Hannah Gallagher

Vivian Maier, a street photographer in the 1950’s, was my primary inspiration for the personal project. She was born in 1926 and spent most of her life moving between Europe and America, eventually settling down in New York where she worked as a nanny.   Although she produced and left 100,000 negatives—her work wasn’t discovered or recognized until recently in   2007, only 2 years before she died.  By virtue of being the only people in the photo out eyes go right to the two girls, telling us that they’re the main subject of the photo. They also capture attention by being the only things with an semblance of movement. That sense of motion makes them stand out as well as the clear happy childlike joy in their faces. You can tell they’re having fun and looking at the photo the viewer feels a shadow of that same happiness and almost seems to hear them laughing as they play. Despite being an example of street photography and preserving a pure, sweet candid moment this phot also s

Known for his photos of disasters, this photo by Antonin Kratochvil still stuns, although he breaks that mold in this photo. This one rare piece of his photography that does not depict destruction, however he still manages to give the viewer an unsettled, uncertain feeling when looking at it. With this photo we somehow manage to get the same effect as if we were looking at a photo of carnage or watching a horror film. In fact, this photo wouldn’t look very out of place in a thriller. The combination of the blur around them and the fact that the group of girls are the only things even slightly in focus brings the viewer’s eye right to them.   The simple white dresses they all wear, along with the palm leaf they’re each carrying probably aids this by making them stand out against the dark background. The fact that they are in the center and right at eye level helps as well. What really makes the photo however is the blurr, not the girls.   Although the blurr looks accidenta

This classic biographical photo by Sebastiao Salgado is as stunning as every other work he produced.   Like his other photographs, it captures the real life of the workers, marginalized and little-known people without degrading them.   This photo—like those -- provides an invigorating breath of fresh air and makes the viewer appreciate a little appreciated world or way of life.   That alone makes It stunning, but of course, the photo itself is intriguing and certainly stands out.   Though, a giant ball of fire would do that. Whether because it’s in focus, or the bright whiteness of the flame against the tones of black and grey our eye goes right to it.   The contrast of mixed colors inside of it—the blinding whiteness with the pockets of black shadow and grey smoke could possibly be another reason why it stands out the way it does. For whatever reason, the result is the same:   Just like a real fire would, the inferno immediately grabs out attention.   It also provides a nice con