City of London 1951

Robert Frank made this photograph, titled "City of London," using a handheld 35mm camera. The nature of this device, and the film loaded within it, dictated the image’s grainy, high-contrast aesthetic. Frank was drawn to the way this technology could capture a moment with documentary-like immediacy, eschewing the techniques of fine art photography. The image shows a man walking away from the camera, wearing a suit and bowler hat. The newspaper he clutches, and the cane he carries, point to a certain class identity. We see the same repeated in the figures waiting for the bus. Frank developed his photographs in a darkroom, carefully manipulating them. By burning and dodging the image, he increased the contrast and grain, making the image appear grittier. It's through the lens of the camera, and the artist's hand in the darkroom, that we are presented with a snapshot of London life and its socio-economic structures. This underscores how even seemingly candid photos are carefully crafted.