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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Sixteen: Story-telling street photography > Pedestrians, Naha, Okinawa, Japan, 2006
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26-MAR-2005

Pedestrians, Naha, Okinawa, Japan, 2006

Patient Naha pedestrians wait for the light to change. I waited for a passing car to screen them from my camera and was fortunate to frame one of them through a window, and place the other just above the hood of this taxi, abstracting one while defining the other. I find that intersections with traffic lights are ideal ground for street photography – subjects are often at a standstill, and looking right at us, or else they are diligently making their way across the street towards the camera. Such vantage points are active, rather than passive, creating confrontations that may more directly involve the viewer’s imagination.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30
1/160s f/5.6 at 49.8mm iso80 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time26-Mar-2005 22:47:01
MakePanasonic
ModelDMC-FZ30
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length49.8 mm
Exposure Time1/160 sec
Aperturef/5.6
ISO Equivalent80
Exposure Bias0.33
White Balance (10)
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis19-Aug-2006 23:39
I was wondering who would be the first to find and comment on this image. More than 100 people have looked at it before you, Chris and you have left the first observations. Thank you. Yes, it is timing that makes street photography work. In my studies of pedestrian traffic, I noticed that intersections always create a flow of people facing us. Sometimes they walk towards us, but often they must wait for cars to pass. Cars have windows, so there is always the chance that we might catch one person through the glass while another remains outside of it. That's what happened here. I had no idea what kind of expression they would have until I made this image. I was delighted with it. I was fortunate to be able to make this picture, but I also worked very hard to make it. I liked the contrasting appearance of these two people -- but I had to catch a car at just the right instant to make it work. After five tries, it happened.
Chris Sofopoulos19-Aug-2006 19:30
What an amazing timing Phil?? You focused two women, one from the window and the other above it. Most of all for me is the expressions of them and especially of the woman on the right. Very strong portrait you captured!
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