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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Sixteen: Story-telling street photography > Souvenir of the street, Falmouth, England, 2004
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24-AUG-2004

Souvenir of the street, Falmouth, England, 2004

This picture was relatively easy to make. I saw a young girl having a decorative braid made out of her own hair on a busy Falmouth street. Her expressive, innocent face speaks to us of the pleasure she takes in this adventure. I asked her and her dad, who was sitting nearby, if I could take pictures. They agreed and I spent about ten minutes working at fairly close range. At first she was self-conscious, but she gradually became lost her in own thoughts. I took many shots, and eventually moved in even closer to make the picture more intimate and build it around the hands. (Later I would crop to picture to make the hands come into the frame at upper left and lower right.) The hands coming from the top were doing the job, while the hand of the child was casually touching the small chain on her neck. Her red hair, freckles, and smooth skin contrast to the darker, larger mature hands that work briskly above her. The key to the picture, of course, is the incongruity of the cardboard disc attached to the side of her head. It functions as a symbolic wall between the skill of the adult and the innocence of the child. The braid itself is barely visible – to the child, it’s whole story. But the viewers of this picture will see a larger story than the braid. They will see the contrast between age and youth, commercial opportunity and childlike innocence.

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Phil Douglis08-Dec-2005 06:26
You are very kind, Benjammer. Poetry is expression. So is photography. Both can offer readers or viewers food for thought. Both appeal to the imagination. I never considered my words as poetry, but I did major in Journalism, have written books and columns and articles, and answered almost 4,000 comments here in my cyberbook. So words are at the center of my life. Images are as well. I am one of those people who is cursed with a passion for both visual and verbal literacy. Call it whatever you want. For me it is sheer pleasure.
Guest 08-Dec-2005 02:32
you are a poet as well as a photographer :)
Phil Douglis04-Apr-2005 21:56
The negative space is very important here, Ray. It creates a field of black, which offers a perfect canvas for the delicate skin tones of this child to contrast with.
Guest 04-Apr-2005 19:51
Perfect framing using the dark surrounding to emphasize the little angel even more. What a marvelous capture, Phil.
Phil Douglis27-Sep-2004 22:23
Thanks, Lara, for weighing in on this long thread as well. Your comment highlights a critically important decision I made in framing. After a number of longer shots, I realized that my story was all in the interplay of the girl's expression and hand, and the work of the braider's hands. And so I abstract the picture by moving in, removing as much irrelevant information as I could, and stressing the relationships that best tell the story here. As you can see from the responses below, this image has provoked much thought, most of which is due to this single decision.
Lara S27-Sep-2004 21:58
You captured that perfect moment. When the child is aware that someone is taking her photo all the while trying to keep poised and not too self conscious. And I like how the photograph concentrates mostly on her. We don't see much of the person weaving the child's hair, except for their hands. and that's all that's important because it's the child who's the subject.
Phil Douglis22-Sep-2004 23:22
Celia, you raise some good points here. You say that "we only know for sure that it is happening in the streets by your words." Words offer context, Celia. Particularly photojournalistic words -- and street photography is a "non-news" form of photojournalism. I feel that by telling my viewers that this image was made on the street, they will know it is not taking place in a private home. And yes, you are correct in your interpretation -- I still define street photography in its broadest sense -- human behavior exhibited in open public places.

I am sorry about the confusion caused by my paradoxical references regarding perfection in street photography. Perfection, Celia, is next to impossible in any branch of photography! (Even Ansel might well have admitted, if pressed, that one of his leaves might have been a bit blurred in his famed image of "Half Dome, Yosemite," although nobody else other than he would have ever noticed it.) I am asking you to demand perfection from me here, because it forces me to think through my images. Knowing that perfection is expected of me, and being the compulsive that I am, I must push myself harder to achieve it, even if I can't. (And besides, who defines perfection anyway? It all depends upon expectations, which are constantly changing.)

