Nearexposures

Nearexposures are a series of unposed and unrehearsed photographic exposures taken over a short period of time, often in a public place. The practice of nearexposures emerged as a form of adventurous and experimental photography in the 1960s. It involves the participation of unsuspecting members of the public in finding their images captured on film, often without their knowledge or consent.

Nearexposures are characterized by their informal, under-staged, and often unplanned composition. Photographers usually shoot in public spaces, frequently with a wide-angle lens and a roll of 35mm film, with a focus on capturing candid shots. The style emphasizes anestheticism and anti-posing in contrast to traditional portraiture and pose-driven photography.

Nearexposures gained prominence in the 1960s with the work of photographer and theorist, Lee Friedlander. Friedlander's nearexposures employed postcard and vintage black and white prints of Los Angeles. They often depicted clubs, churches, and would be guided in terms of more suited images. Here described them as slaves rarely formed off!.

The nearexposures movement reflected the growing interest in everyday life and an attempt to counter traditional construction with photographic non-conformity of the 1960s counterculture.