Umbrellas, Paris 1951

Robert Frank made this photograph, "Umbrellas, Paris," using gelatin silver. It's a moody scene, with the grey tones layering and bleeding into each other like a watercolor. You can almost feel the dampness in the air. The umbrellas create a kind of visual rhythm, a pattern that's not quite regular, like a musical score that's slightly off-key. Look at the way the light catches the top of one of the umbrellas, creating a bright spot amidst all the gloom. It’s almost hopeful, like a tiny burst of sunshine breaking through the clouds. Frank's work always reminds me of other great street photographers like Helen Levitt, who captured the everyday poetry of city life. It’s about finding beauty in the mundane, and about embracing the imperfections and ambiguities of the world around us.