The Story behind this Picture

Street Photography is a challenge to me as is the quest to capture the “decisive moment”.

I was walking around Asakusa in Tokyo last Sunday. It was the third day of the Sanja-Festival and hundreds of locals carry around portable shrines. After these events they walked trough the streets, giving on special atmosphere to the area.
I passed underneath the tracks and waited at the corner because it gave an ideal background for a shot. The afternoon sun was hitting form the right direction, the walls gave a local touch to the scenery and the bench provided for human interaction.

But then of course the idea was to have a multi-layered action going on. This means to wait for something taking place in the foreground of the picture and simultanously in the background. Like this shot.

I like the setting, but the truck somehow forces the view into the middle and makes the picture unbalanced. There is also no interaction taking place in the back on the bench. Another try:

This one looks better, also because the group in the front is in the sun light.( Light conditions were not the best at 4.p.m as the sun was still too strong. ) But the corner in the back is not in the center of the photo.

Now look at the following two pictures:

With the first one I made the mistake to follow the instinct to capture the lady in the kimono. In order to capture her I gave up the set up for the background. And in the end the lady was not in the sunlight, but in the shadow.

The second one is better, composition is correct, the lady in kimono is in the sun and the shadow is nicely on her face and on the street. But the people on the bench are not involved; they are looking out of the picture. And the middle-right part of the picture is empty. The lady actually saw me from a distance and later crossed behind me. She did not do me the favor to walk in the center of the picture.

That is why the featured image was the best in my opinion. In the center is the “dogman”, he is the focus of attention. I give you close up of this.

This picture I like second best. It is quite interesting already, the dog looking into the camera. The two men talking and the people from the back between them looking on. But I prefer the “dogman” in the setting I was working on for quite some time. Here again the featured image

Composition puts the street corner in the middle. You have three groups. Father and daughter moving in one direction towards the center-right. The “dogman” walks from the right to the left. The people on the bench (“third layer”) pay attention to him. And he by himself is an interesting object. This gives the spice to this shot.

Of course I did not see all these elements when I took the pictures. I found out later by examining carefully what I had taken. For example I did not realize that the paper lanterns in the far back left would add an interesting element to the shot when I was taking them.

I thought it would be interesting to share these thoughts. Taking photos is a creative process and a never ending learning process. For me it just started…