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Comments:
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Wow.
Our world is something else.
This is like a serious I SPY pic... Can you spot the sadness... at first you think it's easy... but is it really?
It would be interesting to see whom in this picture people relate to more.
Posted by Shane at October 14, 2005 03:51 AMLovely. The perfect moment. Very Beautiful picture. Any chances for a bigger scaled version?
Posted by Lewe at October 14, 2005 03:58 AMYo! Great paradox photo / juxtaposition between the "Guess shoppers" and the gentleman on the left... What a clash of worlds. This shot really evokes song strong emotions. Great capture.
Posted by Dan at October 14, 2005 09:47 AMI can only echo the points made above, a very emotional image.
I wonder whether the "guess shoppers" had noticed the guy on the left, I suspect they had but were too wrapped up in their own world to pay him any more attention.
Posted by Ben at October 15, 2005 08:13 AMI like that one cannot see any faces in this photo.
It invites one to wonder what each of the three are thinking at this very moment.
Posted by HiMY SYeD at October 15, 2005 11:18 AM
Awesome! I think that part of the emotional impact of this image is tied up in the medium - if this was a painting, it'd come off as contrived and moralizing. But as a photo, it's harder for us to resist that this is The Way Things Are.
Posted by RyanHerr at October 15, 2005 04:34 PMThis is not a painting, and yet the elements of a painting are abundant, which makes it a really remarkable street photo.
Perhaps the man is the vendor from the sheathed cart on the right side, and not a homeless man or someone down on his luck. In a painting, one would notice the arch of his back relative to the arch of the plastic that covers his cart -- they are nearly identical. That might be a clue to his identity.
The man has a neat haircut, his pants are creased, he's wearing docksiders, his hands are clean. Maybe he IS the vendor, taking a much-needed break from the fumes and other eye-irritants of his street corner? Perhaps that sheet of paper next to him is a list of his inventory that he wished to work on when his eyes became clearer?
I don't really see any gaping discrepancy in his social status relative to the two women, who seem to be upper-middle class. There is nothing over-the-top about where they've shopped, what they're wearing or doing. I bet all three of these people are in the same relative socio-economic bracket.
Back to painting symbolism: Look at the car wheel, dead center in the composition. The wheel radiates from the very center of the photo, asking your eye to look in all directions for things to consider, or for something to “guess.”
Maybe the photographer is asking us to look closer and not to make assumptions about appearances -- to really guess what is going on here by studying the details, by spending time getting to know our fellow human beings, even if they're total strangers, and if only for a little while.
I love how this photo just keeps asking you to look at it more. At first I noticed the man on the ground, and then the Guess page, and then I put them together and the picture moved from nice image to a real narrative. Good job!
Posted by Beth at October 16, 2005 02:23 AMthanks for the interesting comments everyone! i like it when i take a picture inspires thoughtful responses.
kathleen, i don't really think i'm specifically asking people to "not make assumptions". i'm not really asking anything of anyone, except that they look and think. but, i guess you're asking it! and that's good :)
lewe, please contact me by email for further inquiries about larger versions.
Posted by matto at October 16, 2005 04:02 AMreally tight. good patience. my guess is the guy was just wiping his face but those kinds of gestures can be rendered ambiguous in a photo, and that works to an advantage. i love the mimicry in the raised heel of the man and the woman.
Posted by hool at October 16, 2005 05:09 PMGreat pic. It talks to the viewer. Impressive.
Posted by clea at October 18, 2005 05:06 PMlove all these photographs. what im wondering is, after you take the picture do you have to go and ask the people photographed if you're allowed to post/publish their picture? or can you just take pictures of anyone? i've often wanted to take public shots and shots of strangers in general but this concern has always held me back. also i dont have a camera.
Posted by orion at October 22, 2005 05:56 PMvery nice
Posted by richard at October 27, 2005 09:13 PM
canon fd 100mm f/2