'Praying to the Kroger Corn Display at 2 for $1.00'

This man truly is praying and upon careful inspection of the scene, his

actions and the store, it appears he is praying to the Kroger Canned

Corn Display selling canned corn at 2 cans for $1.00 though there may

be some other food stuff he's praying to or about, or perhaps he had a fit

of remorse for prior shoplifting or just prays at certain times of the day,

no matter where, or some other bizarre explanation (for the USA, not for

Muslim countries where prayers are said periodically during the day, but

he did not appear Muslim, nor did he have a customary prayer rug. This

is not a store opening or religious ceremony regarding the store, but

taken about an hour before store closing in its main front aisle -- witness

the woman in her motorized shopping cart, rear. Your ratings and

critiques are invited and most welcome. If you rate harshly or very

critically, please submit a helpful and constructive comment; please

share your superior photographic knowledge to help improve my

photography. Thanks! Enjoy! John (Any guesses? I've exhausted

my guesses, and he was so involved in praying I didn't approach him as

I normally would do.) jc

:)

I needed that.

 

I instinctively knew you, of all people, would appreciate this one.

 

Best to you.

 

John (Crosley)

 

(and all while buying some canned peaches *not corn*) Go figure. It's my reward for always carrying a camera no matter how badly I feel. There's just no other way to get these sorts of shots.

 

jc

 

;~)) back at you.

 

Well that is interesting shot.... Praying never hurts...so...:) BR Hannu

I couldn't believe, as I exited this store after paying for my canned peaches, that this guy was kneeling there with his hands spread outward in supplication.

 

It was classic prayer stance (or kneeling).

 

Even the woman, rear, looks a little 'thrown off'' by this.

 

While generally the phrase 'prayer never hurts' is true, it is not always so.

 

Think of the woman with breast cancer who needs a mastectomy, but her 'Christian Healer' tells her she needs to pray harder to God because the cancer is a manifestation of her sinful life, and then she does not get the surgery she needs so badly, and eventually dies of metastatic cancer because she foregoes the lifesaving surgery to concentrate on prayer. Wrong choice. She dies.

 

Prayer CAN hurt, at times.

 

Here it just left me scratching my head.

 

By the way, he's not on a trajectory to 'bow toward Mecca" but rather somewhere toward the South Pacific or maybe Santiago, Buenos Aires, or even the South Pole.

 

Just in case you wondered if he was a Muslim.

 

Of course he could be a Muslim with a very bad sense of direction, but that's unlikely given his physiognomy, dress, and other characteristics, in my considerable experience.

 

Any good guesses what he's doing there at 11:00 p.m. praying in the middle of the main entry aisle?

 

John (Crosley)

1. I 'd say not christian because don't pray in stores; they pray in church and at the dinner table---.

2. Not Jewish. they don't kneel and don't pray at 11PM and put hats on not off.---

3. As for muslim -his shoes are not off and it is 11PM. See an expert.---

5. That leaves far eastern like Hindu or Buddist as possiblities. See expert---

I am not an expert on prayer because it never seems to work for me. --the lady wants to pass but has to wait for him to finish

The woman in the motorized/disabled shopping cart veered left as we look at her after two of seven frames, when I stopped shooting briefly then moved to silhouette this man in the aisle for a better photo of him and the food, but in later captures, her absence made him look isolated which he was not exactly, except for the hour and, his odd (for California) behavior caused others also to veer away.

 

His hands were moving in supplication; I watched. Maybe the Jolly Green Giant was lurking somewhere with Jack in peril up some beanstalk

 

Also a guess;~))

 

And I did not see Jack or any beanstalk, so draw your own conclusions.

 

John (Crosley)

This why I spend so much time on this site and my TV is never on...this is a slice of reality one can only experience through a single image. This shot and the accompaning explanation are truly priceless! Thank you...

Great shot, John, great composition and timing.

 

Personally, I'd have gotten the heck out of there if I'd seen this, since it all adds up to "it doesn't add up". BTW, the woman adds a touch of whimsy to this weird scene.

My TV doesn't even work after the changeover.

 

This is too much FUN!.

 

I seem to have an unusual propensity for catching ordinary people doing extraordinary things, don't you think, then putting those things into images?

 

Thanks for a prizewinning comment. You made my day.

 

John (Crosley)

Thanks for the note about composition. I appreciate it. I chose this over the ones without the woman in the background to emphasize that this was during store hours and during store business and he was interrupting normal work.

 

It didn't add up to me either, which is why I had my camera on, but my biggest fear was store security, as I shop there often and don't want to get barred.

