Sarah Hinzman : October 2016

Friday, October 21, 2016

Valerie Jardin

For the emulation project, I have chosen the French street photographer Valerie Jardin. She is currently photographing street life in many different cities, and she works primarily in film. Most of her photography is black and white, but she occasionally shoots in color as well. Jardin's work stands out to me as different from most street photographers style. Many modern street photgraphers focus on the gritty aspects of street life, with an almost journalistic portrayal of the difficulties, joys, and realities of run down inner city areas. Although I love this style of street photography, Jardin's style intrigued me because of it's simplicity and varied subjects, from elderly couples to business men. Jardin's ability to turn the mundane into beautiful compositions is the first thing I noticed about her work. Her subjects are not typically dramatic, unusual, or particularly note worthy, but her ability to capture and isolate everyday moments into beautiful compositions makes the viewer feel as though these events and individuals she photographs are outstanding in some way.
For my emulation of Jardin's style, I want to focus on her ability to capture genuine moments in eye catching compositions. Jardin photographs primarily strangers, and sometimes she does it discretely, but other times she captures the eye contact and expression of a stranger she is photographing, which makes the portrait that much more fascinating. On her website she has a project titled "The Beautiful Smiles of Strangers," in which her subjects seem to be genuinely happy to have their photo taken. I hope to incorporate candid moments in my emulation project, but also interactive moments between the subject and myself when I am taking the photo. I hope to emulate Jardin's attention to composition, genuine but simple subject matter, and connection to subjects.