Street Photography: Final Display
Caption (description of statement of intent): Cold, sharp, and modern; fierce, boiling, and dynamic—the city has as many faces as it does colors. Behind every reflective glass pane, within every fleeting moment, and disguised as evanescent thoughts and miniscule lifts of the finger, there is the urban story. It spills its passions into stark black and white. It paints the pavement with splatters of red.
In this set of 10 images, I wanted to capture the fickle nature of urban life through snapshots of what seem like decisive moments. In making the display board, I reflected this by making somewhat of a gradient in the grid of images from black (top left corner) to red (bottom right corner). Below, I will go over an overview of the purpose of each photo, and some of the techniques used.
1.
Techniques used:
- High contrast in lighting and color (black and white), with the majority of the background being bright and subjects at the front being darker.
- Rule of thirds in which the woman right in front of the camera is near the vertical separation line on the right, and the edge of the pool is near the bottom horizontal line; this creates some balance in the otherwise chaotic image.
- Textures of clothing, different fabrics, and the foam in the back create complexity.
- No character is showing their face to the camera, so there is a sense of mysteriousness that makes you feel like just another observer in the scene.
2.
Quoting previous analysis:
This is my favorite image out of all the ones I took for our first photo set, and I love it because of how it seems both distanced and intimate. The three subjects of the image are all centered around the very middle of the frame, but their gazes (even the dog’s) are pointed in different directions: the boy on the left looks directly into the camera, the man looks down at the dog, and the dog looks somewhere off-camera. This brings the scene to life because not only do we have characters who are submerged in their own worlds, we also have a character who is breaking the third wall and interacting with the photographer. Furthermore, they are also all in different stances and occupying different levels of our perspective. The man squats down, the boy is standing up, and the dog is at the very front, seeming much larger than it actually is. Since the camera is not zoomed in at all, and the shot is relatively wide, we now have a cool effect where the elements at the edges of the frame seem distorted (for instance, the boy’s partially hidden, partially visible face appears to be pulled slightly in the vertical direction). If you look closely, you might also see subtle patterns in the grass where the grass mower had left its marks; these circular, alternating “rings” of darker and lighter-shaded grass form a whirlpool shape. This shape is further enhanced by the fact that the boy is standing with his legs slightly bent and back arched, and that the man is tilted to the left side. Their positions follow the patterns of the grass in the background. Overall, because of this circular motif, we get a feeling of disorientation, as if the frame is spinning even though it is being kept completely stationary.
3.
Quoting previous analysis:
In this image, none of the subjects have their faces within the frame. The kid on the left and the other two men’s heads are cropped out so that only their bodies are visible, and the dog has its back to the camera, so its eyes and face are also not seen from our perspective. This leaves the viewer with space for imagination: Are the characters looking at the camera? Are they talking to each other? What are their emotions? Another point of surprise or unexpectedness might be that the leash of the dog—which is very large and seems hostile—is held by the boy—the smallest person in the scene, whereas the two men are either standing dispassionately or sitting down. Apart from the feeling of disharmony, there is also a hidden structure of balance in the photo. The three people in their positions actually form a triangle; this makes it so that the dog seems to be the focus of our attention, as it stands directly across from the furthest vertice of the triangle. Like the previous image, this is an example of an unlikely assembly of subjects: The setting is a park-like area, but the man wearing the white shirt seems to be smoking (he was in real life, and his left-hand holds it in this photo). The boy seems very young, but he is seen with much older people, holding the leash to a fierce-looking dog. The person on the right doesn’t seem to have a close relationship with either of the other two, so his purpose there is unclear. And the dog is minding its own business. Altogether, we get a somewhat abstract snapshot of urban day-to-day living.
4.
Techniques used:
- The centerline in this image is the border where the different textures of pavement meet. Along with this centerline, there is also usage of the rule of thirds, where the water from the fountain is more or less aligned with the rightmost vertical line, and the base of the fountain is near the horizontal separation line at the top of the grid. With these instances, a sense of balance is created in the image.
- There are many detaisl in the background that make this photo more nuanced and interesting to look at (for example, the faraway buildings, the plants at the base of the fountain, the car and its bright headlights, the flags on the side of the road, etc.). Despite this, it is still quite apparent that the woman walking her two dogs is the main character of the photo.
- She stands out because of her placement at the relative front of the scene, but also because of the contrast of her sillouhette with the bright white stream of water. This kind of contrast is almost a motif in the image, because it appears time and again—in the contrast of the car against its dark backdrop; in the contrast of the water from the fountain with its surroundings; in the contrast between the lighter, more reflective pavement and the darker, starchier-looking pavement.
5.
