The Influence of Messages in Street Photography

in #photomag5 years ago

In my post the past weekend about street photography, I showed a set of themes I used in a lecture I presented earlier this year on Street Photography.

Zongguo Weidao

When preparing for a talk, I select the photos I am going to use, group the photos in logical groups, add notes and pointers to keep my audience's attention, but very seldom do I type out the whole presentation.

I've been asked to do talks in China on several occasions, and those talks are very different. They normally require that you provide the full script of the talk upfront, and during the lecture, you are not supposed to deviate from the script. What happens is that they actually get a translator to translate the script upfront to Chinese, and then during the presentation, you and the translator takes terms reading from the script, a portion in English followed by a portion in Chinese. I am really looking forward to the time when my Chinese will be at the level that I will be able to do a presentation without a translator. But in the meantime, I will still rely on a translator to bring my message to the audience.

Any case, I am digressing from what I actually want to share today - Messages in Street Photography.

The reason for the deviation is that the past weekend, I decided I want to take some of my previously prepared lectures and add a script to it, thus preparing my lectures for a typical Chinese presentation.

And you will have the task to proofread the script.

The below screenprint shows the themes I used in the said lecture earlier this year. Over the next couple of weeks, when the #photocritique submissions are low, I will pick a theme from the list, and share the script with you.

For the _Messages theme of my lecture, I used the photos from my busses series, where the message is on the outside of the bus and the people in the bus complete the picture, usually using a comical or irony undertone like in the image called "The Swank".


The Swank

The effectiveness of a message is very much linked to the culture of the audience. It could even be as simple as a language barrier. I bet that less than 20% of my audience will understand the message on the wall in the photo called "Zhongguo Weidao". And even if you could read the original Chinese text, chances are that your interpretation and mine will differ because of our cultural differences!

For the readers who do not understand Chinese characters, "Zhongguo Weidao" is literally translated as "Chinese Taste". Being a banner in a fast food restaurant, this message obviously refers to the food you will be eating in this restaurant, but for me and has a different meaning;

Looking at the people below the message you will notice that there are two groups for four young men, the one group is playing a card game while the second group is all involved in their cellphones. This is very typical of the modern Chinese culture. I do not think there is one day in China that I do not see a group of people playing cards in public. And I also do not think there is any other nation around the world that is so attached to their cellphones as the Chinese - it is a rare sight to see somebody walk without a cell phone in their hand.

For me, this is the "Taste of China"

So next time when you are walking the street seeking that elusive street photo, look out for messages that could enhance your photo, but when you prepare to show these photos to your audience, keep the audience's cultural background in mind.

I hope to see some street photography with messages from the people I am following.

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