On the Train

How Hitchcockian . . .  I really like how the frame is almost equally divided between dark and light.

certainly among your best, if not your best, train/subway shots. And you framed it just right and proper --- i mean the actual frame!

Great shot!  I am thinking that you captured a family portrait or at least, mother and son.

Bravo, maestro! This is a classic which can match with Cartier Bresson or others from that class!

Best regards

PDE

Something about that woman and her cocked head and laced pillow, not what I would expect to see in this setting. Another interesting shot, Jack.

Amy

Thanks for taking the time to comment on this one. Taking snaps on trains is always an iffy proposition because you can't simply smile and walk away; you're kind of trapped and at the mercy of anyone who happens to take offense (as has happened to me before). Still, I can't seem to let the possibility pass without sneaking a shot.

This picture portrays a very common occurrence on trains in Japan. People work long hours and they (and myself as well) are prone to nodding off. In this case the woman has slowly settled onto the man's shoulder. He shows remarkable forbearance, I think, because I very much doubt that he's related to her at all. Looks like the man to her right is about to topple like a domino, himself.

I was looking at the young man  and I was thinking that he did not look like the older man and woman but did not want t cast any negative nets. 

"... He shows remarkable forbearance", and what a lovely emotion to witness and capture in a photograph, a moment of Zen grace which totally shows up in the picture, a snapshot of the kindness of strangers, real, yes, remarkable forbearance to be sure, and to have the cojones to steal the moment and risk transgress into indelicate territory and shoot a private moment when not invited... To be a peek-a-boo artist looking for a fix is not as easy as it may seem to the uninitiated.

“Looks like the man to her right is about to topple like a domino, himself”, is both a tragic and sublime comedy descriptor you add to the power of the picture.

Really!! ten!

I'm late to this...it's great Jack. This type of image is some of what I like best of your work. So real.

BR,  Holger

This is simply the decisive moment.  Very well done in black and white.  

I don't take candids on trains any more.  The mobile phone people have ruined candid photography.

Excellent, Jack!  Perfectly framed and in portrait format no less.  Really good.

Do you have a shot of when she woke up?  This is as wonderful as everyone has said, and I won't try to repeat it all.

--Lannie

Well, Jack, despite all the low activity these days and the numerous photos without comments, look at this. Quality always rises to the top, so it's not at all strange this photo sees a healthy amount of interaction going on. Which makes it harder to say anything not yet said. Oh well.

What a great photo.

Hi Jack,

  Wonderful b/w capture with excellent processing.  Take care, Patsy

Dreamy and poetic with a certain emotional quality.  One shouldn't disturb them.  The postures for each one of them is just perfect especially with lady's white bag in the middle but the type of lighting and its contrast add immensely to the atmosphere.  It is well framed and one can only admire this superb composition.  Masterly!

Thanks for taking the time to comment on this picture. I didn't expect the response it got but I'm certainly gratified. I love to take pictures on trains and buses but, of course, it's a dangerous proposition; there's no quick escape if someone takes exception. You've really got to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

Bachir - it's nice to see your name pop up again. I've missed seeing your work.

This is great , Jack!

Regards,

Mário

Hello Jack:

Your comments on the situation aboard the train certainly contribute to further perceive the complete environment and context. However, knowing you a bit more "every photograph", I dare say that your perception of a certain moment or subject goes far beyond in your mind...or so it seems to me, in which case, so much the better.

Your photography is rich and complex, always inviting for projection of the viewer's conscious or subconscious. In this case, I thank you for the renewed opportunity to do some of that projection. 

The photograph to me seems like it could have been taken in the 50's, thereafter or even yesterday, and not necessarily a train (for the lack of background through the window). It could be a bus station, a bureaucratic office, a high-rise, or anything you like. So it is timeless and spaceless. And the young man's apparent indifference (or tolerance as you suggest) may also be taken as a kind soul being compassionate, and even satisfied by contributing to the woman's rest.

So dear friend, as you see, one could go on and one with your Photography (note the capital P).

DG