by “You have to be quick, as a photographer. You have to– not to be noticed too much. For that image <see below> I had to pretend that I photographed something else; you just couldn’t show your camera.”
R. Frank
Robert Frank has reinvented street photography. Was he talented? Yes for sure. But when you listen to him, it was also a matter of hard work -taking photos all day long- and agility -you have to be quick and invisible. Not a surprise that the book The Americans, which was first published in the U.S. in 1959, featured an intro by Jack Kerouac. Not only Frank’s images challenged the era’s notion of fine art and documentary photography, shifting the focus from celebrity and idealized figures to focus on everyday people, but he also changed the way to think and take pictures; unconventional composition, blurry subjects, etc. He gave us a new alphabet, now used by thousands of talented photographers.
“Well, maybe photography is that way, you know? The longer you work on it, the more likely you get good pictures!”
R. Frank
Robert Frank interviews are always too short. I could listen to him for hours. In that 4 min. video, you get the essence of his art & you discover the mindset that led to …. The Americans.
Thanks @SFMOMA for sharing this video. There is a lot more to discover on their Youtube account
“You have to be quick and you have to have the camera with you all the time, ready to– to shoot. That’s how you can get a picture like that.” <see below>
R. Frank
