Harry Chen
Photographer: Elliott Erwitt
Elliot Erwitt was born on July 26, 1928, Paris, France. He is a French-born American photographer and filmmaker known for his humorous and ironic photography. He moved to the United States when he was ten years old and enrolled in Los Angeles City College to study photography and filmmaking. While working as an assistant photographer he got the opportunity to meet well-known photographers like Roy Stryker, Robert Capa and Edward Steichen. He was hired by Stryker to work on a project for Standard Oil Company. This gave him the experience to start his freelancing career, where he worked with Magnum Photos. In 1960, he served as Magnum’s president for three years and later went into film in the 1970s-1980s and produced eighteen comedy films for HBO.
I chose Elliot Erwitt as the photographer to write about because I admire his work and thought his photos were unique. His collection mainly consists of black and white photos which I prefer. I enjoy looking at the high contrast of light and shadows. In his work he incorporates a lot of humor making his photos very fun and entertaining to look at. He also captures photos that are emotive and seems effortless. Erwitt pays a lot of attention to details and the timing of his photos. I felt that he knew how to have fun with photography and wanted to make others smile with his photos.
The photo I chose to write about is Empire State Building. New York City. 1955. While looking through Elliot Erwitt’s gallery of photos this one stood out to me the most. In the photo you can see a woman behind a fence looking through the fog of buildings and the empire state building is the only building that stands out. When I first saw this image, I felt like she was trapped and was yearning for something. As I did my research, I found a quote related to the meaning of the image. “In life’s saddest winter moments, when you’ve been under a cloud for weeks, suddenly a glimpse of something wonderful can change the whole complexion of things, your entire feeling. The kind of photography I like to do, capturing the moments, is very much like that break in the clouds. In a flash, a wonderful picture seems to come out of nowhere.” I felt like I could relate to this quote because during times when I am feeling down, there is always a moment that breaks the bad times and things get better. Elliot uses a contrast of light and dark in the foreground and background to create a sense of depth of field and distance. Erwitt happened to also take this photo during a foggy day in New York City which also helped with giving that sense of distance. He chose to not center the subject and empire state building, making the picture asymmetrical and feel more dynamic. The positioning of the subject also uses the golden ratio, making our eyes drawn to the woman in the photo.
Recent Comments