Within The Graffiti

[Robert Watcher]

Carrying on my daily street shooting from the confines of a small town - while home in Canada for the next couple of months - presents more challenges than with my lifestyle in Central America. But the efforts and massive numbers of photos I have taken in that cultural environment, has changed the way I photograph and see things. And that is good.

As an example, recently I came across 2 walls of colourful graffiti. Vibrant colour is something that I am very comfortable with from living in Nicaragua and Guatemala. In fact I have photographed similar walls in the past. However at those times I tended to find strong element of the graffiti and isolate them.

This time around, I was seeing the graffiti filled wall quite differently. I was not even really noticing the brightly painted walls - - - but natural elements such as clean out grids, alarm bells, door hinges and nobs, patterns of underlying bricks is what my eye was being drawn to as I walked along looking for content.

Those are the very things that I have become accustomed to look for in my travel work. And so the content of the graffiti was less important - it being more just the vibrant and colourful paint job on the elements I was photographing.

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[Robert Watcher]

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[Robert Watcher]

SO it was interesting - I no sooner had tucked into this walkway to view the graffiti, when a guy walking down the street hollers in to me that I should see the big painted wall down the street. I walked up to him and chatted and asked where it was. Even though he was heading the opposite way, he insisted that he walk me there.

It was quite a sight. But while it was impressive to look at and take in - - - I was much less interested in the painting as I was the amazing coincidence of a red car sitting in the parking spot in front of it. I think he probably was a little disappointed that I was not following his direction and listening to his story about the painting, as I moved side to side with my camera low, to find the right angle for the yellow lines to line up.

I really love this image. A photo of the wall (this is only a section of the painting) would not have impressed me so much.

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[Asher Kelman]

SO it was interesting - I no sooner had tucked into this walkway to view the graffiti, when a guy walking down the street hollers in to me that I should see the big painted wall down the street. I walked up to him and chatted and asked where it was. Even though he was heading the opposite way, he insisted that he walk me there.

It was quite a sight. But while it was impressive to look at and take in - - - I was much less interested in the painting as I was the amazing coincidence of a red car sitting in the parking spot in front of it. I think he probably was a little disappointed that I was not following his direction and listening to his story about the painting, as I moved side to side with my camera low, to find the right angle for the yellow lines to line up.

I really love this image. A photo of the wall (this is only a section of the painting) would not have impressed me so much.

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Robert,

With the thought "bubbles" appearing to come from the read car, it looks like the car is actually thinking!

Asher

 

[Doug Kerr]

Hi, Robert,

SO it was interesting - I no sooner had tucked into this walkway to view the graffiti, when a guy walking down the street hollers in to me that I should see the big painted wall down the street. I walked up to him and chatted and asked where it was. Even though he was heading the opposite way, he insisted that he walk me there.

It was quite a sight. But while it was impressive to look at and take in - - - I was much less interested in the painting as I was the amazing coincidence of a red car sitting in the parking spot in front of it. I think he probably was a little disappointed that I was not following his direction and listening to his story about the painting, as I moved side to side with my camera low, to find the right angle for the yellow lines to line up.

I really love this image. A photo of the wall (this is only a section of the painting) would not have impressed me so much.

All wondrous, as usual!

Great serendipity about the red car, and kudos for taking full advantage of it ('perfecting" your camera position and such) even though you might have seemed inattentive to your "guide" at the time.

Thanks.

Best regards,

Doug

 

[Jerome Marot]

Indeed the car makes that picture work. Very nice.