 

Timing was not an issue; he wasn't going anywhere and was oblivious to me.

 

Take this and Burka woman in the health and beauty aid section photo about two rows back, and see what wonderful stuff you can get just by walking into a store with a camera!

 

You see all sorts of wonderful things!

 

That don't always add up.

 

Sometimes life doesn't add up.

 

But the buildings was too low profile for a jetliner strike, so I felt OK.

 

Thanks Liz'; I always like your comments.

 

John (Crosley)

I join the entertainment and educative angle which He opened and try to match up with a new novel explanation of your fine documentation.

 

First of all it looks clear to me now that the lady in the background is the key figure. She has foreseen all ahead and what will happen once you have taken your motorized camera for all to see.

 

She is obviously judging whether she should be the first to through the first stone /can (as obviously you are disturbing a praying man’s private moment).

She sees - that You as a target – and being more or less stoned/or canned soon by those who interpret the scene in the same way

- and understands instantly that it is not going to affect the forthcoming to take place i.e. insertion of this photograph.

 

So, she is contemplating the odds of hitting your cam with the can which would disturb more the prayer (who is praying

for you and some cancer patients;)) and holds back as she sees the inevitable to happen i.e. you inserting the photo to the site, and taking the liberty of drawing wrong conclusions and starting a Darwin challenging guessing game of what might be the basic reason to pray in a supermarket including positions etc. ( by the way- Bible does not define where or in what position we or anybody else should pray;) -same goes for eskimos and muslims.

The idea that praying would hurt some times is out of this world:) -but makes sense with your logical thinking….

The logics of the medieval idea of cancer being a result of sinful life has been abandoned since that time – although it seems to pop up time to time. We would be in deeper shit if it would not pop up to some people's mind…correct me if I am wrong;)?

God works certainly for you and for the man in the supermercado in a more complex way than what you are suggesting- analogy to your idea would be: cut the frogs legs and clap your hands above it and conclude that if it deaf if it does not jump.

Hope you are not getting bold by now…?

So, be calm and patient - bald or not - although you have stolen the poor man’s soul by photographing him (common belief among some other tribes;)). There won’t be a revenge (for obvious reasons..)– as you seem to live in one of the safest places: LA , USA. Still, I would pray there inside or outside the supermarket, just in case and in my own way.. :) Best regards Hannu

 

Well, the first comment of yours that struck me as disingenuous was the phrase 'the praying man's private moment' . Maybe in his mind it is private, but not in a supermarket with high traffic although late at night.

 

The woman background did not know if my camera were motorized [sic -- applies to film cameras basically, but I realize what you're saying, you're referring to 'C' drive].

 

I don't know how she could have 'foreseen' much of anything -- camera data shows she was present for at most 5 seconds all at telephoto and more distance. I am not even sure she saw me or the praying or beseeching man. I don't think you can say anything about her is 'obvious' let alone me as a 'target' for anything, except the mass of my distant frame (remember this is a slight tele on a small size sensor (D300).

 

She could not possibly have known of any plans to insert this photo anywhere, as I may easily take hundreds before I insert just one photo, at least on a bad day.

 

I may indeed have blood tested 'stoned', because I am under powerful painkillers, but they do not affect my timing (super fast) or mentation, both of which have been tested using such pain relievers but I have not been canned. You cannot fire an unemployed person. ;~))

 

(in case you haven't heard I'm passing a kidney stone, one of the worst pains known to mankind.)

 

And yes, indeed, praying is not always benign if one ignores necessary medical care for prayer only, although a tenet of some religions -- same with withholding transfusions -- where the result is to die rather than be transfused. In years before World War II, whites would not stand to be transfused with 'black' or 'darkie' blood, but the blood was always red, no matter what.

 

And of course you bring up and discredit that old canard about 'stealing souls', by photographing a person, but I took a photo once (not of a person actually) and started a riot in Paris in its black and 'animist' section, from someone who THOUGHT I had taken their photo and thus her soul. I note member Bob Kurt's biography says 'Thief of Souls' which to me indicate he takes lots of photos, as he does.

 

Of course you have extraordinary ESP powers for you can know what this woman is 'contemplating'. Why didn't you tell us before hand of the impending deaths of Michael Jackson and others and the mode of death of each through your ESP.

 

Oh, I do believe in Darwin, so if you will condemn my soul to hell for that, that is your privilege, if you can indeed find my soul in an -X-rray or ultrasound or next time you are spoken to by God himself, who is MUTE in speaking to me, though I do have my antenna up.

