All the world's a stage

All the world's a stage

May 11, 2012. "All the world's a stage." Photo 2 of 5 from the 2012 Snap! Orlando photography exhibit series.

Photo #1 of this series focused on the timeless instant aspect of photography. Photo #2 focuses on the beautiful silence.

When you see the scene above, what sounds do you picture? Quiet whispers? The hum of an air conditioner? Gentle echoes?

The light touching the sensor is more serene than the reality. Just behind the red curtain, a group of musicians loudly banged an African drum piece over a hundred sushi-eating socialites sipping drinks and laughing loudly.

I did not want a picture of the drum beaters or the martini sniffers. I wanted a picture of people like me; the ones whose souls seek tranquil open spaces and meaningful moments with just one person, or perhaps a few.

There are a few stylistic elements in this shot that come up from time to time in my favorite photos. Silhouetted people against a contrasting background. Light reflecting off of foreground surfaces. The color red.

People walking through doorways intrigue me as subjects. Light sources often differ dramatically from one room to the next, naturally illuminating a person in transition. It's a powerful metaphor of change.

Watch people walk through doorways in social spaces. You'll notice that they often aren't looking forward. They glance longingly at the things and people they're leaving behind. It's a semi-conscious sort of melancholy that we probably all fall victim to from time to time. Remember the wife of Lot.

The title for this post is from Shakespeare's As You Like It. I found it particularly appropriate due to the real action in life occurring behind the stage, along with the likely possibility that the city of Orlando was named after a character in that play.

The stage is set. The actors are in place. Photos 3-5 of my Snap! Orlando series will take you through the doorway of the melancholy couple into the bright realm of two young lovers oblivious to the world around them. Stay tuned...

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/30. f/2.8. ISO 800. LR 2.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Bronze Statue

A Portrait of the Artist as a Bronze Statue

April 30, 2012. A Portrait of the Artist as a Bronze Statue.

A bronze statue of James Joyce sitting on a bench patiently meditates outside Raglan Road at Downtown Disney near Orlando, Florida.

I'd also like to add a brief word about stylistic influences. Included among those for me is Mr. James Joyce.

It isn't Finnegan's Wake, Ulysses, or A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man that resonates with me. For me, it's Dubliners. Published in 1914, it's a poignantly human collection of short stories depicting middle class nobodies encountering their personal turning points in life.

These are the written snapshots of decisive moments predating Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Doisneau. After all, what is street photography but the portrayal of the sometimes unvarnished, gritty, and natural moments of modern existence that precipitate epiphany?

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/1000. f/2.8. ISO 100. LR 2.