subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 12 October 2019 53
Mark Buckley
‘Le Baiser de l’hôtel de ville’,
1950, Robert Doisneau
When I was in a university camera club
in the 1990s, there was a heated
debate as to whether this image was
posed or a genuine candid. I didn’t care.
Whether this moment actually
happened and Doisneau captured it or
(as turned out to be true) he thought
of this image and created it, either way
it is simply an amazing picture. The
background is cluttered, the foreground
distracting, and the car doesn’t help.
There are lots of reasons why this
photograph shouldn’t work, but it does.
Even the two people who are closest
to the couple (they were actual
passers-by) add so much to the
photograph – their harried expressions
contrasting with the scene in which they
are immortalised. Does romance
conquer all?Karen Long
‘Brexit’, 2019,
by Andrew Milligan
It is very hard to pick a favourite photo
of all time. But I like this recent picture
of Boris Johnson, which I have seen a
lot in newspapers and websites. I thinkit
captures his frustration at the position
he finds himself in, as he is literally
‘barred’ from making much more
progress at the moment with a general
election, and a lot of people feel they
are barred from getting the Brexit they
voted for. So the photographer has
been very clever. I am sure Brexit in
some form will happen, but people will
remember this image long after it is all
sorted out. I think it also shows the
personal toll all these events must be
taking on Boris, who has a carefully
cultivated ‘cheerful’ public persona,
which I guess is why a lot of people
voted for him. The photographer got
beyond the public image to capture the
truth of a man in a difficult situation.
‘At my camera club
there was a heated
debate about whetherthis image was posed or
candid. I didn’t care’
© ROBERT DOISNEAU / GAMMA-RAPHO / GETT Y IMAGES
© ANDREW MILLIGAN / AFP / GETT Y IMAGES