Lee Freelander: Reflections

 Often, we discuss how cars aren't the most interesting thing that we can photograph as they're generally similar. Freelander has an entire series where he photographs from inside of his car called " America by Car". This series was interesting to me because of the composition and framing of the images and how different each one was. 

As someone who road trips often the beauty of traveling by car is being able to see geographical and infrastructure differences across the country. This type of photography is also unique because being in a car that is constantly in motion means you're constantly getting a new angle or image and most likely will not be the same from one second to the other. This is where framing really plays a role in these images where those same parts of cars that would be boring otherwise create a division that separate aspects and create a completely different image then what is on the other side of the frame. Also, in the topic of framing Freelander tends to utilize his side mirrors as a way to introduce reflection and to the images that add depth to the different interpretations that can be made. 

A second aspect that I find interesting within his images are the usage of his own reflection. As a photographer most images that are created tend to be of whatever is on the other side of the lens which often does not include themselves. Through reflections Freelander found a creative way to include himself in his images by using his surrounding light and objects. For example, the image above in a simple store front would be completely different if lit was a different time of day and the lighting was different. I also think that him centering himself makes the image more interesting rather than just photographing the reflection of the building within the display.