Mobile Photography – StreetWise – Fifth Challenge Results – ‘Accessories on the Street’
“Taking an image, freezing a moment, reveals how rich reality truly is.” Anonymous
Welcome to our Fifth StreetWise Challenge Showcase ‘Accessories on the Street’. We are thrilled to share it with you.
Thank you so much for participating and sharing your beautiful photographs of people you have seen wearing or utilising accessories on the streets where you live. We thought this would be a fun theme for our group and the photographs certainly illustrate that. It’s also nice to continue to see new faces, adding ever more dimension to this wonderful, creative group.
As always, Lee and I hope you enjoy this showcase as much as we enjoyed putting it together.
Many congratulations to the following artists for being featured in this showcase, including: Lourdes Merson, Paula Betlem, drccoliver2, Ale Di Gangi, Micheldev1, Stefanie L.P., Maurizio Zanetti, RK, Karen Axelrad, Giulia Baita, Kate Zari Roberts, Nick Kenrick, Gina Costa, Dinalfs, Ocean Morisset, Ger van den Elzen, Luison, Lila_lile, Roy Savoy, Christine Mignon, Frederic Mahy, Michaela Meerkatz, Liliana Schwitter.
A reminder that the deadline for the September Streetwise Showcase is September 15th. Please post your photographs to the StreetWise Flickr site to be considered for the showcase.
Untitled – Lourdes Merson
Lourdes’ image is a wonderful example of classical street photography. There’s action — people doing their thing on the street, while at the same time the image is focused on one of the women in the midst of everything taking place as she pauses to look away. As viewers, we are drawn in by this break in action, we want to know what has caught this woman’s attention? It’s a mystery that’s enjoyable to solve whilst looking at this brightly composed photograph filled with lively, lovely ladies, accessories galore, and fabrics beautifully reminiscent of summer. I love how the city peaks out from behind the scene, but it’s the one woman whose thoughts we are wondering about that once again captures our attention. What a fun photograph Lourdes, brava!
Untitled – Paula Betlem
Paula’s photograph is a wonderful example of minimalist street photography. Like many minimalist images, so much is left to the viewer’s imagination, and yet so much is going on despite the simplicity of the composition.
The lines of the street hint at an urban setting while the angle of the shot transforms these perfunctory lines into a mythical ‘white’ brick road moving diagonally off into the distance, which the mysterious subject seems to be following. What we know of this woman is her elegant ballet flats, and the curve of her legs peeking out from her flowing dress, adding to both the mystery and elegance of this shot. Paula cleverly emphasises both of these elements by taking the photograph a touch out of focus; an excellent artist choice. Well crafted, Paula!
‘Coney Island’ – Roy Savoy
The first word that came to mind upon viewing Roy’s photo was ‘delightful!’ It is an image that uniquely harkens to one of Frank Larsen’s recently discovered trove of photos in an attic of New York taken in the 1950s.
This is a beautiful example of how what a person is wearing can make a photo special (ie: imagine this photo without the hat or glasses, or perhaps wearing a dark coloured jacket and shirt). And also, what a wonderful display of accessories – from the straw boater hat tipped rakishly to the side, to the glasses and the sheeny belt, all beautifully set against the dapper white jacket and striped shirt.
It is a stunning black and white image — especially as the bright white of the subject’s clothing contrasts perfectly against the dark background.
The composition is also well balanced. The man’s elbow points towards the woman with the hula hoop and the ferris wheel to the left, and then the eye travels to other women on the man’s right wearing bathing suits – all adding to the vintage flair of the photo. Fabulous capture, Roy!
Untitled – Liliana Schwitter
Liliana’s photo featuring accessories is captivating – the shimmering light on the fan captures your attention right away as does the mysterious squiggle (are we looking through a window?) in the right corner that draws your focus right to the fan and to the woman’s face.
The squiggle may also be seen as a symbolic representation of the heat the woman is feeling, or an imagined ‘sigh.’
It is a lovely and almost whimsical portrait of the woman with her head tilted up, highlighting her glowing white pearl necklace and earring, with the light gently haloing her hair.
On closer viewing, one notices the details of how adorned she is with accessories – the fan with the sailboat print and dark lace trim, the rings, her bracelet and sun glasses hooked over her neckline – all adding to the personality of this extinguished looking woman and the charm of the photo.
Beautifully seen, Liliana!
StreetWise – ‘Accessories on the Street’ Showcase
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Ilana Buch-Akoundi and Lee Atwell
Ilana Buch-Akoundi is an Interior Designer with a background in fine arts, and a passion for mobile photography. Influenced by classical art and literature, she views mobile photography as not simply capturing moments as they happen, but as a marriage of dreams and visions from inner life and reality. Street photography, as a composite emerging from the speed of life, and what’s resonating within. Born in New York City where she still resides with her husband and two children, Buch-Akoundi recently founded hipstaNYC dedicated to Hipstamatic images of New York City, where people from all over the world can showcase their photographs of NYC. She has had photographs featured in mobile photography websites and web-magazines as well as international shows. Lee Atwell has been passionate about the art, science and magic of photography since the time she was a child – at which time her father had converted a small bathroom into a darkroom. For the past few years, she been captivated by the versatility, convenience, and creative potential of mobile photography. In street photography, she enjoys the challenge of capturing the unexpected and also the necessity of being present moment to moment with the surrounding environment – whether it is the continual shifting of light and shadows or the instantaneous and fleeting expressions and postures of people on the street. She has received several international photography awards and has had photographs featured in publication, mobile photography websites and web-magazines. She has also had photos exhibited in several cities – in the USA, Canada, Italy, France, Hungary, Belgium and Portugal. Atwell also teaches yoga and owns a yoga studio in Seattle with her husband.
