STREET SEEN

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Wow, this is quite bold, especially because of the amount of space the man occupies in the composition. As with the Shop Til You Drop photo, I think you've caught an important hand gesture, bringing life and dynamism into the photo, actually two hand gestures, one a little more of a mystery than the other.

 

I also get a strong sense of voyeurism here. I feel as if you are seeing and not wanting to be seen. The left hand reaches into his bag unconscious that someone is watching. The sense that you're shooting through a window, emphasized by your gray matt and framing, also adds to that voyeuristic perspecitve.

 

I find something a little bit imposing and a little bit intimidating here. Perhaps fear, perhaps strong intent, perhaps the distance of the unknown or unconfronted. He's a little bit like a statue in motion. Part of me feels him to be objectified (as I wonder to what extent any person in any photograph is objectified) and part sees him as larger-than-life, capturing some essential quality that is quite visceral.

 

I can only imagine what it must feel like to know you are being seen like this quite regularly.

 

This is a thought-provoking photograph. Just how much is a person in a wheelchair a person in a wheelchair?

Sometimes David I come to your images just to read Fred and Jack's succinct comments. Did you ask this person if you could take his portrait? I know how difficult that is for you so I'm admiring this for your courage?! And the superb range of B&W tones you've rendered. It's poignant and personal, one immediately wonders what the "story" is here.

You never cease to amaze me! I was sitting in a McDonald's of all places with my little granddaughter (that's why we were there, because otherwise I'd have to be starving to go there). I saw a guy waiting for a bus just to the left of this guy, and decided I'd pull out the point and shoot and see what developed. Then this guy pulls up from the right and stops to wait for the bus. So snap snap snap, and this is the best of them. You nailed that so damn perfectly, that I'm thinking you probably knew it was a McDonald's too. A voyeur I am. Guilty as charged. I do like his strong facial features and the cigarette in hand.

As for you, Ms. Stone, that's just the nicest thing you've ever said to me. You come to my pics to read Fred and Jack. Thanks pal! I'm going to remember that. And, as you read above, I came nowhere near to asking permission. I was way far away and inside. Hah. LOL No I mean COL.

David,

 

I gave this a 7/7 because it is complete. There is not anything missing. When you said you were sitting inside that tells one that this is a view through a window to the world outside. The bottom is without glare and the top is slightly washed out like glare from a window.

 

Street shots are very difficult to get right. In some ways they are just like shots of wild animals that take hours and days and weeks to get right with blinds and lenes and luck to make. You had the perfect blind -- McDonalds.

 

They be reality here.

 

 

Dave: Not much I can add to the comments above -- other than to say this picture does not seem invasive or intrusive because you've treated the subject with such dignity. Your fine composition, tones, and PoV have given this image a kind of classical stature. Looking at this I feel not pity but, rather, admiration. It's easy to shoot a scene dripping with pathos, much harder to find and show simple courage. A very fine shot!

Thanks to both of you for your most generous comments and rates. It is greatly appreciated.

David, this is really great. i often see people on these vehicles, and often wonder if they really need them. this man obviously does, and i am glad that technology gives him the freedom to move around in the world. the closeness of this is disconcerting, but i mean that in a good way. it reminds me of the discussion we had about my photo of the two women at the carnival last spring. we tend to be uncomfortable when faced with people who don't fit iin to our expected norms. really great. you have my sympathy for having to go to McDonalds, but you certainly made the best of it!!!

Yeah, and I had great company too!

 

Thanks for the thoughtful comments. And, yes, you are right about how we deal with such issues. In a very real sense I invaded this gentleman's privacy. Of course, legally I was within my rights since he was on a public street. And, he never saw me take it. But what if he did see me take it? Might that have made him uncomfortable or angry? Might he have thought that I was taking his picture because he is in a wheelchair and handicapped? It's hard to say what's right. I do feel a strong sense of obligation to record what I (that's big I) see.

 

Linda, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your numerous visits to my images over the last year, and your comments. They were helpful, and meant a lot to me. I hope you have a fine holiday season, and I look forward to seeing many more of your great images in 2008. Peace

"Might that have made him uncomfortable or angry? Might he have thought that I was taking his picture because he is in a wheelchair and handicapped?"

 

My guess is that he likely would have assumed that.

 

My dad's been in a wheelchair (multiple sclerosis) since 1973 and three things he's talked about over the years: people stare, people talked to my mom instead of to him, and people talked more loudly to him.

 

Long ago, one of his NY friends from way back was wheeling him into a restaurant, to the stares of many. Loudly enough to be heard his friend said, "Too much sex!" Most of the heads turned back to their dinner plates.

 

As for how people feel when we take pictures of them, both with and without permission, something I try to keep in mind is that we photographers tend to think of ourselves as capturing the world. But we also affect it, when we are shooting and when we display our images.

As always, your thoughts are perceptive and right on the mark. Best wishes

David, I came to this one again and again, his head is so impressive that I look at it and not on his wheelchair.It feels as if this man does not like pitying looks, and carries his handicaped form with dignity.

 

It is part of life, especially where I live. I worked with them in the past, I 'm familiar with the whole arc of feelings they have, I saw so many overcoming thier invalidism with a great inner power. This is how this man feels to me, dignified with inner strength!

 

Another question raised here, is the ethics of photography, it is like photographing a beggar in the streets, it is a sad part of life in one hand, and ivasion to the person's privacy in the other.A heavy question to ponder about,but as the photo is already taken, it is a very strong image.

Thanks for your thoughts on the matter. I'm still sorting our my exact position on this privacy thing and what is right. I certainly can understand why some would advocate only taking with permission. Of course, if that rule were followed, a lot of great images would not exist today. Peace to you my dear friend, and thanks for helping me with your opinion. It is appreciated.

Dave, I too find this a marvelously interesting picture. I often judge portraits by whether or not I would like to know more about the subject. And here I definitely would like to know his story. He does have a look of strength, in spite of, or maybe in part because of, his handicap.

 

As you know, I see absolutely nothing inappropriate about taking this shot. The wheelchair is obviously part of his life. Including it,is for me, no different than any environmental portrait. Obviously, not every shot of a person in a wheelchair has value, but neither does a good portrait become inappropriate simply because the subject is in a wheelchair. I've never been a Arbus fan, because it seemed to me that she focused on the abnormalities. Here you've focused on an interesting man who happens to be in a wheelchair. A defining difference to me.

 

As for an invasion of privacy, aren't most street portraits in a sense an invasion of privacy? I may subject myself to being photographed every time I go out in public, but that doesn't mean I would welcome it.

 

This is fine work, and I think any further self-criticism regarding your inability to take good street portraits, would certainly be inappropriate.

Thanks so much.

David, What an amazing photograph that conjures up a lot of emotional response. It, of course, conjures up sadness for his immobility, but also a lot of respect as he ironically seems to be standing very tall & strong. It's one of those photographs that I think I would feel better about if I knew the subject had given consent for it to be viewed. (But I guess that could be said of any street portrait. I have many and that is always a concern for me ethically. I'm never sure when I am crossing the line). The photograph makes me very curious about his story. And very appreciative that I am mobile. And for whatever it is worth, if this photograph was cropped so that it was just from the waist up, it would still be a very good portrait. imho. Peace, Jeanne

Thanks again. Yes, it could have just been a head shot (I hate that term as it sounds so violent), but that would have been half the story. We know so much more about him and his life by showing him in the wheelchair.