 

Advice: To find my soul, don't look at X-rays and ultrasounds, just look through my vast portfolio as others have done who have claimed to find my soul and have written me about it.

 

You might be surprised.

 

John (Crosley)

( all the definitions of "fantastic" applying here ! )

 

All the meanings of the word 'thanks' apply here.

 

I've missed you and your critiques my friend (does that mean my photos haven't been good enough?)

 

Did you see the burka woman buying 'beauty aids' photo from a few months ago in this folder, similar theme but in a drug store/variety store.

 

;~))

 

You just gotta take your camera, and be ready to expose a few frames at any notice and keep your eyes open; and fire while others are too mystified to realize what is happening or to chastise you.

 

;~)))))))

 

That's what I do; and it usually works quite well.

 

That's mainly my secret. just keep your eyes open, get an innate feel for composition so it's built in; did you know I wrote a while ago about composing in my drug-induced sleep, about fantastic scenes with a Leica nonetheless, and a companion, taking portraits of a performance artist with painted face against a fabulously decorated museum wall, with myself swaying to and fro with the artist, try to frame just so. (I learned from that I dream in Technicolor)

 

Once you frame photos in your sleep like that, and carry a camera, just adjust the settings for each time the light changes and the zoom for probable capture distances and then everything's almost preset (you already have preset ISO, aperture and shutter speeds you will use in each circumstance - it takes a few moments, but not on an M8 Leica of course--there you have to remove the back, endangering your life in battle, or so reports indicate.

 

The Leica 'feel'.

 

I prefer the Nikon feel.

 

Best to you my good friend. Please stay in touch as I enter the end stages of passing a kidney stone and about 2 months of almost total bed rest. (and no TV either or even mostly radio.)

 

It's like being in jail only having your own body torture you every day and night nonstop -- forget Abu Ghraib and water boarding.

 

Give the prisoners a kidney stone and they'll talk, no question.

 

;~))

 

John (Crosley)

"End Stages" sounds good : It means you'll be over with it very soon : You'll be back all over the city with your camera before you know it.

 

( and no TV is good ( very good ))

 

I had to be away from PN for quite a while ( You should get use to that by now ;-)) )

 

I have a lot of photos to go through, and as awlays, I take my time to look at rather than just see photos. You'll probably get a few comments from me in the next few days/weeks.

 

 

I like the juxtaposition of this man's apparently spiritual moment and the commercial nature of the world around him, complete with large "$1.78" sign. Perhaps he is accustomed to prayer in cornfields and felt that this was the closest he could get in an urban area.

 

The composition is definitely all the stronger for the woman watching in the background. And the inclusion of the two sides of the aisle gives useful context ("juicy juice" is a nice touch). However, the consequent converging diagonals and the whiteness of the deli counter behind the background woman lead my eye away from the man on his knees and towards the woman. In a perfect world, that would be different, but one has to work with what one is given.

 

That's a minor compositional nitpick, though. Most importantly, it's a great moment and how wonderful that you had your camera with you and were able to access it quickly enough to get the shot!

 

I hope the pain has passed and that you (or at least, your kidneys) are no longer "stoned".

 

John, You kill me. How do you do it.

You're the king of "always carry your camera." Very good human interest photo.

I'll look forward to as many comments as you wish to give.

 

I always enjoy them.

 

You are always welcome here.

 

john

 

John (Crosley)

I also like the juxtaposition. I'm probably now well deserved for promoting myself as the 'king of the ironic juxtaposition' which stems from my first posting here -- 'balloon man' (happy, smiley balloons, with a sour faced man) and on and on.

 

Things like the $1.78 sign are just the surrealness that makes such photos successful, I think. I LOVE such photos. That's why I love photography -- to discover and take a photo such as this (and only three rates so far, if you can imagine - and two of them may be bots as they were posted within a minute of posting and both were the lowest possible).

 

I laughed when I read about 'accustomed to praying in a cornfield and this was the closest he could do in an urban area. . . ' -- BRAVO for making me laugh. I think that is one of the best comments to date; are you a comedian or comedy writer in another life?

 

I took two sets of photos in the brief time available to me, since store security was somewhere else, as they usually are right there across from where he was praying. I had to be very careful not to get kicked out of the store permanently, so I moved quickly.

 

First photos (two), showed the woman, in the background, and I include lots of extraneous detail to show the surrealness of his place of prayer,but it did not outline him so well.

 

By the second series within a half minute, she was gone, he was more centered, and I was closer, but it looked like the store was empty, so I went with the first.

