Gallery: two by two
There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer
Ansel Adams
Ansel Adams was talking about how people interpret a photo. He shot mainly landscapes, but the maxim applies to all kinds of photography and perhaps none more so than photos of people. How you choose to portray them defines how the viewer will see them.
I have often in the past shared groups of three, for the Thursday Trios challenge. But today Debbie challenges us to find Twos, for One Word Sunday. Since I seem to have many more of those than I do threes, I decided to restrict myself to street photography and find some couples or pairs in my archives. So in this gallery there are quite literally two people in every picture!
Many of these people are clearly couples or friends, but a few are passing strangers or in one case engaged in a purely commercial transaction, shoe shining. Some you may have seen before but others, I hope, will be new to you.
Some of the images are in colour, some monochrome. The choice of colour or black and white is of course subjective. In general with street photography I lean towards the latter, but the setting of some of these shots seemed to demand colour. See what you think!
All the images were shot originally in colour, with the monochrome versions edited with Silver Efex Pro.
Checking a selfie perhaps, in the Forbidden City, Beijing
My feature photo was also taken in the Forbidden City but unlike this candid one was a posed shot
Friends out for a walk, Bei Hai Park, Beijing
This is the only other posed shot in this gallery
At the Comic and Games festival in Lucca, Italy
Meeting a friend, Lucca, Italy
Making their slow way home perhaps, in Lucca, Italy
Shoe shine in the Plaza Botero, Medellin, Colombia
Playing in the fountain in the Place Saint Sulpice, Paris
Tourists in the rain. Jardins des Tuileries, Paris
‘Non Stop’, Sofia, Bulgaria
Outside an opticians’ shop in Sofia, Bulgaria
After trade has finished for the day in the Mercato delle Erbe, Bologna, Italy
A doorstep chat with a friend, Arpino, Italy
Finishing where we started, in Beijing, in the gardens of the Imperial Ancestral Temple
You might also enjoy
Gallery: the doors of Nepal
Gallery: using triangles in photography
40 Comments
Pingback:
eklastic
What Aletta said – these are not just photos, these are stories. Wonderful!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you, I’m so pleased you both think so 😊
Aletta - nowathome
All these photos tell their own stories. So beautifully captured. It’s something I’ve never tried to do before.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Aletta, I’m glad you found the stories within these images 😀
wetanddustyroads
It’s a great selection of photos. Everyone tells their own story, right? I like the doorstep chat in Italy … I wonder what they are talking about? And the tourist photo in Paris is a pretty picture 😊.
Sarah Wilkie
That’s a great way of looking at these – yes, each tells a little story 😀
leightontravels
Love all of these images Sarah, especially the tender moments you caught such as the mother and son (?) in Lucca. I can’t help but smile at your Beijing photos, familiar sights that remind me how I actually kinda miss the place.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Leighton 😀 Yes, I assume mother and son too. Glad to have brought back good memories of Beijing!
rosalieann37
I don’t think Ansel Adams was referring to photo with people in it. His photos were mostly landscapes with no people. So his two people were 1- the photographer and 2- the person looking at the photo – not the person IN the photo.
I do like your selection of photos
Sarah Wilkie
You’re right of course Rosalie, thank you. Maybe I need a different quote to open this? Or a better way of incorporating this one …
Sarah Wilkie
Done – see what you think? And thank you again!
rosalieann37
Great
grandmisadventures
I really like that all the duos of your pictures show a similarity but also a contrast to each other whether that is by age, attire, or position. Another beautiful collection 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you – that’s something I was aiming for in my arrangement so I’m really pleased you picked up on it 😀
Suzanne
Place Saint Sulpice, Paris shot conjures up a moment of potential fun 😉 Sarah, I enjoyed this post with the topic of two in a shot.
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, those two were certainly enjoying themselves – there’s something about kids and fountains, isn’t there?! Thank you 🙂
Tracey
That last shot is my favorite! Such an intimate moment and that tree!!!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Tracey – it was striking to observe that restfulness so close to the hubbub of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City 🙂
sustainabilitea
Wonderful gallery of twos, Sarah. I feel as someone else about taking photos of people so I rarely do it. Yours are marvelous.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Janet 😊 I guess I’ve just got used to doing this over the years.
thehungrytravellers.blog
Excellent, as ever! Love the Medellin shot, easily my favourite. Shoeshine is just simply from a different world to us at home in Blighty, which makes a shot like this evoke thoughts of travel, or distant places….
Sarah Wilkie
And thank you as always Phil 😊 You’re right about shoeshine – although if you find yourself in London’s Burlington Arcade you’ll see it can still be found here, albeit rather different to this example!
Marie
I think the images from Lucca are my favourites. Similar to others above, I’ve very few ‘people’ photos – mostly out of fear….
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Marie 🙂 A long enough lens can do wonders to overcome the fear, as can subterfuge (make it appear as if you’re photographing something else nearby). And of course, practice and more practice. After a while you forget that it isn’t totally normal to take sneaky photos of other people! I also make it a rule not to make them look stupid or ridiculous in any way.
Mike and Kellye Hefner
Double the fun! All are lovely shots, Sarah. We rarely take photos of people, so I’m in awe of yours.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Kellye 😀 I didn’t used to do much street photography but in recent years it’s become one of my favourite genres.
Anne Sandler
Great street photography Sarah!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anne, I’m so pleased you like these 🙂
isaiah46ministries
I never thought to take pictures of people, afraid that they would not like it. But, you capture their humanity in each picture, especially the unstaged ones. You remind us of our similarities, which is what we need today in a time of such devisiveness in America and parts of the world. Thank you. My favorite is the last one, because I understand how exhausted one can get when traveling.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you so much for this thoughtful feedback. I try to be unobtrusive when taking this sort of shot, using a long lens so as not to intrude. And I also try to be respectful, not showing people in a bad light. I really like your point about our similarities as that is exactly how I feel about the benefits of travelling. We see places that are very different from home, where people often lead very different lives, and yet we also see that we have so much in common with each other. I agree, the world needs reminding of that now more than ever.
Alison
The French one is my favourite especially the umbrella 😊
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Alison, I’m fond of that shot – but it would be nothing without that umbrella!
Debbie
A great selection, Sarah. I prefer the candid over posed, but that’s just me.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Debbie – to be honest, I prefer candid shots too, I like the naturalness 🙂
margaret21
A great set of photos. I’m with Sue in her choice of favourites. But it’s a bit of an invidious choice – they’re all well-observed.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Margaret – as I said to Sue, I do like to hear which ones are people’s favourites 🙂
Sue
Brilliant set of twos Sarah! The various Italian images from Lucca and Arpino are my favourites
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Sue, it’s always great to get feedback on favourites 🙂 I’m fond of those ones too, especially the Arpino shot!
Sue
Yay!