living in a hole in the wall

Very nice contrast of angles. Makes me feel peacefull looking at it. Have you tried sharpening it digitaly?

A calm picture with a provocative title. Is he really living there? He does not seem to be a derelict. Tidily dressed, coomed and apparently relaxed he is reading today's (or last year's?) newspaper. Despite his personal circumstances he kept his will and dignity.

 

It is a pity that the light is flat on this picture. No sun, no shadows, no depth - without these the scene remains strangely dull. I am not moved by it. Without having a strong enough telephoto lense you had to stay away from him and that is what the viewer does, too - stay away. I don't think it would have been necessary to enclose hole, wall and pavement in your crop. The man, his shoes and the rest of his belongings tell the story.

As I look at the image, there seems to be evidence to suggest that he is living there. I see a pillow and, strangely enough, what looks like a few books stacked along the wall. Yet, I agree with Birgit's point about the lack of intimacy in the image. I wish a closer shot had been taken too. The man and his belongings scream out for us to come closer and to get to know him and them better.

 

At the same time, I'm really taken by an interesting "design" element here. As I started to view the image, I was struck by the fascinating lines above and below the niche. The lines as they fan out add a bit of compositional energy to the image that is quite appealing. It adds a nice quasi-abstract element to the photo that I do like. The photo therefore has plusses and minuses to me, but it works overall for me.

Estoy de acuerdo con los comentarios anteriores: esta foto TAMBIEN pide un primer plano, y digo también porque así es distinta y genial. Aquí parece que has jugado más con elementos de composición, con las líneas convergentes, la forma de la ventana, el ángulo de toma.

 

Un primer plano nos daría otra idea de esta persona, veríamos su expresión, pero sería otra foto distinta. Una pena lo de la luz, no sabes la rabia que me da cuando visito sitios con muchisimas posibilidades y el día esta nublado, sin una gota de luz, es desesperante.

I think a closer shot would have been a different picture here.

 

In the way this picture is composed, with the man at the "far" (background?) side of the photo, I feel there's a certain distance between the viewer and him (you could have even increased this distance with an horizontal composition). So I feel viewing this that this man is not like us so we keep some distance.

 

Taking a different picture, the message could have been completely different. Because this man DOES look like us in a way, he's well dressed and reads a newspaper, a closer shot tighter on him would convey the message that in spite of some differences that we all know about (rich/poor, north/south blah blah blah), we are all together here.

 

So in this picture, it looks as if you're afraid of him (although he doesn't look frightening), afraid to disturb or you didn't make contact for other reasons. Maybe you didn't dare trying, maybe he didn't look like he'll appreciate. If he's at home (...), it's not polite disturbing a man reading a newspaper in his living room... But maybe you did make contact because judging from the rest of the pictures in your portfolio, you seem to have a very good contact with people... So I'm left to think you composed this shot to show us the distance between us and him, or between him and other people. Am I wrong? (I do realize that because the slope of the street, shooting from the other side would have resulted in a completely different perspective)

 

As for the light, I agree this picture is a bit flat, but I won't blame the light... I only do B&W so I'm not really qulified to judge colors, but I've seen many times treatment of color photos that achieve very nice color and contrast, even in low/flat light situations. For me the colors here and the flatness of the picture are a technical point, something that you'll learn to deal with... (something that can be corrected digitally?)

You dont say what focal length lens was used here but it strikes me as wide to ultra wide angle, shot vertically with parts cropped from top and bottom (just guessing), and that explains the amount of path. Im unhappy about the path because it leads the eye either left out the picture or down out the picture and both should be avoided. The one and only benefit from the path is that it shows the guys shoes. That little triangle of path has to be included.

 

Given MGs concern on recent paths of mine, I would be interested to hear his take on the amount of path included in this picture.

 

I think you could have got a lot nearer the subject and you chose not to do so either because you didnt want to get too in the face of this guy or you wanted to display the hole he lives in. I dont think theres a lot to be gained by showing us the whole hole. Thats easy for me to say because I can see the whole hole and if we had more of the guy and less of the hole I might be asking wheres the hole? Thing is, this business with the hole is because you put it in your title. But the hole is nowhere near as interesting as the guy who lives in it. Put it this way, if the guy wasnt in the hole would you have stopped just for the hole (I cant call it a hole any more. Im gonna call it an alcove)? No? So thats why I figure there was a little apprehension in getting closer to this guy. Muster the courage. Give us the guy and forget the alcove.

 

In any case Im not persuaded this (Im getting sick of writing guy now. Im gonna call him a gent) lives in the alcove. If he did would he truly have the time to spend reading what looks like a crisp todays paper? Sat there with his straight back and modern spectacles?

 

The light is flat here but I dont think the absence of direct lighting and shadow diminish the picture but rather enables us to see more clearly and enjoy the natural tones.