Quoting previous analysis:
This photo was taken with the shutter speed set very low, so we get the effect of blurriness, which enhances the kids’ motion. All the other components of the image are fairly straightforward: The sharp edges of the pillar in the back, the black and white of the pavement borders, the smooth, reflective surface of the fountain on the right, etc. However, once we shift our gaze to the two characters in the center of the image, we experience what feels like a sudden shift in focus and perspective. Suddenly, we have to use a bit of effort to try to see their facial expressions, where their hands and feet are, what they’re wearing… They provide contrast to the photo due to their blurriness. In fact, the lighting at that time was also relatively mild, so the shadows on the ground were thus very light. As a result, it seems as if the motion of the kids is so rapid that their shadows have become indetectable—there are almost no traces of them on the stone floor. To me, this is symbolic of the essence of joy in an urban setting: Where the surroundings are most brutal and cold, we find the most giddy and unstoppable joy.
6.
Techniques used:
- The frame is tilted significantly at ~45 degrees, which gives the image an obvious feeling of disorientation, and as the subject is a skater, it almost feels like we are moving along with him.
- Furthermore, the camera is also held at a low vantage point, so the angle is tilted upwards. This enhances the kind of “majestic”feel of the character, and emphasizes his movement and positioning.
- Unlike most of the other 9 images, and especially unlike the first 5 black-and-white photographs, the character in this photo is very obviously the main character. In fact, he is positioned exactly in the center of the frame, there is no other character in sight, and he is staring directly into the lens.
- The red in the background stands out significantly against the greys, blacks, and white shades at the front. Red, you might notice, is a motif in these last 5 images.
7.
Techniques used:
- The lighting of the photo is one of the things that I love about it. There is a lot of contrast between the subject (with a lot of shadows and heavy colors on him) and the backdrop (with fierce sunlight and cool-toned city structures). Consequentially, the photo has an almost epic feeling to it, and the main character’s presence is actually enhanced.
- The rule of thirds is against used because the character is aligned with the leftmost vertical separation line in the grid.
- The motif of red is used beautifully in this image. Not only does the subject’s uniform contribute nicely to the overall warm tone of the photo, but it also forms an interesting, severe and highly effective kind of contrast when placed in front of the window. Through the glass, we can see urban buildings and cityscapes that are tinged slightly blue/cool white, which makes it so that the subject stands out even more in his clothes.
- There are many incomplete elements in this image such as the hand holding the camera (hi Candy) in the lower left corner and the strand of noodles that’s flying out of the frame. These elements give us a sense of motion and reality, and orients the viewer nicely by providing a more realistic representation of a snapshot moment.
8.
Techniques used:
- Many of the techniques are the same as the image above, so reference that part.
- The best part about this image, I feel, is the blurred line of the noodle. It extends all the way down to what seems to be the lens because I zoomed in while taking this photo. What results is a really cool, almost interactive image where the viewer is quite literally “brought in” to the focus point of the photo through one element.
- There is a tiny splotch of light at the bottom, on the right side. It was unintentional, but a result of the lighting; I really like how it adds some unexpected detail to the photo.
9.
Techniques used:
- The ISO on this image was turned up very high as I saw that there was a substantial area of light colors surrounding the subject. As a result of this, this photo has an over-exposed look that to me seems super cool. I love how the washed-out, almost faded and yellow look gives the image a vintage vibe, and how, with almost everything else being flushed out of the picture, the model’s hair stands out so brilliantly.
- With some editing and selective coloring, I made all reddish/orange tones stand out a bit more so that it’s not only her hair that pops, but also her pink back and the dog (the visible one who is not so overexposed that it looks like a ball of glowing, white fur). This makes the image more cohesive balanced.
- I also really like how 1) the camera is pointing downwards, which is an angle that none of the other 9 images used, and 2) the lines in the pavement point away from the viewer but towards the subject, so that our attention is focused even more exclusively on her and everything around her.
10.
Techniques used:
- Although the image is overall cool-toned (with the pavement, the clothes and fabrics, and the posters in the background), with editing + the presence of certain red/maroon objects such as the well on the ground, the complexions of passerby, and the door in the back, it seems as if the photo has a warm film over it, giving it a vintage and cozy vibe.
- There are many diverse textures included in this photo: the reflective, translucent surface of the water from the water fountain; the different types of clothes/fabrics; the bright, glistening pavement wetted by the water, in contrast with the starchy pavement at the back, etc. These textures add nuance to the image and enhance the vintage feeling.
- There are many characters in this scene, with most of them facing the camera and being positioned, parallel in the back. However, the one character who is most turned away from the camera and absorbed in his own world—the child at the front—is who looks instantaneously to be the main focus point. Even though he seems most detached from the bustle of the city atmosphere, he is still the star in the particular photo.