How did Lee Friedlander use storefront reflections in his photographs of urban life?

Lee Friedlander utilized reflections in storefront windows, plate-glass doors, and side-view mirrors as a deliberate technique to complicate the viewing experience in his street photography. By incorporating these reflective surfaces, he introduced layers of fragmentation and ambiguity into his compositions, which became a trademark of his work.1

Rather than avoiding the presence of the photographer, Friedlander often used these reflections—along with his own shadow—to insert himself into the frame, defying traditional rules that discouraged such disruptions. This approach served to highlight the photographer's specific point of view, a hallmark of the documentary style celebrated in the influential 1967 New Documents exhibition. His use of reflections, combined with other framing devices like street signs and windows, allowed him to capture the complexity of the American "social landscape" with a distinct, often somber, realism.12