Black and white Street Photography: Behind the Photo No4. Double Yellow Lines Woman

Double Yellow Lines Woman: Brick Lane, East London

Part 4 of Behind the Photo with myself looking at, analysing, going behind the scenes and ripping apart my own photos to see how they scrub up under the microscope….if at all? Garry Winogrand said in an interview that “you have to be your own toughest critic” He was spot on with that statement all those years ago. 

  Double Yellow Lines Woman (Behind the Photo) 

 

This one was taken very early 2024 in East London down Brick Lane on a cold winters day. Personally I rate this photo. It's a street photo meets abstract with a hint of fine art. It has a touch of the Saul Leiter about it. I think it is an 8/10 as it has some complexity. Others may disagree? 

 How was it taken? Kneeling down near a puddle and catching odd reflections from passers by. 

Camera Used: Nikon S9100. £50 on ebay at the time, now they are £100 plus at least!  

 

Focal Length: Somewhere in the wide angle end of the zoom spectrum 

Weather Conditions: cloudy but bright. One of those diffused sunlight sort of days

Positives 

 Connections: It's different. It challenges normal perspectives. It plays tricks with your mind. She is walking in a world of graffiti and double yellow lines and street art. It's an inverted photo mind game but does that make it any good? There is no connection with other people but there is connections between the layers in the image. 

  Composition: The woman is placed on the rule of thirds right and her head is on the rule of thirds both vertical and horizontal 

  Rule of odds? Single woman? 

  Layering: The foreground is the double yellow lines. The woman is in the mid ground layer. The background is made up of street art and graffiti. We certainly have 3 layers going on here! 

  Undisturbed scene: Surprisingly she didn't see me crouched down like a mad person, so scene undisturbed or maybe she did and wanted in this photo, she stopped in this spot for some time? we will never know! 

  Story: I would say this photo is showing a woman in a heavily urban environment so some story here but more a message. A hint of mystery is in the air. 

  Context: It’s quite clearly taken in an urban city type environment but it can't be narrowed down to London. No visible landmarks or London-esque giveaway items within the frame 

  Technically: This photo is not about sharpness, the puddle has muted the sharpness to give it a mildly painterly effect. It's more about mood and atmosphere and an air of mystery. 

  Lighting and Tonality: Good tonal range from dense blacks to blown out highlights and shades of grey in between. Lighting is soft and muted and suits the scene. 

  Mood: Mysterious and Urban with a dash of brain frying confusion 

  Subject? Quite clearly the woman is the subject, everything else is there in a more supportive role. 

  Negatives: 

 It's a street photograph but some may find it a bit too arty to be a true street photograph A story is present as in a woman in an urban environment but not much else further is going on but the mystery thing seems to hold it together. 

Lacking some sort of moment for a street photo? Would I send this off to Magnum or enter it into a Street Photography or Black and White photo competition? Possibly although it's not that strong in the documentary photo journalism department.! 

  Summary This photo is an unknown quantity. I think it is an 8/10 but would look more at home in an art gallery rather than anything related to a street photography exhibit. As always anything to do with the arty or creative is subjective. Leave your comments below. Utter garbage, just another mediocre also ran street photo like 90% of them out there…….. or wow this is really something else? Me it's original, arty, creative and a solid 8/10