Urban culture

This is another great example that for photographers it mostly pays off to wait for the right moment. What a nice capture. I love the rainy grey and dark surroundings that make the picture almost look monochrome. And then there is this colourfully dressed woman jumping over a puddle at the zebra crossing. This tells a very optimistic story. To even strengthen that idea I‘d suggest a much closer cropping and maybe even a change from landscape orientation to portrait.

When it comes to visualising urban culture or urban living, a photograph of people smoking in front of their office building sure is an accurate translation. But this photo doesn‘t stand out only because of its content. In fact the composition is excellent. The repeating vertical lines divide the image into 5 equal sections. In every compartment we find again repetition in form of colour, activity and mood.

The photographer has achieved this by standing at a very well chosen angle to the workers and by compressing the scene using a 300mm telephoto lens.

I am always fascinated by photos that contain multiple layers so that one can examine the many details at different distances in them – like in this shot. I like the idea that the photographer has illustrated urban culture by showing the interaction of the slowly disappearing telephone booths and the 'modern‘ scratching on the glass – both forms of communication. I would love to see this Paris street scene in a much tighter cropping to concentrate even more on the basic idea.

Glass – besides concrete – is surely one of those materials that represents urbanity best, and I am totally mesmerised with the result it leads to in this shot. A bunch of people are reduced to silhouettes of their feet. Nevertheless, we somehow get the whole picture: it must be crowded and a bit chaotic up there. People are rushing by. It is probably as noisy and bustling as in an aviary. This image is a great reminder to me that good photography is very often achieved by seeing the world in different perspectives and new angles.

This time warp tunnel-like picture got a hold of me straight away. I like the combination of a central perspective with the right amount of motion blur to show the dynamics of today's transportation systems. As with probably most of us, I am always somehow attracted by symmetry in photographs. By taking a closer look at this picture I have to assume that the symmetry is achieved by flipping parts of the image horizontally, and that is more than fine since it helps the idea behind it. Furthermore, the photographer did a great job by using two different trains moving through the scene. Because of this, the photo is not simply a mirrored image, but gains enough complexity to catch my interest. Well done.

What a straight yet strong composition to show modern urban life. I immediately was mesmerised by the countless repetition of those tiny balconies. When viewed enlarged it shows a surprising diversity – people are using the small amount of space available for their purposes. This is a very well-captured image that clearly symbolises the increase of density in our modern cities.

The cropping is just perfect. It shows enough of the housing to get a good overview and contains enough details. Nevertheless it still gives the illusion that this pattern might continue infinitely.

An impressive, strong idea to illustrate our fast-paced times. The moment a tube arrives at a station is always the start of a new hustle and bustle. People take a deep breath before they rush to their next destination. The photographer did a good job in capturing this moment from a low angle so that we concentrate on the concept and not the people involved. The perspective, with its countless lines lead our eyes to the visual center of the image. The shiny shoe is in perfect focus. By using f2.8 at this distance everything a few centimeters away from the heel is already out of focus. The woman leaving the train has just the right amount of motion blur to show dynamics, but lets us see enough details. This isn’t a snapshot – for me it is a well executed idea showing that the photographer knows what they're doing.

I am always a big fan of street photography that uses the contrast of reality and billboards to tell stories or question special aspects of our modern life. The basic idea behind this image is very attractive: there is this strong graphical advertising that is looking directly at us and therefore draws our attention very intensely. At this point we should question why the focus is not set to exactly that point. Instead we are forced to look somewhere between the bobble hat and red lipstick, which isn‘t really the main story of this scene. Settings always take a lot of time, so do as many shots as possible to get that one perfect shot.

For me this image is a wonderful combination of mystery, symmetry and timing. The dark surroundings are striking and function as a kind of funnel leading our view to the main action of the scene. The silhouettes of the two children are nicely sculptured by the backlight of the fountain. I love the small hint given by the few coloured lights in the fountain that this is not a black and white photo. The title the photographer chose says it all: Joy.

What a beautiful photo. Even though the photographer has titled this shot 'Love and hate’, I immediately saw it as a kind of homage to the famous ’The kiss by the town hall’ by Robert Doisneau showing a kissing couple in the streets of Paris in the early 1950s. For me this could be a modern interpretation of it. The interaction between man and woman has visibly changed as times have changed. The focus in this photo is not set to the center so when viewed enlarged our eyes will automatically be led to the man in the background. I am convinced the superior and main story should take place in front with the kissing couple. This is a good example for every photographer of how to bring a photo/story into one direction or the other by choosing where to set the point of focus. Overall – I like this image.

This photo of two men taking a lunch break in the streets of New York was taken with a smart phone, showing once again that often the best camera is the one you have with you. This setting just happened while passing by and it surely was worth capturing. I love this big bright blue wall that reminds me of the ocean and a cloudless blue sky. The two men in their blue work gear match this backdrop brilliantly. Their straight stares down the street make it an interesting picture. Even though this was a snapshot it shows that by good cropping and composition the photographer has skills.

Striking. Compact. Nice. I like this image for its contrasts. There is this huge Liam Neeson movie ad with some thrill and some action elements trying to get our attention. And then there is the main character of this image: a small real-world person not interacting at all with the oversized billboard, instead calmly reading his newspaper. Only we as the viewer of this photo get to see an interaction since the photographer used the right lens and a very skillfull framing to capture this scene.

Nowadays we find ourselves more and more in transit between countless different places. For that reason I think this photo is a superb submission to this 'Urban culture' contest. And of course because I like how well it is arranged – the viewpoint and the resulting strong graphic arrangement, the matching colours of the man‘s clothes and the floor and the overall muted mood. I love the minimalism in it that lets me instantly concentrate on the main subject and all the stories it tells.

A very engaging capture of this Dhaka street scene. Right away I fell in love with the dynamic and chaos in the image. The shot was taken from the perfect angle to give a good overview of the many activities in this location. The photographer also did a very good job by choosing just the right exposure time – a lot of the chaotic movement starts to vanish in a flowlike motion blur while most of the activities around the market stands are visible. However, sadly the photographer didn‘t use a tripod and when viewed in a large format the blur caused by camera shake becomes very distracting. Let's enjoy this urban choreography in a small format!