Harry Callahan was born in October of 1912 and passed in March of 1999. He lived most of early life in Detroit, Michigan. During his mid-twenties Harry Callahan began teaching himself photography. At first it was a hobby, but after hearing speech made by Ansel Adams Callahan took photography more seriously and built a career out of it. Callahan is most famous for his still life shots of people in the streets. He discreetly took them while pretending to be a pedestrian himself and captured the true feelings/ emotions of the people in downtown Detroit. Each photograph was taken quickly, as Callahan attempted to remain covert. In order to catch a clear image while in motion, his shutter speed had to be rapid. If you can, imagine a photograph taken of a basketball player mid-stride. Chances are he was probably sprinting down the court and yet every detail about him is as clear as can be. That’s because sport photographers use rapid shutter speeds to stop time, which is exactly what Harry Callahan did. Another technique he used was a “hip-shot.” Now that’s not to say that he only ever took images from waist level, but rather he didn’t always look into the camera to see what he was going to capture. I think it is amazing that he was so successful in capturing these images. Hip-shots are unpredictable, you never know what you have until you go back and review. I can only imagine how many images he discarded, because there was nothing on them. I imagine at times he was frustrated with what he either did or didn’t capture.
“Women Lost in Thought” is a particular exhibition that I am drawn to. These images capture the real expressions women make daily and portrays feelings we’ve all known before. One particular image that stood out to me is Untitled (#12), 1950. The women’s expression in this image is how I imagine I look when walking down the street. She looks so angry, but in truth her face is most likely relaxed. Also her head is held high and her shoulders held back; she is full of confidence, as she should be. She is a beautiful and independent woman, something many people today aspire to be.
“Women Lost in Thought” is a particular exhibition that I am drawn to. These images capture the real expressions women make daily and portrays feelings we’ve all known before. One particular image that stood out to me is Untitled (#12), 1950. The women’s expression in this image is how I imagine I look when walking down the street. She looks so angry, but in truth her face is most likely relaxed. Also her head is held high and her shoulders held back; she is full of confidence, as she should be. She is a beautiful and independent woman, something many people today aspire to be.