01-SEP-2004
Lottery ticket seller, Bilbao, Spain, 2004
My story here is simple -- either buy a lottery ticket from her and hope for the best, or catch a good deal on clothing while you can. I saw it as soon as I framed the shot – the symbol of the Spanish lottery saleswoman crossing her legs before her on the stool, juxtaposed against the symbolism of a store window filled with bargains, and also featuring legs – this time the legs of manikins. This picture is one of those rare hybrids – it is actually an environmental portrait of the sales lady, but because of the strong relationship between her job and the bargain basement prices in the window, this picture is most certainly a street photograph as well.
05-SEP-2004
Laundry in the Alfama, Lisbon, Portugal, 2004
This is perhaps the luckiest example of street photography in this gallery. I just happened to be passing by the open back door on the second level of a house while this lady was hanging laundry high over a winding street in the Alfama, Lisbon’s oldest neighborhood and probably its most picturesque. And to make it even better, the flag of Portugal was hanging over the street from the house next door! But lucky as my magical appearance on this spot was, I had to make the shot work. To do that, I had to capture the instant in time when the tensions in this image were the highest. The energy crackling between the reaching fingers of the woman and the laundry itself is one of those things that only happen when the shutter is released at the right moment in time. To get this shot I took it again and again as the old laundry came in and new laundry went out. But this is the moment that best tells the story.
31-AUG-2004
Technician hunting for his client, St. Malo, France, 2004
I was lurking inside of an archway, focusing my camera on a patch of sunlight in the street and waiting for someone to walk into my picture. Instead of shooting from outside the arch in, I turned things around and tried it in reverse. It worked -- a lot of folks came by, but none as intense as this fellow who seems to be a technician in search of his customer. Once again, I used my spot meter to expose for the bright light on the street itself, which made all shadows become very dark. The image becomes quite abstract as result – the late afternoon light falls on side of the technician and dramatically carves his shadow onto the paving stones. But the stage here was not a stage, nor was this man an actor. All is real. The theatricality comes from nature itself, and the story, frozen within the frame by light and by time, is all about a man in search of his work. And I was able to capture this moment in time, light, and space because of my position, deep within the shadows of the archway.
05-SEP-2004
Newsstand, Lisbon, Portugal, 2004
A close look at the titles on this newsstand will tell you what Lisboans are buying these days. The vendor herself fades into this kaleidoscope of color as she takes advantage of a free read. She was so absorbed with her discoveries that she never saw me make this picture. The story here rests in its incongruity –the lusty Portuguese magazines that cover her little stand and seem to bury her inside of it, are obviously aimed at young men. This elderly woman, who by rights should be any place but in these macho surroundings, seems so utterly at home with it all.
03-SEP-2004
Window shopping, Braga, Portugal, 2004
The charm of old European cities comes from the juxtaposition of 18th century streets and 21st century life. Street photography fits such scenes well because they can display contemporary people inhabiting surroundings quite different from those we are used to seeing. While wandering the ancient but tidy streets of this little town in Northern Portugal, I found myself walking towards a dead end flooded with light and filled with geometry. It was a Sunday, so most of the stores were shuttered and most of the people here were visitors. Although the shop at the corner had its awning out and interior visible, it too, was closed. I simply stood well back in the shadows and shot various visitors silhouetted against the lighter building as they insisted on peering into the windows of the tiny shop at the corner. I was looking for effective body language, and I found it when this particular man bent his head forward towards the window, and in so doing, echoed the angle of the awning above his head. He, and the woman who shops alongside of him, are thus seamlessly integrated into the space that flows around them. This image also works because of its negative space – the spaces between the awning and the man, the man and the woman, and the woman and the window, fairly crackle with tension and energy. I have captured a moment in time and integrated these people into the design of the charming space that surrounds them to tell a simple story: the 21st century meeting the 19th century on common ground: shopping.
