"The old man and the sea"

[SLIU]

[jake]

Your father-in-law is very distinguished and confident looking, striding down the dock. Nice last shot into the sun.

J Ake :twisted:

[JohnR]

I really like the composition of the first shot, altho it seems slightly tilted - ?

[connealy]

My sense of this series is that it portrays a man who has perfected a way of moving through an urban world with a high level of anonymity, approaching invisibility.  He is observant and aware, but his body language invites no possibility of interaction; he slips beneath the perceptual horizon.  Even trailed closely by a photographer snapping frequent pictures, he attracts little apparent attention.
. . The rectilinear simplicity of the scene implies a life story as well as a record of a single stroll.  It suggests a life of dignity, self-control, correctness, simple pleasures, and confidence in the path chosen.  The final shot, filled with sunlight, suggests a reward for the proper accomplishment of the journey.

[Michael_I]

the last one is the best one.great light.

[MichaelHarris]

Those are incredible.

[edthened]

Och Sam, this set of images has feeling and emotion oozing out  from every part of each picture. Beautifully done

Edwin    

[connealy]

I would like to add one more observation about this series.  I think much of Sam's work incorporates some subtle humor, and I think these pictures and those from the supermarket are good examples of that.
. . Part of the enjoyment available from "The old man and the sea" comes from fact that the viewer is allowed to participate vicariously in a small staged drama that has been conducted cooperatively by the photographer and the primary subject.  Many bystanders have also been enlisted in the production; in this case their participation is ensured by the physical constraints of the immediate environment, as well as by the unspoken rules or social norms of the street which permit such dramas when they are perceived to be inoffensive.
. . It is possible that nearly everyone pictured is aware at some level that a play is being staged, and that they are part of it.  A few look directly at the subject and the cameraman, signalling their awareness of the work in progress.  Others are engrossed in their own affairs and seem oblivious to the production, but have given the situation sufficient attention to decide the approaching duo constitutes no threat, and they park their awareness at an appropriate level of consciousness.
. . It will occur to some of the enlisted actors that their image or actions will perhaps result in a presentation of themselves that may be unflattering and perhaps mildly humorous.  As long as eye contact is limited, however, a protest is unlikely.  I believe this kind of dramatic tension explains much of the appeal of street photography, as well as the simple pleasure of just walking through crowded urban streets.

[SLIU]

Mike, thank you for the analysis. It could be included in a photography textbook.

This series was inspired by a deep discussion with Jorn in Barnes & Noble about the book  Ambiguous Ambassador  by photographer Tseng Kwong Chi

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&isbn=1590051173

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E1D61231F93BA25753C1A960958260

To me, his style is like a mixture of Cindy Sherman and Andy Warhol and the non-authenticity is obvious to anyone who has lived in China for some time. When Jorn asked me what I would do, I said I would chose my father-in-law as the model and photograph him in New York City. Even without a Mao suit, he looks more authentic than Tseng, who is basically a westerner in yellow skin (chinese people call them banana).  Of course my photographs is in a totally different genre than his.

BTW, my photos were shot with an Olympus XA without  awareness of the major characters. People surrounding us are aware of me taking photograph, but none of them paid attention to me because I was taking picture of the old man in front of me, not them. The huge Canon 30D hanged on his neck also drew some attetion away from me.

However, the serie is staged in the sense that I composed them in my mind ahead of the shooting, during the discussion with Jorn three days ago. All I need is good location and light. They are not as spontaneous as my other photographs, although the actural exposure only took a split of second.