Street vendors--People 1941 - 1945

Robert Frank made this photograph called 'Street vendors--People,' and it's this tiny square, a little world captured in silvery tones. It's a process, right? The way light etches the scene onto the film, it feels immediate, like a snapshot of real life unfolding. Look at the woman, standing with her arms crossed, a little smirk on her face, in contrast with the guy behind the food cart who is working, head down, a little anonymous. The textures are amazing, the graininess of the film gives everything this palpable feel. You can almost smell the food. The way Frank uses light, it's not polished. It's raw. Frank has a whole body of work, a series he did called "The Americans," and that's just what he did with his camera, capture something, moments, people. There are echoes of Walker Evans, for sure, but Frank’s got this nervous energy, a kind of restlessness that makes you feel like anything could happen. It’s not perfect, but that’s the point. It's alive.