I try to keep my street photography as simple as possible, making sure that everything in the frame helps the picture work. I spent over a half hour working on this shot, shooting people passing through and by the great Moorish-style horseshoe arches which serve as the main entrance to Lisbon’s central commuter station. My goal was to use the doors as context, offering the viewer a sense of place. The spacing, attitude and body language of the passersby would tell my story, but I had no idea what my finished picture would look like beforehand. In street photography, you never do. I don’t control the image. I am an observer – I may build the stage, but the actors must play their own roles. Most of my early shots were just of people walking by – literal, cluttered snapshots. There were far too many people in the frame as well, so I had to wait until the crowds thinned out and the picture simplified itself.

I noticed the woman at left early on – she was not going anywhere. She was either waiting for someone, or she was a person in need of funds, because she often stopped to talk to people, most of whom walked right past her. She became my focal point and as the crowds gradually thinned out, fewer and fewer people engaged her in conversation. Folding her arms in on herself, she eventually aligned herself squarely in front of one of the two doors. When the man at right walked into my frame, I timed my shutter release to align him in front of the other door to create a study in contrasts. The two doors are identical mirrors of each other, but the two people are about as far apart in mood and manner as two people can be. She looks past him and he looks past her. She stands still and he is moving. He is big and she is small. There is an obvious difference in both gender and race as well. They do not acknowledge each other, and they take their environment for granted. They might as well be on different planets, yet these massive decorative doors, representing another era, link them forever within a moment of present time.

This is one of those images that leave the point of the story to each viewer to figure out. Some of you may see different things going on here than I did, and that is what street photography is all about. Effective street photography is not always not tidy or definitive. This image asks questions of the viewer, and each of you must answer for yourself. What does this picture express to you? Does it work? If so, why, and if not, why not? Please post your comments, pro or con.