The colours of summer

Today I met some friends at the V&A to see the exhibition of Paul Strand's work. He is considered one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century whose images have defined the way fine art and documentary photography is understood today. He is attributed with establishing photography as an art form, and his work covered many genres and continents - he photographed in his native New York, Mexico, Ghana, Italy, France and even the Hebrides. Many photographers were influenced by his work, as the interesting article in my extra image shows.

The exhibition was extensive, with room after room of his images and a few of his films. Even his films are artistically shot, each frame is a beautiful work of art. It was very well curated with the walls being painted in muted tones to match the entirely mono exhibition. He had a terrific eye for composition, not always with the subjects but by his use of tones - the creamy whites in an image would form a leading line or triangle of interest rather than the subject matter itself. The deep shadows would draw you in to examine the subject's eyes. We spent over 2 hours examining his work, and then had a lovely lunch in the café.

So what has brightly coloured nail polish got to do with Paul Strand? Nothing, other than I had taken no photos today and I am about to give myself a pedicure and was busy choosing a colour!