Birmingham

St Martins Church - Birmingham

Busy old day. Went over to Birmingham to see the Emergence photography exhibition (Will give a full report in another post). Whilst in Birmingham I took the opportunity to get in some city landscapes etc. Had a great time but I do seem to be drawn to the dark sombre image (again I can feel the influence of W Eugene Smith). I don't feel this in other cities - perhaps there is something about Birmingham that brings this out in me. If you want to see more of these photographs click here.

Just the slightest touch of W Eugene Smith

Apart from the Obama exhibition I did chance to make a few photographs.   This one it seems to me has just a hint of W. Eugene Smith about it.   I have been examining his mammoth work on the US city of Pittsburgh over the past few weeks and this seems to have influenced me just a little here.

W Eugene Smith

I have looked at this photograph over and over again for many years.  The mother's love is moving when compared to the stark background and expression of the young child.   Similar photographs have formed part of my formative photographic education.  What I didn't know, and I should have, was that it, and many others, was made by W Eugene Smith.

I grew up on a diet of Life magazine and this is where I first encountered Smith's work.   His bold photographs seemed almost impossible to take less replicate.   This is still so.  Only recently have I become aware of how much Smith's work has influenced my life.   The reason for this revelation is that I am now researching photography in much greater detail and Smith's imagery is becoming a recurring theme. 

There are many words that could be written about smith but I still feel this somewhat misses the point.   It is the power of photograph that is far more eloquent than any word can ever be.   It really is the case that a picture is worth a thousand words.  In Smith's case many times a thousand.