I want you to demand perfection from me because if are to forgive distractions in my images because they were "unavoidable," what is to prevent you from eventually condoning sloppy or lazy thinking on my part as well? So yes, you and I can both agree that nobody is perfect. But if my viewers, and critics such as yourself demand that I shoot to the highest standard possible, and then are willing to call me on the slightest deviation from it, it pushes me all harder to strive for excellence.

As for deliberately incorporating those window reflections into this image, believe me, Celia, I did just that in some of my early shots. They just did not make any sense, and have long since been tossed. This lady was braiding hair in front of a bank window on a busy street, a window filled with ugly, screaming stickers promoting the bank's financial products. These windows had nothing at all to do with this little girl. If banking had anything at all to do with braiding, the window would have offered natural context, and I might have been able to act on your interesting suggestion here. But it doesn't. (A few days later, in fact, I took a shot of a guy on a cell phone in front of a bank window in Dublin, and incorporated both its ads and reflections as part of my concept. The ad offers a perfect counterpoint to the wheeler-dealer on the street, and I say so in my caption. You can see in my English/Irish trip narrative
at:http://www.worldisround.com/articles/75599/photo46.html

You also link us here to my shot of the incongruously surreal shoe display in Lima, Peru. Its reflections are an integral part the surrealistic world I was trying to capture, and essential to my idea. On the other hand,
I saw no good reason to clutter my braiding image with irrelevant bank window reflections. I appreciate your suggestion to add reflected context to show this little girl off in a world of her own while life in a city flows around her. But if I did that here, the bank posters and street reflections would have utterly destroyed the simplicity of this moment. It is very difficult to make a simple image in the midst of chaos, Celia. And simplicity is the concept I wanted use here -- focusing on the child and the adult hands, and then abstracting everything else as best I could. I tried the long shot, and it was a mess. Filled with irrelevant crap that fought for attention and diminished the soft, innocent beauty of the child. I did the best I could under the circumstances, but I do not fall back on that as an excuse. This a slightly flawed image, Celia. But it works. I don't see the flaws as a mistake, but I do see them as regrettable. I fell short of perfection here, but as some commenters have pointed out here, it did not matter to them. But it matters to me.

Thanks, Celia, as always, for picking my brain, and forcing me to face these issues with you here as a public dialogue, instead of asking me these questions in a private email. I hope that anyone who reads this exchange of views might become a more expressive photographer because of it.
Phil
Cecilia Lim 22-Sep-2004 22:24
Phil, I always assumed that an image that is labeled "Street Photography'" - which by your definition is "telling stories about how people spontaneously react and interact in public places" - should at least give us some clues visually that it was taken in a public place. And I had a problem perceiving this as a public place. It very well could be happening in the outdoor balcony or patio next to a glass sliding door in the home between a mother and her child. We only know for sure that it is happening in the streets by your words, as you have eliminated almost any visual reference to the environment. But from your clarifications, street photography seems to be about capturing human behaviour as long as it was exhibited in open public places, even if there was no identifiable reference to the person's environment. Am I right in this interpretation? But I hope you know that this confusion doesn't take away the fact that this is still a brilliant photo, no matter what we both call it!

And as regards to the distracting background, you asked me not to be forgiving, yet you seem to contradict yourself when you said, "In street photography, perfection is next to impossible" (in response to Tami Barnes). But yet demand that we demand perfection from you. It is paradoxical!

I've gone back and studied your photo and comments again, and noticed that you said "In this shot, I saw no way to get rid of those distracting reflections, yet still capture both the expression and the relationship I was going after". So you sacrificed technical perfection for content. On the contrary, instead of avoiding the reflections, I wonder if you could have used the reflections to layer your image and to add context without losing the focus on the expression and relationship. I certainly feel that you managed to handle your subject and reflections beautifully in this other image without losing focus on the incongruous feet and shoes. ( Seehttp://www.pbase.com/pnd1/image/25457845 )

