Hello and welcome to the very first issue of "On the other side." With Bats & Jess
Batsceba and I came up with the idea to create a gallery folder within Progressive-Street that showcases some of our personal favorites that are street photos a little off-kilter from the usual. As you can see in our header image we give a brief wording of what we look for in these images we choose to add. Of the images we choose, we wanted to share our thoughts of why and how they stand out, why they are a little unique to the more traditional street captures. Why we like them a lot!
Bats and I will be taking turns issuing journals for progressive street choosing a number of deviations from the "On the other side" Gallery to write about. I am starting! Now keep in mind I am no great writer and my writings tend to be a bit random and off the top of my head.
On dA there is a lot of wonderful photo features, but rarely is there words to go along with why they were chosen. It's a bit of work to write about what you see in a photo. I feel it's such a visual and mental experience that words are just put aside sometimes. They aren't necessarily needed for ones' own understanding and enjoyment of a photograph. So bringing words to a picture, even if it is just a few sentences or a short paragraph..really gives the viewers and the photographer a special insight.
We hope these little writings and features of some amazingly interesting street photography will be enjoyable. Stay tuned for Batscebas Issue!
1)
There is something about walking at night, in your old neighborhood where you grew up. You feel like you no longer belong here. You have changed and are now a stranger. These are just my thoughts when viewing this great image by boyrd. This capture is a great example of minimalism and the importance light plays in an image. For here it is the light that is illumining the figure we see. We have a slightly unusual aspect ratio, but a composition that triangulates a streetlamp, a tree, and a figure. This is a great addition to our gallery folder 'on the other side' which wants to exemplify the soul of street photography that is also a bit off kilter but so meaningful and beautiful. This photo brings to light that feeling we all get sometimes. That feeling of being the creature in the night, now put on the spotlight. On the other side.
Jess
2)
Here is an image that really gets my thoughts flowing. batmantoo has
here layers of elements working together in a composition to tell quite
a conceptual story of souls in one world. We have 3 subjects, all
looking and positioned in different directions and positions. However our
subjects may seem to have different vantages, the are all in a composition
of chaotic diagonal lines of lights and shadows. This perspective really reveals
a shared chaos for these souls. The craziness of modern life for human beings
perhaps? The extreme perspective of non repeating patterns of the lines adds
more to the chaos of the foreground over our subjects. This is an example of creative
framing and seeing. We are seeing these mysterious lost people, on the other side.
Jess
3)
This one really fits our theme for 'On The Other Side' The focus and DOF, the nearly wilted flowers, the lone girl trying so hard on her computer. This really speaks of her soul , however we see it from the other side. Batsceba's image "Take Me Somewhere Nice" tells a story of woman in an environment. The way the focus is on the foreground flowers that are on their way to becoming wilted adds a degree of melancholy and conceptual-ism. To me, the concept is that the foreground is representing the feelings of the girl in the background. The colors are real, raw and
warm like the lighting, contrasting with the wilting flowers and the girl who we know is only trying to progress in life, if only through her computer for now. What she is aiming for? That is subjective. On the other side.
Jess
4)
"CashMoney" by Vermontster really caught my attention. We have two very strong correlations; Money & Work. This capture shows us a young girl hunched over at her desk and we assume this is her job, very typical situation however we have a layer of dollar amounts reflected in a window and this reminds me of how money is what controls a great majority of our lives. Our soul is trapped in this cage of dollar amounts, looking tired of even trying to figure out how to escape. Our photographer is the guest at a zoo of humans, who instead of physical cages, have transparent cells of the need to make enough. A soul, reflections, layers, voyeuristic, we are.. on the other side.
Jess
5)
"Y" by Batsceba I added this image by our own Batsceba because it really struck me as interesting. I see levels of people looking into one anothers current life statuses. Our human subjects seem like they are doing normal things but something isn't quite right. An investigation is happening about what is going on in the top left corner where a ball of light is. The gentleman in black is on the phone, the lady behind him seems to either be taking a picture or raising something towards the gentleman. We have layers of an event unfolding. Also the random shapes of things of the wall. Overall I'd say this photo creates a sort of unease, there is something we don't know happening..on the other side.
Jess
6)
3070 Melbourne by nichtgraveyet Is a capture that really screams decisive moment and just great timing! Our photographer here captured something magnificent and we have two subjects that compliment each other with there majestic-ness. The city artwork of the girl without the bird in the foreground would really take away this capture's completeness and same for the bird if for not of our girl. It almost seems like the girl's hair is pure light itself! We see some street photography on the other side because we might not see humans, but we see the city and it's beauty, hidden within it's grit. On the other side.
Jess
7)
This capture by slownumbers really strikes home with me and actually helped me make a major decision in my life. When I look at this image I see myself, the driver. It is my occupation to drive people from a valet parking lot to the airport and also back on a small bus. Driving hours a day to no end. Stuck in traffic just staring ahead, you are a driving machine at this point, you begin to hate driving. I come home from work everyday with a stiff sore aching back, almost bed riddin' at times. This capture is great and has multiple layers of elements. Of course we have our main reflection in the windshield of the driver, giving us our subject within context of the traffic in the background. Then to really seal the deal we have the rear view mirror reflecting the drivers expression and setting. A triangle in my opinion put together to perfectly reflect this bus drivers day. Even the classic tree shaped air freshener adds to this already great capture. We see the driver who is usually not thought of..on the other side.
I no longer accept pain and decided not to drive bus anymore. Yes slownumbers..your photo showed me myself, and helped me make a decision in my life.
Jess
8)
Lines by boyrd is a great example of using perspective to create a extreme effect in a street capture. The use of lines and architecture has always been a trait of certain street captures. Our photographer here managed to take those lines and add an extreme visual perspective of depth. Not only are these lines bold and distinctive, they lead right to a figure who is walking. Using a nice wide DOF we see everything from the texture of the building in the foreground, to the defined shape of our figure on the move, to the windows of the building in the background. What a marvelous composition that treats the eyes with pinpoint precision of what we are seeing.. on the other side.
Jess
9)
JACAC shows us a masterpiece of composition here with his image 'Fujifilm X10 36'. Here we have a normal business man (judging by his briefcase) walking towards the lower part of the image. His briefcase perfectly lines up with the line of the triangle his body is within. The triangle is like an arrow pointing in the direction he is walking. To me this exemplifies his destiny and the same time as being within his own dimension of life. Outside of the triangle in this instant seems forbidden to the man in this composition, however we know with his momentum he must exit the triangle, but we don't know. We have an almost perfect symmetry with the geometry of the floor and the lines . We see this composition from above, as if we are witnessing as a greater whole or through a higher dimension. We see this life unfolding into its own destiny within a universe..and this life must go on...even on the other side.
Jess
10)
'Four hands, four persons' by mariomencacci is very much on the other side of things when it comes to street. When I first laid my eyes up this image I didn't quite understand..then I remember I'm not suppose to. We assume that the hands in the foreground are of mannequins but that is subjective and unknown. Then we can see in the background those hands are very real indeed. This creates a nice contrast between the foreground and background while at the same time creating a juxtaposition. The composition is amazing with the foreground hands framing those in the background more towards the middle. In between everything is a barrel which is an extra element for the eyes and mind. Overall this image has a lot of depth, motion and elegance to its uniqueness. We humans have used our hands to build many of things, its like the hands here are dancing equivalently to the rhythm of life. I almost see the hands in the back applauding the ballet of the foreground hands. What a superb eye our photographer has here while seeing it all .. on the other side.
fin.
This Journal Skin was coded by nichtgraveyet
