Introduction

After completing Exercise 5.2, I reviewed some of the photographs from my archive that were taken as an homage to another image.  In considering the context, I have been able to relate to why I chose the shots and how they work as an homage

The images

Shopping Centre shot inspired by Cartier-Bresson’s Hyères, 1932

I found myself waiting on the upper floor of a shopping centre for a short while.  The first thing I noticed was the people moving in and out of an area define by lines created by shadow and structures.  I recalled Cartier-Bresson waiting patiently for people to enter his frame and shot this image in the same style.

Jazz Man, San Francisco 2019 inspired by Joel Meyerowitz

I’ve described previously how Meyerowitz has inspired me over the past few years and whenever I look at what is before me in the street, I think of his pioneering work in colour street photography.  Previously colour was thought of as a distraction but it can be a way of connecting subjects in the frame while not being the main point of the image.  I shot this picture of the busker at a San Francisco Giants baseball game which has orange as part of its uniform.  The busker and the procession of his ‘audience’ are connected in this picture by the colour they share.  I shot Woman Crossing the Street (below) in the same style, observing the balance of the frame and the colours of the roof connecting with the woman’s clothing.

Woman Crossing the Street, San Francisco 2019

San Francisco Light 1, 2019

San Francisco Light 2, 2019

Both photographs San Francisco Light 1 and 2 were shot in homage to Berenice Abbott.  She was famous for her high contrast black and white images of New York, but her observation of light and shadow make her work instantly recognisable.  While walking around San Francisco, it was difficult to miss the beauty of the light as it streamed through the buildings.  Abbott’s use of clean lines to achieve balance in her architectural shots emphasise the scale of the buildings, which was the inspiration for 2.