Majority of my street photographs are presented in black and white in order to isolate the subject of the photograph from potentially distracting details of the city. At times however it is the colour that draws my attention. Take this pretty redhead reading text on her mobile, sitting on a bench in Pitt Street. On a cloudy day amongst mostly dully dressed business people her shocking pink stocking were visible like a torch at night.
Girl with a surf board in the city
by Ted Szukalski |
If you visit this blog from outside of Australia you may find it surprising but technically there are no beaches in Sydney. Sydney is a very small district mostly reserved for office buildings, few entertainment venues and restaurants. The famous surfing beaches like Bondi and Manly are cities on their own right and are not part of Sydney City council. The city is not a good place to buy a surfboard either. Usually you will get a better deal in your local surf shop.
So, here I am walking back to the office on a very hot day when I almost walked straight to the surfboard carried but the girl in the photograph. She was dressed in an unusual pants and a top, which looked like a singlet. An attire more suitable for the beach. She did not seem to know the city well and was checking her directions on every street corner she passed. I wondered if she exited a wrong train station or simply snapped a bargain on some sale. The board certainly looked like new.
A girl sunbaking in the city
by Ted Szukalski |
Last few days brought a very hot weather to South East Australia, with temperatures in high 30C and low 40C all the way from Adelaide to Brisbane. Some people like the girl in the photograph like the heat and one could see a lot of people sitting in full sun at popular lunch location at Martin place.
A man is giving directions to a girl at the entry to Town Hall station
by Ted Szukalski |
On the surface this photograph of a man is giving directions to a girl at the entry to Town Hall station may indicate a helpful young man helping a girl getting around Sydney. However this is not the case. This man is part of a promotion group for a hairdressing business. They are very active promoting their services almost in any public space in CBD.
Girl in a scarf dressed in black and white with bright, colourful mail boxes
by Ted Szukalski |
I was walking along George Street towards the intersection with Margaret street when I have noticed this girl walking out of the Wynyard Station. The girl was dressed in black and white clothing and had a black scarf. Her pale, exotic face was very striking, even seen across a road three lines wide. She was trying to catch a taxi.
I stopped in one of the bus stop shelters on the opposite side of the road and tried to see how I can photograph her in an interesting way. There was really no “scene” and I decided to move along, when a taxi stopped 20 meters away on my side of the road. The girl moved to the right trying to see if the taxi will be vacated, but it wasn’t her day and the taxi drove away. However, the girl kept moving to the right until she stopped in front of a large, bright red mail box. And there it was – my scene unveiling just in front of me.
With the girls monochrome clothing and rather dull tones of the sandstone building behind her the three colourful mail boxes really provided an interest point and a strong visual impact. I took the photo and instantly though that it looked like selective colour. Normally this is achieved in Photoshop by removing all colours with exception of some highlight element. Yet this photograph did not need any post processing. The girl and the wall already looked as if she was photographed in black and white or slight sepia, while the three mail boxes stood out with their bright colouring. Not to mention an implied rule of thirds at play created by these mail boxes.