Image 09: Carrying a Ladder

Reading is an activity that I derive a lot of pleasure from: it is more than just a hobby for me. I try to find parallels between reading and street photography. Although reading and street photography are different, I believe there are traits that are common to both. 

Reading has taught me how to observe the world around me. It has helped in slowing down the rapidly moving world of phenomena, for example. As a result of reading, I have started observing things that I erstwhile ignored. In short, it has made me more attentive and conscious. I find street photography too has done the same to me. I sometimes view street as a place where people, objects (natural and artificial) and events emerge like words, phrases and sentences. Meaning appears when they form a harmonious (or disharmonious) relationship. The text or script is constantly getting written and rewritten. Hence, one has to remain alert to the always shifting and evolving street-text. 

Not only that, street photography can teach empathy too. It allows a person to step outside the confines of his or her personality. I suppose that's what Eliot said in his famous essay "Tradition and Individual Talent". So, there are connections between street photography (perhaps all types of photography) and literature. 

This picture was made quite recently. I saw this man on the street. He was carrying a ladder and immediately caught my attention. Again, it is a photograph of one person who is engaged in a task. This is becoming a recurring theme in my work, I suppose.

Image 08: Man in His Frugal Abode

  

It was nearly a decade ago when I first encountered the paintings of Rembrandt. They immediately appealed to me: I found his paintings lifelike and full of warmth. It's a small wonder that he's considered a master. In some of his paintings, Rembrandt showed solitary figures sitting or contemplating which left a strong impression on me. A case in point is his painting entitled "Philosopher in Meditation". It's, undoubtedly, one of my favourite paintings.  

 

I must say that I am not comparing myself to the consummate genius that was Rembrandt. I am only alluding to the subconscious process which, I discovered, might have been active behind this picture. 

This man was sitting in what seemed like his house or workplace. He was engrossed in his smartphone, oblivious to everything around him. The place and the lack of light in the background created a solemn mood that drew me in. His sombre figure against that dilapidated house was another thing that grabbed my attention.