Masters of Photography: Saul Leiter

Saul Leiter's 1970 "Snow"

There is something bold about an artist who eschews established conventions, who tosses out the rules, and forges on with their own vision. Now, this can done be clumsily and poorly, or it can be done with a masterful touch by an artist who then adds something new to the canon of their craft and is remembered on, sometimes even after they themselves are gone. 

In photography, there are a number of rules upon which many of us have long hung our work: the rule of thirds, framing, the exposure triangle, etc. However, there are some photographers who boldly challenge these accepted conventions, and do it perfectly. 

One such artist was American photographer Saul Leiter.

Saul Leiter was a master of color street photography whose most prominent work (during the 50s-70s) came at a time when most others were focused on Black and White. Color photography was considered a lesser form, yet he didn't let this hold him back. Nor did he let any other standard "rules" of photography constrain him. His subjects were often taken through blurry, rain-covered windows, or stuffed far in a corner. Huge swaths of negative space sometimes filled his canvas. He gravitated towards abstract images that often featured reflections layered on top of each other with tiny anchors, sometimes in far corners of the image, that managed to pull together an otherwise disorienting scene. Viewing his work gave me knew ideas about what boundaries can be pushed in photography and I have been eager to take some of his concepts and play around with them for myself.

Here is a small sample of some of Leitner's famous works:

With these ideas in mind, I took to the streets with the plan of documenting life in Alaska and other parts of the American West. I took interest in reflections in windows, and the abstract depth they can create. While I am no Saul Leiter, and of course still have much to learn about Street Photography and photography in general, I enjoyed the challenge and what it could teach me about the craft.

Here is a sample of Saul Leitner inspired images of my own:

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Four Photographers Who Inspire Me (Trent Parke, Fan Ho, Todd Hido & Alexey Titarenko)

Multi-exposure street photography

Four photographers that inspire me to branch out from landscape photography are Trent Parke, Fan Ho, Alexey Titarenko and Todd Hido. Trent Parke's work, The Black Rose, gave me the idea to undertake my own street photography and art photography project that tells the human story of Alaska, not just about the natural beauty but the people who live in and visit it.

Fan Ho's incredible black and white photography helped me to start looking for contrasts, shapes and shadows.

Alexey Titarenko's work, City of Shadows, inspired me to take long exposures of groups of people or things that people were driving.

Todd Hido's moody work using liminal spaces and atmosphere and mood were crucial in helping me envision a new type of possibility in urban and landscape photography.

Join me as I examine the work of these four incredible photographers and try to imitate and apply their styles, twisting their ideas into my own and using them as a jump off point to create something new.

Watch the video here:

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Visit THE ARCHIVE: A list of most of my articles and posts sorted by category

Copyright notice: This website and all its contents are the intellectual property of Brian Wright Photography. None of the content can be used or reproduced without expressed written approval.
For information about how to contact us, visit this link

Street Photography in Anchorage, Alaska (Video)

In this episode I travel to the "big city" of Anchorage, Alaska to run some errands. But while I'm there, I might as well try to channel my inner Alex Webb and attempt some street photography and cityscape photography, two styles of photography which I am not very experienced at. I start off near the Atwood Theatre, meander through some of the some in the downtown area, frame up the Captain Cook Hotel, and try to find any other thing I can that looks interesting to point my Nikon D810 camera at. Also, while I'm downtown, I check out a local photography shop and purchase a 80-400mm telephoto lens and on the way home stop at Turnagain Pass along the Seward Highway to test it out.

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Visit THE ARCHIVE: A list of most of my articles and posts sorted by category

Copyright notice: This website and all its contents are the intellectual property of Brian Wright Photography. None of the content can be used or reproduced without expressed written approval.
For information about how to contact us, visit this link

Photography in Colorado's Roaring Fork Valley (Video)

In this episode my Spring tour of the Southwest continues. I visit Glenwood Springs and Carbondale, Colorado. Without a car or my full photography setup, I do my best to capture some landscape photography and street photography in Glenwood Springs and Carbondale, Colorado. I check out the Colorado River, Roaring Fork River, downtown Glenwood Springs, Doc Holliday Tavern, and the historic Hotel Colorado. Ultimately I captured some macro, street, landscape, Pep Ventosa-style multiexposure, and timelapse images that I was modestly happy with.

Subscribing to my YouTube channel costs you nothing and helps me out a lot. No need to even leave this page to do it, just click here:

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Visit THE ARCHIVE: A list of most of my articles and posts sorted by category

Copyright notice: This website and all its contents are the intellectual property of Brian Wright Photography. None of the content can be used or reproduced without expressed written approval.
For information about how to contact us, visit this link