Week 1 Photo Assignment

This is a photo that I took recently that I absolutely loved working on. I hoped to capture the juxtaposition of stillness amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday life. In it, the vendor is lost in thought during the mundane activities of his seemingly regular day, while surrounded by people. Self-reflection and our... 'inner lives' is something that has always appealed to me. The idea that one can be consumed by a memory or thought and yet the external world surrounding them, continues unfazed, is something that I often recognize. I set up this photo from far enough away that I was able to sneak in a few shots, unnoticed. The first attempt I made was in color and was taken from a wide angle that was more to the rear of the vendor. It wasn't nearly as interesting as the final photo which I decided to shoot in black and white with the vendor in the center. This final angle allowed me to take in the people in the background, as well as the vendor, clearly lost in thought while smoking a cigarrette. In order to add to the overall effect of this photo, I increased the contrast between light and darkness and also darkened the perimeter. The initial picture included more of the city walls and some plants off to the side. I felt that this wider shot left my eye wondering where to look. In order to remove these 'distractions', I cropped my photo so that the vendor was the central focus.