The unexamined life is not worth living - Socrates 479-399 BC
A good photograph is often made of several layers, unfolding as you process the image.
When I mention "layers", I don't mean them in photographic terms, like mountain ranges one behind each other; the farther they are, the softer light becomes, making the picture pleasant to look at with a sense of good depth. We have many fine examples of landscape photography, but what I mean here is layers that invoke deeper philosophical connotations.
A good photograph, in my case can emerge 1 in every 100 or so photographs, and only if I was exceptionally lucky. Luck is an undeniable factor, especially in documentary photography. But it is not the only element that makes a good image.
In this case I analysed the factors other than luck that made this image a good one.
Attraction - the fly effect -
I was withdrawn to this basketball court where youngsters were practicing. The reason of attraction was deeply personal. I casually played basketball in my youth years until my thirties. I could immediately relate to young basketball players.
The fly effect is not something you need to overthink about. Like a fly attracted to strong smells, attraction is intuitive, varies from person to person and depends on their background. The fly effect stimulates your senses. You will stop walking, approach your target and start thinking about your next move.
The wall
I discovered there was a wall with beautiful indigenous art in red, orange yellow tones with fleeting late afternoon light rays touching on it.
Glebe is an inner-western suburb of Sydney with a good chunk of interesting history. It seems authorities and people who live there encourage murals on walls susceptible to graffitti.
The wall also helped me to hide myself from the player, this way I could shoot his image without being seen.
💡Tip of the day: Public monuments, sculptures, and art installations are commonly classified as "low hanging fruit", meaning they speak for themselves on behalf of their creators. Taking photographs of artwork does not require much effort on the photographer's part other than pressing the shutter button. Tourists tend to shoot art installation pictures as a means for self-gratification or as a means to mark their travel milestones. Whereas there is nothing wrong with this approach, if you pursue serious street photography, you need a lot more to go into your pictures than just low hanging fruits. You need to construct a good story by using other elements in your picture.
The fence
The basketball court was surrounded by a metal fence which interplayed with the story by confining its central elements.
On the one hand the fence created a focusing challenge as I wanted to razor sharp focus on the player's face. On the other hand it formed a "veil" effect; especially at the far side, it broke the harsh background light with thin diagonal lines. Hence the veil pushed the player's image to foreground, making him more noticeable.
The city
The cityscape shows the ultimate cold end gradually emerged from the inner-suburbia warmness. This is simply materialisation of capitalism, in glass, steel and concrete.
The story
This is the story of origins and what we have become.
The wall with indigenous art represents origins, true custodians of this land. The wall is a metaphor of separation between indigenous population and white man who occupied their land and killed them. Sadly indigenous custodians are gone now -today only 2% of Glebe population is indigenous- but their stories outlive them on the wall.
The white boy playing basketball in the court represents optimism and reconciliation. What is going on his mind? Who does he want to become? What difference does he want to make on this land?
The cityscape at far end represents cold capitalism, the machinery that indiscriminately chews up humans, consumes them, turns them into a pulp, and spit out. It is cold, as it neither understands, nor cares about original custodians, nor living humans like the young basketball player, who will as well be consumed and spit out by the system watching over us from the far end.
