Regency Homes in Mayfair c. 1930s

This black and white photograph of Regency Homes in Mayfair by Bill Brandt is all about seeing the world in a new way through the lens. Look at the way the buildings line up, it's like Brandt is arranging the city into a still life. The darks are so rich, the lights so crisp. There is something about the texture of the brick that makes me want to reach out and touch it. It's not just a picture, it's a feeling of being there, in that place, at that time. The wrought iron fence, like bars, separating us from the scene is so wonderfully heavy and oppressive! The lines in this picture give it real structure. Brandt reminds me a bit of Walker Evans, another photographer who saw the beauty in the everyday, but he also has that surrealist edge, a way of twisting reality just enough to make you question what you're seeing. I love that in art there is always more than one way to see things.