At the end of the day, I know that it was your judgement call, and that the busy activity surrounding this young girl was not the story you wanted to tell. But my gut tells me that if you had succeeded in working the difficult reflections of the busy street into the image, this photo would have been even more engaging and powerful. It would have isolated this girl's expression even more and shown us how far deep she is absorbed into her own thoughts and feeling of contentment.
Phil Douglis22-Sep-2004 17:00
Thank you, friend Celia, for going at me one once again, this time so positively. Your words are as eloquent in thoughtful praise here, as they were in your previous fiery, take-no-prisoners, condemnation of my work. As you well know, I am grateful for both your praise and your criticism, because you are able to teach us so much about photographic meaning in the process. I read this comment very closely, and you raise issues here that I had never even considered, either before or after making this picture. While I was much aware of the incongruity of the cardboard disc and the bizarre and unflattering treatment the child is enjoying, I was not fully conscious of the incongruity between what seems to be a public humiliation on one hand, and a sense of fulfillment on the other, until you pointed it out. Your digression into the concept of how vanity fits into a little girl's world was also fascinating. If my photograph can trigger such ideas, it is doing its job, and I've done mine as well.

Regarding the distracting background, I disagree with you slightly on this point. There is no excuse for including random crap in a picture, unless we talking Pulitizer Prize content. I was fully conscious of the reflections and the advertising in the window behind her, and took the picture in spite of it because her expression. I got what I wanted, but I also included garbage because there was no other option other than losing the shot. But why should I be forgiven for that crap? I should be criticized for including it so that I can become a better photographer, and become even more ruthless in extracting distracting backgrounds, mergers, etc. from my future images. In other words, Celia, as a critic, you are obligated to hold photographers such as myself up to a very high standard. Street photography and photojournalism are extremely demanding in this respect. I choose to do it, so I should be expected to master it. Otherwise, why bother? As you said so graphically, the best of them "can make masterpieces out of any shit and chaos that is thrown their way and communicate it, too -- so poignantly, with human values and emotion." That is our job, Celia, and you should demand the best from us. As soon as you start to "forgive" us for sins created in environments that we have no control of, you begin to break down the the discipline that is so essential to our craft. If our job is to make the finest images we can make, perfection is the only suitable goal. Anything falling short of that should be valued as a lesson, but never tolerated as an excuse.

Your question regarding the inclusion of this image in my street photography gallery is important. You seem to be regarding street photography in a very literal way, Celia, by requiring a sense of place. My definition is much broader than yours. Street photography, as I defined in the introduction to this gallery, is simply "telling stories about how people spontaneously react and interact in public places." Under my definition, we don't have to show the street or give a sense of place -- we are responsible only to express the meaning of actions and interactions of people in public places. I did mention in the second sentence of the explanation under my picture, by way of context, that this child is having a decorative braid made out her own hair "on a busy Falmouth Street?" Taking this into context, and adding it to my definition of street photography, I would feel that this image does indeed fit the the category of street photography. If I had pulled back to give you "a sense of the place she is in," I would have destroyed the meaning of this image. In any event, I am glad this photograph stirred such substantive thoughts in your head, and even happier that you were willing to write them down here with such eloquence, Celia.
Cecilia Lim 22-Sep-2004 15:40
This is a beautiful image that beams of human values and emotion, all of which are told by the child's expression and the many incongruities you have captured in this photo. It is quite obvious what a bizarre and unflattering thing the adult is doing to this little girl, and she looks quite ridiculous sitting there with the cardboard disc on her head, having her hair pulled and tangled in a jumble of threads. But despite all that, she appears very happy and contented. And it is this very incongruity of the ridiculous and the fulfilment in her face that hits me most. None of this would have worked so strongly if not for this pivotal moment you've captured in her face. The demure expression you've frozen in time here embodies the very essence of happiness & chilhood - pleasure in simple things... naivety... innocence... tenderness... hope... being able to dream without reservation or thoughts about consequences... unconditional trust in adults... What she stands for and what the adult is doing to her seem worlds apart!

