Lee Friedlander

Lee Friedlander was born on July 14th, 1934 in Aberdeen Washington. He has been married to his wife, Maria DePaoli since 1958. Friedlander has currently has art showing in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

This photo is from a set called "Lee Friedlander’s Intimate Portraits of his Wife, Through Sixty Years of Marriage." This picture is of Maria in 1959. I admire the concept that Friedlander would want to capture his relationship throughout the years in images that he could later go back through and reminisce. I like the photo itself for several reasons, one of which is that the dress DePaoli is wearing dates the image to the time period. This is not a style that would be worn in more modern days. I also like the unique usage of framing.  DePaoli is framed by the open part of the window while the rest of the window is foggy, making her face (and the background of another building behind it) the focus of the photo. The scraggly plants and long windows give the image a tired look along with the lack of color. Overall, I think that this photo and the rest in the set are a beautiful time capsule of their lives together.

Michael Kenna

Michael Kenna is currently 66 years old and was born on November 20th, 1953 in Widnes, United Kingdom.

I like this picture because of the dreariness that is typically not seen in a playground. Playgrounds are typically associated with lively children and happy memories of childhood. This picture causes the viewer to stop and take a deeper look because of the abnormal darkness where there should be joy and light. A setting that is specifically built for children is a strange place to have a feeling of discomfort and abandonment, which is what this picture leaves you feeling. I think that this photographer is skilled, because not all photos can leave the viewer feeling, but--in my opinion. this photo does exactly that. It leaves you questioning what happened that made it so that the park was so abandoned. I like the disproportionate lighting because it highlights the swing-set and makes the trees look very dark. This draws the eye to the fact that this playground is not in use.