Ernst Haas

Ernst Haas, an Austrian-American photographer, was an innovator in color photography. He was born in Vienna in 1921 and moved to New York City after thirty years. He saw the world in color and expressed that in his photographs. The series “New York in Color” shows Ernst Haas’ passion for color photography and reveals the diversity of New York City. In Haas’ perspective, only color photography can capture the energy and humanity of a city. Thus, all the photographs in the series work with strong colors. In addition, there were also many reflection photographs collected in this series, including reflections through windows and water. Specifically, Ernst Haas’ work with water reflection inspired me a lot. The interesting framing and color in these photos caught my eye at first sight.

Analysis of the photograph

Visual

The focus of this photograph is the reflection of the man and the Twin Towers behind him. The use of backlight created a dark, solid silhouette of the man, contrasting with the blue background and the light-colored buildings in the background. The dominant lines in the image are represented by the buildings and the standing posture of the man, pointing towards the top left corner of the image. At the same time, the water ripples in the center of the picture circle the man’s upper body and highlights the man and the buildings behind him, which are the main objects of this photograph. Additionally, the man’s figure is presented as a 2D shape since it is a silhouette. It contrasts with the repetition of buildings behind it, which is presented as a 3D shape. This contrast adds different layers to the picture, creating a depth of field. Moreover, the negative space on the top of the image balanced the proportion, making the image look less crowded while drawing attention to the main objects. The bottom space of the image—the ice and water—blurred the reflection of the buildings, extending the frame. It also created a rough texture, whereas the middle section—the reflections in the water—is smoother. In addition, the tone of the image is from light to dark as the reflection of the light-colored buildings transitions to the black shadow on the water. The wide tonal range created a strong contrast, giving a strong visual impact to the audience. At last, the man’s raised foot implied that he was walking when Ernst Haas captured this image.

Technical

The image is taken with a slower shutter speed that captures a slight motion blur in the walking man, but it’s enough to prevent the need for a tripod. The picture is captured in daylight while shooting into the sun to create a silhouette of the man. The image shows a wide angle and has a larger aperture that creates a deep depth of field. The photograph has a high white balance because it is taken in daylight and has a blue sky in the frame.

Conceptual

The series Color of New York refreshed people’s opinions on how color photography can look. As one picture from this series, Twin Towers Reflection shows Ernst Haas’ use of colors. The dominant tone of blue in this image adds a sense of calmness. Ernst Haas’ color photography exhibits a unique way of the use of color. His work, including this picture, challenges people’s understanding of color in photography. He proved that color photography could also be artistic and expressive, like black and white photography.

Conclusion

Ernst Haas’s work inspired me to work with water reflection and colors. Water reflection provided a new perspective of things in our world, which is what I want to explore in my photos. In addition, Ernst Haas’ use of color in his image is interesting. He often uses colors to create strong contrasts in his photos. This inspired me to find contrasts between the colors of different objects in my picture to make a better visual impact on the audience.