As always, thank you to everyone who participated in our Assignment No. 3. Special thanks goes to our editor’s choice Jomel Bartolome a.k.a. Dada Bear for picking this very interesting and challenging assignment for. It not only tests our skills in making a street photograph but it also asks us to challenge how to tell a story with a single photograph with his added task of showing what it feels like to be in a land foreign and different from yours. Offcourse, that isn’t the only way to interpret the theme.

Without further ado, here are some of the interpretations of Assignment No. 3, Foreigners!

Tourists

Looking at Dave’s shot, you can see the prepared tourist: Map, sunglasses, day bag, and camera. What makes Dave’s photo stand out is that it there person in the photo is drowning herself in a map. The lack of face and black and white seems to add something ominous to the image.

The man in Jose’s photograph stands out because of his bright orange shirt in a place full of brown and light colored shirts. Perhaps calling out to his friends/group. His fan and the shadow leading up to him makes it an interesting image.

Just an interesting scene captured by Kocha that I don’t think needs a lot more explanation. Very charming contrast between the opposite sides of the information board.

The person on the foreground in Varanus’ photograph will just immediately grab you together with the people flanking him but after looking at everything around the frame, you could see the Asian vendor and the Chinese sign at the back gives it away.

Chris has something humorous here. The “Thank you Sarah” graffiti, the lost woman holding what I assume a travel guide, and the owl graffiti art that mimics the woman. I find it amusing and I think all of those go well together.

Odd Man Out

Foreign is also defined as unfamiliar or uncharacteristic. The photographs in this set show exactly that. Simple and straightforward captures.

In a crowd of students and business people, this yuppie in bright red stands out. The look of the businessmen at the back with their “look” completes the image.

Well you know, a pink man just walking around town. Yup. Totally normal! :)

Classical building but contrasted against the dragon, it is an obvious out of place.

Arnold got a nice moment going on in here. It has motion and a bit of confusion but it all work together. This got the most likes on the group and I’m not surprised why.

Three men with glasses but one of them is on a shirt. Excellent spot from Luca.

A bunch of happy faces but what stands out is the distraught face of the woman.

Non-chalant locals hanging around a Caucasian, perhaps waiting for the next jeep.

Campa got that right timing and gesture. That head look totally normal.

You wouldn’t normally see little girls in a garage but her stare and the overall of the entire photo is visually arresting. Maybe she will be a good mechanic in the future. Although sincerely, there is a great mystery in the photo that makes it suitable for looking at for long periods of time.

Yep. A bunch of Saiyans walking around Hong Kong.

Because people are free to do what they want to do, Arnold captured this man who is wearing a green wig not giving a rat about anything. As they say, haters gonna hate.

In the age of smart devices, the Payphone still has a place in the world. What were normal to us 10 years ago seems so out of place nowadays.

Solitude

Olivier got this technically interesting photograph of several people in deep thought.

Sometimes, the world can get too much and we just need to be all alone with ourselves to breathe. This is what Andrea has captured with this lady standing on her corner taking a pause from the world.

The light on the old man makes him stand out in the entire image. On the foreground is a family enjoying some snacks while he looks away. There is a mystery to what he is anticipating.

Jomel Bartolome aka Dada Bear got the minimalist shapes of a worker taking a break. Simple and it perfectly isolates his subject.

Florin captured this old man by himself. It looks like the cat is imitating the old man. The triangle seems to put everything in the frame together.

This is one of those photos that will make you scratch your head but everything seems to work.  It’s as if I’m looking at a puzzle game.

Josu’s photograph remind me of the poem “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas specifically these lines:

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Verdan’s photograph is a weird mixture of things that work. The graffiti on the rocks and the magnificent view the bike rider seems to admire. It shows how one needs to let all things sink in especially when unfamiliar to the location or place.

Editor’s Choice

We had a nice mixture of entries ranging from absurdly funny to the subtle and contemplative. In the end the editor’s choice will be given to:

Bertrand Domas

Here is one more look at his photograph:

There’s just something that makes everything go well in the photo and the innocent look of the girl wraps everything together.

Bertrand, please email me at contact@agdemesaphoto.com and let’s talk about the theme you want for assignment no. 4!

As usual, here are some of the honorable mentions.

Florin Ghebosu

Josu Zaldibar

Andrea Scirè

Nena Laine

Closing Thoughts

On that note, I’d like to thank Jomel Bartolome for giving us this unique theme and thank you to everyone who has participated in the assignment.

If you want to see the rest of the entries or join in the assignments, just go to the Streettogs Academy Facebook Group!

Excited to hear Bertrand’s ideas!

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