Garry Winogrand

Texas state fair, Dallas, 1964.

A photographers eye captures something that no one else sees, composed or a split second, a message is translated and highlighted on film. Significance is unfortunately commonly related to the scale of events, however capturing it in the reality of everyday is something far more profound. Being able to identify those fleeting moments but more importantly capturing and being able to share them requires a eye that is rooted in the celebration of the habitual.

With the eyes of the fair focused on the main event Garry Winogrand notices the significance of a man holding his steer. The steer swinging his head and tongue at the handler statson, a split second of symmetry is created and captured on a static piece of film. As quickly as the moment arose it dissolves back into the chaos of the fair. The steer gazes at the camera, like a model posing, capturing the limelight. Its youth and energy frustrating it’s exhausted but experienced handler, but like a father and child the issue of control is firm established.

"I like to think of photographing as a two-way act of respect. Respect for the medium, by letting it do what it does best, describe. And respect for the subject, by describing as it is. A photograph must be responsible to both."

Garry Winogrand