The marvels of daily life are exciting; no movie director can arrange the unexpected that you find in the street
Robert Doisneau
It goes without saying that cities and towns are built by and for people. Yet so often when we photograph buildings we wait until the scene is clear before pressing the shutter. But what is a city without its people? Including them in your shots brings the city to life, showing how these buildings create the backdrop for daily life.
I enjoy street photography. So when, prompted by Sue’s chosen theme for this week’s Monochrome Madness, I had a trawl through my archives, I wasn’t too surprised by how many ‘Figures in the Built Environment’ I came across. Not all worked as black and white conversions, but many did.
I had already converted several of the shots below but for the majority I edited in that format for the first time, using Nik Silver Efex Pro. The ‘grittiness’ of the urban environment suits black and white photography, and it’s also often the best choice for candid street photography. So Sue’s theme is well-chosen.
As always there may be photos here you will have seen before but possibly not in black and white. And some at least I am confident are new.
My feature photo was taken in the Marais district of Paris
On the Tour Montparnasse, Paris
Outside the Louvre, Paris
In Soho, London
Also in Soho, London
By the Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial, Vienna
In Judenplatz, Vienna
On the streets of Manila, Philippines
In the Bitexco Financial Tower, Saigon / HCMC, Vietnam
Fire escapes in the Meatpackers District, New York City
In the Maskava district of Riga, Latvia
In the Candelaria district of Bogota, Colombia
Outside the Barak Khan Madrassah in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
At the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi
At the Qatar National Museum in Doha
Outside the Natural History Museum in Sofia, Bulgaria
Outside the Grand Theatre, Pyongyang, North Korea
Night scene in Beijing
At a station in Belgium
7 Comments
Anne Sandler
Awesome photos Sarah! The buildings were terrific and the people helped create the story.
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
Like Brian and Margaret said…
Sue
Excellent choices, Sarah, as I expected them tov be! I especially liked the seperatedness of the two figures in the Rue des Tounelles, the man outside the Table Dancing cub and the lady and the image of the chimp in Sofia
Alli Templeton
Another excellent collection, Sarah. Not only do your photos give a sense of scale by including people, you somehow manage to convey the feel of a place, the atmosphere at the time you were there observing life in the various cities. I don’t know how you manage that, but you do it very well indeed! 🙂
margaret21
Yes, just what Brian said. I like the ones where you have allowed the humans to be somewhat dwarfed by the Built Environment. Puts us in our place!
bushboy
Of course you have nailed this challenge Sarah, it was right up your alley. The B&W conversions worked so well
Sarah Wilkie
Many thanks Brian 😊 You’re right, this is very much my ‘thing’! Glad you liked the conversions.