Street Photo Analysis: Behind the Photo No20 - Greenwich Foot Tunnel

 

If you are after extreme lighting then a trip down a tunnel doesn't get any more extreme. If you are after dazzling whites and pitch black blacks with a limited spectrum of grey in between then you just have to bring tunnels into your street photography repertoire.

Throw in some silhouettes, plenty of circular shapes, some strong perspective with lines fading away into the distance and you have yourself on the surface an amazing photo...but dig deeper..... does this photo hold up to scrutiny?

For the Gear Heads

Shutter: 1/25 sec.

Focal Length: Vintage lens prob 28mm equiv to 56mm om M4/3

ISO: 800

Camera: Panasonic Lumix GF3

Date: 28 Sept 2017

Time: 11:50:41

What makes the photo special?

It has been photographed many times, it's not in Central, Central London but this tunnel does lead to the Cutty Sark at the other end so you will see tourists down there not just for the tunnel but for the Cutty Sark and the Royal Observatory as well.

Apparently 4000 people walk through it every day.

As a Street Photographer though, I am more interested in the lighting potential, the line shape and form  and what other creative potential exists.. It's all in the exposure with this photo, use program mode and you end up with what every other photographer would take,. a nice and evenly exposed photo that looks like the other thousands out there. A bit bland, safe and lifeless.

Start exposing for the highlights,  change the camera angle and have people in silhouette in the distance to give a larger than life look and the result can be quite breathtaking.  This photo would look good with the ICM Blur treatment .....but after seeing this....who on earth needs blur.

My Rating

This photo is all about visuals and not much else, but it is so dramatic that the rule book for things like narrative or story has been thrown out the window.

It looks a complex shot, but just expose for the highlights and everything else just takes care of itself. Personally i think it's all about the light bouncing off the tiles to the left. Take that out and I think the photo would lose a lot of its drama?

My Rating: if a 1/10 is garbage, 5/10 is mediocre and a 9/10 or 10/10 is something from a Master, I rate this photo as an 8/10. One of the easiest photos I have taken but it's not about how hard it is to take, it's the end result that matters. 

I do like this photo BUT is it MOMA or Tate Modern ready? They have probably seen hundreds of variations  of this tunnel shot........ so the answer is more than likely... NO! It's an Insta stop you in your tracks number....and it does that very well indeed!