Finding New Photographers

I love it when I come across a new photographer that I like.

One recent discovery is Gueorgui Pinkhassov.  It is sometime to see why Magnum Photographers are classed as the best in the world.  They certainly are among the best street photographers.  Let’s face it who wouldn’t love to have their name in a list that included Donovan Wylie, Eve Arnold, Cartier-Bresson, Mark Power and Pixel friend Martin Parr.  This is just a small sample of the talent at Magnum, so if I have missed your favourite them I can only apologise.

I came across Pinkhassov not through Magnum Photos but through a link on the website The Online Photographer.  This led me to a blog by Pavel Kosenko that has over a hundred of Pinkhassov’s photographs on the site.

Gueorgui Pinkhassov was born to French/Russian parents in Moscow during 1952, Pinkhassov developed an interest in photography from an early age.  He went on to study cinematography and then worked in the film industry as a set photographer.  He moved to Paris in 1985 and joined Magnum in 1988.

As with most Magnum Photographers there is a strong element of documentary ‘street’ photography to Pinkhassov’s portfolio.  The first images that I saw of his was quite a surreal looking image and being very much in to the surreal it spurred me to look at more of his work.

There are two striking themes that to me are extremely apparent about Pinkhassov’s work.  The first is being the use of colour most noticeably red.  One can only assume that this is intentional as it is a massively common theme throughout his images but he uses it so well that it isn’t annoying or becomes too much of a ‘style’ or hindrance to the images.  Of course red isn’t the only colour that occurs throughout the images.  It’s just an example of how Pinkhassov uses colour to direct your eye and create a photograph that is unmistakably Pinkhassov. 

The other thing that strikes me about the images is that they are very cinematic in the execution.  Each image looks like it has just been taken straight out of a film.  Of course, they document every day life and although little coincidences that any street/documentary photographer loves to catch but Pinkhassov’s work looks like it could have been set up time and time again.  The moment is perfect, the lighting is perfect and the composition is the best it is ever going to be.  Even those images that look posed have the same cinematic quality. 

Why not grab a brew, put your feet up and spend half an hour so having a look at this fabulous set.  I know a few of them have gone in my inspiration folder!

http://pavelkosenko.wordpress.com/2012/09/02/a-set-of-photographs-by-gueorgui-pinkhassov/