One thing I wish I had done is select images and write about them before and after reading about Eggleston. Not that I haven't thought about his work before, but I just think it would have been fun to do. One thing I love about Eggleston is that he doesn't seem to give a shit whether people think is work is good or not. It is, to him, the exact subject matter that he believes he should be shooting, and hasn't changed that. In the reading, my favorite line was that he prides himself for never having done a push-up. Look at this hipster.
This picture is of sunlight. I When I look at this image I laugh a little bit. For years my family used to go to Assateague every summer and there was this bath house, which could very well be what I'm looking at, and I always felt like a goon for wanting to take a picture of the sun coming through the walkway. Leave it to Eggleston to not give a shit :) I don't think this image would be NEARLY as beautiful in black and white. This was supposed to be in color. The white walls looking yellow from the sun and the rusty sinks looking red...this needs to be exactly the way it is. I think the color here is beautiful, and a perfect example of what certain lighting will do to colors. I feel like these walls weren't nearly as yellow as they look, but the morning sun makes them change. Probably at some other point in the day they'll be blueish. I like that. I like feeling like it's morning.
I love this photograph. Always always always. It's so vintage it's not even funny. I feel like this is a photograph most people would accidentally take and throw away with the rest of them. What's important is that Eggleston knows what HE wants. He shoots with intention. I'd love to see his discard pile. The color use is gorgeous, and I love it even more because of the flash shadow at the bottom. The blacks are perfect which doesn't always seem to happen in grainy images. The top left corner might be my favorite. This guy always makes me second guess myself. When I first saw it I was kind of mad that it was there, that little bit of quilt. WHY did he not crop this out. Well, because it's what he saw. And it works for him. And the itty bitty hint of blue in this image makes the browns look so much better. This image would work fine in black and white, but it wouldn't be the same image. Again, this needs to be in color.
This last image....oh my goodness. Really? Okay so this guy managed to put this beautiful red, with this bright blue. That's obvious. But look at this pale purple with the pale countertop, and the stool, and the napkin. And the pinks in the shelf. I could never take pictures of "stuff" the way Eggleston does. For some reason, shooting objects has never interested me when I'm holding my camera. But looking at his work is completely different. He makes it so perfect. This image...would totally work in black and white. I'm sure it would be pretty darn good still. The thing about Eggleston is that he started in black and white, when composition and light was so key. Turning this into black and white, and maybe taking the exposure down a tad (since he's brightening it for color anyway), this image would still be wonderful.
