Moriyama-san taking pictures in Tokyo

There's so much that's great about this video of Daido Moriyama walking around Tokyo at night, snapping pictures. Note, it's 8 minutes long, and there's no sound. The best stuff happens at the 5 minute mark, although the whole video is worth watching, except the end where it shows him developing and printing.

Stuff I like in particular:

- snapping pictures with the camera away from his face

- at 5:15, taking a picture of a dude who looks a little bit surprised/bemused, then striding right past him without looking at him at all

- shortly after that, taking pictures of people while holding the camera at his side and looking completely the other way

- his generally calm demeanor

- the approach here seems to be not much more than, let me walk around and take pictures of interesting stuff. i'm down with that
- where's the flash?

[via Photohemorrhage]

Strangers

Below you will find three simple videos which show three different photographers at work: Garry Winogrand, Bruce Gilden and John Chiara.

Gilden is almost aggressive in his behavior—leaping out in front of startled New Yorkers and blasting a huge flash in their face. His hard-bitten reaction ("I didn't know you own the street!") when someone complains to him is comical in that particular offended-New Yorker way, but also instructive: at some level, he seems genuinely surprised that anyone would question his behavior.

For another "street" shooter (that word will always have to appear in quotes) Winogrand is more subtle in his behavior. Even so, he appears out of place wandering around the streets of Los Angeles, snapping away at bemused pedestrians.

Chiara is notable for his dedication to an obviously impractical process for creating images—he uses a gigantic self-built camera which he has to tow behind him.

The "reality" of any photograph is an open question—Winogrand has some insight here—but the bodily reality of these photographers cannot be denied. They were all "really there" making these images. It is striking to see the basic strangeness of this activity. It would not be surprising to hear a casual observer label these people as "crazy," albeit in the un-serious sense. The things they do to impose themselves on their subjects are not "normal." But there's an internal consistency to all three, and when a method produces high-level work—WINOGRAND, all caps—it's beyond any questioning.

Winogrand:

Gilden:

Chiara:

"This is photography after all, it’s not rocket science!"

Here's a video put together by the Oakland Tribune about Bill Owens. You can read the full article here.

I can remember seeing some of his "Suburbia" images at the Met a number of years ago. The one that really struck me is the Fourth of July snap, which you can see here in just a couple of clicks. Bill Owens is a Bay Area local—the "Suburbia" images all come from Livermore, where he was living. This video and this interview should give you a good idea of the person behind the photos.

From HAMBURGER EYES!!