Crenshaw, Mississippi 1970

William Eggleston captured this image of ‘Crenshaw, Mississippi’ using color photography, a medium he embraced to depict the everyday with a painter's eye. I'm thinking about Eggleston and how he's playing with realism, and how his photography reminds me of Ed Ruscha’s deadpan gaze. Eggleston photographs a street, and the car parked outside it. You almost expect the building to slide right off the picture plane. The Ritz is trying its best to be glamorous but the building is so worn and real. What I admire about his work is how he manages to find something extraordinary in the ordinary. Just like a painter, Eggleston uses color and composition to transform the mundane into something poetic. He reminds us to see the world with fresh eyes, appreciating the gritty beauty that often goes unnoticed. It's a simple scene, but it speaks volumes about place, time, and the quiet drama of everyday life.