Street Photo Analysis - Behind the Photo No9: Shaft of Light

Shaft of Light taken near Piccadilly Circus, Central London

Behind the Photo Part 9....... taking a closer look at a light and shadow extravaganza. and giving it the street photo analysis treatment. An archive photo going back almost a decade

Is this pioneering stuff or just the same old shaft of light photo you see over and over again. What some people call a "cliche" shot. OR is something more going on and it's a double thumbs up.? Only one way to find out and that is to stick it in the food blender and see what emerges at the other end. Will it be a terrible mess or it will it be something very beautiful and highly edible?.

This photo was taken at the back of Piccadilly Circus on 6 October 2017. Very important photo this one with regard to my current photo style. This photo along with Redchurch Street No2 were taken over 8 years ago but form the very foundation of how I shoot street today. Lets start the blender!

Basics

How was it taken?Kneeling down waiting for somebody to walk into the shaft of light. Nothing too complex here.

Camera Used: Lumix GF3. Now shoot EM5/ Nikon S9100 but mostly these days Canon 550d

Focal Length: EXIF says 0mm as it was a 28mm vintage lens so 56mm FF equiv.

Weather Conditions: Bright and sunny and that gorgeous autumnal light from low sun.

Positives:

Composition: On the vertical we are talking symmetrical on the horizontal leaning slightly towards rule of thirds.

Negative space? Sort of but not really dark enough!

Rule of odds? Certainly this is a defo powerful rule of odds photo.

Layering: Not really some but limited.

Undisturbed scene: A pure undisturbed scene.

Painterly? No it's sharp as hell

Shapes: Predominantly rectangles

Story: Possibly but not strong. Just a general urban scene with extreme lighting.

Context: Looks a bit London but question marks over that.

Technically: Sharp and shiny. A technical purists delight.

Lighting and Tonality: High Contrast. Good tonality

Mood: A peaceful and solitary feel. A calm amidst the city chaos.

Subject? The woman is the subject and her shadow is a supporting subject. Donuts comes a very poor third.

Saul Leiter? No Saul Leiter here. Daido Moriyama….possibly. Alan Schaller? …definitely!.

Depth? It's more of a visual photo rather than a deep one. It's an Instagram stop you in your tracks for sure.

Negatives:

No connection really between the woman and the Donuts sign. It's a bit of an urban mish mash
It's a photo that many would have seen and taken and it is a bit cliche
Slightly off in the positioning (no space on left with shadow)

Summary

It's a stunner for sure, a visual feast for the eyes, she is backlit and has a halo around her, we have leading lines with the shaft of light. Scene left is lit, half in shadow BUT it just could do with a bit more depth or something more going on…. but then again the simplicity of this photo is what it's all about. This is not a documentary photo it's leaning more towards minimalism.

MY RATING: If a master photo is a 9 or 10….. I personally rate this as a 8.0/10. It could be an 8.5/10 but you would be knocking at the doors of a photo that a master would take. For me the only major fail of this photo is "everybody would see this photo and many people would take it" which makes it a firm 8/10. A master photo is something that not many people would see or even be able to replicate. Regardless this photo was very popular on Instagram and also on Flickr so 8 it is and personally I like it very much.