For the most part, and according to the photographer himself, Wessel’s shooting process was to shoot whatever caught his eye from the unique vantage point of the driver’s seat of his automobile. And when something was of particular interest, he would set off by foot to explore it further. Reviewing his work with this added knowledge makes it possible to envision how his photographs came to be. As a fellow photographer, it makes me wish I could step into the photo with my own camera in hand and join in the shooting.

Henry Wessel lived from 1942-2018. Thanks to the San Francisco Museum of Art and their documentary video Henry Wessel: The view from the Driver’s Seat, we can see and hear the following: “I take a lot of photographs from whatever vehicle I’m driving. Early on in 1968, when I quit my job teaching, I decided to buy a van and travel. For about a year and half to two years I mostly drove around the country photographing. Well, if you do that, you start seeing everything as you’re moving through the landscape. And you very quickly learn that if you stop and get out, it’s a whole different thing. It’s not what you saw at all. It may have the physical ingredients, but it’s not from where you were, it’s not from that vantage point. It’s very different. It’s radically different.”

“So I said to myself, ‘Why not shoot both?’ And I got in the habit of if I saw something that caught my eye, I would photograph it from where I was, the driver’s seat, or out the window from the other side, or wherever. Often times, I would then stop and explore it more if it was something that was inherently interesting, or had some dramatic content. So I just continued to do that.”

Henry Wessel - © Christopher McCall 2016

“Like they say, luck is impartial. You have as much bad luck as you have good luck. But, you do things to prepare yourself to receive the good luck — that’s part of the whole process of photographing. If you think of the process as being receptive in that you move through the physical world and something catches your eye – I photograph anything that catches my eye. That’s the best reason to photograph.”

To me, much of this is self-explanatory. However, what I especially appreciate is the economy of words Henry Wessel uses to convey these basic truths, and how similar it is to the way he creates photographs. Better yet, other photographers can put Wessel’s words to good use. And many photographers will find great significance in Wessel’s choice to shoot with the same camera and film throughout his entire career – a 35mm Leica with a 28mm lens, and Kodak Tri-X film.

Henry Wessel discusses taking photographs while on the road.

From my perspective, Wessel’s signature photographs are those depicting two people standing face-to-face or side-by-side, small in the frame, and seemingly engaged in a consequential moment. And for a variety of reasons, I find the photographs taken roughly twenty-feet or more from the subject to be much stronger than those shot at a closer range.

Featuring a mere twenty seven photos, INCIDENTS will undoubtedly tempt Wessel fans to examine his other books such as WAIKIKI, WALKABOUT, TRAFFIC SUNSET PARK, CONTINTENTAL DIVIDE, and HITCHIKE.  These books continue many of the same themes and approaches found in INCIDENTS, and work well as a series.

To learn more about Henry Wessel please visit:

SFMOMA - San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

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Henry Wessel: Capturing the Image, Transcending the Subject

I hope this book review will inspire you to learn more about Henry Wessel's photography. Thanks for visiting The Cranky Camera!

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