Nigel Shafran

Nigel Shafran is a British photographer who photographs everyday scenes through documentary photography as an onlooker. The juxtapositions in his series, "Bookshelves" are what initially attracted me to his work.
 This first photograph displays a bookshelf, each book is neatly placed along with the other objects. The lighting is natural, coming from the open door shown in the left hand of the photograph. A main colour is the yellow of the curtain, the lines lead down to the bookshelf where the books also point to the same direction, this directs the eye through the photograph. Another element of the photograph I like is the texture of the door as well as the contrast between the dark wood and white walls, this also has vertical lines. Shafran has composed the shot so the bookshelf is the main focus, the curtain works well tucked behind the bookshelf as it keeps up the neat appearance as well as bringing the eye to the bookshelf.

The second photograph contrasts significantly with the previous. There are considerably more books which are distributed between a bookshelf, some other shelves and a table. Unlike the previous neatly arranged room this room is chaotic. The lighting however is similar, this is also lit naturally from the left hand corner from what I assume is a window or open door. Little of the background can be seen in this photograph however you can see a small part of the wall which is painted black. I like this series because of the contrasts between the images, I find the idea of documentation of different types of people really interesting.