The Photographers' Gallery

Men & Women. A superb mixture of photographic styles, photographer Tom Wood has created a wonderful exhibition within the Photographers' Gallery. The room is neatly divided in half between diverse snapshots of men and women, each photograph reaching out to tell its own unique story. As I circled the room, I searched for the meaning behind each subject, their setting, their personality, and what Mr. Wood may have been trying to show through his images.

I am drawn to several photographs for a variety of peculiar reasons, but the one that was immediately imprinted onto my memory was a simple black and white photograph of a women with a potentially complex story. The woman is a bit older, and the photograph is a portrait taken in what is presumably her home, which would heighten the intimacy of the photograph. First off, I absolutely love black and white photographs as they strike me as more classic, and seem to miraculously cast everybody in a flattering light. This woman has clearly defined wrinkles, is not smiling, seems slightly exhausted with her hand on her hip, but she is stunning. Her eyes look straight into the camera and she holds herself in an entirely composed manner that suggests she has lived enough life to know she has nothing to prove to anybody else. This is the exact kind of photograph I am personally striving to achieve, as human beings are the most fascinating and diverse type of subject available. I like the idea of taking a single moment from daily life, either candid or posed, and capturing that in a simple and effective way for others to interpret. The photography assignment for today was "The Human Street", so please refer to the following link to see my attempt at capturing the human existence which surrounds me: http://www.flickr.com/photos/organize/?start_tab=sets