'The Makeshift Rain Hat'

An unexpected Spring rain shower dumps its moisture, and this somewhat

unprepared street bazaar vendor 'makes do' with a plastic bag for a

makeshift rain hat. Your ratings, critiques and observations are

invited and most welcome. If you rate harshly, very critically, or

wish to make a remark, please submit a helpful and constructive

comment, please share your photographic knowledge to help improve my

photography. Thanks! Enjoy! john

My goal first of all in 'street' shooting is to make 'interesting photos'.

If they can have some geometrical or other compositional underpinning, so much the better, and if they can tell a story, again all the better.

The background here, I think tells the story; see the wet pavement, left in for good reason.

I like the photos particularly if they tell a story how mankind, or just one person, encounters a situation and it overcame them or they overcome it, or somehow just accommodate it.

An example might be the time release found in one color photo found in my single photo color porfolio, a photo of a man on elongated crutches in the Metro, easily recognized because it's time-delayed (one second) and it shows all in orange and reddish tones, plus it shows the flow around the disabled man/beggar.

The crutches are outsize and flung far to each side of the disabled man, not much help in ambulating, but perfect for creating a disturbance among the harried commuters and Metro users, but not enough to cause trouble with the local Militia, as he is very disabled and obviously so with one foot turned the opposite direction of the other.

The crutches are so long and so outstretched, they suggest wings, and the man surely is intentionally interfering with Metro pedestrian traffic, while at the same time the Metro traffic is just veering in its time-observed flow, righta around those crutches and him - a study in mutual accommodation.

He accommodates his disability in the most public way possible, creates an obstruction, and the polite crowd just veers elaborately around him, on their way to their destination, no evil looks, nothing menacing, no fights . . . they must flow on around him, like water in a river.

Most beggars find a corner to huddle in and wear a sign, but not this bold man, he creates an obstruction, or he plants himself somewhere that it appears on his big crutches he is falling down and almost needs to be picked up (it requires huge upper body strength to hold that position) and people run to aid him, and in sympathy they leave a huge donation.  I've observed him, and I admire his inventiveness.

We nod when we meet and once or twice have spoken rudimentarily (language difficulties prevent more.

Here, the rain suddenly fell far more seriously than anyone predicrted, not the little angel drops that sometimes comes with Spring, but in a huge deluge, and this vendor could not abandon his fruits and vegetables, so he did the next best thing -- he simply popped a yellow plastic bag over his head and waited out the deluge.

Man's inventiveness; his ways of adapting, and so forth, are all things I find interesting.

I find much of the world of mankind interesting.

I don't have to turn to nature to find interesting geological formations or to macro photography to find the beauty in nature's symmetry, although it is almost always there, as nature creates wonderful, symmetrical beings.

There's much more, of course, for I find the world of humanity very intersting, and especially if I'm armed with a camera and with the self assigned mission to find and preserve those interesting scenes and moments that most just glance at or dismiss almost instantaneously and keep them for posterity.

And when I am known by those around for what I do, bystanders often begin pointing to me, showing me potential subjects and encouraging me to record what they think is interesting - and occasionally they get the mark right (seldom, but when they do, it can be wonderful, and the mere act of 'street' friendship is wonderful in itself, strangers helping a stranger).

This is my world, a world with vendors with plastic bags over their heads.

A world I'm very comfortable with.

It's a world with real people.

Lacking for the most part in pretenses as they get along with their ordinary lives.

I assure you, there's no designer label on this headgear.

(or mine)

john

John (Crosley)

Here is a link to the beggar with crutches so elongated they blocked Metro pedestrian traffic and seemed like 'wings' they were so long, how he obstructed traffic there purposefully and how (in this time delayed exposure of 1 second, ISO 200), the pedestrians flowed around him, accommodating his obstruction.

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=13120532&size=lg

'If They Were Wings'.

(If this doesn't post as link, please cut and paste into your browser).

john

John (Crosley)

Meteorologists wrong with weather forecast! :-)

It's May Day Holidays and as hot as summer!

Thanks for acknowledging the discomfort for those in Ukraine sensitive to heat and no air conditioning.

 john

John (Crosley)