Mark Weber is an American photographer. He is in his 60s and moved to New York City in the 70’s. After moving to NYC he became a taxi driver and it was this that inspired him to become a photographer. Weber would be driving around the city, seeing the most bizarre things and thinking “ if only I had a camera” so he bought one. Weber started taking photos, good ones, of whatever weird things he saw happening on the street, setting off his career in street photography. Style
Weber's most notable photography is what got him interested in it in the first place. This of course is street photography. In his earlier days he would drive around the city looking for anything funny, interesting, or out of the ordinary to photograph. Given that it was NYC that isn't exceptionally hard. Most of his photos are in black and white which i think, combined with the genre of street photography is less distracting and causes the viewer to find immense emotion and interest in the most mundane.
Philosophy Weber strongly believes in the importance of capturing the “less glamorous” and more interesting things. Weber often shot in poorer areas I New York and finds them much more investing than richer ones. He stated in one interview "rich people and tourists left me bored''. Weber toys to show the reality of NYC, both the good and the bad. He treats all his subjects with equal respect and his photos show a such a diverse range of people and situations.
Influence
Matt Weber drew most of his content from the world around him. He was driving around in his taxi all day seeing crazy thing and being exposed to so many different environments. He also drew some of his artistic knack from his background in painting when he was younger. Weber never had much a formal photography teacher and was almost completely self taught. He has said though, that sometimes he wonders "what my pictures would look like if I had a brilliant teacher".
Matt Weber Original (Untitled)
Matt Weber Original (Untitled)
My Photo (Concerned Taco Apprehension)
My Photo (A Great Day For A Movie)
Matt Weber Original (Untitled)
My Photo (Hula-Hoopin)
Artist Statement-
These 3 photos were really fun to take. Recreating these photos set some unique constraints on what I could and couldn't do and I found myself integrating a lot of personal things into these photos. Two of these photos are of places that I've grown up around and have tons of memories attached to. My favorite out of these three though, has to be the last one of my little sister with her hula-hoop. The look of pure joy on her face is something I'm really glad I was able to capture.