Reading on the Run (Sydney Australia July 2016)

I Will Love You Till I Die: A slideshow for lovers everywhere

Quite a while back I made a slideshow of couples. Well, I've actually made a number of shows which feature some of the many photos I have of couples on the streets. But this one is one of my particular favorites because it was, I think, the first. Also the soundtrack I chose is a song from The Seekers, one of the great folk bands. The song is The Carnival is Over and is one of the most human of all folk (or for that matter of any other genre) songs of all time.

I suddenly decided to repost the slideshow today. Why? Umm. Well, no special reason. Just because I suppose, it is about lovers and love and loss and those things that live within all of us, but sometimes are a bit hard to find.

So, this is dedicated to lovers everywhere, and to love. Please enjoy. And, if you would like, please subscribe to this blog. It would be an honor to have you on board

I Will Love You Till I Die: A Street Photography Slideshow

Back in November 2012 I put together a slide show of photos from an ongoing project called Two's Company. This project is about photographing on the street two people or perhaps a person and a pet, but who are actually together. Might be two lovers, two friends, a parent and child, a child and his or her dog. You name it; as long as there are two people together, then it goes in this project's folder.

A kind of subset of this project is when the photo depicts a moment with two people who are actually a couple or who appear to be. And it is these moments, these photos that make up the slideshow. As a backing track I chose The Carnival is Over sung by one of the greatest folk groups of all time in my opinion: The Seekers. It's heart wrenching and soul enriching music, this song. 

Anyway, here is the slideshow again for your enjoyment. May it give you a moment's pleasure and if it brings a tear to your eye or a warmth to your heart, then I will consider this a good day!
Peace

Two Can be the Loneliest Number (sometimes but not always)

One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do
Two can be as bad as one
It's the loneliest number since the number one

So opens that wonderful song One written by Harry Nielson and made really famous by Three Dog Night who recorded their version in 1969. Practically everyone else has recorded a cover of the song since then: from the Muppets, to the New Seekers all the way through to the Australian singer Johnny Farnham. You might have even heard the song on an X Files soundtrack. Why, even Lisa Simpson has had a go with this one (in The Simpsons Episode 553 for all you fans out there).

But, today we're here to talk about line number two: Two can be as bad as one. It isn't always, though, as I suggest in the title of this post. During my time on the street I get to witness scenes, lovely and not so lovely, inhabited by two people. Sometimes they are sweet and tender moments like this,

A Kiss Goodbye (Lisbon Portugal June 2013)

And then there are those sweet and romantic moments, moments when I know that there is love in the air, like this one (if I'd been any closer I would have been sitting at the table with them, yet they didn't notice me at all),

Romance and a Special Date (Katoomba Australia May 2014)

You could say that, as these two photographs show, two is not a bad number at all. In fact you might say it's a great number, one of the best! But, often I see scenes, and witness moments that don't seem quite so love filled. Of course sometimes the scenes are what we might term neutral, such as this scene inhabited by two people who are clearly strangers to each other

A Seat to Oneself (Perth Australia January 2014)

This, as we see, is a simple scene on a railway station platform, one person waiting, another just walking on by. Other times, the two people may be strangers, but there seems somehow to be a connection of some sort; a story we can imagine. Or perhaps the scene could be seen as symbolic in some way for some viewers. As in these pictures,

Every Face Tells a Story (Melbourne Australia December 2012)

Strangers in a Park (Perth Australia December 2013)

But, more often than you might imagine, I witness and get to share in moments involving people who might be known to each other or might not. Like in this one,

Not on Speaking Terms (Melbourne Australia June 2012)

As you can probably guess from the title, I have imagined these two as known to each other, but not on speaking terms. Someone has suggested they are father and son who've had a falling out. Who can say? One of the mysteries of the street.  Sometimes (again more often than you might imagine), I am privileged to witness and share moments of high (or perhaps the correct adjective is low) emotion between two people who it is clear are known to each other. Like these for example,

 It's Just Not Working Out (Echuca Australia July 2011)

 Sisters Thinking (Ramsgate England February 2013)

So Much for Our Happy Holiday (Echuca Australia April 2012)

Then there are those scenes and moments that exude emotion, but whether that emotion is a positive or a negative one, can't be worked out. Such as in this one,

La conversation intime entre deux amis (Melbourne Australia August 2011)

Is this simply an intimate conversation between friends as the title suggests? Or is it something deeper, more serious? We can only imagine. Whatever the emotions detected or being experienced by the people in these scenes, I do not treat images such as this lightly. The people photographed are sharing with me something of their personal and private lives. I can't, of course, know exactly what they are experiencing or thinking or feeling; my role is to share and record the moment. Emotions witnessed or recorded are of, of course, sometimes more positive, happier even. Such as this where the two people seem to be sharing a joke or a private happy moment,

I'm Saying Nothing (Katoomba Australia April 2014)

Again, I have no idea what these two are talking about, or thinking or feeling. It's just that the scene feels to me more positive, lighter. Still, it is a private moment and I am grateful to have been there to share it.

