I have reservations over this work until I saw it a the Format Photography Festival in March. This is what I noted “it has a power of narrative that is due to the fact that once the initial images are taken out of their “environment” it all starts the brain working to decode the storyline”.
Michael Wolf uses cropping to isolate specific images and by removing some reference areas it creates a new narrative. An innocent image of someone crossing a street by cropping in close with other people. Taking this image as an example, close cropping gives a feeling of entrapment and claustrophobia as the “cast” appear to move closer together;it becomes a CCTV image of a mugging about to occur.
It’s as much about choosing the decisive moment to press the shutter as it is about placing the main components into the image to relay the new storyline the characters have to follow. As such I consider this to be photography of the street and of equal value as any street photography.
