Saul Leiter’s photographs are of the rhythms that lie within the delicacy of the everyday, his vision, as decisive, as his colours, fluid. Raj Lalwani looks back.
Words elude when one tries to piece together the work of Saul Leiter, for his photographs are much like a mirage, like visual apparitions that tease, but don’t tell. His photos elude in the fact that they allude, in that they, in their use of dreamy colour and suggested subject matter, are a lot like free verse, reminding us of the familiar in unimaginably unfamiliar ways.
His genius is that he eludes, that one cannot pin him down. Colourist, sensualist, romanticist. Paintings, photographs. Painterly photographs. Painted-on photographs. But like all great pioneers, Degas, Vuillard, Matisse and Bonnard being his own heroes, Saul Leiter was someone who relentlessly continued to wander on the peripheries of tradition, to find his own path.
A subject walks into the frame, much like the keys coming in, in a jazz song. Just that the subject isn’t really the subject, as it fuses itself amidst a series of intersecting visual planes. Light passes through glass, and water runs over, the initial subject breaking itself into multiple reflections, each presenting a distorted view. Like a musician experiencing an inspired spell of genius, improvising upon the original melody. Leiter’s photos are often about interplay, where the elements entwine into seamlessness. Like a bunch of musicians, each one on their own trip, coming together in a melange of play, of conflict and compromise, construct and confluence. Like jazz.
Denne historien er fra February 2017-utgaven av Better Photography.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra February 2017-utgaven av Better Photography.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Nikon Unveils Its Compact Super Telephoto Lens
Nike ikon revealed a lens for the full frames line-up-the Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S. It is roughly 48% lighter and 16% shorter than its F-mount, weighing in at 2385g and measuring 5.6in x 15.2in.
OnePlus 10 Pro 5G A Versatile Performer
Will the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G surpass its predecessor, the 9 Pro 5G? Nilofer Khan finds out.
One Nation Indivisible
Dorothea Lange is best known for the work she carried out for the Farm Security Administration, the Migrant Mother being one of the most iconic portraits to have come out of the Great Depression in the 1930s.
Debdatta Chakraborty Wins Pink Lady Food Awards 2022
The Pink Lady Food Photographer Year recently concluded its eleventh edition of the contest.
GoPro Unveils the Lightweight Hero10 Black Bones
Gilbert oPro's latest addition to their line-up is Hero 10 Black Bones, a lightweight camera built to be mounted on FPV drones.
Camera Breakdown of the World Press Photo Winners
For those who are keen to know the cameras award-winning photojournalists use, Photolari and The Phoblographer have shared a breakdown of their list.
Canon Launches Cinema Excellence Suite
Саnon India announced the Cinema Excellence Suite, a unique platform to showcase its range of cinema imaging technology to cinematographers, DOPs, filmmakers, and production houses in Mumbai.
Sony World Photography Awards Unveils its Winners
Sony World Photography Awards 2022 recently concluded its 16th edition. The grand title winner is Adam Ferguson from Australia for Migrantes, a series of black and white self-portraits of migrants in Mexico, taken as they waited to cross the border into the United States. He will be bestowed with a cash prize of USD 25,000 (approx. Rs. 19,13,082).
Photojournalist Dirck Halstead Passes Away
Colie elebrated American photojournalist pivotal moments in U.S history, passed away at the age of 85, on 25 March.
Photomontage Pioneer Jerry Uelsmann Passes Away
Jenaerry Uelsmann, a surrealist photographer and photomontage pioneer passed away on 4 April, at the age of 87.