DT2: Evaluate an Image. (WK 2)

Bruce Davidson, Untitled, from the subway series, 1980.

Book: What it does not have to be in focus, Jackie Higgins.

What do I see?
-I see a man standing next to a wall in the snow. I'm guessing waiting for a train or someone coming in on a train. There is graffiti on the wall and writing to show that it is a train platform. It's snowing and the man is barely visible, (Even worse so on the screen) and a line marking the edge of the platform.

What camera and compositional techniques have been used?
-It's a wide angle, making the space around the figure seem that much larger. This is a technique used to make him seem more alone. It stretches time a little, when you're waiting for something it seems to take longer than what it actually does and I think this is another reason for why there is so much space around him, it also shows the background, the graffiti on the wall and the writing to show that it is a platform. I like the darkness, it gives into the feeling that maybe this has something to do with loneliness and the snow, it would generally be soft, almost peaceful, if he wasn't standing on his own. It just makes it seem a little sadder. I do wonder who he is and what he's waiting for, a train or a person or something else.

How does this image make me feel?
-I like the eeriness of this image. You don't know who the figure is or what he's doing, it stirs questions about the time and place. I like the image even more after reading about what the photographer went through to get the images for this series, it just seems more thought out and real. Davidson trained for months before hand to prepare himself for the trip down into the subway, it was described as a different time, a lot more dangerous and for that he wanted to be as ready as he could be in case something happened. This photograph feels lonely, the man's alone and possibly waiting for a train or someone off of a train. I like to think it was the latter, it's a slightly happier thought. The man could be anyone and I like the anonymity of it all.

What ideas do I think the photographer is working with?
-The photographer is working with the inspiration from Kasimir Malevich's oil on canvas Black Square, 1915. A figure emerging from near darkness and it's only when you look closely that you see other details. I didn't notice the graffiti at first, I also didn't see as much detail in his face on the screen as what I did in the book.