Two men at a wedding reception, near Bristol; 17 Aug 2011.
This is of course a moment in a long interaction, but for this moment the man on the left radiates stern scepticism, while the other, with open expression and slightly spread arms, may be bent on digging himself out of a hole.
Then again, if we view images from left to right, then the questioning man is the first element of the photo that our eyes register – he is up tight against the image’s left margin, in a way he is the image’s left margin – and then our eyes follow his sceptical gaze right to the other man. The direction in which our eyes travel across the image is mirrored by the orientation of the stones in wall. Just up to the right of the sceptic’s shoulder, there is an almost wave-like flow in the way these stones have been laid.
The sceptical man is in sharp focus, and he is certainly the image’s strongest subject. The second man is in slightly softer focus.
This is a photo of a chance interaction. I had none of these points in my mind when the photo was taken.
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Technique: D700 with 24-140 Nikkor lens at 120mm; 800 ISO; converted to mono with Silver Efex Pro 2.
FATman Photos 