What I find appealing about Paul Strand's photos, especially his early work in New York, is his interest in his subjects. He didn't just photograph people, or places, or the details of daily living that others wouldn't see as art. It seems to me that he sought to understand that which he intended to photograph. Who were the people, what were they doing, how did they impact or contribute to their surroundings, what were these things that we see every day but never notice???? While he worked in the open, his photos leave me with the feeling that he went unnoticed, he blended in or stayed in the shadows. In this way, he not only captured the realism around him, but he became part of the story he was trying to tell; he was the unseen and unknown narrator, omniscient and omnipresent. One day, while visiting New York City, I spent a whole day going from museum to museum, taking in as much as I could in eight hours. In the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) I found the opportunity to not only see some great art (I discovered Bill Brandt, perhaps England's Paul Strand, on that trip) but to also look closely at what was going on around me. The ten photos in my collection, shown under this same title, are my tribute to Paul Strand.
