Photography Artist - Ray Metzker, Harry Callahan

Ray Metzker’s images question the nature of the photograph and photographic “reality.” Through cropping, multiple imagery, and other formal inventions, his work explores options for transforming the vocabulary of the photograph. Metzker has dedicated his career to exploring the formal potentials of black-and-white photography, but they are not his exclusive concern. “When you look at the multiples, you are aware of patterning and so forth,” he says, “but there is still identifiable subject matter; frequently there are people there; there is a rhythm to those people.” - Museum of Contemporary Photography

Much of Ray's Metzker's work is a predominantly black image with the small important details called out by being the only bit visible in the photograph. He plays with shadows and light a lot. The images are very dramatic. I particularly like his image Chicago, 1981. It portrays two men standing at the top of a subway entrance. The camera angle is from the bottom of the stairs looking up at them from the bottom left. The light from the day silhouettes the men and plays down on the subway wall.

Harry Callahan photographed his wife, Eleanor, and daughter, Barbara, and the streets, scenes and buildings of cities where he lived, showing a strong sense of line and form, and light and darkness. He also worked with multiple exposures. Callahan's work was a deeply personal response to his own life. He was well known to encourage his students to turn their cameras on their lives, and he led by example. He tried several technical experiments - double and triple exposure, blurs, large and small format film. - wikipedia

His work is similar in style to Ray Metzker. They both have very dark images, with hardly any gray tones in the middle. Harry Callahan's photographs feature more predominantly people and faces. His wife is often the subject. Between the two artists, I believe I enjoy Metzker's work more. Callahan did some odd nude shots that I don't really understand, and the mood behind most of the shots just isn't as appealing to me.