Cara M. Thompson

https://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/9189826/7e0323ab859d808f5b8391ce897cd737f33e55ca

I visited the Museum of Photographic Arts and was very comfortable with the atmosphere. It had a very clean and quiet environment that was perfect for just observing the beautiful photographs. I first entered the 1900’s era because I have always had an appreciation for historical photos, and something about an image being black and white makes it have so much more depth. All of the photographs were amazing but the ones that I was more drawn to were scenarios that were not staged. My ideal photo session is going out in the busy streets and capturing everyday life and was happy I saw a lot of those. The first photo that grabbed me was a photo done by Robert Doisneau (1934) where he captures two boys walking on their hands in the middle of the street. The funny thing about this image is I had to ask myself, is it staged? Probably, but at the same time, there was not much to do during this time period and young children had to find whimsical ways to entertain themselves. In addition, going with my preference of capturing “everyday life,” there is a photo by Robert Frank (1955) where he captures a group of people sitting in the seats waiting for a movie premier. The reason I especially enjoy non-staged photos is because it captures what life during that time period was like, no glitz, glamour, photoshopped embellishment, just pure every day human experience. Much like today where social media is so heavily manufactured that it loses its appeal.

Aside from that, I really enjoyed the Dammeyer galley “Illusion: The magic of motion.” It had all these interactive pieces and a little bit about the history of the camera which was really intriguing. Hopefully when this pandemic eventually ends, a lot more exhibits open up. I will definitely visit MoPa again.