Trent Parke

In the feedback to Assignment Three, my tutor, Robert Enoch, suggested I look at the work of magnum photographer Trent Parke.  I am already familiar with his work, having seen one of his images, Shark Bay at the A Question of Colour Exhibition in November:

Shark Bay (c) Trent Parke

The light in this image is astonishing - crisp shadows, overhead sign, bleached sand and stunning blue sky.

Looking through Parke's galleries on the In Public website, you can see his dramatic use of light and shade - really stark contrasts.  The black and white pictures in particular have a real sense of drama and an almost supernatural element.  In this image in particular, the use of light has a spooky effect taken facing a low sun with the long shadows, blown light in the background and halos around the pedestrians' heads.  A slow shutter speed was obviously also used to capture the blur of people walking in the street making it look ethereal:

Image 1880, Gallery 2, (c) Trent Parke

I really like Parke's work and am keen to see more of it.