this one seems at best like a missed opportunity. there's no intrinsic connection between the sign and the ostensible subject. the telephoto compression and cropping seems arbitrary, yet you missed obvious opportunities to heighten the graphic power of the scene (such as moving left and down to outline the man's hand and cup against a flat black bg). pictures of guys begging for change on the street are like shooting fish in a barrel; what does this contribute?
I'm not sure I know what an 'intrinsic connection' is. Either the viewer makes it, or she doesn't.
However, I read this shot as consisting of 3 elements on the street at the same time. The rectangles of structures, two of which have writing. One is the invitation to party and spend money on sparkling wine: "Bubbles are your friend." No one today can read that and not think of the tremendous economic damage the real estate bubble and the botched reaction to it have done to so many. The graffiti wall consists of random signs that yield no meaning.
The people in the background on one of Soho's busiest streets, are still engaged in active commerce and pleasure, the "bubble activities."
The man in front, there is no reason to think that he is a victim of the economic bubble. But he certainly is not bubbly. He is the spectre at the ball. He reminds us that in the individual the broken heart is a constant and its needs are never met on this earth.
The harsh contrast contains contrary truths about life, the emotional sustenance of activity and human society and simple pleasures, and optimism, and the other of solitary isolation and the unmoving tragedy of our existence.
He seems to have neither bubbles nor friends, only brokenness and need.
Just to let you know why I bothered to take the shot. I wasn't interested in just capturing a beggar. And there's no reason why you have to agree with my reading.
this one is much more interesting to me. the standard advice would be to get a lower vantage point, partly to put the sensor plan vertical and straighten out the rectilinear lines in the frame, but i don't actually think that is an important factor here. what does work is that there's a genuinely interesting expression, and the number 13 repeated on the signs is easily related to the main subject.
This one is both simpler and more coherent (less of a stretch.) I didn't even
consciously think about the 13. Your comments have helped me see this whole image more clearly
--
Frank
All photos shot in downtown Manhattan unless otherwise noted.
Thanks in advance for the kindness of your comments or critiques.
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