Making of a Street Photograph

Street photography doesn't always work the way you expect.  Some of the time, there is a degree of luck involved in making a good picture great.  Upon occasion, what you think is the picture, evolves into something quite different.  

Here is an example... in the winter this time of year, light is extreme... long shadows, bright direct lighting, rays of light create some drama.  I was parked at one end of the plaza shooting in the sun's direction.  It was so bright, people looked very much like silhouettes (although the camera rendered more detail).  I was following the guy in the center and was randomly taking shots.  I was trying to isolate a person to create a focal point for the picture.  The light created a ghosting effect.  Here's the first one in the series.... a throwaway.  

He continued on, and the woman to the left enters the shot, unbeknownst to me as I continued to follow the guy.  The pigeons moved closer to me.  

The man pauses, the woman faces forward, the birds move into position, the people shadows echo the bodies to balance out the photo.  I discover there is a different focus than what I thought I was shooting.  She became my subject, a bit off center, with the superb backlighting and angled rays of the sun.  She reminds me of Gloria Swanson in the movie "Sunset Boulevard".  She said, "I'm ready for my close up, Mr. Demille".  

Ready for my Closeup

Of course, people may have different interpretations of a picture.  One of my Facebook friends, thought the guy looked like he was taking a pee.  Anyone can have their own interpretation of a street photograph.  And, in an instant the elements can change and make it become something else.