Paul Strand (Pre-assignment Biography)

         Paul Strand (1890-1976) was an American photographer who focused mainly in black and white and shaped the way Americans in the modernism age viewed photography. He traveled around the world in the twentieth century to take beautiful pictures that focus on surface detail, shadows, and most importantly; light. He was known for capturing the light in scenes like the city or up close pictures of nature, like leaves and driftwood. His pictures have a lot of interesting shadows and the intense contrast of black and white is what makes his photographs unique. He always puts one abstractly white thing and one abstractly black object in his pictures so the eye is captivated by the photo.
         To do this project successfully, I've researched Paul strand's images and put a few of my favorites below. I think the most important component of this assignment is to catch the light and to do straight-forward photography that when even in black and white you can "see the color". I really enjoy the pictures of driftwood and I plan on trying to capture some images of driftwood up close so you can see the unique designs and patterns. I don't want to constrain myself to one thing though, I also want to explore taking pictures of buildings and people. Hopefully some of my pictures will come out resembling those of Paul Strand's.