Below are six photos that show Lee Friedlander’s style in photography:

Lee Friedlander is a renowned American photographer who was active in the mid-1900s. He was born on July 14, 1934, and started taking city photos in 1948. Focusing mostly on the urban landscape, Friedlander has “an ability to organize a vast amount of visual information in dynamic compositions, [allowing him to make] humorous and poignant images among the chaos of city life, dense natural landscape, and countless other subjects.” (Fraenkel Gallery). Friedlander chose to take photos of the urban landscape because he was born in an urban area, allowing him to have insight into the environment from a young age and grow with a personal attachment to things within the environment.

I will analyze the photo below:

The photo depicts a view of the urban landscape from the interior of a car. The entire photo shows the landscape through a first-person perspective. Most of the photo is shown directly in front of the photographer, but a section is shown through a mirror behind the photographer. The reflected portion of the photograph shows a metal bridge with people walking on it. These people are apparently the only live subjects in the photo. Aside from the mirrored section, the scenery directly in front of the camera can be divided into sections. The division between these sections is very distinct because there is a thick car frame in the middle. The larger section on the left depicts tall buildings and architecture. The smaller section on the right depicts an intersection of a street with moving cars and a bridge overhead. There is a contrast between these sections. The section on the left suggests a thoroughly developed urban landscape, while the section on the right suggests a less developed urban area—the changes in the viewpoint intrigue the audience. When looking at this photo, my attention is directed to the left section as the general tone of the image is brighter and more appealing. There are distinct lines within the parameters of the photo. Aforementioned, there is a thick car frame in the middle right of the photo. In addition, the two distinct sections of the photos are framed by the windows of the car. The traffic light poles in the foreground and background are lines that serve to make the photo look more cluttered, emphasizing the bustling atmosphere of the city. Friedlander uses the concept of space to add additional depth to the photo. He captures the interior of the car to enforce a first-person perspective. It encapsulates the audience within the photo and makes them feel as if they are in the photo themselves. As a result, they can see what Friedlander sees. Overall, Friedlander uses the techniques of perspective, reflection, division, contrast, line, and space to make the audience feel as if they are immersed within the frame of this photo. I will make use of these techniques within my own photos to achieve similar effects.