographer. Winogrand did not set his image up. He found it.

    Reply

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