Candid Camera by CoreyBlack
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Description
One of the interesting things about living in a big city is the hustle-bustle. The feeling of engaged vitality you can only get from being surrounded by so many different kinds of people and so many changing situations. For a photographer, it's a can't miss situation: there's always something to see. I leave my house and right away, subject matter practically THROWS itself at me. Then there's the aforementioned rapidly changing situation, and pure serendipity. This picture, for instance, started out as an attempt to capture a vintage muscle car. To whit: I was stopped at a street light. A bright orange 1969 Camaro thundered to a stop on the opposite side of the street. I frantically searched my bag for my camera, (which has the infuriating habit of always falling into the deepest, most inaccessible part of the bag), and found it just in time for the Camaro's driver to mash his gas pedal as the light went green. At the same time all this was happening, a veritable sea of high school students suddenly engulfed me. The shot before this contains an orange blur and the back of someone's head. Only in the city.
Photographed at the intersection of Lawrence and Kimball Avenues in the Albany Park area of Chicago on March 21, 2012.
Comments (10)
Chipka
What's super surprising about this image is the fact that the corner just outside of Payless Shoe Source (where you always pay less for less) is empty. Where are all of the masses of people oozing into the street because that corner of the sidewalk is just too tiny, and there's always that one mother with the tripple-wide stroller stopping at just the right spot to cause a street-spilling, rather amoeboid human trafficjam? Amazing! I've rarely seen that corner without people precariously positioned! And yeah, living in the city is always kinda fun. Except for when it's not. Interesting things abound. The wind came up and an interesting thing fell off of the roof of the Romanian Pentocostal church a few hours ago, but a car ran over it, so it's interesting in a slightly more squished way now. I love the people doing what they do best in cities: blundering into a shot, looking engaged and interesting while doing so. Well...there are two types of blunder into shots...those who make a photo (the engaged and engaging sorts) and those who ruin a shot; thankfully this woman and her daughter made this shot more than anything else. I suspect they're like that in the environment in general...engaged, engaging, and apparently fond of lollipops.
myrrhluz
This is a great shot! I love the lines of the building and the composition of those lines with the young ladies in the foreground. There is a nice combination of old and new, elegant lines and commercial signage. The girls, especially the one looking back with her bright orange bag and lollipop, really add to the interest. I love city pictures like this, which capture history in the buildings and the energy of the people. You can feel the movement of time captured in an instant. Wonderful detail and dof. I like this a lot.
durleybeachbum
Why do folk eat in the street? My eye is drawn repeatedly to the lollipop stick with a sort of revulsion. Weird that this intersting photo has been taken over by this trivial thing, but probably only for me.
auntietk
I love the way you SEE your surroundings. So much passes me by. I can almost see the afterimage of the Camero. :)
bmac62
The girl with the lolly stick in her mouth appears to be reaching for heat. Must take care of yourself when out with your camera:)
whaleman
How many we miss just for reasons like that! I like the girl with the candy in her mouth, and she's reaching into her bag for a (pick one) camera or a gun! Or possibly the wrapper for the candy, LOL!
flavia49
fabulous image
kgb224
Superb capture my friend. God Bless.
TomDart
Great eye and resulting compo.
anahata.c
I'm with Chip, Tara and Lucinda. (And others, but those three's comments hit me in the same way as I felt the shot.) (That was a really awful sentence, but I hope you know what I meant...) You so often have a journalist feeling to your photography, something that many photographers don't do very well maybe because we're all trying to be 'artistic' rather than capture life as it is. That isn't to say you're not artistic---my comments since you've come here affirm that strongly, I hope! But that you have a natural journalist's eye, and this is a prime example of that. The thing about a spontaneous capture of people in a city---who 'blunder' into a shot (chip's words)---is that they have an art all their own; they're not posed, they don't strike anything 'archetypal' per se, and because of the snap-decision and often random decision they require, they can't be composed perfectly. But fine journalists get the composition and great moments regardless, in a snap, as you did here...it's kind of a zen thing, going with the moment and letting it speak to you in a flash, ie, immediacy and alertness. Also, knowing that the shot you sought will often be a blurry prelude to the one you were meant to get. Terrific music in the two girls---one one way, the other, another---love the expressions, they're real street photography stuff. And I love the sweep of that Payless building in the background. And yeah, it's a fairly empty shot (chip again)---which is surprising for many blocks in Chicago. That's special, because it makes the girls stand out. Terrific and fast seeing, and very American, urban, and very chicago.