10-APR-2009
Yawn, Bisbee, Arizona, 2009
For me, the essence of street photography rests in human emotions I see expressed before me on the street. For example, at first glance this is just a photo of three people standing in front of building that is mostly made up of dark windows. Yet their interaction (or lack of it) is expressive. The only face we see here is the woman’s – and she is yawning. A man stares at her, his arms at his side, and his back to us. Another man, wearing a backpack, seems to be studying a menu in the window of what appears to be a saloon. They stand here in the morning sunlight within a few feet of each other, yet for the moment, they seem to exist in separate worlds.
10-APR-2009
Showing the colors, Bisbee, Arizona, 2009
Bisbee is built on the sides of a canyon. Its late 19th century streets are narrow and lined with buildings. As a result the light flows through the town unevenly and capriciously. I just happened to catch this flag being unfurled in the early morning light -- the man is almost invisible but the sunlight catches the colors as they are hoisted. A backlit woman moves down the street towards the flag, creating a forward flow to the image. I like the way the building in the background at the end of the street falls into deep shadow. It creates a perfect black backdrop for the flag raising.
10-APR-2009
Street portrait, Bisbee, Arizona, 2009
This woman is taking a smoke break on the street in front of her craft shop. Her red dress matches the red building. I went to Bisbee with several other pbase artists, and all of us were enjoyed simultaneously photographing her. She seems to be enjoying posing for us, as well. I catch her here as she exhales a stream of cigarette smoke. I like her confident body language, and the way she makes the street her own.
12-APR-2009
Farewell, Nogales, Arizona, 2009
I loved the colors on this street in Nogales – even the cars energize the scene. But it is the gesture of the silhouetted man, waving goodbye to someone in the red truck, that brings this border town street scene to life for me.
15-APR-2009
Food outlet, Kingman, Arizona, 2009
We were shooting on a street of storefronts, some of them serving people in economic distress and dislocation. I saw a Christian food outlet just across the street from where I was standing. A pole divided it in half, and the handle on its door merged with the pole to create a symbolic cross. The light and shadow moved diagonally across the scene, bringing warmth to the scene. I created my frame, a figure entered it, and I made this image just as he passed by the religious slogan on the window without giving it a second glance.
12-NOV-2008
Bird shop, Tozeur, Tunisia, 2008
I often look for unique facades to provide a background for a street scene. In this case, the seven birdcages hanging in front of this shop, as well as the parked motorbike, along with the characteristically patterned brickwork, offered a detailed setting unique to Tozeur. I needed to bring the scene to life, but I did not want to break the flow of the bird cages, and so I settled on the blue door at right as a frame within my frame. I photographed a number of people passing by that door, and this was the most evocative -- a silhouetted stroller, reading while he walks into my image and animates it.
12-NOV-2008
Minding little brother, Tozeur, Tunisia, 2008
The essence of street photography is found in daily life played out in residential neighborhoods. The back streets of Tozeur, actually a narrow warren of ancient brick alleys, offered lively, spontaneous moments of street life that translated into meaningful images. I limited my shooting to the two hours after dawn and the two hours before sunset, the golden hours of the day, when the angle of light creates silhouettes, brings out textures, and offers the vitality of life itself. This image is a good example of all of these factors at work. I found this little girl playing in front of her house with two of her young brothers. As I approached, she grabbed one of them and carried him towards her house. This moment, played out upon a street etched warmly in golden light, speaks of the maternal instinct and the spontaneity of children at play.
11-NOV-2008
Riding with dad, Tozeur, Tunisia, 2008
One of the greatest pleasures of street photography is the unexpected. I was walking through the ancient brick medina of Tozeur, photographing people as they passed back and forth through the distinctive arches that link one set of streets with another. I heard the roar of an approaching motorbike, pre-focused on the edge of an arched tunnel entrance, and shot a burst of images just as it was about to cross from light into darkness. One of my frames revealed a small child riding in front and smiling up at his father. I never noticed the smile as I shot, but it rewarded me as I studied the detail a moment later.
08-NOV-2008
Moving the fridge, Sousse, Tunisia, 2008
Following the commands of the lady in charge, a group of boys push a refrigerator through a narrow street in Sousse’s medina, moving it from one house to another. It is a community affair, with members of different families pitching in. This image expresses a sense of neighborhood spirit, the kind of spirit that brings a street photograph to life. Shooting in bursts, I preceded the fridge as the boys maneuvered it on a cart down a cobblestone street. I liked this image because of the four boys circling the event, making it into a spectator sport.
08-NOV-2008
Our street, Sousse, Tunisia, 2008
The residents of Sousse’s medina live on hilly, cobbled, narrow streets that are almost a thousand years old. They take an obvious pride in them – sweeping is a passion. This image of a man passing a sweeping neighbor on the way to work expresses the nature of both the street and its residents. I abstract the figures by backlighting them and allowing the eye to flow past them and on down the hill.
12-NOV-2008
Exercise, Tozeur, Tunisia, 2008
The sight of a child flinging his body out over a street is an incongruous one. I saw him exercising from a distance, and as I approached, I kept shooting bursts of multiple images. This was by far the most expansive, catching him in mid flight. The other people in the picture don’t even see him exercising -- such gyrations over a front door are taken for granted in the neighborhoods of Tozeur. The houses, painted in soft pastels, add character and context.
08-NOV-2008
Street portrait, Sousse, Tunisia, 2008
In this image, I use the street as context for an environmental portrait. I saw this woman sweeping the street in front of her house and pointed to my camera and then to her. She stopped her work and looked at me. Using a 24mm wideangle lens, I placed her on the left edge of the frame and used the rest of the frame to stress the old, stone-paved street, as well as the tidy white houses with the blue trim that is characteristic of the Sousse medina. The blue even carries through to the bristles on the broom. I chose this particular vantage point for the portrait because two streets meet in front of her house, and she stands next to the intersection.
