Las Vegas 1957

This is Garry Winogrand’s photo, Las Vegas, which he probably made with a handheld Leica camera, maybe sometime in the ‘60s. It's black and white, which simplifies everything into tones and shapes. It is a useful tool to defamiliarize ourselves with the world and to think about it differently. There’s a kind of dance going on in the pool, somebody floating, someone else with their legs sticking straight up. And then there's the hotel architecture, and a car, all caught together. The surface of the water feels almost like skin, reflecting and distorting everything it touches. Look at how the light hits the ripples! Each one is so specific, so intentional, even though they were probably random. The grays become this whole world of depth and texture. Winogrand reminds me a bit of Lisette Model. They both have that off-the-cuff feeling but still manage to capture something essential about being human. It’s like they're saying: life is messy, ambiguous, and full of surprises. Just go with it.