photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Sixteen: Story-telling street photography > Nobody home, Bridgetown, Barbados, 2010
previous | next
30-DEC-2010

Nobody home, Bridgetown, Barbados, 2010

The most interesting street I found in Bridgetown was virtually silent. Using a 24mm wideangle focal length, I stressed the painted storefronts and the directional arrow pointing nowhere, and waited for a figure to enter one third of the way into my frame to create scale relationship and a touch of human values. The man seems to be quite alone here, and loneliness is a common human value, particularly on a street where nobody seems to be at home.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5
1/800s f/4.0 at 5.1mm iso80 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time30-Dec-2010 06:34:11
MakePanasonic
ModelDMC-LX5
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length5.1 mm
Exposure Time1/800 sec
Aperturef/4
ISO Equivalent80
Exposure Bias-0.66
White Balance
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium large original auto
share
Phil Douglis03-Jun-2013 18:48
Hi, Carmen. Thanks for the comment and the question. I have no idea what the name of this street was, but Bridgetown's central district is very small, and it would be easy to find. It connects to one of the busiest streets in town.
Phil Douglis28-Mar-2011 19:30
Thanks, Iris and Tim, for seeing additional symbolism in the contrasts here. While the arrow points to faux doors and windows, symbolizing a dead end, the directional flow of the image itself does indeed follow the man, and moves our eye to the rear, where crowds of people walk the street. (Actually, the arrow heralds an upcoming left turn onto an even busier Bridgetown street.
Tim May28-Mar-2011 18:26
I like that iris found hope here. I find interesting that the hope is in the opposite direction than the arrow is pointing.
Iris Maybloom (irislm)16-Jan-2011 00:11
Looks like a street of broken dreams. Store fronts just painted facades, an arrow in the street pointing to walls with no entry, a lone man walking down this empty street.....an image of frustration and sadness. However, if you look ahead, you can see activity and people.......and perhaps, hope.
Phil Douglis14-Jan-2011 23:41
Good point, Celia -- a city such as Bridgetown is particularly vulnerable to loneliness. It is a primarily a tourist town, catering to sun lovers from around the world. Human friendship may come easily to the families that have always lived in Barbados for generations, but tourists, vacationers and expats living here for longer than a few weeks at a time may indeed find real friendships as illusory as the false facades on these buildings.
Cecilia Lim14-Jan-2011 23:08
The feeling of isolation and loneliness comes across very strongly here, despite the presence of human development all around. It reminds me of how one can feel this way even when living in large towns or cities with big population numbers. Human warmth and comfort can often be an illusion, as implied by the fake storefronts.
Type your message and click Add Comment
It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest.
Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help private comment