Photographing the ugly - William Eggleston

My first port of call when deciding to photograph the ugly side of Hull was obviously the colourful Mr Eggleston. Not only does Eggleston’s work fit with my theme but his rise to gaining public acclaim from being described as ‘boring and banal’ draws perfect parallels with Hull’s current situation.

Eggleston’s methods are quite unusual, a discipline of only taking one photograph of an object fine tunes his eye to know exactly what he wants before pressing the shutter. With today’s technology, I feel that we often create too many options, only deciding on the best perspective once uploaded; how often is it though that the first image, the view you originally had a urge to photograph turns out to be the best.

The dye transfer prints Eggleston used were progressive for his time, only really used to create the bold images required for advertising. Opposed to the use of colour to attract in this genre, Eggleston’s configurations often repelled, creating an eerie, unsettling feel in his images.

The snapshot style and use of everyday subjects which appalled critics for some time hides a genius at work with a keen eye for colour and composition. Having researched Eggleston's use of colour for The Art of Photography course and visited his work many times since, I now feel a need to explore a little deeper into individual images to inspire my up and coming assignment.

The first image is not necessarily connected to the assignment but it is an image that ignited my love of Eggleston’s work. I feel that this image shows a great deal about Eggleston’s ability to create beauty where many other photographers would fail. The bold clashes of colour usually associated with youth could have quite easily overpowered this elderly lady, however somehow, she really pulls it off. Her slender frame almost makes her part of the chair’s fabric, yet at the same time, she pops vibrantly from it. There’s something in the way she holds herself, the turned in toe, the outstretched hand holding her cigarette, the slightly turned in shoulders reminiscent of many fashion industry images; she could quite easily be placed in a much classier environment than a leaf strewn garden with a rickety fence.

I feel that the placement of this lady, taken from the drab surroundings to this isolated patch of sunlight and colour gives her a taste of the limelight she’s made for. Eggleston’s outstanding ability to see and work with colour and composition has created a work of art out of what could have been seen as a gaudy mess. I could look at this image for hours.

The next two images are taken in similar settings but evoke very different feelings. In the first, the desolate, drab surroundings are punctuated with the high contrast of the gas station, motel and police car. The lines of the building draw the eye to the police car while a vibrant red sign beckons towards the motel rooms. Even the sign to the right of the frame, appears accidental yet frames the image, drawing the attention to the vast open space in the distance. The red accents in the image contrast with the cool blues used throughout. In true Eggleston style, this image leaves us questioning what might have happened in the motel to bring the police car to the scene.

The second image has no concrete visual element such as the police car to make us question the events leading up to it, yet it leaves us with a much greater sense of unease than the first. The man crossing the road seems perfectly relaxed and content, yet the softly focused car taking up almost a third of the shot reminds us of the dangers of being in such a place. The street decorations should give a vibrant happy feeling, yet coupled with the lone figure, long shadows and street debris, they evoke a lonely feeling of the morning after, when the circus has just left town.

I feel that the main element to this image, however that creates a sense of unease is the red colour cast. Eggleston has said that finds reds difficult to work with as he finds them to be at war with other colours; I feel that Eggleston’s use of red has made this image what it is.

Before you even notice the physical elements in Eggleston’s images, the slightly surreal colours have evoked a sense that something is wrong. It is only after this feeling that we notice that the car is chained to a telegraph pole; the collection of litter leading us to question how long the car and chain have been there.

Again, the long shadows and warm tones give off anything but the warm glowing feeling of the golden hour; the reds are too red and other hues almost non-existent. The leading lines draw my eye eventually to the red Datsun, this is where the questions begin.

The yellows of the window sign and car frame a desolate car park. The shot through the window gives a user’s point of view, giving a sense of waiting for something to happen within the frame.

Eggleston uses perspective as well as colour to evoke a sense of unease. Added to his use of the dark, bold coloured tricycle against a pale,  almost colourless backdrop, the low, wide angled perspective makes the toy appear much larger than the houses behind. I often ask myself, if I hadn’t seen Stephen King’s ‘The Shining’, would I still find this image so chilling; I think I would. The childless tricycle frames a shadowy carport in a street that hints at, yet is devoid of people.

Eggleston’s careful, yet instinctive use of colour, light and composition creates images that really distort our impressions of the world around us. I feel that as I photograph Hull in its current conditions, I need to have a completely clear idea of what I want to portray, what sense and feeling I would like to evoke in the viewer and how to go about doing just that.