Street Scene 1947

Saul Leiter made this gelatin silver print, entitled 'Street Scene'. It’s all in monochrome. So much is in shadow. I love that about Leiter, this image feels like it was made on the fly. The way the artist is using light and shadow, it's like he’s composing with light, almost painting with light, as if he’s dodging and burning in the darkroom to get those moody blacks and grays. I wonder what Leiter was thinking when he was taking this shot, in his flow-state. It's a little snapshot of two figures on a street, maybe just a fleeting moment he wanted to capture, that nobody else noticed. It reminds me of other street photographers, like Helen Levitt, but there's something very painterly about Leiter's approach. There’s an ongoing conversation between artists, across time. It's not about fixed meanings, but more like a feeling, an energy, an openness to possibilities.