A good street photograph will evoke an emotional response in the viewer. And if the image itself has people expressing an emotion, then all the better. It makes it easier for us as viewers and fellow human beings to empathize and perhaps even understand what's going on, how the people photographed are feeling. A little glimpse can be gained into the emotional lives of others.

One last thought about the number two. There are scenes one sees on the street where the number two is both good and bad, depending on who's who. In such cases it is often the eyes that will tell you that three is most definitely a crowd

Holding Tight (Melbourne Australia June 2014)

I Am a Witness to Love, I Am a Street Photographer

Love. It's everywhere isn't it? Well, yes I know, it does depend on how one looks at the world, but often it's not that it isn't there so much as it is we don't see it. That is where we street photographers come into the picture. We are a very lucky group of people. We get to see love all the time and everywhere we look. Love between a parent and a child, love between a dog and its human. And then there is romantic love. I can't count the number of times I have seen - been lucky enough to see - couples obviously in love or loving each other.

Hello My Darling

I so often am privileged to witness that look of love that passes between lovers as they meet or as they part. It's a private moment, yet there it is in plain sight for the world to see, to witness. If only we would slow down so we are able to see it. 

It's the Look of Love

Mind you, sometimes a couple will be just sitting, passing the time together. Suddenly, one will look a the other and in that fraction of a second (John Free says all Street Photographers see the world in segments 1/500th of a second long) it takes to point the camera and click the shutter, such a look is passed from the one to the other, that it is a gift worth treasuring. I sometimes wish this couple could have a copy of this photograph. But, that's not how this thing works. It's a fleeting thing; a moment that comes, then is gone forever.

Lovers on the Grass

Then there are the times when from even metres away, the street photographer can just feel the joy being eperienced by lovers as they embrace oblivious to their surroundings and to other people passing by. It's as if the world itself is their living room. But, you know, I don't often get the sense people are "showing off" or "posing"; it is usually just two people expressing joy and love in each other's company.

Loves in the Park

Now, I am not one of those street photographers who goes out of their way to be invisible. I see no point in hiding or sneaking around. Of course this means that sometimes I am seen and more often than you might think, this can result in a great image too. People might sometimes change their pose a little, but overall they  like these two, maintain what they were doing (except of course they are smiling now for the camera). And these two were happy in each others embrace, and proudly proclaim that to the camera. I like this one!

Sunday Seaside Stroll

Another aspect to street photography that I absolutely love is its ability to change people's lives, even if it is just for a moment. Take this couple for example. Strolling on a beach path one Sunday morning. I just instinctively lifted the camera and made the photo as they approached me. Now, they were so engrossed in whatever was happening for them that they didn't notice me, even as we passed each other. Again, just intuitively I said to them: "It's great to see such a handsome couple". They both looked at me and smiled, then the guy said: "It is indeed".

That's all, nothing else, and all over in a couple of seconds. Later, as I looked at the photo on my computer, I noticed that they are both looking upset or at the very least really distracted by something. Who can say what sort of day they'd had or what kind of bad news they had received and were processing. 

And that's the point you see. I knew nothing of this at all when I made the photo. And, then, despite the fact they hadn't seen me, I spoke to them, and what I said elicited a smile and a humorous comment from the man. So, by acting on instinct, being fully present and going with the flow, it is likely I played a tiny part in cheering up two people who were quite probably having a bad day.

Like I said, I have so many images that are witnesses to love in many of its forms. These are a tiny few of the romantic love kind. I have had the great good fortune to see and share thousands of similar moments. And what's more, the fact I am actually there to witness and record those moments with my camera, means that I can then share these moments of love with others, with you. 

Street photography is a great gift to me and to all of us. Fleeting moments that come and are gone forever as I said earlier, are usually missed as we rush about just living our lives. But just because they are missed doesn't mean they aren't important or that they shouldn't be recorded for sharing with others and for posterity  I am one who is lucky enough to be called to do just that. And I am grateful.

Sharing a Sleeve