This image is also very thought provoking because it raises many questions about vanity - how it fits into this little girl's innocent world. Vanity is a condition that adults are more obsessed about (not children) and often the result of pressures inflicted by our society. Has this young girl already been exposed to such pressures at such an early age? Is it all the doing of adults that constantly bombard her world with superficial values? Does she equate vanity with personal fulfilment in the form of self confidence or is it a superficial thing that is only of entertainment value to her? Do the adults who have her unconditional trust really trustworthy? Infact the person whom she trusts to braid her hair, to make her "beautiful", is the very one exploiting her for a quick buck!

And as with the nit-picking of technical flaws, some may feel that the background is distracting. I hardly think so, but I think one needs to be forgiving sometimes with photos taken in an environment you have no control of. In this case, I am already overlooking any imperfections because you have worked the image so that the message takes precedence. And LOUD and CLEAR and CHARMINGLY, it did! The muddled background is hardly a relevant matter. I personally think that street photographers and photojournalists deserve the highest "reverence" because they can make masterpieces out of any shit and chaos that is thrown their way, and communicate it too so poignantly with human values and emotion. I feel street photography here (and photojournalism) is the greatest test of one's judgement about the best composition, vantage point and lighting in a moving environment, made in the most "decisive moment" to tie everyting together in order to produce the most meaningful content. And for this , these photographers, such as yourself Phil, deserve all the praise and recognition of this amazing talent.

My only main criticism is - What on earth is this photo doing under "Street Photography"? To me, this is clearly a portrait, of a girl having her hair done. It is very much about her and less so about how she is interacting with her environment. There is simply not enough information of where she is or who the person she is interacting with is. I certainly don't get any sense of the place she is in, whereas I do in every other single photo in this gallery of "Street Photography". I think this is a beautiful and stirring image of a girl rich in meaning and expression. A wonderful portrait! It just does not quite cut it as street photography!
Phil Douglis19-Sep-2004 05:33
Whew!
Tami19-Sep-2004 05:29
Okay I get it now.

Tami
Phil Douglis19-Sep-2004 05:16
Thanks, Tami, for taking the time to ask me this wonderful question.
It is one that I have never been asked before, and I'll do my best to answer it.

You are really asking me if it is fair to hold photographers who do not control their subject matter, such as photojournalists, street photographers, and nature photographers, to the same standards of excellence that we demand from photographers who have complete control over their subject matter, such as commercial photographers, and photographic artists?

There can be no single answer to such a complex question, Tami. But I feel that the determining factor here is not really the degree of control we have over our subject matter. A far bigger consideration is the end purpose and function of the image itself.

For example, some of the areas you mention involve people who make their living in photography. The marketplace itself will set the standards they must meet, or they just won't survive. If I am a working photojournalist, and I come back to my editor with a picture full of distractions, no matter how great the expression on the kids face might be, the editor might reject the photo. I could argue that I couldn't help it. Good luck. The editor would tell me that my readers deserve cleaner, more coherent images, and than hire somebody who can find ways to avoid those distractions. In other words, the marketplace does not cut slack for anyone. It's just too competitive out there. If you can't please your boss or your customers, somebody else will. A self employed photographic artist must produce images that his or her gallery or publisher can sell, a studio photographer must please the sitter, the wedding photographer must meet the expectations of the bride and groom and their parents - or else.

And even here, it's sometimes a judgment call. An editor may see a great moment in a picture filled with distractions and still print it, because the moment is just too strong to sacrifice.

On the other hand, photographic hobbyists, such as most pbase members, have no such expectations to meet except their own. Most street photographers shoot for the joy of it. Yet as one of them, I want my viewers to hold me to the highest standard possible, because I want to give them the best experience I can. That's why I demand constant critical evaluation - how else can I improve?

In street photography, perfection is next to impossible. In this shot, I saw no way to get rid of those distracting reflections, yet still capture both the expression and the relationship I was going after. Obviously, I did not control the situation. I had to make a choice between an excellent technical performance and mediocre content, or excellent content with some technical flaws. I will always choose content over form, Tami. Content is meaning, and form only helps meaning. Did my bad form here hurt meaning here? Not according to Jen, my first critic. She criticized my distractions, as well she should have. But she was moved and charmed by this image, which is all I could ever ask from a picture. Jen knew I would have lost both the expression and the relationship if I had opted to change vantage point and eliminate the reflections.

