Puzzle! Why does this B&W Portrait work so well! Can you have a go at this?

Kevin,

Your B&W picture take us again to fundamental issues in photography, Can we understand why things work! Ray West raised this question in the original thread , so I felt it deserves discussion on its own merit.

Kevin Bjorke said:

Contax G2, 28mm, Neopan 400 @ 800​

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I repeat my comment from the original thread to get this discussion set up properly here.

Kevin, the woman sitting on the bed has a classic timelessness to it and in fact deals with the passage of time and contemplation of the past and future. I can't imagine that this clean un-debrided, free of razzle-dazzle image would be readily achievable in color. In fact, photography should exclude what is not needed to express the ideas, feelings, thoughts, mood confrontations etc. This applies to real objects as well as color!

This is written as a prelude to Ray West asking his question below, that I moved from the orignal thread, that got me thinking beyond the metaphors that may be turbo boosting the imact of the image.

Asher

Hi Asher,

I'm stuck.

Kevin's portrait. Everything is wrong, but everything is right. Usually, on a photo like that, I slide it round the monitor, try and crop it differently, change the composition, whatever. With this, I'm not even going to try. No way.

Now, its either a very, very, lucky snapshot, or a ton of skill has gone into it, either before or afterwards. Maybe it just reminds me of 'everybody's mum'.

Best wishes,

Ray

Well, Ray, I have spent a hell of a lot of time one the same problem! Why does this picture work! I think I may have some ideas. First what do other feel.

Asher

So far, little reaction! O.K. does this picture of the woman sitting on the edge of her bed impress you? If not then why?

The picture impresses me. It has a familiarity that makes us feel we know the woman and have empathy with her somehow. She sits on a bed, the place where life is conceived, celebrated, enjoyed and vanishes from our bodies with our last breaths. She looks to the right, to nothing, to perhaps some uncertainty in the future.

This is just my descriptive take as to some of its emotional power with us that perhaps might explain, in part, the feeling that the image should be cherished.

For me, the picture has some simple power of calling out to me about a human existence. We have to struggle to find meaning, but we feel there is meaning inside it this miniature reflection of our own world. It is not any clear message, just a picture that is not to be trivialized. It is not a me-too snapshot nor anything fashionable but a penetrating moment of private thought we identify with. There is a certain loneliness and intimacy about this woman.

This is a modest but effective picture, which if printed well, would be worth collecting, at least for me as it has an ability to interview the observer about life itself. Still, this is a quiet non-presumptuous picture, a gem which one could walk by but is worth lingering by.

Now why is Ray West so troubled by a picture we both like so much?

Here are some thoughts,

• The picture seems cluttered with superfluous objects that we'd generally want to exclude: that light switch on the left, for example!
  
• She is located almost smack in the middle, certainly flouting a golden "Rule of 3rds"!
  
• There's a pole coming out of her head for gawd-sake!
  
• And what's with that silly lamp? Even "Humpty Dumpty" would know not to put it there! It jars with the furnishings and projects into the design of the framed picture over the bed. How tacky!!
  
• Oh yes, there's another silly light on the ceiling!
  
• Now add to this, there is no magic lighting delivering or especially impressive range of tonality!

That's just a start, you could add more! So why does this picture work well for at least 3 people: Kevin, Ray and I?

The reasons I gave earlier are not, IMHO good enough to explain the impact of this modest picture.

So I challenge you to tell me why it works as well as it does?

Asher

When I first saw this picture I actually thought the woman on the bed was the lady in the painting on the wall behind, only older.
However I think it is painting and not a photo on the back wall, so I'm guessing that perhaps it isn't her.
That's what drew my attention. The form of the woman in the painting and the complimentary form of the woman on the bed.
Take one away and the picture wouldn't work in my opinion.
As Asher said, the photo defies all the 'usual' rules but the corner of the room gives space to the picture and it doesn't look too flat.

It's an interesting picture.

Of course, my opinion entirely.....

regards,
Sue

Good point!

Sue, note that the woman in the picture is also staring out at nothing but in the opposite direction!

Asher

I imagine...

In looking at her, she is dressed as if she is waiting patiently for someone or something. For me, it reminds me of my late mother-in-law who would wait in her room at the retirement home all dressed because we were coming to take her for an outing (usually to eat out!). A wait of 10 or 15 minutes was an eternity to her so she would have an expression of almost sadness. Or maybe this woman was staring to the opposite wall where a television might be showing her favorite soap opera! I like it. It portrays life as it is. No pretention.

asher i agree that the lighting isn't magic, BUT light is what first drew me to this shot...the woman is bathed in light and the shadows behind her give her a place in space and depth to the shot. it makes this space a room. she is the best lit object in the shot and my eye is immediately drawn to her. the light keeps me there, and i don't notice the clutter and superfluous objects right away. the b&w helps with this also.
and she's not actually smack in the middle. i'd draw the center line down between her and the wall portrait (they overlap a little at ther left shoulder).

Hi,

All lines into the picture lead to the woman, every line from the bed even the plant which leads to the bed, ...!

The wall behind and part of the bed are sufficiently dimmed to fully show the woman.

Crop is good, the only thing which attracts more is that white reading lamp fixed to the bed.

I would eventually clone the object on the table and the thermometer? on the wall

Nicolas

Devoted lighting!

Marian Howell said:

asher i agree that the lighting isn't magic, BUT light is what first drew me to this shot...the woman is bathed in light and the shadows behind her give her a place in space and depth to the shot. it makes this space a room. she is the best lit object in the shot and my eye is immediately drawn to her. the light keeps me there, and i don't notice the clutter and superfluous objects right away. the b&w helps with this also.
and she's not actually smack in the middle. i'd draw the center line down between her and the wall portrait (they overlap a little at ther left shoulder).

Devoted lighting: that's important, thanks for pointing that out! Thanks for your impression, I think you have a good point!

Asher

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Significence, meaning and relevance

Kathy Rappaport said:

In looking at her, she is dressed as if she is waiting patiently for someone or something. For me, it reminds me of my late mother-in-law who would wait in her room at the retirement home all dressed because we were coming to take her for an outing (usually to eat out!). A wait of 10 or 15 minutes was an eternity to her so she would have an expression of almost sadness. Or maybe this woman was staring to the opposite wall where a television might be showing her favorite soap opera! I like it. It portrays life as it is. No pretention.

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Yes, Kathy,

We ask what's that? In concrete terms, there's a small room, with a seated woman on a bed. She’s not doing anything but stare to her right, to apparently open space!

Then we search for meaning based on our intuition, experience and what is hard wired into our head!

You have touched on the significence, meaning and relevance of the bed in the small room with an elderly woman siitting but with no apparent intent to move. She's watching, or thinking or waiting.

You identify with what you know and feel and think is important. This is different for each viewer, but based on the subject, there can be a lot of commonality between different observers.
Here, that might be especially important: a sense of community.

Asher

Geometry, patterns and guides and movement.

nyschulte said:

Hi,

All lines into the picture lead to the woman, every line from the bed even the plant which leads to the bed, ...!

The wall behind and part of the bed are sufficiently dimmed to fully show the woman.

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Yes, Nicolas, that seems correct and you make an important point!

To me, the main movement is down the curtains to the left andf then, meeting the bed we a swept into the figure of the woman. All the rest, I feel confirms that this is the path we should go. The left is very open as the eyes entrance. The angles suggest movement is from the left and then must go to here! We agree!

Good observation,

Asher