The Street Is A Stage
Collection of portraits around London
I've titled this post 'The Street Is A Stage' after drawing inspiration from Siegfried Hansen's quote 'I see the street scene as a stage' (mentioned in my 'Humans of New York' post). This is because i think it sums up the narrative theme of my portraits perfectly. I am the audience, the people i'm photographing are the 'actors' and the street is the stage on which the narrative unfolds. My theme is very much stories of the street because that's where people can be most interesting. Where are they going? What are they doing?
Using the Lumix 25-400
I saw this man from across the street while waiting for the traffic lights to change. I think it was the contrast of colours- the vibrancy of the blue next to the bright orange of his overalls. The mix of horizontal, vertical and diagonal angles help to frame him beautifully. His stance is very casual which i liked. It told you immediately that he wasn't in a rush and that, he too, was observing. He wasn't near others with his uniform on which implied that he was possibly on his break. Or maybe he was waiting for someone? Did he know he would come to make such perfect subject matter? It was early in the morning so he may have been having a moment to himself before starting a long day at work.
A musician clearly playing for the love of it and wanting others to feel that too. His optimistic message on the scrappy piece of cardboard reading 'Have a good day' is what makes the story for me in these images. His hair is also a major character in this photo. It's floaty and textured and adds body to the photographs. I also really like the placement of his guitar bag in the first two photos. It looks almost like someone sitting, resting against the amplifier just listening to him play. The bag is a character in itself. I like the clear theme of red in the last photo: The red guitar, red top, red bus and red tube sign. The narrative of this photo speaks for itself as he's clearly a busker. But we're still left wondering if there's any purpose to his busking, other than to earn money of course, whether he travels far, if that's how he makes a living. I guess all of this could be answered by going up and initiating conversation with a person but one, i didn't want to break the moment he was in and two, i want people to make a story themselves.
What I like about this photo is the framing and the way that the main subject matter is out of focus. It's unclear to the audience what the object making the frame is exactly which already opens up questions. This photo is like a snapshot into this man's life. Taking it from behind a structure makes it more secretive, like we're looking into something we shouldn't be- like this man has something to hide. I also like the blur that the traffic lights create. They help guide the eye towards the man.
I really like the placement of both men in this image and how they could not be more opposite. In this photo we have a rarity. We have two men from completely different walks of the earth, with completely different intentions and occupations who, for a split second, are joined together through a photo- not that they know it of course. We have a construction worker in bright overalls clearly focusing intently on what he's doing, contrasted with a rather tired looking business man. Something like this is just a fun composition to try and dream up stories from.
A retired 'Where's Wally'?
I like these photos as a little series because it allows you into the progression of the performance. I particularly like the composition of the last one as he's just stare is just glazing past me and the man behind him is nicely framed through his bag pipes. I used the rule of thirds to try and give the image a bit more depth.
Fleeting group of angry 'leavers'.
The bus was moving so it was quite difficult to compose these shots how i wanted. I just wanted to capture this boisterous man at the back, so hoped for the best and took some very quick shots. Even though they were unintentionally rushed, i quite enjoyed the momentary panic of will i get the shot? I felt like paparazzi chasing after an unmissable moment. They came out a bit blurred but it's more the message that these photo's convey that i find important- a very topical issue for today.
The connection made to 'The girl in red' from 'Schindler's list' was immediate as soon i saw this little girl. She was unmissable in a sea of grey, dark jackets. I wish i'd captured a shot with more people surrounding her to see how much she stuck out but i just didn't want to miss the opportunity. The red of her coat in Schindler's list is meant to signify innocence and that's exactly what i saw in this little girl. She kept wandering off to pick up leaves and would immediately get pulled back by her mother. Watching someone be so astounded by something as 'normal' as a leaf was lovely to see and just reinforced that sense of innocence/ lack of tarnish.
I found the composition of this quite humorous as it associates the passing man with the speed sign allocated for bikes. I also like the subtle theme of blue with his navy white washed jeans and the tattered blue of the sign.
Extra Street Photographs i took when i first got up to London just to observe and people watch:
The first thing i associated this man with when looking at this photo was a character from Monopoly
simply because of the funky bowler had, suit and umbrella. He has that kind of authority about him.
I quite like the idea that he could be a character from a board game, especially as he was photographed in London where the classic game is set. It's just a bit of fun to imagine and it makes the streets seem that little more interesting.
It looks like these two ladies have switched parts of their outfit. The lady in the red coat is wearing a black hat that looks like it would belong to the other ladies outfit, whereas, the lady in the black is wearing a red hat. I like this mix and match a lot in the photo. The material of her coat also makes the image a lot more visually pleasing as it gives it texture.
Two very different kinds of people coming together through doing the same job, however, blissfully unaware.
Bad day? I like the simplicity of this image yet the power it conveys. I also really like the dark, rough colour palette.
More framing through a structure. I did really enjoy playing around with the focus here and seeing what i wanted in and out of it. I also like the vibrancy of the red
Another little series. I had to use the zoom for this image as he was on top of a very high structure. I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the image even when zoomed in. I like how he's placed between two red crane like structures- it indicates a sense of danger.
Who's he waiting for?
Exchange of what?
I love how this image feels very fluid because of the liquid effect the glass creates. It's very metallic and quite a futuristic effect.
I like how you can't see the faces of the subjects in these photos- they are left unidentifiable.
I tried to find an alternative way to take a portrait in this photo. I saw the reflection and immediately wanted to try and compose it into a photo. I like the delicacy of the water droplets and how the mirror is the only object in focus.
I was drawn by the reflections in this scenario.
A view from the outside world. Showing the people that are oblivious to his efforts.
I really liked the composition of the image and the blanketed feeling the trees give. The statue looks like the dominant feature in the photo that these two men are oblivious to yet it's not as big as I've made it seem. I played around with the perspective.
Overall i really loved going out and just capturing the little stories around the streets that are so easy to miss. People are so interesting and there's a whole world of untold narratives out there, you just need to find them.
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