This photo was recently published on 1X website. I have to say I like it very much. There are few photographer who know how to make street photo with such blurry background, grain etc… Indeed it is a very difficult think to do. There is very few in that scenery that would make an interesting shot for most photog. But the talent of Tatsuo Suzuki made it. A great shot.
Tatsuo Suzuki - untitled © Tatsuo Suzuki
One interesting thing about this pic is that it has lot in common with this one from William Klein:
William Klein - New York, 1954
Grain, hot spot, blur and an overall gritty rendition are technical features that both photos share in a similar way (Klein is well known for that of course). Subject matter is also very similar – but I doubt Tatsuo Suzuki had the Klein pic in mind when he did his one and that is not the point. What is interesting to me is the same sort of expressionism that can be found here. Furthermore and strangely I find that the William Klein picture has a somewhat Japanese vibe. The woman looks a bit like a Geisha to me – I assume some western mind could see her looking that way – and it has some kind of subtle elegance which is not far from Japanese refinement. The photo from Tatsuo on the opposite is more direct, more “in your face”. It is precious in a way that it shows an aspect of Japan, a way of seeing things, that is far from western cliches.
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Tatsuo Suzuki is a very talented Japanese photographer. Images speak better than I could. You can check him out here:
Because it's there 