William Eggleston

William Eggleston, (2009), Untitled

William Eggleston, (2003) Untitled (St. Simons Island, Georgia) 1978

Being a fan of Alex Pragers work, it probably comes as no surprise that I also have a love for William Egglestons’ work. An idol in the colour film photography world, Eggleston has been a photographer since the 1960s. His work is easily recognizable as it is consistent. He photographs a lot deserted areas, old cars and petrol stations; yet, as dull as they sound, they always seem to end up sparking an interest through the use of colour. He seems to be a very laid back man, unsure of what exactly to shoot until it is in front of his very eyes, nothing is pre planned. I recently attended the Tate Modern to see his permanent exhibition of which featured some of his most iconic images. I compare his work a lot to that of Alex Pragers’ as both experiment a lot with colour. Pragers work is a much more thought about, planned version of Egglestons. Egglestons work is set within the 60s as they were at the time, whereas Pragers is a very believable, yet fictional set up of the 60s. However; it seems to me that Eggleston has been very fortunate in life. Opportunities have always arisen for him, he always seems to have been in the right place, at the right time. For many, this may then introduce the argument that he is not as talented a photographer as many others, that may be he has just been lucky in life. After all, it does seem rare that photographs of deserted petrol stations and everyday life can make somebody so famous. However, despite what could be said, William Eggleston is a photographer in his own right and remains a legacy in the world of photography.

References

William Eggleston, (2003) Untitled (St. Simons Island, Georgia) 1978, Available at: http://erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/william-eggleston-untitled-n-d-women-with-hair-660x449.jpg [Accessed 25 March 2014]

William Eggleston, (2009), Untitled, Available at: http://thessw.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/william-eggleston.html [Accessed, 25 March 2014]

Baker and Mavlian, (2014), William  Eggleston, Available at: http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/display/william-eggleston [Accessed 25 March 2014]

Muriel, J, (2013), William Eggleston Photographer, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O2Oz6lQ7bs [Accessed, 29 March 2014]