 

Now that you've mentioned it, Phil: I admire the straight back of this man. Whoelse of us has such a good posture while reading?!

I don't think we need to be any closer to this guy. I expect this view was purposely chosen to show the hole in the wall as the entirety of his home, highlighting his material condition, as well as producing a strong composition using those converging lines. What I like most about this picture is the apparently positive spirit exhibited by this man in severely reduced circumstances. Compared to homeless people in the West - who we often see looking unkempt, unwashed, and frequently the worse for drink - this man appears to be bearing his lot with a quiet dignity. He reminds me of a buddha statue sitting in a meditative pose in his wall alcove. The flat lighting doesn't bother me. I think with strong sunlight and shadows the quiet, restful mood of the image would be compromised. Although the composition contains strong graphic elements with its leading lines and colour, the image doesn't depend on them for its main strength and so those graphic elements don't demand support from more expressive lighting. It's a fine picture from an impressive Indian portfolio.

The shot as it stands has character, beautiful color, and a softness of light that I rather like. It does have a distant feel to it, but the cropped version posted above helps alleviate that. I feel the cropped version is an improvement. It feels more intimate. We may not need to be quite that close to achieve a more intimate feeling, but I think we should move in a bit.

 

I'll attempt to post an alternative crop below, but when I tried to post an attachment earlier today I was met with a server error. Wish me luck!

Yippee! It worked! And it only took five attempts. :-)

Not quite as intimate as the previous crop, but a little more dynamic

Like Trevor, I was thinking this guy looked meditative in his posture and straight back. Perhaps he is a yogin rather than actually homeless. They are known to live without material wealth through choice, and this might explain his cleanliness, glasses and paper which might not be expected of a destitute person. Also, I would hazard a guess that tin can is for his meals of rice which is the staple diet for many yogins [mixed with tea] which I believe they call 'Tsampa'. Just my interpretation, and possible explanation.

Regarding the cropping, I really like the last one posted by Bob, as it includes the full hole, and leaves the diagonals in place, whilst still zooming in a tad. An interesting picture Marina.

I just took a peek in the rest of the folder and saw 'Living in a hole 2'. It seems there are a collection of bottles in that black box. That's curious and makes me wonder what they could be for. I'd be interested in any info you might be able add here Marina. Many thanks.

Bob, your crop is good! It gets rid of empty space, keeps the interesting lines and - most important - is not intrusive.

Thank for your time and comments. I'm very impressed of your ability to analyze a picture.

 

My English is quite poor but I´m going to try to explain this pic.

 

There was a very narrow and sloped pedestrian way between two high walls (that's the cause of the light: no sun, no shadows, no depth) without windows. One of the walls had those niches, in that pretty shapes. All of them empty, except this one, where this man was .

 

My first shot was the wall showing all the niches and the man (i show you ). I continue my walk getting closer to him and I shot a second one, only the man, and then I realized the niche had a matress, sheet, pillow, cover ...

 

I stayed stand, besides the opposite wall about three meters, and all those considerations you have talked about passed by my mind: How could he be so well dressed? If he is one of that 30% who can read, why does he live here? He has a basket with glasses, maybe he sells to tourits...

 

I tried a rapport with him, but ignored me, like an ancient maharaja would have done.

He changed his posture, put his legs up, and I shot the two pictures posted in my folder. I was so impressed that I stepped back and shot from lower level in order to enhance the dignity of the man.

 

When I asked the tour guide: "What is this man doing there?" he calmly answered: "Living there".

In India, Social Security does not cover old people, the family must take care, and if the elder does not have a family, he has to make his living in the streets.This man is very "lucky" because somebody cleans his dress and carries some food.

 

I have a similar shot i´ll post under the name " making breakfast in front of home " and i´d like your comments

 

Thank you Marina. Your response is interestingly written in crystal clear English and provides a major step in understanding your picture and its purpose.

I absolutelly love the way the curves are deformed by the optics of the lenses and how they became part of a great composition.

I like the diagonals a lot and think that a lot of the cropping suggestions would be moot if he had been sitting in the near side of the window. Maybe a B&W treatment with a little boost in contrast would be complimentary as well. A horizontal crop might also be interesting, lending itself to a better vanishing point. All in all, a very nice image.

Wow - you have gotten some very lengthy comments, Mine will be short and sweet. I really like it. I think it would possibly be stronger cropped a little tighter, but a good photo in its own right. Nice job.

A very good one, Marina, with a very interesting subject. In terms of composition I vote for the tight crop of Bob Hixom. Great one.

Reminds me of the time I was in Bombay and Calcutta. The Indians love to work and rest at the same place, thus it is not unusual to see a mattress next to their work-place in public view. In your case, just a place of rest. Very good composition in all the above images.