City as Spectacle

    MoMA’s City as Spectacle exhibition was an excellent way to see the city through the eyes of other

photographers. The photos were a collection from various cities worldwide, including New York, Paris and

Guangzhou. Most of them were taken just as the medium was gaining ground. And as such, these photos

showed the importance of technique over fancy equipment. Some images' compositions showed how the

shutter speed could make a difference. Then there was the use of lines to guide your eyes through the

photo. These lines would not have been as vital to guide the viewer if taken from another angle. Finally, the

images in black and white show the importance of light and how you can use it to your advantage even at

night. 

    Trying to recreate this experience in the city was challenging. However, it was fun to see the city through

the eyes of a photographer instead of just out and about. I was constantly looking for subjects that stood

out or were interesting. While taking photos, I also kept thinking about composition, light and angle. My

eyes were searching for the textures of subjects and whether a zoom-in shot was better than a

zoomed-out. Just wandering the city looking for things to photograph was a good experience training my

eyes.

    The photo I selected is of a stuffed dog wearing roller skates. It was in the storefront of a shoe store. This subject initially drew me in because of the colors. However, upon looking closer, I saw that they used shoelaces of a variety of colors as the dog’s hair. I decided against a straight and frontal shot for the photo's composition. This was because I saw by taking the photo from an angle, I could include a wall mural of the inside of a subway cart to create an image of a dog on the subway.