blog 2

Lee Friedlander was born on July 14, 1934, in Aberdeen, Washington. Friedlander is an American photographer known for his strictly black and white pictures of everyday people, places, and things, this is also known as social landscape. Friedlander started getting into photography when he was just 14 years old. He attended the art center school in Los Angeles for a short time before moving to New York city. Friedlander started off his career by taking photos for Atlantic Records. He then proceeded to continue his photography with popular magazines such as Collier's, McCall's, and Sports Illustrated. 

Friedlander then switched his style to street photography using a 35-mm camera. One of his most famous works is called "1963" or also known as "Revolving Door". In this piece he shows a man and a woman walking through two different revolving doors. He photographed them through a glass door which made the photograph have a reflection. Throughout his career he took the same photos over and over again in the same cities. This lead to Friedlander's trademark.

Specifically, "Revolving Door" stood out to me the most. The way Friedlander was able to capture two people at the same time so still is impressive. The mans face is not clear, but the woman's is, this is also very powerful to me. It almost creates a reflection just as he was trying to from the door. The clear cut capture is so raw, thus meaning it really captures two people beautifully. The contrast of the photo also really stood out to me. They grays, whites, and blacks of the image is so precise, it's pleasing to the eye.

Friedlander was also known very widely for his
self-portraits. He would indirectly insert himself into his photographs, this allowed him to never let the photographer's shadow or reflection interrupt the composition of the photograph. During Friedlander's career he won many awards and was honored by many. I find Friedlander very interesting because he was known for his black and white 35-mm photographs, which is what we are studying in class now. His captures are stunning and prove that black and white 35-mm photographs are just as beautiful and well captured as newer cameras.

By. Bronwen Lewis