Respite

Great! Even though the color palette here is kinda limited, it works more than fine. The gradient of blue tones underlines the sense of respite and the use of shapes, forms and lines is exceptional...Engaging result Jack, thanks for sharing!

Amazing amount of tension. Great work!

I get the sense that the human is being tolerated here by the wood and minerals. It's a smallish space and not a nice view. Good capture.

I feel the dampness and smell the walls.  Great shot.

Jack, The mood and composition are set to perfection for your intended enigmatic shot.  One keeps wondering what's that old man sitting on that bench doing there.  He is not totally relaxed with his jacket on and the little rucksack on his back.  Lonely, facing very close to him this partioned wall and pressurised with those heavy, well measured concrete blocks behind him. What a curious well taken image with the most intriguing story.  Amazing!

This man did not position himself in this location just to get away from the cold.  Nor is it simply a matter of taking a break.  He is engaged in an activity that, for most, is quite difficult - quieting the mind.  And the blankness of the wall in front of him is helping him along that path.  Perhaps the smoothness of the wall, compared with the roughhewn bench on which he sits and the roughhewn stone which supports him, also are tools.

 

A favorite - a must......

I wouldn’t dream of invading the man’s space but I’d wait the moment he walks away to take his place. This is great Japanese public design, a thoughtful installation I’d guess intended as a sort of Zen renewal station for stressed out citizens, and what’s not to appreciate about a momentary respite from the maddening crowd… There’s something inviting and lovely in the hardened hard-edged materials and your picture gets to the heart of it and the color tone complements the atmosphere just right.

!! !!

Between a Rock and a Hard place. Very well captured. Should we keep an eye on him to provide assistance?

(*)(*)  

'Hopeless'. Very strong image, Jack.

Those blocks of stone standing there as close friends and providing whatever that fellow needed. He is visiting his past since the future has darkened already. 

He picked the perfect spot to enjoy a few 'winks'. (at least I hope that is all he is doing-it would be nice to think he is just hiding, or enjoying a rest while the women shop!). He would almost have a lazy-boy if he had leaned against the other piller!

Hello Jack:

Long time.... Again, looking for something special and deeper, I go to your well of endless, fathomless situations, only to find something fresh and to ponder about. There is so much more to this moment. One almost can begin to find the thread to this man's life, going back in time. Would he be reflexive of his past? A world of thoughts and images may be passing by this man's mind, just as well also through any observer's mind while trying to delve deeper into your captured moments.

Warmest regards.

DG

Thanks for all the nice comments on this picture and apologies for being so slow to respond. I've lived in Osaka for 28 years and though this picture was taken in Kobe, it underscores a change I have noticed in cities in general over the years. Fewer parks are being built, fewer playgrounds as well, and what areas there were to sit and rest on your travels are fast being replaced by commercial spaces. This is one of the few places in downtown Kobe where you can take a load off and rest for a minute or two. As I get older I realize what a welcome respite this can be. Thus the title. I'm sure the older gentleman in the picture would share my feelings.

The burden of his age on his back and in front wall, no future! That would be my pessimistic interpretation of what I see on this photo, Jack!

 

Best regards

 

PDE

 

I read your comments with interest. Thankfully, San Francisco, while it's growing at leaps and bounds due to the infusion of youth and money from companies like Twitter and Google and it's become more and more citified, we've also maintained our parks well and there's a lot of energy being put into streets that now have benches and outdoor resting spots, often taking away parking spaces which is bad when you're looking for one but good in terms of the look of streets, getting people out of their cars, and finding a bit of respite among the bigger highrises going up and expensive coffee houses dotting every major street. I, too, like the blue in this and I particularly like his hand resting there on the bunch. Such a sweet and humble gesture. You've given this little corner a life of its own and, through it, transferred the quiet energy of the place and of the moment, two important things in good photos. I like how the light is stronger on the end of the bench than it is on the man himself, which suggests a presence other than the man and also shows this man not as emphasized central subject but rather as part of the scene, which he seems to be. That lighting seems to involve less ego to me.

Thanks form the comment. I'm glad to hear that San Francisco is preserving its parks, playgrounds and rest areas. Growing up in The City we took it for granted that every city had a plethora of playgrounds, schoolyards, parks and open space for kids to play. Only now do I appreciate how good we had it back then. Of course that was in the ancient times when the museums, aquarium and zoo were free of charge (through the '60's, I think. Up until the infamous Prop 16 limited house taxes) and they started charging admission which has become increasingly more expensive over the years.

 

As for your comments on the picture, especially the light. That's a good point, I think, and I'm quite in agreement with you. How you use the light tells as much about the photographer as about the scene itself. We are hardly in the age of subtlety anymore.