Movin' On: I saw this guy sitting by the storage bins, sitting there with his backpack and water bottle, as if he's seriously contemplating where he's headed, and what he's going to do...

gym Loc: Athens, Georgia

I saw this guy sitting by the storage bins, sitting there with his backpack and water bottle, as if he's seriously contemplating where he's headed, and what he's going to do with the rest of his live.

Of course, he MIGHT have been the owner of the bins, and was considering expansion. But the former makes a better story. :>)

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ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

Very good Gym.

gym Loc: Athens, Georgia

Thanks ebbote. I also tried a color version, but the bw seems to work a little better.

ebbote wrote:

Very good Gym.

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

gym wrote:

I saw this guy sitting by the storage bins, sitting there with his backpack and water bottle, as if he's seriously contemplating where he's headed, and what he's going to do with the rest of his live.

Of course, he MIGHT have been the owner of the bins, and was considering expansion. But the former makes a better story. :>)

Nice shot. What ever the story actually is, there is a story here. I also like that you shot in B&W. Good work.

rwiskirchen Loc: Mechanicsburg, Ohio

ebrunner wrote:

Nice shot. What ever the story actually is, there is a story here. I also like that you shot in B&W. Good work.

Very Very nice B&W. When your taking pictures of people and trying to relay a story. B&W almost always knocks it out of the park.

rlaugh Loc: Michigan & Florida

Nice shot!

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

ebrunner wrote:

Nice shot. What ever the story actually is, there is a story here. I also like that you shot in B&W. Good work.

Garry Winogrand very correctly (emphasis added) said:

"I don't have to have any story telling responsibility to what I am
photographing.  I have a responsibility to describe well -- In fact
that's a photograph -- They're mute, they don't have any narrative
ability at all,  you know what something looked like, but you don't
know what's happening ...

There isn't a photograph in the world that has any  narrative ability,
any of them.

They do not tell stories, they show you what something looks
like, through a camera."

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQhZcKzbM9s

It's an interesting perspective. The "story" that many people insist is and has to be in the photograph, isn't in the photograph at all. It's the ambiguity of universal truths in the photograph allowing their imagination to invent a specific story. These specific stories are all in our heads! It's your private memories being associated with a photograph allowing you to "know what something looked like, but you don't know what's happening."

In the case of this image it is a great shot showing what it looked like. I suspect the man is waiting for the person who is supposed to pick him up. He doesn't own the joint, he isn't plotting the rest of his life either. He's just living life.

Winogrand of course is authoritative on this subject simply because of his photographs of people living life. John Szarkowski, currator of Photography at the New York Museum of Modern Art said Winogrand was the central photographer of his generation.

mper812 Loc: Atlanta GA area

Very nice composition and the B&W does add drama to the picture

mper812 Loc: Atlanta GA area

Much of what you are espousing has some merit however a good photograph like a good painting should evoke a visceral response in the viewer which is what makes good art. And while pictures may not be telling stories per se, there are many photographs that evoke a sense of what a probable story may be. I have seen amazing photos taken during the dust bowl and depression which evoke a strong sense of "story" .

Apaflo wrote:

Garry Winogrand very correctly (emphasis added) sa... (show quote)

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

mper812 wrote:

Much of what you are espousing has some merit however a good photograph like a good painting should evoke a visceral response in the viewer which is what makes good art. And while pictures may not be telling stories per se, there are many photographs that evoke a sense of what a probable story may be. I have seen amazing photos taken during the dust bowl and depression which evoke a strong sense of "story" .

Exactly, but we need to understand precisely what the mechanics are if we wish to intentionally evoke such a sense. The "story" is not in the photograph! As Winogrand said, as a photographer our job is to describe well. And because the photograph is an illusion, or as Winogrand was fond of saying, a "lie", we need to be very pointed, and dramatic so as to evoke sufficient emotion in the viewer that their sense of reality is overcome by our illusion.

One way of doing that is what I alluded to previously about universally appealing truths that are expressed in a vague enough way that we don't just see it as only applying to the specifics that a photograph shows, but to our own memories... and that is where the story comes in.

We don't want to tell a story that puts some "truth" into the viewers mind, we want to display the truth in a way that pulls a story out of the viewer's memories.

WAR10CK Loc: Blacklick, OH

I too like the shot. It works very well in B&W. I would bet, based on his footwear he is a Veteran.

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

Apaflo wrote:

Garry Winogrand very correctly (emphasis added) sa... (show quote)

I think that quote from Winogrand hits the nail on the head. I would still maintain that story telling is a major element in photography. When a judge or someone else says: "Tells a nice story", I'm always tempted to ask what, exactly, that story is. The fact is that the story is the emotion that is evoked in your own imagination triggered by what you saw in the photograph. In that respect the comment might be more accurate if we said: " That photo makes me think of ____________, I have no idea what it makes you think of. "

Stephen King wrote once, and I must paraphrase, that he would see a beautiful lake or mountain scene. Most people had happy thoughts of vacations and camping out with the family. He always saw monsters. Same scene, very different story.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

gym wrote:

I saw this guy sitting by the storage bins, sitting there with his backpack and water bottle, as if he's seriously contemplating where he's headed, and what he's going to do with the rest of his live.

Of course, he MIGHT have been the owner of the bins, and was considering expansion. But the former makes a better story. :>)

Maybe just a guy taking a break and ....moving on, ...to where?............

Franku Loc: Wallingford, PA and Parrish, Fl

I guess you would say it is a picture of America...?

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Franku wrote:

I guess you would say it is a picture of America...?

:thumbup:

I prime example of Street Photography!