03-SEP-2004
All wrapped up, Braga, Portugal, 2004
When we tried to visit Braga's Baroque cathedral, we were asked to wait a moment – a wedding was just ending and another was about to begin soon after. It was a September Sunday in Portugal, and matrimony was that day’s biggest attraction. We were told we could have fifteen minutes to look around the old church between weddings. Meanwhile the street outside the cathedral was jammed with well-wishers clutching handfuls of rice and flower petals. Suddenly the bride and groom materialized before me – I had an unobstructed shot, better in fact than the official wedding photographer, who had somehow gotten himself and his strobes and multiple cameras all tangled up in the crowd behind me. But what good is a picture of just another smiling bride and groom, I thought to myself? And then it happened – the groom spontaneously lifted the bride’s veil just as they reached me, and incongruously placed it over his own head as well. I caught both them of grinning at their first joke as a married couple, and even captured the blur of his left hand as he was whipping it back down to his side. I used my spot meter to focus and expose on the bride’s white gown, darkening the background to make the couple pop out of the frame in natural light with startling clarity. This shot made the required tour of the Cathedral superfluous. I had made my best shot right out there on the street – where somehow the best photographs usually get made.
03-SEP-2004
Where’s Dad? Braga, Portugal, 2004
When shooting in the streets, you never know when the next opportunity is coming. It might be just around the corner. Or it might not be there at all. On this particular afternoon, I had detached myself from our tour group in Braga and after a few hours of exploration, the weather began to deteriorate, black clouds were rolling in, and I was ready to call it a day and return to the bus, which would take me back to our cruise ship. As I was walking past the Cathedral, I noticed that still another one of that day’s many weddings was about to unfold. A long red carpet, extending many blocks along the main street of the town, welcomed dozens of guests flowing towards the cathedral. Gradually, the guests diminished, and as I walked down a long, deserted portion of that same red carpet on the way back to my bus, the last person in the world I expected to meet was none other than the bride herself! Yet there she was, standing next to her car, with mom and others in tow. She had a cell phone pressed to her ear and a look of desperation on her face. I instinctively pivoted my camera as I walked past, and fired several times. None of them ever saw me – between the peals of thunder and the crisis at hand (Where’s Dad?) – they were too distracted to notice an old American shooter hunching over his waist level camera. Meanwhile, I had just made my second successful wedding picture of the afternoon in Braga – this one a classically incongruous street photograph telling a story rich in human values. Desperation, frustration, anxiety, panic, resignation -- human values all-- are all expressed in this street shot. I was able to make three pictures before the Portuguese bride snapped her phone shut. This was the one that worked.
06-SEP-2004
Chiado Bus Stop, Lisbon, Portugal, 2004
Street photography also lends itself to expressing those bonds that tie small groups of people together. Such is the case in this photo, which I made at a bus stop on the slope of a hill in Lisbon’s Chiado neighborhood. This picture is all about unconscious, unacknowledged bonding. Eight strangers, yet together they are forced to create a group that does not acknowledge human contact, at least for the moment. In fact, their body language expresses a sense of resignation. It is ritualistic, orderly, and expectant. I stood across the street from these people, this time using my Leica Digilux 2 at eye level, taking advantage of the detail produced by its remarkable lens, and using its huge LCD screen to compose my image. I could not have asked for a more coherent arrangement of figures – the group has magically composed the picture for me. Two women, wearing pink and red tops, appear as “book ends” on the ends of the tableaux. The three seated figures huddle in the cool shadows of the center, while the two people standing on the inside of the shelter each hold on to something with one hand. The woman at the left end lowers her head to touch it, while the man at the right end supports himself by holding on to the waste receptacle. None of them seem to notice me – they are all focusing on something other than the street shooter on the other side of the avenue. Most likely, they are concerned about the bus that has yet to arrive. I was intrigued by the incongruity of the man who is there, but really not there – appearing only as a phantom on the back side of the bus stop shelter’s frosted glass panel. Another incongruity is created by the sign over their heads, bearing the slogan “good to know you” yet most of these Portuguese people could not read those words, and if they did, their body language would say otherwise. Street photography can offer viewers slices of life that capture the essence of a place. To me, this bus stop represented just such a challenge. What do you see this image as saying? Do you have any questions to ask me about street photography? I welcome your own views on my interpretation of this scene. We can all learn from your comments, your questions, and your critiques on this image, and the other examples in this gallery and in this “cyberbook”. I’ll try to respond as best I can, shaping a dialogue that can greatly enhance your understanding of expressive travel photography. Thank you for viewing this gallery, and hopefully for participating in the discussions that can flow from it.