As for that shot of your mom's expression, if you had been able to capture it, you would have cherished it, no matter how much distraction was in the picture. And then there is the question of what is distraction and what is not. An empty pot in the sink behind your mom should be there because the cleanup is part of Thanksgiving dinner. But if you had a half a pot coming out of your mom's right shoulder, that might be distracting enough to dilute the power of her expression and obscure meaning.. Distractions are often judgment calls - you have to evaluate them on a case by case basis.

I hope this helps, Tami. If you have more questions, fire away.

Phil



Tami19-Sep-2004 04:47
Should street photography and photojournalism be as strictly critiqued as studio portraiture or landscape photography? The reason I ask this question is because you have less control over your situation. You don't have control in landscape photography either but you can usually go back another day. In the studio you have almost COMPLETE CONTROL. Photojournalism and street photography is sometimes just recording the moment. You mention there wasn't a way to avoid the reflection because it was in front of a window. That is life. There are windows everywhere.
Here is another example. My mom was cooking Thanksgiving dinner one year and this look came across her face as she was stirring that I have not seen since. She went way back in time and this look let you know whatever she was thinking about was good. I snapped the shutter. The look was gone. The picture was underexposed and I missed the shot. Had I gotten it you probably would have seen the clutter on the counter. Some might have suggested that I cloned that out or blurred it in post processing because it is distracting. A messy counter on Thanksgiving is standard in a lot of homes. When isn't it clutter or distracting but just a part of life? I hope I am explaining myself clearly. I just don't get it.

Tami
Phil Douglis18-Sep-2004 20:45
Thanks, Jen, for this remarkably observant comment. As with you, it was the shy, innocent expression that first drew my eye. If it was another kid, I might not have even stopped to shoot here. I think capturing fleeting expressions is just as important as freezing gesture, action and movement in street photography. I shot this little girl repeatedly as she had her hair braided, and she never once said a word to me. As you say, she is in a world of her own. She would only nod her head or smile as she watched me shoot. Her small hand holding the necklace, and the larger hands of the woman doing the braiding are pivotal as well -- there is definitely an incongruity in the juxtaposition of the scale, textures, maturity and immaturity of the hands. Glad you found my explanation of the symbolic role of the cardboard disc of value as well, Jen -- it is the key to the entire picture for me. This image is all about trust -- an innocent child has put her hair at the mercy of a stranger. Your criticism of the reflections in my background is right on the mark -- it is one of the reasons why I had to crop this picture so severely. There is nothing you can do but try to find a better angle when you are shooting someone in front of large window or else use a polarizing filter, which somehow have never really worked for me. I was stuck with this vantage point, like it or not. As you said, Jen, in street photography we must always deal with spur of the moment action, reaction, and interaction -- many things are indeed going on at once. So we abstract the image as best we can to get the distractions out, by using vantage point choice, selective focusing, exposure control and cropping. In this case, I used cropping. I called this process "COTC" --which means "cutting out the crap."

Thanks, Jen, for letting me teach you how and I why I see as I do. You are a worthy student -- your own street photography is already profound in both its form and its content, and you have really just started. I'm glad you are charmed by this image. Every time I look at it, I smile, too.

Phil
Jennifer Zhou18-Sep-2004 14:58
When I first looked at this picture, I was so amazed by this little girl's expression. She seems dreaming in another world, and the position of her hand holding the necklace serves perfectly to her shy and innocence character. And then looking through the whole picture, I found everything is so perfect here, the little hand and the old hands shows an age incongruity, the tight framing is also great, simple but has everything need for the idea. I didn't relized until read your caption there is also a incongruity of cardboard disc here which certainly takes this picture to a more deep level and makes me so happy to learn about it. If anything to criticize, I would say I found the background a little distracting, the reflection of working hands is fine but still too much other reflection showing in the background. I know it is always hard to had a neat backgroud in street photography since many things are going on. Teacher Phil, this is a real charming picture, I like it very much!!

Jen
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