Daido Moriyama’s, Light and Shadow: On the Road (Boots), 1981
https://www.moriyamadaido.com/en/photogallery/#1804-3
Light and Shadow
Daido Moriyama’s Light and Shadow: On the Road (Boots), 1981 showcases a highly grainy close up image of a pair of biker engineer boots. The boots sit alone– sort of crusted over by mud– framed by the curb behind it. Being entirely in black and white there is an interesting battle in light and dark in the composition. The background of the boots looks almost overexposed; it is completely overwhelmed by whites. The right hand side is so intensely white it drowns out the actual features the camera is able to capture. Meanwhile, the boots have a sort of nebulous void to its shafts, where the shape of the boots becomes severely hidden by the darkness. The rest of the boots use light to highlight its character. The creases and mud stains reveal a striking patina across the leather. White it's hard to gather much from the image contextually, I would assume it's a sort of attempt to capture the gritty lifestyle of biker/punk groups in Japan. One very rarely sees these style boots in other contexts. As the photo is able to capture a bit of the background behind the shoes I assume Daido is using something along the lines of a traditional 35mm to his more notorious 28mm. There is a certain depth to the scene one wouldn’t get with a higher millimeter lens. Recreating the photo was a bit of an interesting experiment in Lightroom. My girlfriend was kind enough to lend me her engineer boots, which I shot in the rain. Unfortunately, they do not have the muddy appearance of the one’s Moriyama shot, but I still tried my best. While Moriyama shot on film I attempted to recreate the look using my iPhone instead. Following shooting I utilized Lightroom to enhance the blacks and shadows. I also tried to add in a graininess to provide a more filmy look, but I would have much preferred using regular film. As always, the iPhone can never quite match film, which is why I always return to it. I believe that Moriyama’s composition also featured more natural light, while mine was lit by an entirely gray sky. Lastly, I do not think we had the same lens size as his image had a slightly different perspective than mine, where his foreground was mostly flat yet it also captured the depth of the background.
Since class I have started brainstorming further the way I want to visually connect my photography series. If I continue along the lines of the original theme I would like to just utilize sites along Tower Hill and City Wall. Monday, I surveyed sites along City Wall and shot them on my iPhone, which I then edited in Lightroom. I feel like this project will ultimately look best on 35mm black and white if I can continue it. While the original theme seemed broad, I specifically think I can curate a selection based on this contrast of old versus new in the city. Based on my test images, I need to find a way to visually connect them more, not just in color, but a way that will both emphasize the contrast and connection between each image. I think this will likely be done with some sort of experimentation in shape, but I need to experiment with different angles.