 

Compositionally, the second set was better for showing the guy, but photographically the first set is far better for the greater surroundings and her presence.

 

I think in this case, your eye is meant to be 'lead away' to see the juxtaposition, and to drink it in. I don't worry about a 'perfect world' - especially in 'street'.

 

It's a rare day when I don't have a camera, and see the booty that I have in my portfolio to show for it. It's a good lesson for the budding 'street' photographer.

 

My camera is always preset with proper ISO, preset for focus distance and zoom length for probable captures. I am certain that the shutter speed matches the motion I expect and will stop it, and still gives me an aperture I can live with - and I do that by setting my ISO to the lowest number that will accomplish that -- each and every time I go in or out of doors (through the buttons and wheels on top of the camera - rather than going through the menus -- it only takes maybe 5 or six seconds while walking to do that, whereas through menus would be horribly time consuming and irritating to yourself and any companion.

 

I think the stone has passed,but by morning I meet my doctor (the 9:00 am. appointment time will last all day, I am certain and it's not the stone, it's the plastic tube called the stent that seems to take an act of God to get this hospital to find time to remove.

 

Until then I'm in horrible pain, lessened by narcotics, which I tolerate OK,but even a strong dose of two is not enough many times and other meds are necessary, and I become bedbound or worse.

 

Thanks for the encouraging words.

 

If I were paying, the stent would be gone by now.

 

The kidneys can produce like a fire hose, I found out last week when I went to the hospital for two days for excessive pain and they filled me full of morphine. I literally lost 7 pounds of fluid, the only way you can imagine (I didn't think it was possible, since I wasn't really drinking at all. I felt as though I had drunk a keg of beer (without the alcohol), and was suddenly able to get rid of the evidence. Oh what a relief!

 

Again,, thanks for encouraging words and your engaging critique.

 

John (Crosley)

I am glad I 'kill you'.

 

Them's proud words in my vocabulary.

 

It means I kept my eyes open, my brain engaged and my camera at the ready at all times and never too proud to stop in my tracks to try to take that great photo.

 

That's all it takes, really.

 

Plus practice.

 

John (proudly) (Crosley)

Let's play 'let's suppose'.

 

Maybe he fears death.

 

He's a guy like me, only with prayer.

 

He'll stop everything to pray at the mere thought of death.

 

Pretend I've caught him in an act of practicing for the big prayer to save his life, just as I take photos no matter where.

 

It could be just as bizarre as that.

 

Or maybe he's practicing for a part in a play or film.. (he's near Hollywood).

 

Maybe he's just very, very religious.

 

Maybe he's been out with another woman and now has to go home to wifey (like Governor Sanford, but he has learned to be better prepared than Gov. Sanford).. . . .

 

It's all guesses.

 

I don't interrupt those praying, especially in a bizarre manner, for fear of intruding more and causing a scene.

 

Or worse.

 

Every once in a while you run across a psychotic person,and who is more likely to be psychotic than a person who prays to a display of canned corn (not that I have any 'inside' information or any real information one way or the other - it just seems strange that this man is doing what he's doing, and he's probably the last person I want to be asking 'why are you praying to this canned corn display?'

 

I guess you get the point -- no one except this man has the answer, if in fact he happens to know.

 

I used as an attorney to represent a substantial number of truly psychotic people and at any one time, I often represented a number of people who when they did not have their medications actually believed they were Jesus Christ or some other Biblical figure.

 

And also those who believed in reincarnation with one of the most popular reincarnated figures being one of the Pharaoh's Generals -- I saw so many pharaohs generals that I believed it was just the same 'general' in many incarnations come to haunt me as I tried to get Social Security Disability for him/her. ;~))

 

And these people are not just impostors, they actually ARE (in their minds) those they think they are. So, if a guy's a reincarnation of a Pharaoh's General, what do generals do? They kill armies for a living and 'enemies of the Pharaoh' If I carry a camera, perhaps that's the sign I'm an enemy of the Pharaoh -- thus no questions in such questionable circumstances (though I might stand around and watch, hiding my camera).

 

John (Crosley)

Three rates, 23 comments -- to date.

 

Don't ask me how.

 

I don't know how this became such a popular photo for discussion, but no rates.

 

But who cares about the rates?

 

When there are now 23 comments.

 

Ratings almost mean nothing when there are 23 comments, even if half to date are mine.

 

Thanks commenters.

 

John (Crosley)

Perhaps if you pray with more fervor you'll get more ratings ;-)