Trans - Tableaus

I've always been fascinated by paintings, of all difference genres but particularly the works of the Impressionists. I'm also fascinated by the formations people create in public spaces - the interaction of individuals and groups of people together yet separate, bright sunlight or artificial lighting creating dramatic shadows or contrasting tones, working to build hyper-real, almost surreal, stages for the subjects to form the images upon. I stay in the background, waiting for the right moment to press the shutter before, only fractions of a second later, the people move, the elements alter and the magic is gone. As I watch these images forming before me, the word TABLEAU comes to mind. Its an old fashioned word now, meaning a 'striking and vivid representation, a vivid, graphic scene of a group of people arranged as in a painting." The images in this series are inspired by impressionistic paintings of artists like Seurat, Caillebotte and Manet. Especially how they depicted urban life shown in varied sized groupings of people. My goal is to transfer this inspiration and the qualities of the paintings into modern, photographic settings. Unlike a true tableau, I have control only over the moment I choose to record, rather than every specific detail involved, but the results should still portray a striking, vivid and beautiful moment of perfection.