I have just got around to reading the October BJP which features the work of William Klein and Daido Moriyama who are currently being exhibited at the Tate Modern in London. Sadly I cannot attend, though of course I would love to! These images force me to reconsider black and white! They are extreme images...gritty, grainy, extremely contrasty, black blacks against white whites, and in the case of Moriyama, little in between. This is quite dramatic, intense photography, and I can see why it was considered very controversial when it was first presented in the 60s and 70s.
It's interesting to think about the political climate (Japan) at this time... Post war tensions would have run high and it seems like the images reflect this. Jack Keroac is once again cited as an influence, and I have also recently started reading 'on the road' as it appears to be quite a seminal book for many photographers and I'm interested to understand the culture a bit better.
I might also try to take my camera out in the dark some time to try for the gritty grainy contrasty look in my own work, just as an experiment.
References:
British Journal of Photography (2012), October 2012
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