Street Photo Analysis: Behind the Photo No13 - Islington

PHOTO: Islington: Upper Street, Islington, North London

The question is this.....is this street photography OR is this a street photographer piggy backing off a bus stop advert OR is he trying to create something clever here in creative terms?

No fully visible people in this photo apart from this woman in what looks like a photo of a woman in a fashion advert on the side of a bus stop.

Photo taken on Upper Street in Islington, North London. What's going on here?  Lets take a closer look.

For the Gear Heads

Camera: Olympus EM5

Lens: Vintage 28mm lens maybe Vivitar?

Date taken: 16 Sept  2022  

Time: 13:20 & 31 secs

ISO: 800

Shutter Speed: 1/400

What's going on...if anything?

One of those optical illusion sort of photos. It is a bus stop advert with a reflection of the street on it creating the effect that this woman is actually standing there, staring and posing for the camera...... when in fact she is part of a bus stop advert.

Apart from this optical illusion, is anything else going on here. Not really, but it does look good doesn't it? A sort of ghostly apparition effect in broad daylight in North London.

Apart from the reflection, it is a clever play on layering. It is one of those photos you just keep coming back to again and again trying to figure it out. Even when you have figured it out .....you will still come back.

My Rating: 

I personally do not rate this as a superb photo, not even good but the trickery and optical illusions going on here elevate this photo from a photo of a bus stop into something more than that. If a photo keeps you coming back, scratching your head and then coming back again.....then this photo has something going on! What...is the mystery?

My Rating is a 7/10 elevated to a 7.5/10 by the clever trickery going on.