Urbania

Here's what I see:

• Rolled up window, to stay separate, isolated and protected. Without the wet glass, it wouldn't be near so effective. Also the window frame makes it clear that the observer is inside a car.
  
• I'm confused about what he's doing, but my strong feeling is that he's going to leave a pile of worthless trash for someone else to clean up, probably at taxpayer expense. I think he's trying to get at something of higher value. It really doesn't matter exactly, but he's making a mess for his own enrichment, small as it might be.
  
• The way he wears his pants and underwear is a statement, of generation, ethnicity and disdain for those that would object, valid or not.
  
• It stimulates thoughts of rich vs. poor, or "what should we do?", etc.
  

I like it, since it tells a strong story.

Dcstep, thanks so much for your comments. I have several things to say in response but want to wait to see if any other comments come in before responding specifically. In the meantime, want you to know I appreciate your thoughts. Just don’t want to influence others’ potential viewpoints by saying anything yet. Again, much appreciated.

I just want to say that I just noticed that the shot was taken from the back seat. It's the view that implies the the viewer has hired a driver. That could be a cab, or an Uber or a limo. That makes me think of class difference.

 

Come on friends, react to this interesting image.

Sorry, don't find it interesting - appears that the AF picked up the raindrops rather than the subject, and it became art. Neither the genre nor the execution are appealing to me. Obviously Charles and DC disagree. That is what makes a horse race! Spent more than enough time in gritty cities - happily retired on the Ranch. End of it all, ex. Pros, Photographers only have to please themselves

Taken from front seat (note the rear view mirror). Shield of rain-dropped glass made me feel tense - maybe naughty or deceitful - uncomfortable. Feelings I can live with but also learn from. Good comments on the protective/cocoon aspect of that.

 

Dcstep / Ludmilla = glass half empty / glass half full.

 

Sandy = understandable. Focus intentional - how things felt to me. Photograph not really appealing to me either. Just suggesting a story. A photograph that was made to share. Don't like just pleasing myself. Critiques I get are for listening and learning. A big part of why I took this was to hear what others saw.

 

Phil's 1st comment is better than the photo. Brilliant. Phil's 2nd comment not bad either.

 

Much appreciated, all.

Interesting on many levels and that's why I like it. The minor flaws make it real.

I also see a protected view of an outside challenging world. The view from a cave or cocoon sounds appropriate to me. The raindrops remind me of snowflakes, but the outside view is far from the jolly image of Christmas. So one can see a hint of conflict here. The out of focus scene and the faceless, apparition like figure through the rain generate distress and apprehension for me. The man’s reaching out into other’s trash symbolizes an intrusion into my private life or even my inner psyche, and the protected atmosphere creates more distress than security, as the scene makes me aware of my helpless position. On the other hand, I cannot resist sympathy for the man who is alone in the rain, not having a life one deserves. So, I am left with two conflicting emotions not able to decide if any of them should overcome the other.

I really like this photo! It has at least 3 layers ( car, window with raindrops and figure). The photo is an 'action photo' which tells a story that is not at all obvious. So it invites the viewer to figure out what's going on. Why would someone be discarding what look like plastic bottles? I find the photo intriguing and it holds my interest.

Supriyo, thanks. Tension, both emotional and visual, often motivates me and I read with interest that you feel both distress and sympathy here as well as noting the difference between the feel of raindrops on the window and what's going on beyond it. Sometimes, a conflict only resolves into an ongoing dialectic, which may be what a lot of stuff is all about.

 

Mike, glad you were intrigued and thanks for pointing out the layers you see.

 

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I obviously avoided describing what was actually going on, because I think photos don't have to be adhere to the actual circumstances of what's photographed. I purposely avoided making the story too clear, wanting projections and leaving ambiguity. I also felt the scene easily could look like what it was not and the blurriness of the car window added to my feelings about that. I also like playing with the magic the camera can perform.

 

Since this is a critique session, though, among photographers, maybe giving some insight into the move from reality to photo could be helpful and interesting --

 

This is a scene I see often in the city, so it was not unusual to me. The man had collected all kinds of plastic and glass containers from the streets into the garbage can, and was in the process of sorting them. He had a shopping cart and some other containers nearby. What he would do once sorted, presumably, would be to bring them to a recycling center and get some spare change for his efforts. It's actually a fair amount of work for not that much money and I rarely see people who do this leave a mess behind. I was waiting in the car for a friend who was running an errand in a building nearby. This is one of the poorer neighborhoods in the city. In the 15 minutes or so that I sat there, several people came by who he obviously knew from the neighborhood and their behavior toward each other and anyone passing by was friendly, even warm.

 

Now, I don't say any of this because I think the photo does or should tell this story or anyone should read it that way. Had I wanted to, I would have shot it differently to make the reality clear. And I don't say it to influence anyone to see this differently, because the photo is what it is, regardless of the reality. That's why I appreciate all the interpretations and imaginings. The world shot is often only raw material, not fact to be precisely communicated.

 

But it's revealing to think about the power both of photographing something and of looking at a photo of something and to realize how much a photograph can stray from what's actually happening and how much a viewer can give to a scene.