I'm one of those people who can't sleep on airplanes or in airport terminals--there's just too much sensory stimulation. I tend to sit and observe, camera nearby, the people who seem, for the most part, completely bored. Imprisoned in the human zoo.
The picture in the Gallery was one of those fortuitous moments when chance favored the prepared. The sun was finally starting to make some progress in cutting through the murk outside. I was sitting, looking at the scene around me, when the man with his back to me turned the page of his newspaper and the two faces popped out. I reached for the nearest camera in the bag beside me and grabbed a quick frame. Unfortunately, in my haste to get the camera out, I managed to activate the built-in flash. Ugh. Turned it off and got another frame, but this one was unsharp due to camera shake, and the woman center right had her eyes closed. One more trip of the shutter got the frame that's in the Gallery. Another second later and the whole scene had changed--the woman closed her eyes again, the man turned the newspaper page and the woman in the foreground shifted her position...
Comments:
Trevor Cunningham: Oh my how i despise airports...lovely capture of the faces in paper and on shoulder...i'm awfully bored by the person in the foreground, but then i guess she was too.
Reply:
I used to love airports. I still do, once I'm though the check-in and security screening. They're such target-rich environments for the visually inclined.
Chris: They all look very warm and comfortable.
Reply:
I believe they were warm, but judging by the amount of shifting and restlessness I don't think they were all terribly comfortable.
AZ: Waving arms and jumping up and down for Rich Mason's wonderful transit picture. Best "street" shot I've seen anywhere in aeons!
Reply:
Thank you. I think it's one of the best pictures I've ever made, on or off the street.
Dave:
This is, in my opinion, a truly fascinating image. Full dynamic range from the whitest white to the blackest black. Composition is excellent. My eye (I only have sight in one) enters the image at the upper left and is led to each face, one by one. There is an odd feeling of balance... two men facing away, two women facing the photographer but not looking at him, and the male and female images in the newspaper staring directly at me. An airports is a place where one can be totally alone in the midst of a huge crowd.
Reply:
I usually like cleaner (less is more) compositions, but the more I look at it I think I did achieve a simplicity of composition despite the number of subjects.
Jim Davis: And other than Rich Mason's magnificent photo, ditto for the rest of this week's submissions. How much is Picasso's worst painting worth?
Reply:
Thanks. I think people are paying for the name, and Picasso's paint brush would fetch more, due to its association with the artist, than the same brand and condition of brush found at a thrift store.
Dean:
The faces staring back really make that a wonderful dramatic image. Without
those faces would not be nearly as strong. Image in paper almost looks like
the woman but older. This wins the challenge that a good photographer should
be able to take a great shot even in the most mundane of places such as an
airport waiting area.
Reply:
Yes, I imagine it's a matter of attitude. I've convinced myself that I can make at least a decent photograph absolutely anywhere. I've thought of teaching a basic photography course where one of the assignments would be for all participants to photograph in the same defined space--the same room, a 25 foot stretch of an alley, a yard, etc.--and see what the results are.
Polly:
I especially like Rich Mason's shot. It's interesting to note how the men
have occupied themselves reading but the women are either dozing or lost in
thought. I'm also struck by the composition - which effectively
includes 2 extra people - ie the images in the newspaper.
Reply:
It was also helpful that the one corner of the newspaper folded back as it did to allow the head in the background to work into the composition.
Bob Talbot: Probably my favorite of the week. One of those images I wished I could take.No doubt it will soon be illegal to take photos (or even possess photographic appareil) within an airport terminal.
I love the repetition of faces moving back through the picture. Everything is exactly as you would want it to be for the picture as shown to work. Did you know all these people and get them to pose "masters of the decisive moment" style or was it truly a found image? Please tell me it was a set up - then I won't feel quite so inferior in failing to notice and capture such scenes myself :o)
Reply:
I don't think the possession of photographic equipment is going to become illegal any time soon, at least not in the USA. Some countries are very strict about this, especially when it comes to photojournalists. In US airports (or is it with certain airlines?) photographers actually get special dispensation to have more than the normally allotted carry-on bags.
It was set up. There, feel better? Set up by serendipity, of course. No posing, cutting and pasting or changing of the content (save conversion to b&w) was done by me.
Darin Heinz:
I REALLY love this image. Faces, newspapers, boredom everywhere! The men
read, the women sit patiently. If I didn't know you, I would have suggested
liberal use of copy and paste with PS. The woman in the middle ground is an
uncanny match with the image in the near man's paper. Wonderful tight
composition: Left edge meets paper edge; foreground woman is slumped in the
lower corner of the image; lonely space fills the adjacent lower corner.
Subjects are tightly stacked Tetris-style throughout the central horizontal
band of the image; angular lines and sweeping curves cooperate to form a
delicate web for my eyes to trace back and forth. The only part of the photo
that bothers me is its "grayness"; perhaps a slight brightness/contrast
shift could make the difference. Great job.
Reply: Darin? What have you done with Craig? It's good to hear from you.
Boredom, yes. I was probably the only person there that wasn't bored in the least. I was almost disappointed when they finally called my flight two hours or so after its scheduled departure.
The slight grayness may have come from my conversion of the original which was in color--it was one of those cases where the color of mixed lighting sources (blue, foggy daylight through the windows, tungsten overhead and fluorescent light in the background) worked against the picture.
That brings me to another point: I would much rather see a technically flawed but interesting photograph any day, over one that is a technical tour de force, but achingly dull. I used to work with at the same place as a photographer who was a technical wizard, but whose choice of subject matter and composition was best suited for the lining of bird cages, or used as insulation in a pair of unlined boots.
Thanks again, all, for the reviews and comments. I've had a tough time lately getting fingers to keyboard.
Cheers, Rich Mason
http://richmason.com
