2020 Vision | Understanding Gesture

The Photographer Jay Maisel is one of my great inspirations.

I once heard him say that every image has a “GESTURE”.

This confused me because understood what the word meant; Gesture. I just didn’t understand what he meant in the context of Photography.

It took many years before it made sense to me.

Here is a wonderful definition from Jay Maisel: “the expression that is at the very heart of everything we shoot.”

This image of The Effile Tower was created in 2014.

I was at the Trocedero with my friend Clement. I saw this moment of the little Tower and immediately felt “Iconic Stature”. This was the Gesture that spoke to me, the expression in this moment said to me, this iconic landmark was created to celebrate all that is noble about Parisian Life.

My eye is drawn to light, shape and colour. The expression in these images communicates ambience, comfort and a feeling of coziness.

Even during this Covid-19 Lockdown, the Gesture is present in the expression of life. People are our, doing their thing. Boys in the park working out, chilling on the grass in the sun. The empty streets express stillness and yet the energy of life is present.

So Gesture for me is about being open, receptive and responsive to the expression of life in all its form.

Every story reveals its hidden message.

Every gesture is inside the message.

Looking inside the image, seeing and feeling deeply is the secret to expressive imagery.

Thank you for Reading.

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