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.
No comments:
Post a Comment