Eugene Atget

Eugene Atget showed his city, Paris, through passion in his photography for thirty years. After his death, he left us with 2000 eight by ten inches glass plates and almost 10,000 prints to admire. He is one of the most extraordinary photographers to be known. Yet we do not know much as this photographer. His history is to be read in his work. 

As a young man, Atget started his career in the staging industries, and due to his physique, he had to play some of the unattractive roles such as the villains. After the experience in acting, he decided to try out a bit of painting, not pleased with this either, he finally turned into being an ‘art photographer’. With the experience of travelling and observing, Atget photographed the monuments and cultural interests in Paris.

During his days the war had started, and he stopped selling his work, leaving him with no public recognition at his death in 1927.

His was equipped with a simple 18 X 24 cm view camera, with almost none of the present-day adjustments. He had no wide-angle lens, and the focal length of his lens is still unknown, however, it must have been between eleven and twelve inches. He always worked within the natural light, and never used filters still being able to produce the finest photography known to man kind. He proved that photography is more than a "machine." And his hard labour of walking up early, and walking several miles with the load of the glass plates and machinery showed his dedication in work. This when applied to photography, creates a unique monument.

This picture looks almost fake with the focus completely on the large building in the middle that separates the two roads. This makes the building also look very 3D. I also see that the contrast of the building is much  more higher than the contrast of the other things in the picture. This also makes the buildingtnad out very well. I like this photograph because of how this effect is created and shown.

This photograph is often known as the ‘cones’ this is because the camera indirectly points at the almost perfect shaped cone shaped trees. Looking at this picture you normally look out for the flaws in the cones, and see how they are very deceiving. The darkness of the vegetation contrasts the background where the lighting is very soft, as if almost used a filter. I like this picture because its very bold, and to me it shows two different worlds in one.

This picture to me is very bold and symbolises loneliness. The dark chair in front of the mammoth door represents belittling, and sadness in a way. I think this because the pale walls in contrast to the dark chair make us focus on the chair itself and think of the differences in the two things. I really like this picture because it uses strong symbolism, and the dull background with the vibrant chair, gives off a good effect.

This picture looks very interesting because it has a strong sense of entrapment, and a great prospective of a person looking up. The slight tilt in the camera suggests Atget’s precision in photography. I like this picture because of the details and focus shown in the frame.