The Decision
India 2003: On the streets of Jodhpur
I was scanning my old slides yesterday and finally, after all these years, noticed this one. Not only do I love the deep reds with the black shadows but here we have geometry galore!
The two women on the left form the letter ‘U’. Perfect! The body of the woman on the right forms a flowing reverse ‘C’. The viewer’s eye moves through the scene and back again. The lines of the women are unified by the softly draped red fabric. Even though we cannot see the women’s faces, we know they are concentrating on something in the shop. Their body language tells us that they are making an important decision.
When you photograph people, women especially, try to pose their bodies in flowing lines. I think a good place to get ideas is in magazines that do interviews of wealthy people. The photographer will have made an effort to have them look their best. Copy their ideas. With practice, you’ll develop your own style.
Rosemary, who was that Dutch artist who painted “The Girl With the Pearl Earrings” because that instantly came to mind when I saw this. It is truly lovely. Jerry
Jerry, you can google that painter! I don’t know who that artist is, although I recently saw something about him. Glad you like the shot. It has a lot going for it including the diagonal line made by the shadow of the shop roof.
Best, Rosemary