Ideas/Research

Idea Artist Research
I want to look at a few street photographers for inspiration and research purposes as this is the direction I want to take my project.

Bruce Gilden

Bruce Gilden is well known for his photographs of strong characters and individual peculiarities. I think this is relevant to my project as this is what I want to capture from the people of Hulme. He has an interesting approach to taking these images. He searches for a 'character' on the street, walks up to them and fires the flash in their face which, more often than not, startles them. This produces some very interesting photographs, aswell as at times humourous. The use of flash also highlights the figure from the background, which is again emphasised by the stark black and white photography. The main focus of these images are obviously the 'characters' which is Gilden's aim. Although I love these photographs, I think Gilden's technique would be hard to do. Apart from the fact I would be too nervous to startle strangers in the street, I would also have to think about their feelings and if they wanted their photo taken in the first place.