I really enjoyed looking at the photographs by Louis Faurer. What I liked the most from Faurer’s photos is that he uses light and white space really effectively to create figure-ground ambiguity in some photos and conversely, really stark contrast in others. He also creates dynamic movement through diagonal lines and angles. He does a really great job capturing the essence of the busy city life and the many stories that reside there.

Alec Soth’s photos did not interest me as much. I had to observe the images twice in order to find meaning in them. Compared to Faurer, I feel like most of Soth’s photos does not have as much movement in them, which is why I did not find them to be as compelling. Although, the colors in his photos are beautiful and so dreamy.

The first photo that stuck out to me the most is by Faurer, where what seems to be a human figure walking up a flight of stairs (https://s12.postimg.org/rshty1ogt/IMG_2528.jpg). As the viewer, I envision that I am riding the lightrail on a cool breezy day during sunset. Flashes of the outside world pass by me as I look out the window. It is a little weird how detailed my imagination gets looking at this photo but another part of it also has to do with the lighting and angular lines. The most light flows in on the bottom left rectangular shape, similar to how sunlight would flow into the windows of a lightrail or bus. The second-most amount of light runs across the photograph, forming angular lines that are similar to the form of a staircase. The lighting also creates ambiguous shadows, intriguing my curiousity about where the figure is going. There is just enough context from the building in the back that tells me I am probably in the city. Even though this photo is really ambiguous, it reveals just enough details to spark my interest and start developing a story in my head.

The second photo that caught my attention is also by Faurer, of a man glancing up at a building (https://s1.postimg.org/jlzak0cq7/IMG_2527.jpg). The phrase “the american dream” popped up into my mind when I saw it. The brightness of the hat makes me focus on the man first, then I am led to the building that he seems to be glancing up at. Coupled with the light that reflects off the windows of the building and the lighting of the sky gives me the feelings of “hope” and “dreams”.

The third photo is by Soth. It is a black and white photo of an old man walking through the wheat fields (https://s4.postimg.org/7h5qf091p/IMG_2537.jpg). The high contrast of the background and wheat field compared to the man makes the photo very visually appealing. The completely black background makes the photo feel mysterious and I wonder where the man is going.