the instant of seeing

Ambiguity of appearances

One of the most fascinating and funny aspects of street photography is to be able to play freely with the false impression of reality, with what Richard Kalvar once called the ambiguity of appearance.

"I capture reality, never pose it. But once captured, is it still reality? I've always tried to play with the false impression of reality, with the ambiguity of appearances. Things are what they seem to be, or maybe something else. I use people as unconscious actors in little dramas they don't know they're in. These pictures are about Earthlings, but I'll let you in on a secret: I'm an Earthling myself." 

Richard Kalvar