I was recently asked if there is a subset of my photographs
that mean one thing to me and another for viewers. Specifically, if what I
intended to see was not what others saw after printing them.
As in any form of art and communication, the
predisposition and expectation of the recipients are commonly different from
that of the presenter. Yet it is the role of the photographer to find that
angle and context that would mean the same for most viewers.
But there are always exceptions.
So here are a few photographs for which I have
received variable reactions from viewers.
A.
Madrid,
Spain
This photo was totally unplanned. I was walking with
the crowd late in the day when I heard laughing and exclamations at loud voice.
Turned around, and saw this man holding a magazine and being very expressive.
My lens (a Fujinon) was wide open and I clicked once and kept walking.
It was only when I looked at the negative that I
noticed he was looking at a male models magazine.
For me, it is a photo of a relaxed moment in the
streets of Madrid. Many others have found it to represent different stages of a
man’s life, as well as the delightful surprise of not finding him looking at a
female models’ magazine.
B.
Paris,
France
Outside of the Notre Dame Cathedral, I saw these two
ladies in a similar sitting posture, eating ice cream. Took the photo knowing
that it was not the greatest, but did it anyhow. When I developed the negative,
I notice the third person wearing the Michael Jackson-like single glove. I did
not see the glove when I took the picture.
Interestingly, Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009
and I took this photograph in July of that year. So, without intending it, it
does have a historical background.
C.
Oslo,
Norway
This one, again, was an impulse-based photograph
where I wanted to capture the harmony in the joint postures of two Norwegian
young women. Beyond that, I had no story
to tell.
However, I received a number of comments from Norway
where viewers of this photograph had seen the dichotomy they faced about
joining the European Union (EU). Indeed, I learned that Norway did not
immediately find comfort in making the transition from its people’s-based
democracy to adhering to the rules of the EU.
Clearly, such an interpretation is relevant only
since the photograph was taking in Oslo…
D.
The
Model and the shy dog, Baltimore, Maryland
I was walking my dog when I saw that there was a
photo session happening. I talked to the photographer who told me he was doing
a series of shots for a calendar. The model was a well known young woman who
was dressed in leather and a red jacket.
I did mention that I was a photographer too and
would be interested in watching him work with the light changes. “Sure,” he
said. “But you can do more – how about having your dog in some of the shots?”
I thought “Lucky dog!!!!”
I took a few pictures with permission. He said I can
use them if I want.
When I looked at one of the pictures, I could not
stop laughing: my dog seemed so shy next to this beautiful woman! He even
closed his eyes….
E.
Urban
Kiss, Baltimore Inner Harbor, Maryland
This is a photograph using medium format film. What
is interesting here is that I tried to do a B&W transparency from film.
That is a process called a “reversal process” where the negative is developed
but not fixed. Then a bath and washing in potassium permanganate in sulfuric
acid solution would take some of the silver halide to be unevenly distributed
on the film, which upon exposure to light can give unexpected patterns to the
negative once fixed and dried.
Interestingly, I was more pleased by how the buildings
and crowd on the boardwalk appeared when I printed it. Yet, all of the viewers
of this photograph commented on the tenderness of the kiss with absolutely no
consideration of the rest of the photograph….
F.
Somewhere
in Virginia
This is an old photograph and I do not recall the name
of the town. It was a re-enactment of Western lifestyle with cowboys and Native
Americans.
I was walking in the parking lot when I heard
laughter. Turned around and clicked on the old Pentax K 1000 (yes, I remember carrying
that camera on that day…). Unfortunately the negative was damaged during
development and the picture did not qualify for anything except for sharing it
with some friends. The reason was that it is an intriguing photograph lending
itself for many interpretations and fantasizing.
The obvious question was “Where is Big Chief?” and
most answers I got were along the line of “One lucky Big Chief!”
… The moral of the story is that sometimes one
should take photographs on impulse without necessarily having a complete
picture in mind. The surprises street photography provides post hoc can be just
delightful!
March 23, 2016
© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2016
