Galina Karasoy - Weekly post #5

Alex Webb

He is a Magnum photographer , who uses strong colors, emotions and light to create complex images. This project is named “The Suffering of Light” and it consists sequence of different scenes but each one of them is intriguing and unique. Webb explores background, mid-ground and foreground simultaneously. Depth of his works invites viewer into the frame to discover subject matter. It carefully leads you through every layer, into photographs and out of them. He also experiments with points of view, different subject matter and motion.

The first image is taken from perspective that is not traditional. We see kids on the playground and some of them is taken only half way, just enough to understand emotion or mood of the scene. Image of the young boy on the foreground has creative approach to it – we are not able to learn his facial features but we still can see his scaled full silhouette on the back. The light plays significant role in the scene emphasizing on the kid swinging upside down, but putting in the shade the rest on the group. It also creates dramatic silhouettes of a playground elements and human figures altogether.

The second image is very complex and more resemble a puzzle than just a capture of people because of “the suffering of light”. It questions a lot in the same time: is this the shade on people in front or somebody’s else? Is it the shade at all or just somebody is staying in the dark spot? In the first second when we look at the photograph, girl at the front seem to be the same girl in the darkness; then after looking at it longer she probably seems to be grown up young woman not a kid. The shadow, if it is shadow at all, establishes completely opposite sad feelings than happily smiling people up front. So the same only one image builds miscellaneous impressions and unsolved mysteries that are emphasized by person who hides his face.

The third photograph is just repetitive complexity that Webb manages to create in his works. Background recalls war awareness by letting two solders with the guns in the scene. However, in the same time mirror reflection reminds us of relatively peaceful and simple civil life and nature itself. The subject of the image is seemed to be extremely thought all the way through and it appears to be just a successful capture of the moment.

Looking at many different projects of Alex Webb I definitely can say that I am in love with his masterpieces. He controls every scene even though it is almost impossible to control it. It is actually hard to find the right setting and push the shutter in the right moment because even according to my own experience, street photography it is 99% of failure. Nevertheless, Webb’s photographs perfectly combine “rightness” of it all.