04-APR-2006
On Peach Blossom Bridge, Guilin, China, 2006
Pedestrians and vehicles of all kinds converge at the approach to this bridge, which links the Peach Blossom to Banyan Lake. I chose this particular spot because of the curve in the roadway, which draws the eye into the frame. I like the contrasts here – the woman brushing her hair away from her face is only six feet away from a bicycle cart full of plastic bags and boxes going in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, eight motorbikes make their way through traffic, as Guilin goes to work
17-MAR-2006
Namdaemun Market, Seoul, Korea, 2006
This is a chaotic, vibrant marketplace, rich in photographic incongruities. Note the juxtaposition of the woman delivering lunches by balancing them on her head while a fellow in a New York Yankees cap walks just behind her. The racks of lifeless jackets in the background are incongruously juxtaposed against the clothing being worn in the street itself.
06-APR-2006
Card game, Guilin, China, 2006
This scene looks like a set from a film or stage play. I made this image from a good distance away, and the players never noticed me. Their body language and expressions are natural, and all the things that surround them are typical of a Chinese neighborhood scene. I liked the verticality of the scene – there are clothes and bikes both up and down here.
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.
24-OCT-2005
Cyclist, Guanajuato, Mexico, 2005
This young man is catching a breather beneath the arches supporting Guanajuato’s Church of Valenciana. I made this picture from relatively close range, my zoom set at a normal 50mm range. He was so preoccupied with whatever he was thinking about that he never saw me. If he were looking at the camera, it would no longer be street photography. I had time for one quick shot and reacted instinctively, shooting from the waist. The image is a slice of street life. His hands are poised in the air, about to grab the handles of his bike and pedal away. This gesture creates tension, and energizes the image. I place him off to one side to stress the strange drawing on the wall, and leave plenty of room for the cobblestone street below his feet. Detail tells part of the story as well – the bright yellow bike frame draws the eye, while his hat placement, jauntily skewed to one side, tells us more about his self-image and lifestyle choices.
29-OCT-2005
In Full Stride, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, 2005
The tiny wooden door, framed in pockmarked old stone, was incongruously set within a towering wall painted in two different colors and somewhat the worse for wear. It is very representative of Old San Miguel, the perfect backdrop for a street photograph characteristic of the town. All I needed was a human touch, a person who might bring energy and meaning to the scene. I shot several passersby from my position across the street, but the contrasting energy was lacking. Eventually a young man came vaulting up the street in full stride. He saw me aiming my camera and stopped abruptly, courteously waiting for me to take my shot. He had no idea that he was my subject and the wall and door were my context. I waved him on, and with lips pressed together and head down, he walked at full tilt towards the door so he would not interrupt my photography. As he came within a few feet of it, he made my idea work.
03-SEP-2005
Sunday Morning Walk, Zagreb, Croatia, 2005
There are six major Catholic churches in the Old Upper Town of Zagreb, and Sunday morning finds its ancient narrow streets crowded with worshippers. I saw this group of four nuns moving towards me from a side street. Three of them were bunched together in front, with one trailing behind. Using a telephoto lens zoomed out to about 150mm, I had time for one shot. I recall that church bells were pealing at that moment, and as the group stepped out of the shadows into the bright sun, the trailing nun raised her head slightly. I was able to make this photo, which offers a good example of how posture and expression and placement of groups of people in street situations can express ideas. They walk casually and easily – three silver crosses and four white scarves punctuate the dark clothing and shadowy background. The trailing nun’s expression speaks of enthusiasm and joy, even though she may be bringing up the rear.
07-JUN-2005
Chain Gang, Brussels, Belgium, 2005
At first glance, the scene seems surreal. Seven statues of a small naked boy relieving himself, are chained together outside of a souvenir shop. Yet it's all taken for granted in Brussels. Its civic identity has been tied to a statue known as the “Manneken Pis,” since the 17th century. The original, standing on a street corner only a few yards away from where I made this image, is just one foot high, and is prone to being stolen from time to time. To make sure these oversized souvenir replicas are not stolen, a merchant has created a chain gang in bronze and stone, a work of incongruous art in itself. They come in various sizes, finishes and materials and even face in different directions. They stand before a window filled with scores similar statues in smaller sizes. The shop has even constructed a special wooden ramp for these slaves to commerce. They do not come cheaply – two of them carry 60 Euro price tags. This is one of those street scenes that do not require much photographic expertise. I did not need to photographically interpret the subject, because the content is expressive in itself -- as street photography, symbolism, incongruity, and human values.
16-JUN-2005
Hair Salon, Antwerp, Belgium, 2005
This is a pre-visualized street photograph. I noticed that I could shoot into one window of this hair salon and out another. I also saw a large photomural, depicting a woman in a state of thought, next to that window. All I had to do was to wait and watch, as pedestrians passed that rear window. When this woman turned to look inside the salon as she passed, my picture came together. She can’t see what we see – the photomural is invisible to her. But we can see both her and the mural. The woman on the street becomes the object of not only our attention but she also seems to incongruously draw the gaze of the woman in the photomural. We are left to wonder what both may be thinking.
Life and Death, Salavan Province, Laos, 2005
These stupas, or tombs, of Buddhist villagers, line two sides of the community square. For generations, village children have use the tombs of their ancestors as a colorful playground. Tombs do not usually line public streets or define public recreational areas. Yet here, in a small Laotian village, they do both. To make this incongruity come to life, I focused on the tombs, and waited until a child, who was chasing another, ran through them. Shooting at 1/160th of a second was enough to blur both his hands and feet, intensifying his energy and pleasure, and adding still another layer of incongruity to the first. This child, running through life, pays no heed whatsoever to his own mortality. And that’s the way it should be.
Lineup at Mahagandhayon, Amarapura, Myanmar
The 1,000 monks, who live, study and pray at Burma’s Mahagandhayn Monastery, line up in the street for their daily meal. I made this street photograph into an abstraction by shooting some of them from behind, and using their shadows cast on the street itself to define their purpose. Monks are spiritual beings. They do not put their personal identities on display, but rather defer to their collective mission as Buddhist monks. The line of shadows is a metaphor for that spiritual quest. Shadows have no identity. And they, too, wait with infinite patience on this sun-baked street.
Chaotic Yangon, Myanmar, 2005
Yangon, formerly known as Rangoon, now has over five million residents. Its downtown area radiates from the golden stupa of Sule Pagoda. I made this street photograph from an overpass, looking down Maha Bandoola Road, one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares. Far from a literal postcard view, it is an image rich in incongruities, abstraction, and human values. It gives us a good overall atmospheric feel for Yangon, the city. The gilded Sule Pagoda, dating back to 19th Century Rangoon, incongruously dominates the scene. Only the telecommunications tower at right stand higher. There are thousands of people jamming the sidewalks and vehicles of all kinds. We see a lot of them, but most are only suggested. Using a few to imply many is another form of abstraction. You must use your imagination to see the full extent of the surging, sweating crowds hidden within the shadows, and jammed into all of those vans and buses. If there is one human value to come out of this street photograph it is endurance. It takes a lot of it to work your way through the traffic on either the sidewalk or street, when it seems as if all five million of Yangon’s residents are sharing them with you.