Street Photo Analysis: Behind the Photo No19 - Gaucho

Gaucho. Pure randomness or something more?

This photo is called "Gaucho" but why? The obvious reason is the name in the frame. It was taken in Covent Garden in Central London. This photo  has that Saul Leiter "other worldy" quality about it with reflections and  layering. This photo wasn't taken to recreate a Saul Leiter shot, but this is something that he would certainly take. This photo is trying to be clever....does do it work?

For the Gear Heads

Aperture: F/5.0

Shutter: 1/320 sec.

Focal Length: 19.1

ISO: 800

Camera: Nikon Coolpix s9100

Date: Wed, 03 January 2024

Time: 10:09:21

What makes this photo special?

Not sure?. This is a result of rooting around my extensive collection of archive photos on hard drives, and this one just seemed to leap out for some reason......so here it is?

Photos that catch your eye for some reason, tend to have something going on, maybe something embredded quite deeply within the photo, something that isn't immedately apparent when you first view it.

On first inspection, the photo has no story or narrative,  it looks visually confusing but you get the impression this was done on purpose. We have some rule of odds going on here, but then gain the woman with the glasses is  in reflection, does that count as 2 or 1. Then again does it really matter.

The huge trainer top right adds further confusion to an already confusing scenario. Who or what is the subject in this photo that holds this all together? What is this photo trying to say......if anything? 

My Rating:

This is a photo that I would personally initially rate as a 5/10. It's confusing, it's cluttered, it has no real focal point, the eye is just wandering around the frame, trying to find something, anything that makes this photo make any sense.  It has no message, no story....it's just a confusing urban mess and just an excercise in randomness to no real effect.

But here's the thing.....this photo has something, nothing miraculous, but something that stops you scrolling and spending more than one second looking at it trying to figure out what is going on. Is the photographer playing mind games with us........maybe. If the photo for all it's faults has managed to stop you scrolling even for a second then this  photo is more than an almost ran? You could say it is a success? Will it end up in a major art gallery though? Probably not!

My rating for all its faults 7/10 and good enough to be at Pavement Pulse..but only just!