Streets Ahead – Fourth Edition – With JQ Gaines and Maddy McCoy

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amaeye/8808608915/

Just My Imagination
by Amaeye (Amy (McGrath) Hughes)

Well, if this isn’t a perfect Hopper moment… then I don’t know what is! Amy truly captured (and presented) a most beautiful graphic composition of space, solitude and time. In addition to the beautiful lines, tones and division of space, my eyes keep coming back to the trash can and the man. The deep shadows clearly indicate that this was taken late in the afternoon (or morning)… and the scale comparison of the man and trash can give us a wonderful sense of distance.

Two Talking Women
by Misses Jones

I immediately fell in love with this photograph. Misses Jones has given us a brilliant example of how to frame a shot using a window and bars. (Alfred Hitchcock would’ve been thrilled with this… no doubt!!!) Not only are our eyes visually satisfied by the overall composition and tones, but we hone right in on the dialogue that is taking place between these two women. And I can’t help but find their body language interesting… one of them is standing quite rigid while the other one is sweeping her foot along the ground… almost like she’s nervously fidgeting. This is a gorgeous cinematic shot!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/martina-p/8778698431/

Only one of them didn’t want to be recognized.
by MartinaP.

What an incredibly surreal image! At first glance I was quite amused and intrigued with the mannequin’s life-like posture, sitting at the table with a coffee cup before her. But the more I reflected on this image, the more I was struck about the psychological content. Mannequins indicate shopping, sales and fashion.. They dictate the rules and guidance on how we should dress for trends, social acceptance and/or success. And boy, does this mannequin have some interesting body language going on! This is a photograph that can’t help but cause a dialogue with the viewer… and I just Love it!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56443868@N02/8797862503/

Musee d’Orsay
Cara Gallardo Weil

This photograph contains a lot of graphic elements that excites our visual senses… and what a beautiful image! The silhouette of the man against the clock, with the soft gray background of the city is very striking, and really captures depth (and height!!) I’ve always found that circles are difficult to dynamically crop in a square format… but Cara certainly did a gorgeous job on this. While the circular shape is predominantly placed, the strong lines of the clock’s hands encourage us to visually explore every section of the photograph. However, the outline of dots bring us right back to the circular image… reminding us about the continuation of time.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lumilyon/8846062945/

Cafe de la Mairie, Paris, February 2013
Lumilyon (Nettie Edwards)

Nettie has such a great eye for storytelling and cinema! Here is yet another capture that contains many layers of visual and emotional intrigue. Compositionally, everything is in place… there are strong lines that divide the space and help our eyes navigate the entire surface, as well as a nice distribution of tones. But what really fascinates me is the sense of depth. In the background, we see a lot of socializing going on. But in the foreground we have a man sitting alone, who appears to be lost in thought. And then there is the third, unseen layer… because we are acutely aware of the space that the photographer occupied in order to take this picture. I just think this is a great image!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/55265185@N02/8731813413/in/pool-streetsaheadtheappwhisperer/

“Two Talking Women” by Misses Jones

I find this photo enchanting. I feel as if we are eavesdropping on lovers from a bygone era. I don’t want to look away; I want to hear their secrets.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/92317074@N08/8822223396/in/pool-streetsaheadtheappwhisperer

Ripped From Reality No5: More Wishful Thinking by Liz Traynor

I wish I were smart enough to have come up with this concept. It’s a wonderful piece to spend some time looking at. It’s an image that says as much or as little as we choose to take from it. It is a poignant commentary on womanhood today, it is fun fluff: you choose. It’s just so damn smart.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michmutters/8717425096/in/pool-2239443@N22/

Anti-Social. by Michelle Robinson

If I had happened upon this gem of a scene, I’d probably have been so excited that I’d have somehow messed it up. I feel as though it took some nerve to get this photo. I’m impressed that Michelle kept a steady hand and nailed the shot. Really splendid.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/traceyrenehan/8767313728/in/pool-streetsaheadtheappwhisperer/

Street Chase by Tracey Renehan

When I first saw this image I actually got giddy. It is fantastic, Tracey!

Image deconstruction: I am curious if this was a straight shot or was there some post-processing done? Was this image perhaps decim8ed*?

* App called “Decim8”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lumilyon/8834708812/in/pool-streetsaheadtheappwhisperer

Looking Forward Looking Backward, Looking In Looking Out: Paris February 2013 by Lumilyon

Lumilyon searches for the rabbit hole that will take her to the hallway of human lineage. She sees the door to the beautiful garden of antiquity, and they always let her enter…