Street

There’s a simple and graceful style to this photograph. The large, silver spaces at the top and bottom of the frame are elegantly cut through by a dark bannister, with one hand resting gently on it. Shot on an F100 it’s a great example of why film should never be forgotten in an ever-increasing digital age.

The scene apparently shows two men haggling over the price of stingrays caught in the far south of Myanmar and then smuggled into Thailand to sell for a higher price on the Thai market. Its gritty realism and the inclusion of car tyres and miscellaneous materials in the background parallel the smuggling trade.

A dark, tunnelled stairwell is penetrated by outside light at the top of the frame. That light skips across the steps down towards the camera making several highlighted lights that juxtapose the diagonally creeping rails either side. A well-dressed, silhouetted figure is crisply captured at the top of the frame walking in to the tunnel.

This photographer has done well to avoid overexposing the scene outside by using a High Dynamic Range shot to retain details in the shadows and in the bright highlights outside the train carriage. The gentle split-lighting highlights the men’s faces and puts focus on the centre of the frame.

This is a perfect example of a well-timed street shot. With the red scooter already in central position in the frame, the photographer waited until this woman walked past and then captured the shot when she was in the left-third of the frame. The black lamp post on the right visually weights the bottom of the frame balancing the shot left to right.

This reflective window scene draws us into the woman’s world. Her face is perfectly framed between the hats and window frame, and there’s a little glare from shop lights behind the photographer but they do not obscure the expression on her face. Using black and white means the viewer’s eye isn’t distracted by the colourful hats, instead it allows the eye to focus on the woman.

The photographer was put under pressure to take a portrait of famed street photographer Louis Mendes, as he was granted just one shot. Thankfully his characterful expression was captured crisply by the photographer as Louis cradles his camera. A dark vignette around the frame also isolates the subject in the centre of the frame.

Taken as a child walks out into the street we can only postulate where he may be going, but there appears to be an inner tube in his hand, perhaps he is going to fix his bike while out playing with friends. The subject is backlit, and the floods of light pouring through the top windows create a fantastic pattern on the floor which bounces light into the room.

As a cyclist exits the frame on the left of the photo, a pedestrian is captured entering the scene on the right. The photographer leaves themselves in the reflection of the glass in the centre of the shot for balance.

This shot of city workers on a break wreaks business and conformity in equal measure. As they smoke and use their phones, they are each pigeon-holed by the columns that separate them. A brave close crop makes this image as geometric as it does portrait-based and the most visible subject is in the centre of the frame.